Captain America #12 Review
- Details
- Published on Tuesday, 29 May 2012 10:00
- Written by Rokk
- Hits: 1075
I have loved Brubaker's Captain America since the very first issue of this run. However, ever since Steve Rogers returned it seems that Brubaker has lost much of his momentum on this title. In fact, Captain America is no longer one of my immediate must read titles of the month. So, I figured it was time to review an issue of Captain America to see if Brubaker had gotten this title firing on all cylinders once again. Let's hit it.
Creative Team
Writer: Ed Brubaker
Art: Patch Zircher
Colors: Paul Mounts
Story Rating: 7 Night Girls out of 10
Art Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 7.5 Night Girls out of 10
Synopsis: We see Henry Gyrich talking with Scourge about how Scourge is doing a good job doing the dirty works that "heroes" won't do. Henry says that the system is broken and that it is time to show the world what "true justice" looks like.
We zip over to Captain America visiting Diamondback in the hospital. She is in a coma from the beating that Scourge gave her last issue. Steve is beyond upset.
We then cut to Captain America and Dum Dum Dugan break into a secret Hydra bas in the subway system. After beating up a crap ton of Hydra agents, Cap finds video footage of Henry Gyrich being brainwashed by Hydra. Cap discovers that Scourge is working with Henry and that Henry is the mole feeding Hydra information.
We then shift to Scourge attacking the Rattler. Scourge kills him. Scourge then removes his mask and we see that Scourge is really Demolition Man. D-Man says 'Dammit Gyrich. What've you done to me?" End of issue.
Commentary:
The Good: Captain America #12 was a solid read. Brubaker dials up plenty of entertaining action scenes in this issue. Action fans will be happy with the amount of Hydra ass that Cap and Dum Dum kick as well as the rather one-sided fight scene between Scourge and Rattler.
This issue also has some solid plot progression. The pacing is just right as Brubaker avoid his usual decompressed slow burn method. This issue moves along with a bit more of a sense of urgency and purpose than most Brubaker penned reads. This issue is a dense read and Brubaker has multiple plot-lines running at the same time. It is always enjoyable to peel back the layers to Brubaker's stories and this issue is no exception.
As always, Brubaker delivers strong character work. The interaction between the characters is fantastic. The strong dialogue combined with the nicely fleshed out characters is the recipe for the usual wonderful chemistry between the characters that Brubaker is known for. The scene with Cap in the hospital was well played. His feelings of anger and fear concerning Diamondback's condition was palpable. This was nicely continued in the next scene as Cap fueled that rage into beating down the Hydra agents. The amount of emotion that Brubaker injects into this issue helps to pulls the reader deeply into the story and captivate their attention.
I love the mid-1980's Captain America stories starring Diamondback. I always thought that Steve and Diamondback made for a good fighting team and for a good romantic couple. I am one of the rare fans who has just not warmed up to the current Steve and Sharon Carter relationship. At any rate, once again, Brubaker demonstrates his impressive knowledge of Captain America's continuity and pulls in yet another supporting character with ties to Captain America. Hopefully, Diamondback will make a recovery and play a more active role in this story. I would imagine that Brubaker would be able to write one hell of a Diamondback.
The ending to Captain America #12 was fantastic. I loved the surprise of Scourge being revealed to be none other than Demolition Man. Again, Brubaker knows Cap's continuity backwards and forwards and never fails to come up with some wild and delightful surprises. Brubaker has already shown with his handling of Bucky that he knows how to write troubled characters who have been turned into killers via mind control. Scourge is no exception. I like this character a lot and I am curious to see where Brubaker goes from here.
Patch Zircher's artwork is well done. His darker, grittier and more real world styled art if a perfect match for Brubaker's Captain America. Zircher is able to deliver the proper tone and mood to the story much like the artists who have come before him during Brubaker's run on this title. Brubaker's Captain America has a distinct style and it requires an artist like Zircher to properly pull it off. Zircher deserves credit for being able to effectively deliver emotional character heavy scenes as well as cranking out some fine looking action panels.
The Bad: While Captain America #12 was an enjoyable read, it simply does not stack up to Brubaker's previous work on this title. The extra special sense of excitement and the incredible creativeness and originality seems to be wearing thin.
The reader has a hard time shaking the feeling that Brubaker is simply putting his own spin on concepts and plots that we have already seen on this title numerous times. Brubaker's run before Captain America Reborn was like designing a gorgeous and amazing car like an Aston Martin while his current run continues to feel like more of a Ford Fusion. It is a nice car, but you can't shake the feeling that you have already seen it elsewhere before.
Much of this issue had a re-hashed feel to it. And Brubaker is not only re-hashing from runs prior to his own, but is now simply re-mixing themes and plot-lines from earlier in his own run. Despite my enjoyment of the Scourge/Demolition Man scenes it still seems like I am just getting Winter Soldier/Bucky all over again. Too be fair, Brubaker has been writing this title since January of 2005. That is 7 1/2 years! That is an insanely long time on one title for any writer. And eventually the well is going to begin to run dry.
Overall: Captain America #12 was another solid read. If you have not given this title a try then now is the perfect time to hop aboard this title. This issue delivers an enjoyable blend of action, adventure, mystery and drama all wrapped up in some good looking artwork.
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Rokk began his little Blogger blog known as Rokk's Comic Book Revolution on January 24, 2006. One wife and two little boys later he is now the Editor In Chief of the Comic Book Revolution and works with some great fellow comic book fanatics. You can keep up with Rokk and his musings through various formats.
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Captain America