Captain America #2
Publisher: Marvel
Story: Ta-Nehisi Coates
Pencils: Lenil Francis Yu
Inks: Gerry Alanguilan & Lenil Francis Yu
Colors: Sunny Gho
Letters: VC’s Joe Caramagna
Cover: Alex Ross
It’s tough being Steve Rogers these days. Hydra took over the world and the guy in charge of all that not only looked exactly like Steve but for all intents and purposes was him. Now he’s attempting to get back to normal after Hydra’s fall and bad Steve aka Supreme Commander is gone but things aren’t that easy for the Sentinel of Liberty. No one trusts him and it’s a pretty hard reality for Steve to wrestle with.
With Ta-Nehisi Coates taking over Captain America’s journey he’s peeled back some layers and is showing a little more to Cap. After everything that has happened in the aftermath of Hydra’s fall we see that Steve’s choice to become a super soldier might have had some selfish motivations as well as him just wanting to serve his country. This small reveal might upset a few but it makes Steve more relatable and even more of a hero in the truest sense of the word. Everyone wants their heroes to be perfect but it’s the imperfections that make them worth sticking around for. Coates also using this army of Nuke super soldiers also has Cap having to admit some harsh things to himself and it’s some intense storytelling told with very little dialogue and great pacing. Actually it’s Coates use of General Ross that brings some of these things to light and there exchanges the past two issues have been a high point of this opening arc. There’s also Sharon Carter who I’m glad still is prominently featured in Steve’s life as his love interest and actually has a strong role in saving him this issue. Though its’ not in the conventional sense, it’s through her dialogue with him that hopefully points Steven in the direction he needs to go in. The cliffhanger has Cap reaching out to yet another classic Marvel character he has a history with and one Coates fans will be happy to see. It also seems as if these two had been planning something before this series even began and I’m actually excited to see how it plays out!
With there being sparse dialogue in the beginning of the issue it allows for Yu and Gho to visually move the story without too much interference in the panels. They show a series of flashes of both Steve’s beginnings and how similar the process is to Nuke’s while hitting the emotional beats almost perfectly. Then we get to see Captain America doing Captain America things while riding a motorcycle which is still one of the coolest things to this longtime fan. The flashbacks to Kobik are haunting and really propel the moody feel of the story.
I still don’t understand why Coates being on Captain America was such a hot button topic or even viewed as something horrible but I’ll go ahead and state that these two issues have been worth every penny and page turn. If Cap is going to get some redemption in the near future then Coates is on his way to restoring one of Marvel’s most beloved heroes back to his former self.
Infinite Speech
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