Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews

Captain America Reborn #2Captain America Reborn #2 of 5
Marvel Comics
Brubaker, Hitch & Guice

This issue gives us more Steve Rogers trapped in time and a little bit more about the manner in which Steve was "killed". As for Bucky, he takes on a bit of a new role as he seems to be playing second fiddle in this issue. It's a decent issue but if you have come to appreciate Bucky as the real deal and have enjoyed watching him being built up for a couple of years then this comic might disappoint you a little bit. As a side note, this issue takes on more of a science fiction approach to storytelling as the overall Red Skull plot begins to unfold.

Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle ReviewsPerhaps the best part of the comic was in the very beginning as Steve Rogers races through time, seemingly aware that he is watching himself in action and not really an active participant in the life he's viewing, even though it was his life. The first six pages of the comic is Captain America during the second World War. He is narrating what he is seeing as he tries to understand how he came to being trapped in time. It's an excellent sequence because it shows where Cap made his name known while guiding the reader through the difficult idea of Steve not really dead but sent on a journey through time.

The issue then moves to the present as Bucky takes a beating from Ares, Venom and other agents. This part of the comic really rubbed me the wrong way. Bucky is very watered-down as his character seems to have been stripped to the lowest common denominator in order to appeal to the casual reader. I'm not usually one to complain about how a character is used but this fight sequence and his dialogue just wasn't the same as the previous thirty-some issues of the regular series. A newer reader won't know the difference and won't care so that's a plus.

Next up, Reed Richards and other examine Sharon as they begin to piece together the whole picture. It's a little out there and it takes a few reads to understand what's happening here, but the plot is a sound one and is very inline with many, many events leading up to Cap's death a couple of years ago. This was a great couple of pages even if it taps heavily into science fiction.

Finally, we have Norman Osborn and company. The biggest takeaway from all of this is revelation that the possibility exists to place someone else's conscious into Cap's body. This seems to be the ultimate plan of the Red Skull. He cheats death by taking the body of his enemy, while torturing Rogers leaving him languishing in the past. Not a bad plot. It feels like Osborn is shoehorned in here as the centerpiece but where isn't he these days?

The artwork was great. I loved the flashback scenes the most as we are treated to two extensive ones. The fighting in the carrier was pretty good too. I'm amazed the art can hold such a high standard and still have two issues come out on time. This is a very good piece of artwork.

Two issues into this story and I find myself not that interested in it. I think this has to do with how much the importance of the players has changed over such a short span. It's no longer about the Winter Soldier and the Red Skull. Now, it's Norman Osborn and well, a cast of "others". It's a hard gear change. Wouldn't it make more sense to get a hold Bucky's body and use him as the assassin he was trained to be? What purpose does he even serve in this to Osborn or Red Skull? It feels like he's been turned into the damsel in distress, which is really odd. I hope we get more Red Skull and more of the aspects of the run to this point inside of just another Dark Reign mini series.

3 out of 5 geek goggles