Writers: Christopher Priest, Robert Kirkman
Artists: P: Joe Bennett, Scott Eaton (p), Jack Jadson, Drew Geraci (i)
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Issues from two Captain America series are collected in this volume (Captain America & The Falcon #5-7 and Captain America Vol. 4, #29-32). First, Cap and the Falcon are caught in a web of betrayal involving the Office of Naval Intelligence, a Super-Sailor, a bio-weapon developed by a drug cartel, and S.H.I.E.L.D. As if things weren’t complicated enough, Cap starts falling in love with the Scarlet Witch, and has solid hallucinations.
Second, after the Avengers has disbanded, Cap settles into his new civilian life. Old flame Diamondback comes calling, renewing old loves and working for the Red Skull. A punk tries to overthrow S.H.I.E.L.D., and Spider-Man and Moon Knight guest star.
These comics should not be in the same TPB. Not only are they from two different series, not only do they take place at different points in time relative to “Avengers Disassembled,” but they are also two different levels of quality. Kirkman’s Captain America is an old-fashioned story about a very good hero fighting very bad men. His Cap is decent, smart, and witty. His Red Skull is the most evil, cunning, and dangerous son of a bitch you can imagine. Diamondback is sexy and charming. And Nick Fury proves why he’s the world’s greatest secret agent. Kirkman delivers a traditional super-hero story that Eaton and Geraci draw in the modern style. These are fun comics that you’ll enjoy reading over and over again. I give Captain America
. Captain America & The Falcon is inferior on every level. The plot is so complicated, I had to read the books twice just to figure out what was going on. Cap & Sam Wilson don’t seem to have a plan beyond staying alive one day to the next. Sam has suddenly turned into a street hustler stereotype that even Jack Kirby didn’t use in the 1970s. The fact that Bennett draws identical characters doesn’t help me keep track of who’s doing what to whom. These are three parts of a much longer story. They should have been in a separate Cap & Falcon TPB. Based on these three issues, I have no wish to read more of the series. I give them
. Ironically, it’s Cap & Falcon that gives us a plot point that could have and should have been explored more in “Avengers Disassembled.” After reading the whole story, I now know that Cap’s “solid hallucinations” were caused by the unbalanced Scarlet Witch. I cannot say if Priest was “asked” by editorial to add these scenes to tie into “Disassembled,” or if Priest had another reason for these things that was changed after the fact. In either case, these issues give further “proof” to the idea that Wanda was unstable and more powerful than anyone realized. At the same time, these recent and significant events in the lives of two primary players in “Disassembled” don’t mean more than a few lines of dialogue in Avengers #503. So, relevance to “Disassembled”: minor, but more than the other books.
In short, dear reader, you get four issues of great comics and three issues of crap comics. It averages out to a perfect
. I’d advise getting the single issues of Captain America #29-32. Only if those issues cost you more than $15, should you consider buying this book.What did you think of this book?
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