Captain America #23

[cyberghostface]

Comments

[thanekos]

The best case scenario for any new development in a long-existing Big Two superhero comics character - a future run makes an above-average story out of reverting that development.

[scorntx]

What about building on that development in an engaging fashion, while still being respectful to the original writer's intent?
(With the proviso that the development is not terrible in some way.)

[zachbeacon]

Sure, like when Fabian Nicieza took over Thunderbolts for Kurt Busiek or ...

...I'm sorry, the most recent thing I can think of is from 20 years ago. I guess Bendis and Brubaker were on the same page RE Daredevil 15 years ago.

Granted sometimes a sharp turn is really satisfying. The Jeff Parker Rulk run was just a series of excuses to watch Ross get beat up after he spent the entire Jeph Loeb being invincible and insufferable.

[cyberghostface]

With Daredevil Bendis wanted to end it with Matt going to prison but didn’t want to dump something like that in Brubaker’s lap to clean up. But when they had lunch together Brubaker suggested that Matt should go to jail and Bendis got excited and told him his plan. I think Brubaker would have had the prison happen later on but the two were able to coordinate it together.

[zachbeacon]

Yep, that was exactly the thing I was thinking off. Bendis didn't want to write the next guy into a corner* so but it turned out that Brubaker was on the same page. Every other modern DD writer has been a drastic change from the person before them (including the Smith run that took everything Kesel built and burned it to the ground).

*Which is funny because he used to joke about how, if he ever left Ultimate Spider-Man, he'd do exactly that. Granted the context made it seem like he might have been poking fun at Stan Lee (who left Peter with extra arms) and/or Robert Kirkman (who REALLY wanted his job at the time). Plus he never actually left Ultimate Spider-Man.

In any case *looks at how he left the X-Men and what he's done with Superman* Bendis seems to have changed his mind.

[mazway_75]

Compare to Waid ending his run with a good thing of Matt out and about with his identity public, a good twist on the character...and then Soule has everyone forgetting it and Matt a D.A.

[lordultimus]

Well it's about time.

[silverhammerman]

Sure, why not? It seems like a bit of a shame, since Sharon Carter's never really caught on as a major character outside of Captain America (just look at her complete failure to catch on in the MCU) so this is a change which could have pretty easily stuck and makes her something other than an interchangeable superspy lady, but I guess that's the nature of the game.

Really though, what the hell happened to this book that Ta-Nehisi Coates of all people is doing continuity clean up? At least with Black Panther it's clear that Intergalactic Empire of Wakanda will read better in trade, but Coates' Captain America seems to have been a non-starter almost from day one. After that first surge of interest it completely vanished from the critical conversation around Marvel's books, even with seemingly major developments like bringing back Peggy Carter. Captain America really feels like the clearest indication that Coates' comics writing career has more or less flamed out.

[beyondthefringe]

It doesn't help that Coates' run has been glacially slow, even with the pandemic interrupting it, and has no real defining -story- to speak of. Cap becomes Captain of Nothing, and gets his role back, and the Red Skull is back kinda, and... *shrug*

I can't even tell you exactly what he's trying to say about the character in relation to contemporary society or events. And that's almost criminal for Captain America.

[silverhammerman]

That's what's so frustrating about this book. I remember after the initial announcement there was a palpable sense of "Oh this is gonna be good" given Coates' status as a noted essayist who's written about the nature of America in the past, and especially coming after Waid/Samnee's gorgeous but politically empty "We're all very sorry about Secret Empire" run on the character.

All this excitement and then... nothing. Just a big, wet, burp of a book that seemed to go nowhere. It's astounding that the Captain America run by Ta-Nehisi Coates, TA-NEHISI COATES of all people, is somehow the least notable take on the character in the past decade.

[lbd_nytetrayn]

I'm confused by what's going on at the outset here, and how/if the cover (the main reason I clicked) relates to it.

[super_fly]

Without anything apart from these pages to go by, I'm assuming Sharon, who is of an elderly disposition, is wearing the Iron Patriot armor to be able to participate on a similar level to the younger Steve but has now been restored her youth through Magic, leaving me to wonder what happened to the perfectly good armor

And she's holding the shield on the cover so that you know it's a Captain America comic I guess.

[icon_uk]

I had no idea that was supposed to be Sharon on the cover, I thought it was Chris Evans to be honest....

[lbd_nytetrayn]

Oh, good -- that was my thinking as well.

[deepspaceartist]

Yeah, I get the feeling that Rhodey and Tony are going to be right pissed with Sharon and Shuri for apparently just vaporizing a suit like that.

[beyondthefringe]

She actually borrowed it from Toni Ho, so Toni's the one who gets to be annoyed.

[deepspaceartist]

Really? I could've sworn the 'War Machine repainted' version of Iron Patriot belonged to Rhodey, while Toni had her own unique suit. Ah well, quirk of the art I suppose. (Though no one will convince me that this artist isn't just blatantly drawing the suit seen in Iron Man 3.)

[onsokumaru]

Oh, I saw a preview and thought it was Toni fighting Selene.
Bummer.

[shadowpsykie]

Shuri ships Sharog