Comics Spotlight: Captain America #33

Captain America #33
Writer: Ed Brubaker
Penciler: Steve Epting
Inker: Butch Guice
Editor: Tom Brevoort

(Writer's note: Yes, once again I'm reviewing a book that hit stores a week and a half ago. The money I had to spare this week went to groceries. Sucks to be poor. the fact that I simply HAD to pick up this book despite my current financial status should say something for its quality. :))

Last week I filled this space with a review of a book by a writer currently exclusive to DC Comics whose work I feel is absolutely, positively "must-read" every month. This week I'm balancing the scales and doing the same thing for a writer working primarily for Marvel Comics. His name got in the newspapers and other media quite a bit last year when he wrote the story that killed off one of comicdom's most iconic characters, Captain America. His name is Ed Brubaker, and his work is definitely something I recommend EVERYONE, comic book book fan or not, pick up.

For several years now, Brubaker has been making Captain America truly his own, retconning certain elements of the character's backstory (not beyond plausibility, mind you) in order to introduce new characters and bring a level of gritty drama the series had not had for some time previous to the start of his run. Focusing on backstory and history of a character is nothing new for Brubaker: according to his entry on wikipedia.org, "When working on licenced characters with extensive established histories at both Marvel and DC Brubaker has consistently changed aspects of those characters' backstories. Examples of this include the return of Holly in Catwoman, the return of Bucky in Captain America, and the introduction of the character Vulcan in X-Men: Deadly Genesis." The result has always been tightly-plotted, character-driven dramas which redefine and humanize the subject characters to an extent not witnessed before.

In the case of Captain America, over the twenty-four issues of the book Brubaker wrote prior to the character's assassination, readers came to see a Cap haunted by suddenly unreliable memories of the past, both in his own mind and in the physical form of his seemingly-returned-from-the-grave World War II partner, Bucky Barnes, in a guise and role he never would have expected. In many ways, Brubaker shows reader "his" Captain America through the eyes of the character's best friends and companions: Sharon Carter, Agent 13 of S.H.I.E.L.D and a former lover of Cap's; Sam Wilson, a.k.a. the Falcon, Cap's one-time partner; Tony Stark, a.k.a. Iron Man, Cap's colleague in the Avengers and later his enemy during the catastrophic Superhero Civil War (Marvel Comics); and of course, Bucky himself in later issues. Brubaker uses the supporting cast to show readers the "Cap" beyond the icon, beyond the ever-confident, unflinching, charismatic hero who wraps himself in the American flag, about whom even Thor once said, "That mortal I would follow even through the gates of Hel itself." The result is a Captain America all the more inspiring and heroic, because Brubaker puts us in touch with the man underneath the flag. And after the character's death, when his friends and colleagues must move past mourning and get to the bottom of the plot that began with Cap's death, he puts us in touch with their anguish and pain, and lo and behold, if you've been reading the whole run and you have any kind of heart at all, you've come to care about them, too.

Which brings us to issue #33. Without getting into spoilers, suffice to say a showdown readers have been waiting for since issue #26 finally takes place (hint: the combatants are featured on the front cover, shown above). Now, since the end of the Civil War ol' Shellhead Iron Man has been on the receiving end of a lot of beatdowns (all fully deserved, in the humble opinion of this author), but none has quite the emotional resonance of this particular fight, a fight Tony doesn't want any part of from the start. It's because Brubaker spent so much time building up our sense of Tony's guilt over what happened to Cap and Bucky's entire life before and since Cap's death that the action in every panel of this issue commands attention. And the payoff, the ending and the foreshadowing of what's to come (see the image below) makes complete sense within the context of everything that's happened, and you may, as a reader, have seen it coming, but it doesn't diminish any of the satisfaction. I've read some posts in forums that claim this was a wasted opportunity to take the character of Captain America in a new and unexpected direction, and I couldn't agree LESS. This is the beginning of something great: Captain America as a man who beneath the layers of his costume and shield also has layers of complexity to his character, and thus almost limitless potential for character-driven storytelling.

In terms of the art, penciler Steve Epting, as he has throughout his run on Captain America, delivers gritty, realistic, fast-paced action that's easy to follow from panel to panel. Making the fight scene that is at the center of this issue work as something believable and engrossing (I mean, after all, "on paper" this should be a horrible mismatch) is absolutely remarkable. He sells us on it, just as he sold us on every amazing physical feat he rendered Steve Rogers accomplishing. And he's just as successful at giving us strong character moments, as well--in particular he renders the weariness apparent on Tony Stark's face quite well. The job Tony's taken on since the Civil War is aging him, without question, and Epting handles expressing that aging, that growing exhaustion, through use of darkness and shadow over the facial features. Bucky's anger and intensity is also worth noting--Epting's had more than two years practice working with this character, and the expertise shows. My one (very) minor quibble would be with the inconsistency in the artistic treatment of Black Widow here, as opposed to in other books like Mighty Avengers. Does she have short hair, or long hair? She's sexy either way, don't get me wrong, but its ... well, like I said, it's a VERY minor quibble.

I like the longer hair, personally.

As a fan, I'll always miss Steve Rogers. I miss him still, and I know I'm not the only one, though I may be one of the few to admit it. I eulogized him as best I could in my MySpace blog, shortly after issue #25 hit the stands. Hard to believe it's only been 10 months. But now we, as readers, stand of the precipice of something I think will be great. We stand as witness to the beginning of a new legend. For this, I say thank you, Ed Brubaker, and the folks at Marvel who have supported you in your vision. And also, I say once again, rest in peace, Steve Rogers. You will be missed. Long live Captain America.

Next issue:


Recommended reading from Ed Brubaker:

Immortal Iron Fist Vol. 1: The Last Iron Fist Story (New Avengers)

Criminal Vol. 1: Coward

Daredevil: Hell to Pay, Vol. 1