Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews

Captain America #43
Marvel Comics
Brubaker, Ross, Laguna & D’Armata

A new arc and a new villain brings about an issue that is both a good jump on point and a bit of a breather issue. While I enjoyed this issue I felt it was a little less interesting than previous ones. It wasn’t slow or boring, but it just didn’t have the same excitement that the past two years have had. It will take me a while to get used to not having Red Skull as the main villain.

The issue has a few interesting components moving at once. The relationship between Bucky and Natalia gets some room to develop. Not a whole lot comes out of these scenes that involves them as much as it involves Bucky. Bucky has doubts and Natalia tries to boost him up. Personally, it felt like the interaction was more a way to reveal Bucky’s thoughts and probably could have been done a number of different ways.

Another element to this story is a series of flashbacks to World War II. This is setting things up for the larger arc. While we don’t have the full plot and context of these flashbacks, they are interesting to remind us how Bucky interacting with Steve. It’s a good way to introduce some old as new and make use of the dead Captain America.

The third element is the growing plot in the present day. Bucky finds himself fighting Batroc. Only at the end of the issue does the involvement of Batroc and this arc become clear. It would seem Bucky stumbled into something much larger than he probably figured during his fight.

It’s a good issue, but not great. It’s a breather issue. It sets things up and reminds us of the current state of the new Captain America. I like the direction and I like the potential, but this isn’t an arc like the ones with Red Skull and Sharon. We’ll see if it can build momentum.

The artwork is very good. It continues to show the same style as we’ve seen in previous arcs. I was a little taken aback that the flashbacks didn’t do too much to visually display that they were flashbacks. I like the action sequences though and the World War II battles looked excellent.

In all it’s a great point to pick up this series. With Bucky now firmly placed as Captain America we get on with some regular old arcs where his character can start to grow at a more subtle pace. I hope this arc explores where his relationship is going with Natalia as much as it is introducing some interesting villains and making use of Bucky’s past.

3 out of 5 geek goggles