Captain America #4

(w) Rick Remender     (a) John Romita Jr.

**MILD SPOILERS THROUGHOUT**

It boggles my mind when people tell me they don't like Rick Remender's Captain America. I get that many Cap fans these days are so because of Ed Brubaker's phenomenal run, and I understand the reluctance to get behind a new volume of Captain America that takes the character in the complete opposite direction. What I can't understand is the complete dismissal of the title simply because it doesn't follow the spy thriller format Brubaker made so popular. For the first time in a long time, Captain America is confronting problems he doesn't know how to solve. Even when things looked hopeless, Steve Rogers could always count on his training, his tactical genius, and his overall sense of justice to see him to victory. In Dimension Z, none of these things matter.

Much like how the previous issue leapt a year into the future, Captain America #4 throws readers for a loop by leaping another 11. That full black page with the stark, white "Eleven Years Later" really packs a punch as an issue opener. I let out a rather fawning "Whoa!" to the surprise of my wife sitting beside me. She commented about how rare it was for me to get so into a comic book like that, to exclaim out of sheer excitement.

The revelation at the end of issue three saw Steve Rogers infected by some sort of techno-biological virus that produced Arnim Zola's visage on Steve's stomach, similar to Zola's real face on his own body. So not only has Cap been stuck in a dimension where none of his previous experience helps him in any way, but he's also had a evil consciousness of Arnim Zola chipping away at his soul for over ten years While it's a bit weird that Steve is able to hide a glowing blue face on his torso from his adopted son, Ian, for over a decade, it's more about the idea that hiding this horrible truth represents: Steve is dedicated to protecting Ian from his horrible past.

Remender fleshes out Steve and Ian's relationship this issue, mostly because Ian is finally old enough to have a personality of his own instead of being a precious weight for the Captain as he navigated Zolandia. Now, Cap is training Ian to use the shield, trying to instill good values in the boy, and always looking for a way back to Earth. An in-tact map of the land gives the boys some home in returning home, but that hope raises the bigger issue for Ian: what is home? Now firmly in his early teens, Ian wants to know more than Cap is telling him, and the idea of returning to Earth isn't as desirable to him as it is to Steve, who's actually been there.

Captain America #4 isn't what I expected, but it's everything I wanted. Rick Remender's trademark long-form approach to storytelling means Steve Roger's sojourn to Zolandia isn't going to end any time soon. The first four issues of this series have been a marathon of steadily building up the emotional investment, creating a psycho-weird (a term I just created because no other seemed to describe Dimension Z well enough) reality that tests Cap at every turn, and raises the stakes for Steve and Ian in terms of their relationship and their mission to escape the influence of Zola. Yes, this Captain America is completely different than anything Ed Brubaker wrote in his seminal run. But if you step away from the continuity and just read Remender's Cap as-is, it's one of the most exhilarating, powerful titles to come out of the 'Marvel NOW!' initiative.

GRADE

9/10

REVIEW: CAPTAIN AMERICA #3

(w) Rick Remender
(a) John Romita Jr.

Alright.

I'm just going to say it.

I love Rick Remender and John Romita Jr's Captain America.

For the better part of the last decade, Ed Brubaker's stoic, dark, spy-y stories about the Sentinel of Liberty have kept me at arms-length from one of Marvel's top characters. Brubaker steeped his Cap stories in the world of espionage, and while that's awesome and cool, I always felt a disconnect between Rogers' personal ethics and his actions as an undercover spy working in the shadows. 

With the 'Marvel NOW!' imperative, Rick Remender has been given the reigns of Captain America, and he's decided to take Steve Rogers in the complete opposite direction that Brubaker had been going. Dimension Z is more than just a weird new setting; it's a metaphor for Cap's life, et al. On Earth, Captain America is arguably the best superhero there is because he's got this amazing combination of tactical genius, physical superiority, genuine faith in his beliefs, and a determination that never quits. After last month's look into a year in the life of being stranded in Dimension Z, Captain America #3 thrusts Steve and his travelling companion Ian (Arnim Zola's son under Cap's protection) into more familiar territory.

This familiarity comes with Steve and Ian being attacked by the Phrox, a species native to Dimension Z who retreated to subterranean caves when Zola invaded and took control of their home. Cap gets to utilize some of his combat skills that have proved useless otherwise thus far, and it goes a long way in making this volume of Captain America feel more organic and natural. The Phrox are wary of Steve and Ian, as their land has been overrun by Zola's mutated experiments, so it makes sense that their first instinct is to kill the invaders. Fortunately, Steve and Ian gain an unlikely ally from a friendly Phrox who saw that Steve, too, was at odds with Zola. Remender also continues his look back at the life of young Steve Rogers in depression-era Manhattan, a story that relates to Cap's current feelings of overwhelming helplessness. As a weak child, Steve was at the mercy of the neighborhood bullies, and in Dimension Z, his skills are rendered all but useless in a place where the landscape shifts and mutant freaks roam the countryside.

John Romita Jr's art is an acquired taste. I've heard that you "either love it or hate it", but I'm more inclined to see it as a learning curve. Much like how it can take time to get used to different writing styles depending on what writer you're reading, the same can be said for artists and their various techniques. Romita has a very stylized look about his work that immerses you without distracting from the story (unlike, say, David Finch's art, which constantly forces me to decipher who's punching what on splash pages and/or fight scenes.)

It makes sense that many people are finding Remender and Romita's vision for Captain America a little off-putting. The most common complaint I've found has been the arguably unnecessary inclusion of the flashbacks to Steve's childhood. As I mentioned earlier, these flashbacks serve not only to shed some light onto a part of Steve Rogers' life that hasn't ever been delved into much, but also to show that even though the world and the circumstances may change, the pain and the struggle remains the same. Captain America #3 comes to an end with a pretty big shocker that's going to have lasting consequences (at least as far as Marvel's solicitations are concerned) that will affect not only the rest of Steve's time in Dimension Z, but also quite possibly for the rest of his life!

GRADE

8/10

REVIEW: CAPTAIN AMERICA #2

(w) Rick Remender
(p) John Romita Jr.
(i) Klaus Janson

After the first issue received mixed reviews from critics, Rick Remender's Captain America #2 comes in to cement the series as a sci-fi epic to rival the adventures of the Fantastic Four. The difference is, Captain America isn't prepared for an alternate dimension where physics are suggestions more than rules and Arnim Zola has unleashed a legion of mutated experiments. Remender shines brightest when writing a team--he excels at playing various personalities against each other. Captain America sees Remender having to bounce Steve Rogers against himself.

Regular readers of "The Endless Reel" know that I don't much care for inner monologue. I'm putting that out there because I have a predisposed bias against that particular form of narrative, as more often than not, it doesn't effectively convey the ideas/emotions the writer is aiming to show. And while the inner monologue used throughout Captain America #2 isn't awful, it definitely isn't Remender's strongest work. As evidenced by his phenomenal run with Uncanny X-Force, Rick Remender has a knack for ornate diction. It works for Fantomex, Betsy Braddock, and Warren Worthington III, but not so much for Steve Rogers. And really, the monologue is quite toned down from Remender's normal style, yet still it's overly thought out at times. Captain America is utilitarian, and that's not a bad thing--it's a big part of what makes him who he is. Steve Rogers has a very logical, reason-based approach to life and his own behavior, which suggests his thought process is more streamlined, less superfluous. Remender does well to eliminate filler words, but overall, we still get an intimate glimpse at Steve Rogers' thoughts, and it's uncomfortable. But then again, maybe that's exactly what we need from a Captain America comic book--something that puts us out of our comfort zone.

It's difficult to say how Rick Remender's run with Captain America will pan out. With most other 'Marvel NOW!' titles, I've found myself either raucously sold or defiantly opposed. Remender's Captain America is different from most other titles Marvel is currently offering: it sits outside the general Marvel turn of events due to it's setting in Dimension Z, Captain America is completely out of his element (something we haven't seen in ages), yet the fate of a whole universe hangs in the balance.

GRADE

7/10

FEATURED REVIEW: CAPTAIN AMERICA #1

(w) Rick Remender
(p) John Romita Jr.

Over the last eight years, Ed Brubaker's phenomenal take on the Sentinel of Liberty has been a golden standard for how to interpret a character that had become somewhat superfluous in the modern era of comic books (think Superman circa 1980). Steve Rogers' alter-ego stood for ideals and beliefs that were in short supply in the early 21st century, yet Brubaker managed to find a place for the spiritual successor of the American Spirit amidst growing dissonance the world over.

Now, Rick Remender is at the helm, and he's bringing a whole new Cap' to 'Marvel NOW!'

Remender's been focusing a lot of his efforts recently on team-based titles such as Uncanny X-Force, Secret Avengers, and the new Uncanny Avengers. It wouldn't be out of the ordinary he had a little trouble tackling a solo series. Fortunately, Remender is not one to rest on his laurels, and Captain America #1 is some of the most fun I've had with the Captain in quite some time. Not to downplay Brubaker's talent, but the 'secret agent' direction of his run was less 'fun' than it was captivating and intriguing. Remender, however, is reminding readers that Steve Rogers is a person, not just a symbol or an idea.

Personifying Captain America wasn't high on Brubaker's priority list during his tenure with Steve Rogers -- the Captain's uniform and mindset rarely went missing over the past eight years (not counting when Steve wasn't Captain America anymore), which made it difficult to consider Rogers as a normal person instead of an Energizer Superhero who never stops. Here in Captain America #1, Remender starts things off with a look at Steve Rogers' childhood in a scene that could be called 'ground zero' for Rogers' general attitude of perseverance and dedication. It's a sequence that makes you cringe and feel confidence at the same time...it's something I've never seen done before.

Next, after a quick bout with C-list villain Green Skull (an eco-terrorist bent on over-vegetating the Earth and kill all humans), Rogers meets up with his girlfriend, S.H.I.E.L.D. liaison Sharon Carter. Remender deftly handles the transition from battlefield solider to romantic knucklehead by making the sequence as unsubtle as possible. In Captain America's world, he can parachute into the middle of Manhattan and hand of an international terrorist over to the NYPD, he can just show up in his spectacle of a uniform to meet his love interest, and he can become Steve Rogers at the drop of a hat.

Of course, the main promotional pull for Captain America has been the shift in narrative tone from 'super spy' to 'sci-fi adventure', and it's not quite as big of a jump as most would expect. Before Brubaker made Rogers the character he is today, Captain America used to fight aliens and invaders from parallel dimensions and the such. Remender is bringing the Captain back to this paradigm. Arnim Zola has also been heavily promoted as integral to the first arc of Remender's Captain America. What hasn't been touted as much, is the connection between Zola and Dimension Z, the parallel world that Rogers gets sucked into while on a routine fact-gathering mission. Near the end of Captain America #1, Zola reveals that it's HIS dimension called Zolandia. At least, that's what I took away from the scene. How or why this dimension is called Zolandia is still anyone's guess, but at this point, it doesn't matter. Many writers have difficulty introducing new plot elements without it seeming unfinished or broken (see Green Arrow #14 out a few weeks ago), but Remender manages to pull it off with style.

Rick Remender has a lot of ideas for Captain America. In one issue, he's taken Steve Rogers out of the gritty darkness of the spy game, thrown readers some integral and telling character history, and introduced a whole new chapter in the Captain's life. He's stuck in an alternate dimension that's populated by Arnim Zola's mutated creatures and he's got no way to get back home. John Romita Jr's pencilling gets mixed reviews, usually, but here, it's spot on and works perfectly with Remender's more cheeky style. I've never read Captain America on a regular basis. Captain America #1 by Rick Remender is going to change that.

GRADE

9.5/10

(COMIC) AVENGERS VS. X-MEN #4 of 12

STORY: Jonathan Hickman
ART: John Romita Jr. and Scott Hanna

Finally, finally, things are moving forward a bit in Avengers vs. X-Men, a series that has, thus far, shown little more concept than, "let 'em fight!" which may not be a terrible idea on paper, but stretching it out to a whopping 12 issues was silly, as I mentioned a few weeks ago for my review of AvX #3. Fortunately, Jonathan Hickman's turn at bat has proven a much better experience than any previous issue, and it's mostly because the actual conflict is in the background.

A few panels here and there are dedicated to giving the readers a little overview of where all the troops are for both sides. Fights have broken out on Wundagore Mountain, Tabula Rasa, in Wakanda and Latveria, and even into the Savage Land. The beginnings of these bouts are explained throughout various tie-in issues over the Marvel imprint. Uncanny X-Men #12 shows how Namor and Sunspot got to Tabula Rasa to fight the Thing and Luke Cage, etc. Compartmentalizing these fights has given Hickman more room to flesh ou an actual story, which is refreshing.

Last time, Captain America kicked Wolverine out of a Quinjet and into Antarctica. A polar bear skin-clad Logan follows a trail of frozen beer - in a nice moment of humor - to Hope Summers who has come looking for Wolverine, even though last time they met, he tried to kill her. After a little time to herself to comprehend the scope of the alien entity coming to possess her, Hope now understands why everyone is going ape-shit over the Phoenix's return.

While the various fights around the world are going on, Iron Man is attempting to build a Phoenix killer - a weapon with enough cosmic might to take down a god - and Emma Frost psychically uses Toad to interact with Cerebra at the Jean Grey School for Higher Learning in Westchester. This shows not only Cyclops' disrespect for Toad, but also his desperation in technically stealing from Wolverine. Hope recruits Wolverine to help her get to Earth's moon, where she hopes she can connect with the Phoenix and learn to control it before returning to Earth. Seemingly impressed by Hope's logical thought process, Logan comes along for the ride. And then, all hell breaks loose.

The showdown between the Avengers and the X-Men is staged on the moon's surface as Wolverine informed the Avengers to Hope's whereabouts as soon as they met in Antarctica, and Emma was able to find Hope using Toad and Cerebra. Like most situations in this series thus far, this face-off feels forced. On the moon? Seriously? Then Thor crashes down and the Phoenix shows up. Like I said, this issue finally gets some plot going, but it takes us to the moon and that just seems silly.

GRADE:

B-

(COMIC) AVENGERS VS. X-MEN #3 of 12

STORY: Ed Brubaker
ART: John Romita Jr., Scott Hanna

After what amounted to a pissing contest followed by an issue of little-to-no plot, Avengers Vs. X-Men is finally on-track to deliver a cohesive story. Ed Brubaker takes the reigns for issue three, and he does a fantastic job raising the level of discontent between the two warring factions.

Wolverine acts as the audience surrogate, waking up hours after being cooked by Hope Summers at the end of issue two. Spider-Man informs Logan that the X-Men have surrendered and Captain America is trying to get everything in order again. Logan immediately knows something is up and attacks Cyclops, which turns out to be a mystic projection from Magik masquerading as Doctor Strange. This scene is the first of two important ones dedicated to piling on the distrust between the two sides. It's worth mentioning the press release given out by the X-Men's publicist in the pages of Uncanny X-Men #11. In it, Cyclops explains how the Avengers - and the US government, by proxy - considers mutants to be 'less than' even after everything the mutant community has given back to the world, and waxes poetic about being treated like property instead of people. It's a powerful element of this event that I'm quite surprised wasn't included in the main series. Either way, Magik's fake-out serves as a proverbial smack in the face to all the Avengers. Add in an argument between Iron Man and Captain America about the legitimacy of the Avengers' mission, and you've got a great first part of the issue.

The second important scene is between Captain America and Wolverine onboard a Quinjet discussing Logan's rogue behavior on Utopia. Cap believes Logan is too involved, too close to the situation to make rational and logical decisions. Wolverine, on the other hand, knows the Phoenix force better than most and feels he has to do anything in his power to stop it. After a quick fight, Cap orders the jet's cargo doors open and throws Wolverine out. It's quite obvious that the Captain had this planned all along, that he's had a contingency for Wolverine in place for quite some time. Seeing this side of Captain America is a little chilling - he's (only somewhat) turning into a Batman-esque character who has a coordinated plan of attack against any of his fellow Avengers...just in case.

So far, it seems like Brubaker has the best hold on the plot of this series. It's difficult to express discord between friends in a comic in a meaningful way. Fortunately, Avengers Vs. X-Men #3 made up for a lot of the pitfalls I saw in the first two issues. If Marvel can keep the narrative moving as smoothly as the giant, orchestrated fight sequences, this series might just be amazing yet!

GRADE:

A

(COMIC) AVENGERS VS. X-MEN #2 of 12

STORY: Jason Aaron, Brian Michael Bendis, Ed Brubaker, Jonathan Hickman, and Matt Fraction
SCRIPTS: Jason Aaron
ART: John Romita Jr. and Scott Hanna

Marvel has a tendency to misjudge the length of it's major comic book events. 2006's Civil War seemed like a good length at seven issues, but spent the final three mulling around until reaching the final battle and standoff between Captain America and Iron Man that everyone wanted to see anyway. In 2010, Siege was a measly four issues when it should have been a more sprawling epic. And just last year, Fear Itself lasted seven issues, followed by a 12-issue aftermath series - Fear Itself: The Fearless - that only ended last month. Two weeks ago, Marvel proved us that the conflict between the Avengers and X-Men showed promise in terms of storytelling concept and execution. Unfortunately, Avengers Vs. X-Men #2 fails as both a follow-up issue and as a piece of the overall narrative.

I understand that the fundamental focus of AvX is supposed to be the fighting; Marvel has been advertising the hell out of the event on a platform of awesome one-on-one fights that stretch across the imprint. That being said, readers should still get quality storytelling from a premier event with issues at the four dollar price point. And that's where this issue falls flat. An omniscient narrator (I like to think Jason Aaron thinks in the same manner as he writes) explains the brawls happening throughout the issue in opaque and tritely metaphorical ways, attempting to seem dramatic when it only comes off as pretentious.

Now don't get me wrong: the fights are awesome. Colossus vs. Red Hulk; Namor vs. Luke Cage and The Thing; Iron Man vs. Emma Frost and Magneto - these are just a few of the bouts fleshed out in the pages of Avengers Vs. X-Men #2, but they all feel stunted, like there isn't enough space in the issue to fit in all the action. Of course, Marvel knew this going in and planned accordingly with Avengers Vs. X-Men: VS, the all-fight companion series that debuts next week.

Knowing about VS going into this event makes the scant storyline all the more obvious. I couldn't help feeling like a lot of the fighting in the main series could have been relegated to the pages of VS with little consequence. But then Marvel couldn't stretch this (somewhat inane) conflict between these teams out for a exhaustive 12 issues AND sell us the companion series, so...there's that. Hopefully the third issue can make up some time in the narrative department.

GRADE:

C+

(COMIC) AVENGERS VS. X-MEN #1 of 12

STORY: Jason Aaron, Brian Michael Bendis, Ed Brubaker, Jonathan Hickman, and Matt Fraction

SCRIPTS: Brian Michael Bendis
ARTWORK: John Romita Jr. and Scott Hanna

It's finally here: the Marvel event fans have been demanding for years. Avengers Vs. X-Men signifies a major shift in the way Marvel is looking to structure their comic book universe. Pitting it's two most popular franchises against one another is a bold move, one that could make or break Marvel's financial year. If this crossover event isn't a hit, the House of Ideas has some problems.

So it's no surprise when Marvel announced the writer lineup for Avengers Vs. X-Men. All the big names are here to lend a hand, but Brian Michael Bendis takes the reigns with scripts that the others work from. Bendis' style is very prominent, but shades of Jason Aaron, Ed Brubaker, John Hickman and Matt Fraction are evident throughout the book. Similarly, John Romita Jr. has been brought in as the ringer on artwork. Romita Jr. has a very specific style that works for a variety of comic book fans. A few years ago, his work on Eternals and Kick-Ass were simply breathtaking, and he brings the same thick lines, sharp corners and gruff look from those series over to AvX.

Aaron and Bendis have done a fantastic job making Avengers Vs. X-Men attractive to new readers, and it's no coincidence that this crossover event will overlap with the nationwide release of Marvel's summer blockbuster, The Avengers. Unlike many (many) of their events over the past eight years, Marvel didn't release much 'build-up material'; the conflict between the Avengers and X-Men has been organically brewing for years in the pages of Marvel's many titles, and AvX is the natural endgame.

In this seminal first issue, good ol' Nova returns to Earth! Unfortunately, he's brought omens of the returning Phoenix force, the interstellar entity that possessed Jean Grey years ago. Meanwhile, Cyclops is going a little Mommy, Dearest on poor Hope Summers, the supposed 'Mutant Messiah'. After badgering her one too many times, Cyclops gets a face full of Phoenix. Hope's just as surprised as the rest of them before Bendis & Co. take us back to the Avengers (meeting with the President on Capitol Hill) who immediately sense the Phoenix energy signature.

The disagreement between Marvel's two most popular teams boils down to a lack of respect. The Avengers want to take Hope under their custody - especially after Nova's warning - while the X-Men believe that Hope's situation falls under their responsibility as leaders of mutantkind. Both parties have pushed the other around quite a bit in recent Marvel U history, so it makes sense that a fundamental issue like jurisdiction could be the catalyst to a massive conflict.

Being disappointed by Marvel events has left a sour taste in my mouth. Last year's Fear Itself was so lackluster I stopped reading after two months. Even 2010's Siege was half-baked at a measly four-issue main series. Apparently, Marvel took note with Avengers Vs. X-Men, giving readers a perfect-sized 12-issue main run, a six-issue VS. series dedicated to fights, fights, and more fights, as well as multiple tie-ins throughout the imprint.

GRADE:

A