Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews
Captain America #46
Marvel Comics
Brubaker, Epting & D’Armata
Captain America heads to China in search of the crazy doctor who stole the corpse of the original Human Torch. The issue begins a new arc that deals with the missing body, but also covers the shady past of Captain America when he was the Winter Soldier. This arc also brings in a new buddy for Cap to get help from, in the form of Namor. The issue has a lot of angles at work here and it makes for a very promising arc.
After Bucky, aka Captain America, finds Namor, they fly off to China. Bucky fills in Namor about Professor Chin and Namor shares his feelings about Bucky wearing Steve’s uniform. They have a moment and the dialogue captures the essence of Namor very well. The two make a good pair, but I still can’t help but wonder why does Bucky need Namor to help him on this mission? Why can’t he just take the Black Widow? Obviously, Namor knows the Human Torch, but why else is he tagging along?
As the issue unfolds we see that the brunt of the issue is Bucky trying to cope with his actions as the Winter Soldier. He seems to be on the brink of losing all his confidence as Captain America because of what he did as Winter Soldier, regardless of whether or not the actions were under his own control or not. Bucky seems to be going through a bit of an identity crisis and it shows in this issue in a subtle, but stunning way.
The comic has some other characters that may or may not play a larger role in the comic. For example, Black Widow is working on gaining some information about the mission for Bucky, but when she learns what has been going on she has a reaction that could lead her to be more directly involved. On the other hand, maybe she will be on another secondary mission in support of Bucky’s effort. It’s the scenes like these that make this comic so great. You see some interactions that could led to a much bigger plot thread or they could be just what they appear be, no more, no less.
The art continues to capture the darkness of the shady Winter Soldier actions very well. It also makes the whole comic feel like a spy novel come to life. I’d like to know who Chin was talking to in the tube, but I’m guessing the art is intentionally trying to be ambiguous.
A strong opening issue to a new arc. It makes the Batroc arc seem very minor now as we get back to the chase that makes this title so great. Can Bucky outrun his past? It sure seems to be catching up to him. This title is great and I’m pleased with this issue and the potential direction.
4 out of 5 geek goggles
