I haven’t read a whole lot of Captain America comics in the past. He has certainly been in a lot if Avenger issues, but I rarely check out his solo issues. He is a good hero, but his villain roster has never been the most interesting. So, it’s about time that I grab one of his collections and it seems to be the final one of the series or at least with this author. It is pretty good, but it does suffer from the issues that I expected in this collection.

New villains who call themselves the Discordians have declared war in the U.S.A. Captain America quickly heads in to stop them, but he doesn’t realize that the villains have the power of the press on their side. A new reporter is running a smear campaign against Captain America and it is working. Captain America considers retiring from the role once and for all. Will he really do this? If he does, then America may be doomed against this new threat!

It is a pretty fun story arc and one of the big factors at play here is the artwork. It looks really good and all of the character models are accurate. It is easy to see what is happening so we don’t miss any part of the fight scenes. Marvel is playing catch up when it comes to artwork thanks to DC’s brilliance and this title certainly helps Marvel’s rep. When Marvel wants too, they can definitely make a great looking comic, they just don’t give it 100% sometimes.

Captain America looks decent here except for the fact that he doubts himself a lot. Seeing the American public turning against him should not face this veteran. Cap’s seen this happen many times in the past and the citizens of this world are always pretty fickle. Especially in Marvel world since they’re always turning against Spiderman. It’s okay not to harm them of course, but rushing through the mob should be all right. Taking out the Discordians is still Captain America’s top priority so that’s what he needs to focus on. I actually do like him as a character, but some authors definitely can’t write him as well as others. I think that this writer has a good handle on the character. The doubting subplot just wasn’t needed.

Baron Zemo appears here, but his role isn’t very flattering for his fans. He looks pretty bad against Agent 13 and it’s like he can’t even fight anymore. The other villains are treating him like an underling and he never gets to betray them. At least he can ponder his mistakes in prison as he plots his next scheme. This is why Captain America’s array of villains are just not that good.

Sharon Carter does look pretty good though as she proves why she’s a more likable character than Black Widow and the Charlie Angels group. She doesn’t use any cheap tricks to complete her missions. She’s just a pro and that’s what counts. She handles a lot of the guards and she outfights Baron Zemo, which is a pretty decent feat in theory. She’s definitely one of the better S.H.I.E.L.D. agents out there. Dum Dum Dugan also gets his hits in as he lands the big blow on the reporter. He is pretty old so it’s always impressive to see him on the front lines.

The actual two villains in the shadows are pretty uninspiring. They barely even deserve a mention since their combined screentime may only be like 5 pages. They go down very quickly to say the least since they aren’t really fighters. The Discordians were a good idea though. They’re like DC’s Manhunters. They can only live for a short while so they try to cause as much mayhem and destruction as possible in that short amount of time. They aren’t really powerful, but their lasers can be dangerous when they manage to land a hit in. I liked their designs and they definitely have some potential. They should be brought back in a future arc since they make good opponents.

After the arc is over, we also get a one shot story to wrap everything up. It’s really just a flashback issue, but the writer was leaving so it was the end of an era. Steve Rogers basically talks to another one of the Captain Americas of the past about how tough it is to keep up the mantle and how someone will always be ready to replace them. He wants the past one to finally move on and enjoy his life. It’s a rather emotional issue and it’s a pretty good one. There aren’t a lot of fights and plot progression of course, but it’s still a good story.

In a world where dozens of superheroes are around at any given point in time, authors really need to make sure to reference this so that I can’t ask why the other heroes aren’t helping out. Well, Captain America mentions that the other Avengers are helping off screen at one point so I can live with that. There are thousands of Discordians attacking around the world so it’s totally plausible that we wouldn’t actually see the other Avengers even if they were helping out. It was just a quick mention, but I’m definitely glad that the line was included since you would think that the other heroes would want to fend off the alien invasion.

There is one part about the plot that is rather sketchy though. The villain is using the TV show to get to the public, but why doesn’t S.H.I.E.L.D. just jam the signal. They go to the source to stop the reporter, but they must have some great hackers or meta humans who could have done the job that way. The plan just didn’t seem like Hydra’s best one and it’s hard to really see it working. It’s a little embarrassing for the normal people since they lose their will so quickly. They never were the strongest guys in the lot, but I still expect a lot more out of them. Ah well, it’s a minor plot detail that won’t actually hurt the collection. It’s just something to think about.

Overall, Captain America is a pretty good topic. I do think that it should have a sub title on the cover or some other way to uniquely identify it from the other Captain America comics. Trying to find this one online would likely be difficult. There are no real good villains to be found here aside from the Discordians…and they are only minions. That’s why all of the pressure was on the plot and it came through. This arc was not Earth shattering, but it was very fun and I could read it again. That’s definitely a big plus for the graphic novel and it’s the main reason why I give it a 7. There’s just something about this arc that makes it easy to read. I definitely recommend it to any Marvel fan and especially to those who want to read about Captain America.

Overall 7/10