Captain America #17 – Review

by Rick Remender (Writer), Nic Klein (Artist), Dean White (Colorist)

The Story: A groovy new villain called Dr. Mindbubble makes himself known, spelling insane doom for S.H.I.E.L.D.

The Review: Introducing new elements has got to be hard. Presenting new characters, new concepts and making them stick for new readers must be ready, with plenty of them always ready to be cynical when approaching new things. Not all newer elements to large continuity are appreciated, with words like Midi-chlorians, Romulus and other such ”nice” ideas being conveniently forgotten by many.

However, it can be achieved if done right, with some of the ideas that Rick Remender injected in the larger Marvel continuity being particularly sound. What he brought to the character of Apocalypse, to Wolverine and to some older concepts like Deathlok and the four horsemen are really nice extrapolations combined with new interpretations that did give something exciting to read.

However, just because he did something particularly good once does not mean that he is infallible, with his run on Captain America being an example of this. While packed with some ideas that are decidedly not bad at all, there is a certain shyness in the presentation and elaboration of some of the implications that some concepts have. While it is a traditional storytelling technique to slowly reveal new elements as the story progress, it is never a good thing to make readers wait too long either when it comes to surprises.

In this issue, Remender finally presents readers the character of Dr. Mindbubble, a character that has been teased since his Uncanny X-Force run as a statue in the background. With a rather amazing concept behind his creation, that of injecting a super-soldier serum inside him along with LSD, this creates for a troubled, yet groovy types of villain that could prove to be interesting if handled right. However, while the personality of the villain proves to be a tiny bit fun, there are several problems that don’t exactly make him as good as he very well could be.

Captain America #16 – Review

by Rick Remender (Writer), Pascal Alixe (Artist), Edgar Delgado, Antonio Fabela, Israel Silva (Colorists)

The Story: As it turns out, Jet Black really doesn’t like our world. Who knew?

The Review: Liking a character, a concept or an approach does not necessarily means an issue featuring them will immediately be good. While we may have a soft spot for some elements of a particular universe or title, it can somewhat blind us to other undesired elements, resulting in a less-than satisfying read.

I rather like Captain America and Rick Remender as a writer, yet there has been something missing ever since the book got away from Dimension Z. While there have been a good number of earnest attempts at playing with the mythology around the character while adding new layers and new elements around Steve Rogers, there is simply something that does not click as well as it should. Still, with the addition of a new villain and the beginning of a new arc, perhaps Remender can steer this title in an interesting direction?

Unfortunately, this issue isn’t the best of beginnings as far as introductions are concerned. Dealing with how Jet Black, a character Remender hasn’t done much with, deals with the way things are on Earth, her voice becomes clear and very well-defined. Pushing forth the difference in her philosophy, that of a warrior of science, against the outlook of life in New York, there is the beginning of a potentially great character arc on display here. Unfortunately, her demeanour and her vision becomes quickly repetitive, with Jet Black becoming cyclical in her reactions and actions, which hurts the general storytelling. Making her understandable, yet rather unlikable, the issue never lets her advance very far in her personal arc. While this sets her up for a more proactive role in this series in the future, this doesn’t work very well in making it so the readers might possibly want for her to be present.*

Captain America #13 – Review

by Rick Remender (Writer), Nic Klein (Artist), Dean White (Colorist)

The Story: The past of the Iron Nail is known to us, as Captain America is sent against Nuke, with Falcon in tow.

The Review: Inconsistency is a killer. Many readers, including me, always expect the best when it comes to books, characters and the like, with each having a certain vision of how things could be done. With this in consideration, writers have to play up with expectations, but also exceed or subvert them, creating something better in the process. However, long form stories need these things in a constant manner, which can be achieved through characterization, action or the story itself. If a bunch of issues begins to feel predictable or simply weak, it can lead to disinterest as the quality drops.

This series had an unfortunate down with the previous issue, who tried to present new ideas yet didn’t do much to insert originality into them. The plot was a bit jumpy too, yet Remender did seem to have plans. With a fill-in artist and those elements now inserted in his narrative, does Remender put his series back on track?

It does seem that the previous issue was a one-time deal, as Remender picks up on some of his newly introduced elements and deepens them. The Iron Nail is one of them as the readers are shown a flashback featuring him as an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., providing more complexity for the character while Remender plays with a few older ideas, some of them being more akin to Steranko era’s Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., albeit in a more sinister way. Putting some more background while providing context to Ran Shen, he becomes a bit more interesting as some other players are also introduced in his story, one that the fill-in artist is definitely in touch with. It also provide a neat contrast with the latter part of the book, with plenty of dark secrets and spy action.
The other part of the book focus a bit more on Steve Rogers, with the Falcon and Jet Black getting a good deal of interaction and characterization before the meatier part of the book. The way Remender shows the importance of Captain America as a positive representation of America in this scene, combined with the concern Sam Wilson has for Steve and the way Jet Black analyze the whole thing makes for some nice moments. It’s bit on the short side, though, as the rest of the issue is dedicated to something else.

Captain America #12 – Review

by Rick Remender (Writer), Carlos Pacheco, Klaus Janson (Artists), Dean White, Rachelle Rosenberg (Colorists)

The Story: Falcon comes and try to bring the old Captain America back as Nuke goes full-psycho with the help of a new ally.

The Review: Continuous stories are always challenging for writers. Not only do every chapters need to follow the others without destroying the narrative pacing and the elements that hold the whole thing together, but it needs to continue the development of the characters and the themes in a natural and progressive way. It may seem obvious, yet not all writers are able to satisfy all of these criteria’s, creating some stories that can feel a bit awkward to read.

This issue of Captain America, unfortunately, feels a bit like this kind of reading experience, as there are some very sound ideas, yet not everything connect in way that makes for a satisfying issue. As is usual for Rick Remender, there are many ideas and some executions of them that are rather interesting to follow as it’s fun to see him implement newer elements. Where it fails a bit, though, is the fact that he doesn’t implement them in any way that connects everything seamlessly together.

One of the new creation of Remender is a character that has been named the Iron Nail in interviews, as the writer gives us his origin story and his motivations. While some of the ideas on the page here are quite connected to what readers might expect from a capes comic, there isn’t much revealed here to render him interesting enough for readers to get immediately invested in him yet. While getting his powers from an ancestral dragon and wishing to be as he says ”a nail in the heart of the west itself” do make him a concept that could be goofy in a rather neat way, the characters is introduced then almost thrown away for the rest of the issue, with the exception of one major reveal near the end.

Captain America #11 – Review

Rick Remender (Writer) Carlos Pacheco, Klaus Janson (Artists), Dean White (Colorist)

The Story: Returning to present-day America, both Steve and Jet needs to adjust themselves a bit after all these crazy sci-fi adventures.

The Review: ”Bold new direction” are words that many readers are used to hear in the past few years. Whenever a new creative team, or at least a new writer comes in for the ride, those words, or at least synonyms, are pronounced, but aren’t always exactly respected in ways that actually live up to the ”bold” part of the statement.

Rick Remender, however, really went there as he picked up the title from Ed Brubaker, moving away from the espionage corner to something more akin to Jack Kirby: crazy sci-fi. The adventure of Steve Rogers in Dimension Z were a far cry to the political and world-war II inspired stories that preceded them, which did cement the fact that this was an actual new take on the character. However, now that the first mega-arc has concluded, where will Remender go with the character?

This issue do try to answer that question, giving a slower pace with more character moments in order to counteract the high-octane action and ideas that permeated the previous chapter. Remender takes a lot more time with Steve and Rogers, showing how they react to both old and new encounters with Steve being healed by Bruce Banner and Hank Pym, while Jet Black gets interrogated by Marcus Johnson. The weariness of Steve and the impetuous attitude of Jet comes off as natural to their characters, considering what they went through.

Captain America #10 – Review

by Rick Remender (Writer), John Romita Jr., Klaus Janson, Tom Palmer, Scott Hanna (Artists), Dean White, Rachelle Rosenberg (Colorists)

The Story: Jet has second thought about the plans of her father as Steve and Sharon tries to convince her that perhaps her father was an enormous and villainous jerk.

The Review: Conclusions are hard. A lot might say that it’s never the ending that actually count rather than the journey itself, but let’s be honest that it’s always kind of disappointing when a story hit a lots of notes right only to end in a way that feels off.

This issue of Captain America does not actually reach a level of disappointment that makes it unpleasant to read, yet there are several elements that, considering the level of talent here, could have been handled better.

One of them is the pacing, as the issue seems to differ in the space it amounts to several scenes. While many of the previous issues went full speed ahead through the chaos that is Dimension Z as Steve Rogers fought the many monstrosities of science that inhabits it, Remender always kept it full of action and crazy concepts. Those issues were crammed with lots of ideas and most of the scenes never wore their welcome. Here, though, there are mainly three things that happens: Jet fly toward the rocketing city in doubt about what her father was doing, Sharon Carter confronts Arnim Zola and Steve gets out of Dimension Z as he is still in shock over what happened. There are myriads of details to these scenes, of course, yet it all boils down to those three key events in the issue, plus an epilogue.

Of course, the length of these scenes is to make sure the emotional impact is relevant to the readers, who spent the best of 10 issues in this mad landscape created by Remender. It arguably work for Sharon Carter as she faces down a giant Arnim Zola, giving her a moment for her to shine in this arc, but not so much for Jet Black. For this character who has been introduced quite well in this series, the sudden turn she does seems a bit too quick. She had been so eager to live to her new found principles and to forsake those taught to her by her father, yet when she thinks he’s dead and that his plan is about to succeed, she turn around and try to make it work? It is explicitly said, in a way that does sound a bit credible, that it is he grief talking, yet the way she acts seems a tad excessive considering what little we know about the character and her evolution throughout the Dimension Z arc.

Captain America #9 – Review

Rick Remender (Writer), John Romita Jr., Klaus Janson, Scott Hanna, Tom Palmer (Artists), Dean White (Colorist)

The Story: Sharon Carter enters the stage, explaining what has happened all this time as Steve Rogers bring the fight to Arnim Zola.

The Review: Camp isn’t exactly an easy thing to do. To retrieve the nostalgic factor or to simulate it in a way that feels respectful is a hard task, as a writer need to satisfy both the readers that can remember such times without leaving those that didn’t behind. It’s a balancing act that need to be efficient in order to keep the momentum and the tone floating around at all time.

I have to say that I do not envy the task that Remender had set upon himself when writing Captain America, a character that is, without the shadow of a doubt, very campy when analyzed. A character that represents the goodness of America, a leader that has indomitable courage and will and that will never wield during fights, despite how outclassed he might be sometime. This creation of Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, a superhero, one of the genre most attached to nostalgia at times, is always attached to the past in many ways. To see Remender use him in a sci-fi setting, especially one that looks like a twisted B-movie version straight from the 70’s and 80’s, is something that is colossal in its connection to the past. It is quite something to see Remender deciding to use this kind of story to decide the future of the character, as to use the past and nostalgia to propel a character forward seems like a great challenge.

In many ways, he does succeed in no only creating a connection to past materials, most of them being unrelated to the stories featuring the Sentinel of Liberty, working with subjects that the character wasn’t associated with. One of the notable strength of this huge storyline, which is still very present here, is the sci-fi vibe that is present everywhere. With monsters, robots, big flying buildings, dimensions, time-alternance and the like, Remender plays with a lot of concepts worthy of pristine movies that would pale a bit with the audience of today. Revelling in the past in terms of narrative tropes, he brings excitation and a lot of big moments to the story as the climax of the story arrive.

Captain America #7 – Review

Rick Remender (Writer), John Romita Jr., Klaus Janson (Artists), Dean White (Colorist)

The Story: Steve Rogers tries to find Ian, his son, yet Jet Black stands in his way toward his goal as he advance in Zola’s domain.

The Review: Intent is something that can be difficult to properly gauge. Sometimes, an author tries to give a certain tone or a certain mood to a story he is telling, yet does so in a way that is perhaps too subtle or ambiguous. This might lead to people not seeing the actual meaning behind some key scenes or the works that clearly influenced the take on a certain subject.

I am telling this right now because I am afraid that I might be confused as to the intent behind Rick Remender and his take on the sentinel of liberty. In some way, this seems to be a rather touching story about a man discovering how to be a father and doing what is right to save his son, yet in other ways this seems like a take on good old science-fiction stories from the 20’s and 30’s, like Buck Rogers. It seems to be both sometimes, yet at the same time it struggles between the cheesier aspect of the dialogue and the more touching and serious aspects of its script.

One of the key areas where this can be seen would be in the dialogue, which goes from touching and heartfelt to sometimes really clichéd. In the opening pages of the issue, we get a really great scene with Steve and Ian, who talks to the boy he had adopted as his son about the fact that he is happy right now that he can be with him, yet there is another place where we get one of the most overused dialogue trope ever conceived: the ‘’listen to your heart’’ speech. To summarize what this is, it’s a moment where someone on the evil side of the equation is convinced to join the good side not by arguments or with any actual proof, but rather by the good guy telling that person that it would be the right thing to do. I’m not saying that this specific trope cannot ever be used in smart ways, yet here in this issue it is used in a way that feels very corny, close to an unbelievable way. It removes a bit of the actual conflict and the character building that has been show, or rather it precipitates the development to full speed on the character of Jet Black, which seems a bit jarring and forced.

However, even if a lot of what I said about this issue seems to be on the negative, allow me to balance things out by talking about the better aspects of the book. First of all, the action here is very well done, with Steve Rogers fighting great odds one after another, which does give a lot of tension and adds drama to the whole story. Whether it’s when he’s fighting one of the captains of Zolandia, Jet Black or some of the guards, it can be seen he could be easily outmatched, yet he never backs down or despair when coming to face with such challenges.

Captain America #6 – Review

By: Rick Remender (Writer), John Romita Jr., Tom Palmer, Klaus Janson, Scott Hanna (Artists), Dean White (Colorist)

The Story: Captain America assaults the stronghold of Arnim Zola, as Ian is being held by the mad scientist himself.

The Review: There is nothing more fearful than a man scorned, it seems, as the very presentation of the whole conflict shown in this newer volume of Captain America so far has been turned upside down, for the better it seems, as we get to see Captain America being much more proactive than reactive here. This kind of event and direction leads to several developments that builds on what the series had shown so far, adding to the building blocks while respecting a whole more about Steve Rogers.

Captain America #5 – Review

By: Rick Remender (Writer), John Romita Jr., Tom Palmer, Scott Hanna (Artists), Dean White, Lee Loughridge (Colorists)

The Story: Zola invades the Phrox ground and kills the tribe while his daughter tries to kill Steve Rogers during the attack.

The Review: Is it already the time for more science-fiction goodness from Rick Remender? It seems so, as another issue from this definitely different take on the adventures of Steve Rogers is upon us and this one is decidedly great in many ways, but suffers in other parts.

What is pretty great here would be the story, as many of the points developed by Remender during the first four issues of the series meet here. Jet Black, Zola’s daughter, along with her dad comes head to head with Steve, Ian meets his father, Steve manages to find a way to remove the Zola virus and the fate of the Phrox tribe is all shown here, to great dramatic effect. Although it had been kind of chaotic at times, many of the threads introduced by Remender manages to get even bigger and weirder in this issue, showing us that we cannot even begin to see what is ahead for the series.