Last Stand of the finest Avenger.
The Civil War between Captain America and Iron Man has ended with Iron Man as the victor. Steve Rogers aka Captain America is escorted to his trial and the Red Skull's master plan is put into action. Cap's allies scramble and the Winter Soldier aka Bucky has his own mission. -summary
The Death of Captain America is the culmination of 3 years worth of storytelling that began and took place within the pages of Captain America: Winter Soldier, Captain America: Red Menace, Civil War, and Captain America: Civil War. Ed Brubaker began making status quo changes when he re-introduced Captain America's original side-kick Bucky Barnes as the Winter Soldier. Originally it was thought that Bucky was killed during a mission in World War II, but he was revealed to be alive and well, and used as a weapon to conduct covert assassinations for decades. Along with many fans, I was not too happy to see Bucky resurrected through a retcon, because along with Uncle Ben from the pages of Spider-Man and Jason Todd in Batman, Bucky's death was meant to be irreversible and for a very long time Marvel ran with this as he even appeared among the Legion of the Unliving. I guess it's true after all, no one truly stays dead in comics, well, unless it's Uncle Ben. In any case, I enjoyed how the character was handled, Brubaker managed to pen the best Captain America stories in at least 20 years. The last, highly enjoyable storyline I can think of off the top of my head was The Captain. Now getting to this book, this is an awesome omnibus that collects the storyline across issues 25 - 42, but minus the Fallen Son story arc. The Omnibus itself is very well made with a sturdy spine, it opens up very well with almost nothing lost in gutter space.
Now, it's not even a spoiler Cap dies, but he gets it very early in the story, and his death mainly effects the community motivating debate. Was he a hero or a traitor? I remember wondering was that a mistake and was it even possible this book could survive so many issues without Cap. Brubaker sees to it that Cap's demise doesn't dampen the story in the least. He does a fantastic job developing nearly all of the characters, and it was a surprise to witness the likes of Winter Soldier, Falcon, Sharon Carter, and Black Widow carry the narrative so well. They don't deserve all the credit though as the villains play just an important role with Red Skull leading the way, flanked by his psychotic daughter Sin, along with Dr. Faustus, Arnim Zola, and Crossbones. Once the stage is quickly set, the story begins its tale full of action, suspense, espionage, government intrigue, and controversy.
The plot follows Cap's allies as they track down his killer which is exactly what the Red Skull wants. He wants them and S.H.I.E.L.D. which is now lead by Iron Man, to be heavily distracted while he attacks America on many fronts. This is probably the Skull's most diabolical plan, and the fact he's even able to outwit Iron Man at all deserves a mention. The Red Skull has always been a serious threat but Brubaker further cements him as an A-List villain.
Despite these guys and gals wearing costumes, one of the main positives to Brubaker's storytelling is how he grounds his stories into realism. Captain America's murder is so simple, realistic, and sudden, it carries more dramatic impact than if he had went down in the heat of battle. The real show stealer here though is definitely Winter Soldier. He had already been developed very well by this point, yet Brubaker continues building him into an even more likable character. Bucky is very determined and highly skilled, and we get to see those skills put to work as he takes on several big names. His crowning moment takes place later in the book and it's very interesting watching him in his new position. As great a job Brubaker does here, his greatest flaw is keeping the narrative 100% interesting; he tends to be redundant at times by going back to points already made, and I think he kind of fumbles with Sin a little bit, at least for me that is. She rarely held my interest and her blood thirsty attitude felt too much like a rip off of the Spider-Man villain Shriek, plus he tried too hard developing her as stylish and cool.
Steve Epting, Mike Perkins, and Roberto De La Torre handles the dark and brooding artwork, that by this time felt perfectly at home in the pages of Captain America. There are plenty of moments where the story feels like an action thriller as opposed to a comic. The lack of overly vibrant colors works into the almost depressing like atmosphere dealing with these darker themes. The action panels are very cool to watch, as the new Captain America hurls his shield towards enemies while shooting them with his pistol. He also goes through brutal confrontations with Crossbones and even the new Serpent Squad. There are plenty of kills here too, with people either being shot or beaten to death. There is just so much action to be found here I find it near impossible for anyone to be bored. The character designs are worth noting; the new Captain America uses a shiny, armor like version of the original uniform. The females such as Agent 13 aka Sharon Carter and Black Widow aren't over the top with their sexiness, which really isn't a problem. The dialog is easy to follow, as are the action panels. Brubaker doesn't shoot for a cinematic feel at all with illustrations floating across the pages. That's Bendis' thing, and honestly I'm getting a little tired of that.
The Death of Captain America is among the better status quo changing books, but there was always this feeling that it wasn't permanent since the numbering of the book continued. In any case, this is one of the most important story lines that took place during Marvel's big change leading towards Siege. It works well as a stand alone title, but it wouldn't hurt at all to back track towards the earlier books I mentioned. In fact, it would help a great deal especially in regards to understanding the situation between Red Skull and General Lukin. Still, I highly recommend this to Marvel fans. It's necessary moving forward.
Pros: An overall outstanding and gripping narrative
Cons: Minor things needed detail, small writing complaints
