Marvel brings back the Sentinel of Liberty, but something’s not quite right.
Creative Staff:
Writer: Nick Spencer
Artist: Jesus Saiz
Variant Cover Artists: Steve Epting, Jim Steranko, Paul Renaud, Jeffrey Veregge, and Skottie Young
Letters: VC’s Joe Caramagna
What They Say:
While Fighting his way through S.H.I.E.L.D.’s reality-bending small-town super prison, Pleasant Hill, an aged and de-powered Steve Rogers was returned to fighting form by a sentient Cosmic Cube named Kobik. Sam Wilson, the current Captain America, offered to share the title- – and with the Red Skull, Baron Zemo, and Kobik all at large after the collapse of Pleasant Hill, the world needs two Captain Americas more than ever.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
This is a very politically charged comic. I’ll warn you right here at the beginning. The decision to bring Steve back as Captain America probably made lots of people (such as myself) quite happy. This issue throws us an insanely odd curveball however. The book does a great thing by showing us Steve’s upbringing as a kid, and it shows a scene many might miss the first time that comes into play at the end. Captain America has always been a man who stood by what he believed in, and he stood for the American ideal. Now, however, it’s very unclear what Steve stands for. Steve Rogers is an agent of Hydra. This little fact is hinted at in a flashback where his mother is handed a recruitment paper from some sect of Hydra. Presumably, Steve wound up involved as well. Steve Rogers is a Hydra double agent. With that detail out, lets get to where the issue seems to focus its time.
The first thing to talk about is the very political sounding speeches given by the Red Skull as he attempts to form a new Hydra. His speeches cover topics that are very big this election year. For example, when the Red Skull described the refugee situation he saw in Europe, he says, “It was an invading army. These so-called “refugees”–Millions of them–Marching across the continent, bringing their fanatical beliefs and their crime with them. They attack our women and bomb our cities.” This, very clearly is Spencer giving rhetoric on the language being flung around when talk of refugees comes up. The fear mongering politicians who seek to force out and ban refugees are given voice through the Red Skull here, and as eloquently as the Red Skull speaks, it’s downright frightening to read his words and even think of a real politician saying these things, let alone it actually being reality.
The Red Skull actually is one of the best characters in the issue though. He’s possibly the most well spoken character in this issue, and his rhetoric comes off as a mix of Lenin’s Communism and current day political fear mongering. He uses the refugee situation as a way to imply that the current government sucks at its job, and that a revolution is in order so that it can be replaced with those who will not be as soft on refugees. The Red Skull ends up being a sadly fantastic analogue to current day politicians like Donald Trump. Even so, Spencer’s politically charged writing ends up serving the Red Skull well, and he’s probably one of the best parts of the issue.
The other part that springs up is Skull’s opposition, Baron Helmut Zemo. Far from being the Sokovian terrorist who wanted to split the Avengers like in the movies, Zemo is back to oppose the Red Skull’s version of Hydra. Zemo espouses how he was the one responsible for the creation of Hydra, and that the Skull’s attempts at reforming his version are an insult. Zemo claims to rebuild and represent a pure version of Hydra that will be the better of them. Zemo acts as sort of a political opponent to Skull, calling Shmidt’s version of Hydra “Some street gang of poorly-educated layabouts” and Spencer infuses a bit of what I assume is Ted Cruz rhetoric in Zemo’s words when Zemo claims that Hydra belongs to him by “divine right”. Baron Zemo’s talk of a pure version of Hydra also infuses some classism into the comic. Zemo clearly looks down upon the people Red Skull has gathered for his new Hydra, and he sees those recruits as people who are clearly far below Hydra’s standards.
It’s a very powerful thing here, as we see some big issues that have come out recently given voice by these two villains. Red Skull seems to have been given the voice of the fear monger, inciting followers to action by talking about the “horrors” he’s seen, and what could happen if they don’t act now. Zemo has been given the voice of the superior or those who claim to have the moral ground. Zemo thinks, unlike Skull, that Hydra should be held to a higher standard, and that its goal is a perfect world under its rule rather than Skull’s idea of revolution. Obviously, the two villains butting heads in an important part of the issue, and for those in tune with the current political proceeding or those who want to focus on something that is not Steve being a Hydra agent, its the best part of the book. Steve himself really isn’t that great. He does what he used to as Cap, but he encounters far more trouble than usual, and the reveal of him being a traitor is really more confusing than anything else. Sharon…Well, there isn’t much to say about Sharon Carter here. Obviously, the best part of this issue is Zemo and Skull and their differing ideologies. So if you’re looking for excellent villains, here’s a good comic for you. If not, then you may want to look elsewhere. The art is pretty good, especially during the scenes where Zemo and Skull give their speeches. The story by Spencer flows well, and his political acumen is very evident in this.
In Summary:
Wow. What a bomb to drop here. this issue would seem to imply that there are 3 versions of Hydra competing. We have Zemo’s pure vision of Hydra, Red Skull’s revolutionary Hydra, and now possibly Steve Rogers’ idealized version of Hydra. The implication that Steve has been involved with Hydra since before WWII and Project Rebirth suggest that while Cap is taking issue with these current forms of Hydra, he’s still loyal to the idealized form of Hyrda he’s been internalized with since his youth. I wouldn’t agree that this turns Cap into a Nazi, but it does change things. Steve’s vision of how the US should work, going all the way back, is shaped by the things he heard at these Hydra meetings. His character was molded by Hydra ideals (or at least the New York version of them), and its what he knows. This changes things up considerably when we get into asking other questions. How did Steve keep this secret for so long? Why choose to reveal your loyalty now? What vision of Hydra does Steve have that puts him at odds with Zemo and Skull? It seems to me that Steve’s loyalty is to the ideals that Hydra had, the extreme patriotism and love for one’s country. Where will this go from here? Will there be a Hydra War? The wo best things here were Zemo and Skull, and I think a better title for this comic would have been HYDRA, but that’s just me. If you’re interested, like me, in seeing how things develop, pick it up now.
Grade: B+
Released By: Marvel Comics
Release Date: May 25, 2016
MSRP: $4.99
