Captain America Vol. 5 # 25 - The Death Of The Dream

The big Marvel story of last year was accompanied by a stunning cover by Steve Epting. I'm a bit of an Epting agnostic. I like his art but sometimes his covers are too busy, reminding me of old movie posters (especially James Bond) or Steranko lite. However, focusing on a single dramatic image as above and his clean artwork shines through. Using a newspaper as a backdrop wasn't exactly a new idea. However, the font of both the book's title and use of subheading for 'Death of the Dream' is terrific. And deciding to lead with a simple shot of a limp handcuffed hand as opposed to, say, a full body shot, or Cap in Sharon's arms, for example is terrifically effective, as are the small circles of blood that surround the arm. Understated, dramatic and efficient.

I have ranked this cover no 209 as part of a long term project I am producing on my own blog 'marvel-ous' on blogspot.com re: my favourite marvel comic book covers. Please visit http://dmstarz.blogspot.com and check out the other covers that have made my top 250.

Marvel tried their best to keep this a secret before the issue hit the stands. I think they did a pretty good job of it. There was some speculation. I thought if it was going to happen, it would've been in Civil War #7. Maybe that's what a lot of people thought and maybe that's why Marvel didn't do that. For a few minutes, I was even thinking that maybe it was the death of Cap in the "War" that would cause Spidey to mourn his teammate and start wearing the black.

So now he's dead. I feel it was handled very well. Cap was true to form leading up to the events. He noticed that someone had a laser scope and pushed the Marshall in front of him out of the way. After he was shot numerous times, his first concern was the safety of the crowd.

But is he really dead?

Bucky (Winter Soldier) and Nick Fury had some plan. Obviously having Crossbones shoot him wasn't part of it. But what was the plan? Another thing is the news report said he was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital, yet Sharon and Falcon were sitting in the waiting room...waiting. It almost seemed his "death" was prematurely announced. They've tried to fool us by having Ms. Marvel (in Civil War: The Intitiative) tell Spider-Woman that he's still alive. (That's been addressed in New Avengers). But Cap does have the Super Soldier Serum in his body. The first shot wouldn't do much. The three shots at point blank to the gut is another story. The question is would it be enough? As I said, he has the serum in him and he was wearing his chain mail costume. Next issue is supposedly the Autopsy. What's to prevent Tony Stark from getting an LMD now that he's in charge of S.H.I.E.L.D. to take his place. Autopsy results can be faked. Although Civil War: The Confession shows Stark kinda choked up.

Bottom line, this was a great issue even though Brubaker killed my beloved Captain America. I have complete faith in him. I trust what he's doing. We all know Death isn't permanent in comics. Heck, Brubaker even broke the cardinal rule and convincingly brought back Bucky. I cannot wait unitl the next issue.

If by some miracle you do not know what happens in this book, then I suggest you go read it before it is spoiled for you... if you're lucky enough to find a copy that is. I won't spoil it here either, but I will say that this is a major comic book event, and I don't think that is an exaggeration.

I'm not going to debate whether or not Marvel will undo what happens in this issue in a few years, and I won't debate if this was the right way to go either.

Rather I'll review just this issue. Reading it, it feels like Ed Brubaker's run so far has been leading up to this moment. The issue opens up as Captain America is transported for his arraignment hearing. His closest allies show up, and we get a few flashbacks to show what Steve Rogers means to them. Although I felt this was more for the new readers that might pick up this book for obvious reasons.

Brubaker as usual tells a great story. The situation feels real, the chaos feels urgent and the characters feel like they are in a desperate situation and don't know what to do. I know I'm being vague, but I feel like I have no choice.

Whether or not you like the character of Captain America... I think you need to have this comic book in your collection. It's one of "those" moments. Unlike other Civil War Tie Ins, this comic book totally earns the right to have "Civil War Epilogue" plastered on the front cover. The events here won't only effect Captain America, but will probably effect the entire Marvel U. Go find a copy, and good luck doing that.

There comes a time in a comic book company's history, where the dead have come back to life so many times, it's really lost all meaning. The mentioning of Doctor Faustus (died twice at least, last death was from a slit neck from a dead Red Skull), don't get me started on the Winter Soldier (Bucky, rode a flying bomb which blew), or Sharon Carter (burned to death in front of a live camera). Whoops, I forgot Falcon and Crossbones, who have never died, well at least not in this reality.

The art is excellent, nice comparison between the past and present, including the original costume and shield. The story is well told, but maybe it's because I have grown use to the old Captain, the good Captain, the book which was on the other end of the spectrum from the Punisher and Moon Knight. To see him treated like this was just too much. Heart wrenching, which is what they were going for, but the last page should not of been done with Captain America.

An interview with Joe Quesada has promised a new Captain America, which would make them the 6th or 7th Captain America. Well with nearly a dozen deaths of Steve, yes all in this reality, with the cloning of Steve, the Red Skull, Hitler a few times, and others, with the many uses of LMD (Life Decoy Models), Steve is sure to pull a "Man of Steel" and will be back soon. I mean hey, if more than half the main cast can do it in this issue, can't Steve do the same?