Captain America Reborn, Brubaker

"Steve Rogers was Captain America, the world's greatest hero since the days of WWII, a champion for all citizens of the world. One fateful day, the Sentinel of Liberty was struck down - and how the American Dream died that day. But now there may be a way to bring back the world's greatest hero! Collects Captain America #600 and Captain America: Reborn #1-5."







The sad thing about Captain America Reborn is that it was released so close to that other superhero battles through time to return from the dead epic, Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne. They're totally incomparable, mostly because Batman is utterly insane (although CAR takes a good stab at equalling it). The thing that's always great to read Brubaker on Cap for is that he grounds the character in a more recognisable world than most. Here, that's a problem: it's somehow too serious (I hesitate to say Realistic) a setting for a tale about a man unhinged in time, whose fate is controlled by the brain of his worst enemy, in the body of a robot.

When I say that this ends with Captain America (reborn) and his sidekick, (also) Captain America, fighting a giant robot Nazi on the steps of the Lincoln memorial, it's because I want you to understand that this is a pretty crazy book. But it never really embraces that concept. The best 'thrown through time' stories can go anywhere, but this sticks to Cap's life from WWII through to the present - hardly boring, but not actually all that bizarre by the standards of most Marvel comics.

The main thing about Captain America, and the reason why Reborn works less well than Bruce Wayne does, is that he's better as a symbol than an actual character. One of the most interesting things about the Brubaker Captain America books is that Captain America (the person) transitions from a character to an ideal. Cap (the person) is constantly held up as Captain America (the myth), until his death creates a void that is filled by Bucky Barnes, former sidekick and now the new Captain America.

So the previous stories have been the passing of the torch, just as how Batman has Dick Grayson take up the mantle of Bruce Wayne. But what always felt like a place holding for Batman's inevitable return actually felt natural in Captain America. It felt right that Cap's sacrifice should inspire his friend to become more than just a man.

And in undoing that it lessens Bucky's growth. He's no longer the man struggling to fill the shoes of his mentor. He's the other Captain America. The less good one.

Cap should be an ideal, an icon. He works better that way. It's one of the many reasons why Civil War was so ill conceived. Pitting the very spirit of America ( Marvel's Superman, the embodiment of Truth, Justice and the American Way, who inspires all around him to strive harder) against an alcoholic with a metal suit ran into the brick wall that even in a post-9/11 world fans didn't want to support the 'realism' of Iron Man over the 'idealism' of Captain America.

In a war between the humble patriotism of the past and the hardheaded pragmatism of the present, the only side the audience would ever choose is the one that's less like their own. Why ruin your escapist fantasy with a slice of real life?

The story itself is good, and Brubaker has a handle on all of the characters that works well. The opening #600 issue is by far the best part (it features Rikki Barnes!) but nobody draws people fighting giants as well as Bryan Hitch.

This is worth checking out, but try Batman first. That book is AMAZING!

Also Try:
Batman; The Return of Bruce Wayne, Grant Morrison
The Ultimates, Mark Millar
Thunderbolts: The Geat Escape, Jeff Parker