Captain America #696 (Review/SPOILERS)

[Prof. Warren]

One of comic's true dream teams - Waid/Samnee/Wilson - continues to chart the post-Secret Empire life of Steve Rogers in Captain America #696.

As you might imagine, it's a damn fine issue.





****SPOILERS****




On his road trip to get back in touch with the people of the country he serves, Steve finds himself in Sauga River.

As he drives his bike into town, he's talking to Sharon on the phone so we know the two are still close.

Stepping into a diner with a "Help Wanted" sign in the window, Steve enters and offers to do some dishes in exchange for lunch.

The owner immediately recognizes Steve as Cap and tells him that lunch for him is free of charge, even though Steve wants to insist on earning it.

Steve's presence in the small diner quickly gets the attention of the local news, which in turn gets the attention of the Swordman (an inheritor of the mantle), who is watching on TV.

Soon, the Swordsman is broadcasting a message to Cap from the Sauga River Dam, which he has taken over. If Steve isn't there to meet the Swordsman in 20 minutes, he'll release the floodgates, destroying the town below.

Steve changes into his Cap threads and is at the dam in quick time. Cap and the Swordsman battle but when the 20 minutes are up, the floodgates open. The Swordsman didn't need to manually open them as he had preprogrammed them before Steve's arrival.

Steve main order of business now is to close the gates. He can't turn the wheel to close the gates on his own. Using the Swordsman's blade as a lever, he's able to stop the rushing waters before they do more than flood a basement or two.

In the aftermath, Steve departs with the diner owner sending him off with a container of chili for the road.

As Steve leaves town, the shadowy figure of Kraven the Hunter watches him go.








****END SPOILERS*****




If you're looking for edgy comics, this isn't it. It's just the rock solid storytelling of collaborators who compliment each other perfectly.

The almost old-fashioned approach of Waid/Samnee/Wilson is ideal for a hero as "square" as Steve can be. If you liked the previous issue's reestablishing of Steve as a true heroic icon, this issue should please you just as much. The love for Steve just drips off the pages here. There's a pin-up shot of Steve on his motorcycle that is worth the price of the book on its own. And Samnee's ability to stage action scenes is second to none. The battle between Cap and Swordman at the dam is a model of choreography. The way the panels "move", one could easily imagine this run forming the template for a Cap animated series.

Plotwise, things are still very simple. This is another one and done where Steve arrives, is confronted with a problem, and resolves it in classic Cap style.

I would like to have a bit more complexity work its way in eventually but I'm not complaining about what we've gotten so far.

If you care about the art of the medium and want to see comics at their purest, this book is a must read.

[Green Goblin of Sector 2814]

I very nice little one-and-done issue. The art was the best part for me. It’s heartwarming and really celebrates what makes Cap, well, Cap. There were some issues, like the one-note villain. I mean, we didn’t even learn the guy’s real name or why he’s suddenly decided to take up the Swordsman mantle or why he assumes Cap should know all this, but that’s sort of the limitation of a one-shot like this.

[strathcona]

The almost old-fashioned approach of Waid/Samnee/Wilson is ideal for a hero as "square" as Steve can be. If you liked the previous issue's reestablishing of Steve as a true heroic icon, this issue should please you just as much. The love for Steve just drips off the pages here. There's a pin-up shot of Steve on his motorcycle that is worth the price of the book on its own. And Samnee's ability to stage action scenes is second to none. The battle between Cap and Swordman at the dam is a model of choreography. The way the panels "move", one could easily imagine this run forming the template for a Cap animated series.

You just mentioned two of my biggest takeaways from this issue also. I cracked a huge smile at the page with Cap on the motorcycle and looked over it for a minute or so. That is what Cap should look like to me.

And I also loved the choreographed fight scene, where you could see how each panel led into the next. It wasn't just a series of unrelated panels. Much better than so many of the "top artists" nowadays.

It's only been two issues, but this run so far feels less like Waid's original run, and more like Gruenwald's... and that is definitely not a bad thing in my books.

[Hypestyle]

very nice for classic Cap in the mix. Hope the good deeds continue. Keep evil Cap in jail. or preferably, disintegrated.

[Michael Watkins]

kind of disappointed that the new Swordsman is just a nobody.

[Frontier]

It's nice to see Sharon acknowledged .