COMIC BOOK OF THE WEEK

 

COMIC BOOK OF THE WEEK

Welcome back, comic book fans!  Last week, we took a look at the first appearance of the man named Sam Wilson...who joined the Marvel Universe by helping our our Star-Spangled Avenger with a sticky situation.  Wilson then became Cap's crimefighting partner, The Falcon, for many a years, joined the Avengers himself, and now has assumed the role of our Patriotic Hero.  This week...in the wake of the stellar Disney Plus/MCU show, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, THIS week, we dive into the first appearance of the latter character, visiting an old friend in James Buchanan Barnes...in a whole new light.  

CAPTAIN AMERICA (Vol. 5) #1  

COVER ART: Steve Epting

WRITER: Ed Brubaker

ARTIST: Steve Epting

INKS: Steve Epting

LETTERS: Randy Gentile

COLORS: Frank D'Armata

EDITOR: Tom Breevort, Andy Schmidt, Nicole Wiley, & Molly Lazer

COVER DATE: January 2005

PUBLISHER: Marvel Comics

TAGLINE: Out Of Time - Part 1

STORY TITLE: "Out of Time - Part 1"  

Captain America #1 is the beginning of the 5th volume of our Star Spangled Avenger, brought to us by writer Ed Brubaker and artist Steve Epting.  We are picking up the story just after Avengers Disassembled.  Steve has been reckless, and Sharon Carter, despite her please for him to reign it in.  With the Avengers gone, Cap feels the pressure, and is also haunted by nightmares of his old wartime partner, Bucky.  Little does Cap know that Bucky is alive and well...but he's been brainwashed and remolded into the super-assassin known as The Winter Soldier, whose exploits over the years have been legendary, if not secret.  At first, we are not privvy to the fact that this was the same Bucky Barnes who had survived the rocket explosion at the end of World War II, only to be found by the Russians, brainwashed, and given a bionic metal arm.  He is turned into the ultimate assassin, and when Steve Rogers DOES eventually meet up with his old partner, it becomes a tug of war in order to bring Bucky back into the light.  But the Winter Soldier doesn't make it easy.  Eventually, Bucky DOES regain his memory, and in the wake of Civil War, Steve Rogers is shot and killed by a brainwashed Sharon Carter, and the mantle of Captain America falls upon the shoulders of Bucky Barnes.  

THE STORY:  Five years prior to our story beginning, the Red Skull meets with KGB agent Aleksander Lukin, who has just killed the Red Guardian.  He knows the Skull wants the Cosmic Cube, and is willing to pay top dollar for it, but the Skull has no intention of selling it.  In present day, the Skull has managed to procure a Cosmic Cube made out of the fragments of other Cubes.  As he plots his next move, Cap has been on a tear after the wake of the Avengers breaking apart.  He's also been having dreams about Bucky.  

Unknown to Steve, the Skull has been monitoring his every move.  Lukin calls him again, and knows he has a Cosmic Cube, and is willing to pay top dollar for it.  The Skull refuses, and then a mysterious assailant crashes into the Skull's apartment and shoots him at point blank range.  With the Skull now dead, the assailant returns to Lukin with the Cube.  

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This volume of Cap introduces us to a revived Bucky Barnes as The Winter Soldier.  It created quite a stir in the wake of DC reviving the long-dead second Robin--Jason Todd--as the new Red Hood.  Bucky's re-emergence as The Winter Soldier brought all new excitement and intrigue to this new book.  Brubaker's writing was crisp, sharp, and was really tuned into the very core of Cap, but also was willing to draw out the flaws of our hero, and those around him.  Brubaker wasn't afraid to make bold decisions in storytelling, and it make the book an exceptional read.  Tied with Steve Epting's art, which gave it a gritty, yet realistically stylish finish, made it one of my must reads every month.  The long term effect of the Winter Soldier's appearance has spawned an excellent Cap movie, as well as the TV series we just finished.  In the long run, the long term effect of the Winter Soldiers' return has been a welcome one.  

NEXT WEEK:  We dive back into our bins to grab yet another classic comic