Captain America #176Issue(s): Captain America #176 Review/plot: We see a re-telling of his origin story (The doctor who administers the super serum is again Reinstein and not Erskine, but he doesn't look like Einstein this time). It's worth noting that we get a description of Steve Roger's childhood. He says "Once I was a boy. A skinny, gawky kid, just out of high school - born and raised in Manhattan, so I knew all about the world. Went to the movies a lot, and never missed a newsreel." The flashback goes on to show that Steve is motivated by anger over Nazi actions and a sense of duty and patriotism. Not vengeance or anything like that. I bring this up because this will be ignored as part of a later Cap origin retcon set up by Roy Thomas and completed by Steve Gerber, which will in turn be later retconned back by Roger Stern and John Byrne. Other elements of the origin this time. The scene with the old lady guard taking off her mask to reveal that she's actually a young lady isn't shown, but we do get to see her. And this time it's an injection and Vita-Rays, but no oral component. Anyway, Steve Rogers is now considering giving up being Captain America and hears appeals from his friends Thor, Iron Man, Falcon, Peggy Carter, Sharon Carter, and the Vision, focusing on the glory of battle, altruism, and duty. In the end he is unconvinced and decides to give it up. By itself, this issue may feel like a bit of a cheat since it's like 80% flashback, but taken as part of the larger Secret Empire story, it's a fitting ending. This is a rare case where i actually think that my way of organizing these books may be of some detriment to the story, since this has more impact if it takes place in the immediate aftermath of the previous issue. But on the other hand it's cool to see how the Avengers comic participates in this story, by having Cap show up there in a daze and struggling with his identity, but then forced to put it aside as he deals with the Thanos threat. Then he takes a little time to think about things, is involved in a few other quests, and then finally comes to a decision. Actually, i take it back. It works better this way. So nyaaah! Quality Rating: C+ Chronological Placement Considerations: I originally had this with the rest of my Captain America: Secret Empire trade. However, i realized that wasn't feasible. First, Captain America appears in Avengers #126 immediately after Captain America #175, and he participates in that issue as Cap. He even has similar conversations about being Captain America with Thor and Iron Man in that issue. The more insidious appearance is Marvel Two-In-One #4-5. Here's the situation: Marvel Two-In-One #1 takes place in the aftermath of Marvel Feature #12, which is part of the Thanos War. Avengers #126, which we know happens between Cap #175-176, is also part of the Thanos War. But Cap is still Cap as late as Marvel Two-In-One #4-5. So there's a pretty decent gap between Captain America #175-176. The MCP also places Giant-Size Avengers #1 in that gap, and i follow their lead there. References:
Crossover: N/A Continuity Insert? N My Reprint: N/A Inbound References (9): show 1974 / Box 8 / EiC: Roy Thomas CommentsAs dramatic as this should be, I just found out this is the infamous issue with Iron Man's "solid dick" (yeah it's "straight talk" but still...my guess, he said it to prevent anyone from noticing the nose) Posted by: Ataru320 | October 29, 2017 10:54 AM I was confused by your comment, since Tony doesn't say dick about dick this issue. It looks like what you saw was just photoshopped. Posted by: Mortificator | October 29, 2017 1:12 PM Yeah, it's a fake Photoshop that's been going around for a while where Iron Man says Cap needs some "solid dick". I remember seeing it and immediately identifying it as this issue and getting my copy out to quickly debunk it. He says something like "solid advice", iirc. Posted by: AF | October 29, 2017 2:11 PM Looks like Romita inked that panel of Iron Man. Posted by: VtCG | March 18, 2018 9:10 PM Comments are now closed. |
|||||||||
SuperMegaMonkey home | Comics Chronology home |