Captain America by Ed Brubaker #1

As of late, Captain America has been hit across the head with the spy stick. A lot of his solo stories revolve around these ideas and themes, and the recent movie (Winter Soldier), while great, is rife with similar ideas. It feels like his character has been reduced to an America James Bond with a shield. And, while this story attempts to draw on what makes this character good, fails to engage me as a reader in the conflict at hand.

Somewhat stereotypically for Cap, a character from his past is revealed to still be alive and searching for revenge. This is so overdone at this point, I can't even express how tired the ideas here are. And there's nothing very special about this character either; his backstory is somewhat fascinating, but, as a whole, he has no character or real interest as the focal villain of this tale. And sure, there are a few other villains that crop up, but that just leaves the story feeling a bit more chopped up. Between trips to Cap's past and the various fights with a few different enemies, as well as trying to iron out who this villain is, there's little room for interesting story work, and it shows. And the side characters are pretty bland as well, leaving me wanting more.

While the art is fairly good, I wasn't left with any reason to follow through on this story. As a whole, this story did nothing but confirm why I don't care much for Cap in the comics; he's a flat character with little development to expand upon. And, while the films continue to engage me, these books certainly don't.