Lucia Von Bardas has a fully functioning Doombot under her control. Black Widow and Winter Solider infiltrate Dr Doom's lair in order to help him.
The Good
I've always felt Victor Von Doom was a cheesy character, and he never really appealed to me, probably because of the mystic elements. However, I really enjoyed how he was integrated into this issue and story. He comes off as a real character and not just another super-villain. While his time in this issue is brief, he fits into this world that Brubaker has molded of stories you actually could believe are happening, even though they contain elements that are a bit more "out there."
Winter Solider is everything I loved about Brubaker's Captain America series, when Bucky was in charge and so much more. It has a great mixture of espionage, revenge, crime, but it doesn't alienate the super-hero fans. It's gritty, straight-to-the-point, and flat-out fun. You may not know some of the characters in this book or issue, but you'll have no trouble following along.
The gorilla shooting the machine gun, which I mentioned on the Comic Vine podcast a few weeks back, now has a jet pack. Pure awesome.
Bucky is just a man with a robotic arm, so how can he survive getting thrown through a wall or falling 1,500 feet? Finally, we get a bit of explanation in this issue as we learn that Bucky has a bit of Reed Richards tech to help him out. A couple pieces of Richard tech are explained, and the scientific nerd in me loves how the amazing feats are explained, even though the tech may be out of reach in the real world.
This is the perfect art for this book. Butch Guice and Ed Brubaker go together like (insert perfect simile here). His art is gritty and fits the writing so well. I could not imagine a better fit, art wise, for this book.
The Bad
I wish this was a television series, and it's not.
The Verdict
Winter Soldier has taken over as my favorite on-going at Marvel. Even though it's a book featuring super-heroes, it takes a step away from the "guy in tights" formula that most comic book readers are accustomed to. I really enjoyed Dr. Doom in this issue as he comes off as more of a leader and less of the character I always thought was cheesy. All of Bucky's tech is explained within the issue giving it a more realistic feel to the book, even though there's a gorilla firing a machine gun and flying away on a jet pack. Butch Guice and Ed Brubaker make a dynamite team, and the only problem I have with this book isn't even a problem. I just think this would make a stellar television series. If you aren't reading Winter Soldier, then you're certifiably insane.