Comic Review: Captain America: Reborn #2

Captain America: Reborn #2
Written By: Ed Brubaker
Illustrated By: Bryan Hitch & Butch Guice

Somebody pulled a Quantum Leap move on me, and that person is Ed Brubaker.

The physics of Time Traveling is a concept I wouldn't touch for the life of me, especially when it concerns comic book history. After reading the final pages of Captain America:Reborn #1 last month, I was left with a gaping, open mouth and an expression of "What The Heck just happened"? Is it really hard to bring Steve Rogers back from the grave in a convincing manner? Sure, the guy's been frozen, paralyzed, thrust into a parallel world, and shot in the gut with a fake gun, but how difficult is it to make a comeback from the grave without creating a paradox in time? Brubaker is really testing the waters here, but after the events of issue #2, I'm even more curious where things lead to, and the whole event's got me hooked like a fish asking for more bait.

Discovering that he's reliving events of his past life, Steve Rogers, the original Captain America, knows something is amiss, but all he can do is watch events go by as they are, stuck in a limbo that circulates around pivotal moments in his history. After securing evidence that Cap may not have truly died, his allies search for a way to bring him back, not knowing that Norman Osborn has made his move and has plans of his own for America's Fallen Son. Meanwhile, the new Captain America and Black Widow search for clues inside a H.A.M.M.E.R helicarrier, not knowing that they are walking into a world of trouble, which could make things more complicated for Steve's resurrection.

As a fan of Captain America going down the line for as long as 20 years, I can't lie that I'm enthusiastic about his return. However, as I pointed out in my review of the first issue, I find the execution of this return a wee bit weird and confusing. Using the concept of Time Travel is a convenient means of seeing someone restored to proper form, and its been done before, but I couldn't imagine it happening to Cap. He's a linear kind of hero who was already placed in suspended animation to begin with and he was killed off through conventional means, so why time travel? I guess Brubaker has plans for this angle, but it feels so much like a Back To the Future/ Quantum Leap setup coupled with a Lost episode. I may not be comfortable about things, but I'm still curious to read about it.

Surprisingly, issue #2 reads more like a Brubaker book this time around. It's probably best to label it as "where things pick up and get interesting". The latter fact is debatable among fans, but personally it got me glued and I enjoyed this issue a whole lot more than the previous one. Steve's plight in time is understandable, and who wouldn't have thoughts like that when you're reliving moments of your past you desperately wanted to change if you could? It's torture in itself, and something far worse than being a man out of time. His allies don't do much except search for clues, but the book does show a fight scene involving New Cap and Black Widow versus Osborn's Avengers and H.A.M.M.E.R agents. As a fan of Buck Cap, I hope he gets a more prominent role in the next few issues. Otherwise, he'll be more of a placeholder that's kept around until Steve returns. As far as the villains go, we see how much of a bastard Norman Osborn can be. Outside being the Green Goblin or Iron Patriot, this cold-hearted genius is still as dangerous as ever, and he'll do anthing and everything to get what he wants.

The plot still feels iffy, but the action and storytelling are well placed. Sometimes, I have a hard time distinguishing this as a regular Cap book since Bryan Hitch is doing the pencils along with Butch Guice. Hitch's take of Cap is so Ultimates, and even his cover to the books is a widespread artpiece reminiscent of that title, so anyone who has read those books will be having that sense of deja vu again. I do enjoy the art, but I can't help feeling its a bit out of place in the regular Marvel timeline. Nevertheless, I'm sold to see this miniseries to its end, just to see how Steve Rogers comes back to Earth-616 with mind, body, and soul intact. One can't help but reflect what's happened before they decided on pushing this event though, and given what has transpired in the past few years since his death, I have mixed feelings about Reborn as a whole.

If a comic book character is killed off, he or she SHOULD STAY dead, but we all know this won't last in the long run. This rule applies, of course, to Steve Rogers, the World War II Super Soldier who transformed into the living heroic symbol of America known as Captain America. When Marvel successfully orchestrated his death in Captain America #25 back in early 2007, we've seen a plethora of great tales told by Ed Brubaker, the mastermind writer behind the diabolical assassination. I, like many, was devastated by the loss, but I knew he'd eventually come back anyway, so heck, I'll enjoy the storyline for all it's worth and see how the entire superhero community reacted to the sad news. It was successful: shockwaves were felt across the Marvel community and every title reflected on his passing. If Captain America's death had one profound effect on the Marvel Universe and its fan base, it made us want to buy the title again and read up on who'd continue his legacy. That responsibility inevitably fell to his resurrected sidekick, Bucky, and as the new Cap, he's done a fantastic job carrying the mantle "in his own way" (wielding the shield with a new costume, accompanied by conventional weaponry). Now, all of this hard work for two and a half years will be shelved off, because guess what, it's time to bring back the symbol of freedom. We won't know how until the next three issues come out, so until then, am I feeling excited? Not really. Am I ready? Well, bring it on.

Score - 7/10