Waiting for the Trade – Cap 2 movie review and top 10 list
By Scott Keith on April 10, 2014
So I saw Captain
America: Winter Soldier on Saturday but figuring Sunday was WrestleMania
day and no one here would care I held off writing the review for a couple days.
So as the local comic book reviewer I figured I’d post a review of the film and in honor of the movie’s awesomeness throw in a countdown of the best Captain America trade
paperbacks out there.
America: Winter Soldier on Saturday but figuring Sunday was WrestleMania
day and no one here would care I held off writing the review for a couple days.
So as the local comic book reviewer I figured I’d post a review of the film and in honor of the movie’s awesomeness throw in a countdown of the best Captain America trade
paperbacks out there.
Anyway for once no spoilers below except for mentioning
one of the villains in the movie.
one of the villains in the movie.
The Film Review
I loved it a lot. I might go so far as to say it is the best
of the solo-hero Avengers movies. Certainly the best since the first Iron Man.
of the solo-hero Avengers movies. Certainly the best since the first Iron Man.
First of all the action scenes are among the best in any of
the Avenger films and are the biggest improvement over the first Cap film. Look
I really enjoyed the original Cap movie–I think they absolutely nailed Steve’s
character and his origin was told in just about the best way possible–but the
action scenes felt very by the numbers. They were mostly short and to the point
and in many cases done in montages without any feeling of danger. This film is
all about the hand to hand combat that Cap excels in and all the fight scenes
just feel rougher and more visceral than really any of the Avenger films. So A+
there.
the Avenger films and are the biggest improvement over the first Cap film. Look
I really enjoyed the original Cap movie–I think they absolutely nailed Steve’s
character and his origin was told in just about the best way possible–but the
action scenes felt very by the numbers. They were mostly short and to the point
and in many cases done in montages without any feeling of danger. This film is
all about the hand to hand combat that Cap excels in and all the fight scenes
just feel rougher and more visceral than really any of the Avenger films. So A+
there.
In terms of characters Chris Evans again nails Cap through
and through from his idealism and innate goodness to his ability to inspire
others around him. Falcon was an amazing surprise. In the comics Falcon is
something of a lackluster character but in this film he’s fantastic both as a
badass cool superhero and as a partner to Steve. I also liked the set-up for
Crossbones in this movie, showing through his fighting style the character’s
innate viciousness. Finally Winter Soldier, what a great action movie
performance as he just radiates danger in ever scene he’s in. Overall there
isn’t really a bad performance in this.
and through from his idealism and innate goodness to his ability to inspire
others around him. Falcon was an amazing surprise. In the comics Falcon is
something of a lackluster character but in this film he’s fantastic both as a
badass cool superhero and as a partner to Steve. I also liked the set-up for
Crossbones in this movie, showing through his fighting style the character’s
innate viciousness. Finally Winter Soldier, what a great action movie
performance as he just radiates danger in ever scene he’s in. Overall there
isn’t really a bad performance in this.
The plot: I liked it a lot. Without getting into spoilers I
thought the superhero movie as Bourne style spy thriller really worked. In fact
I enjoyed this more than any of the Bourne films. This is a film with a large
cast of players and a lot of twists and yet everything comes together
seamlessly with the characters staying true to themselves.
thought the superhero movie as Bourne style spy thriller really worked. In fact
I enjoyed this more than any of the Bourne films. This is a film with a large
cast of players and a lot of twists and yet everything comes together
seamlessly with the characters staying true to themselves.
Finally I liked the theme of pitting Cap (and by extension America’s
idealism) against some of the modern security controversies of the day like
drone strikes and the Snowden-NSA scandal. The last Star Trek movie explored some of this stuff too, but I think this
movie does it better with Steve really just eloquently nailing the essence of
why people object to these things.
idealism) against some of the modern security controversies of the day like
drone strikes and the Snowden-NSA scandal. The last Star Trek movie explored some of this stuff too, but I think this
movie does it better with Steve really just eloquently nailing the essence of
why people object to these things.
So overall an absolutely excellent film. Highest possible
recommendation.
recommendation.
And now my list of the 10 Best Captain America trades
10 – Secret Wars
– Yes I know this is a major crossover. But 1) I will always stand by this as
an excellent story—possibly the most fun comics can be, and 2) from a Cap
perspective this is the moment where he was first elected to be the lead hero
of the entire Marvel Universe; a position he’s held in just about every major
crossover since, and 3) the conclusion basically boils down to Cap vs. Doom
with Doom even admitting that of all the heroes–even more than Reed Richards–Cap
is the one he has to be careful of because damn right!
– Yes I know this is a major crossover. But 1) I will always stand by this as
an excellent story—possibly the most fun comics can be, and 2) from a Cap
perspective this is the moment where he was first elected to be the lead hero
of the entire Marvel Universe; a position he’s held in just about every major
crossover since, and 3) the conclusion basically boils down to Cap vs. Doom
with Doom even admitting that of all the heroes–even more than Reed Richards–Cap
is the one he has to be careful of because damn right!
9 – Essential Captain
America
vol. 4 (or if you prefer color Captain
America & Falcon: The Secret Empire) – This is the famous Secret Empire
story that is used to explain the Watergate scandal in the Marvel Universe.
While some of it is dated and there is a weird subplot with Peggy Carter going
on in the background; most of the story still works well. You have to admire
the boldness of Marvel at the time to incorporatie major current events into
one of their stories. The Essential volume will also give you the follow up
story where Cap is so disillusioned he gives up his costume (found in color in Captain America & Falcon: Nomad) which
ends with a fairly famous Red Skull fight. Plus prior to the big Secret Empire plot
you have another fun grand conspiracy involving Yellow Claw that’s worth
reading.
America
vol. 4 (or if you prefer color Captain
America & Falcon: The Secret Empire) – This is the famous Secret Empire
story that is used to explain the Watergate scandal in the Marvel Universe.
While some of it is dated and there is a weird subplot with Peggy Carter going
on in the background; most of the story still works well. You have to admire
the boldness of Marvel at the time to incorporatie major current events into
one of their stories. The Essential volume will also give you the follow up
story where Cap is so disillusioned he gives up his costume (found in color in Captain America & Falcon: Nomad) which
ends with a fairly famous Red Skull fight. Plus prior to the big Secret Empire plot
you have another fun grand conspiracy involving Yellow Claw that’s worth
reading.
8 – Captain America:
Hail Hydra – This was a miniseries released when the first movie came out
written by horror novelist Jonathan Maberry (in fact this comic was so good I
picked up some of his novels and I’d recommend them too). Anyway Maberry crafts
a decades long conspiracy involving Hydra with each chapter taking place in a
different decade (real time) so you have Cap stumbling across it in the 40s,
following up when he wakes up in the 60s, running into it again with Falcon in
the 70s (between the pages of the Essential volume above), then again in the
80s when during Gru’s Cap No More story and finally in the modern era. The
story works fine on its own but is even more fun for the longtime Cap fan to
see how Maberry fits it into the different eras. Hydra’s origins also get a bit
of a retcon but for my money they have never been more effective as villains
than in this story.
Hail Hydra – This was a miniseries released when the first movie came out
written by horror novelist Jonathan Maberry (in fact this comic was so good I
picked up some of his novels and I’d recommend them too). Anyway Maberry crafts
a decades long conspiracy involving Hydra with each chapter taking place in a
different decade (real time) so you have Cap stumbling across it in the 40s,
following up when he wakes up in the 60s, running into it again with Falcon in
the 70s (between the pages of the Essential volume above), then again in the
80s when during Gru’s Cap No More story and finally in the modern era. The
story works fine on its own but is even more fun for the longtime Cap fan to
see how Maberry fits it into the different eras. Hydra’s origins also get a bit
of a retcon but for my money they have never been more effective as villains
than in this story.
7 – Captain America:
Streets of Poison – This is an examples of how doing something different
can sometimes be really effective for a short term story. Here Gru basically
takes Cap’s entire cast and sticks them into Daredevil’s playground as Red
Skull attempts to takeover Kingpin’s territory and the result leads to all
sorts of action and unexpected fights: Cap vs. Bullseye, Cap vs. Daredevil,
Bullseye vs. Crossbones, Black Widow vs. Diamond Back. Just a lot of good stuff
that is surprisingly effective since DD is not usually high on my list of
heroes usually.
Streets of Poison – This is an examples of how doing something different
can sometimes be really effective for a short term story. Here Gru basically
takes Cap’s entire cast and sticks them into Daredevil’s playground as Red
Skull attempts to takeover Kingpin’s territory and the result leads to all
sorts of action and unexpected fights: Cap vs. Bullseye, Cap vs. Daredevil,
Bullseye vs. Crossbones, Black Widow vs. Diamond Back. Just a lot of good stuff
that is surprisingly effective since DD is not usually high on my list of
heroes usually.
6 – Avengers: Under Siege
– Cap is such an integral part of the Avengers I felt at least one Avengers
story should be on this list. This one makes the cut not only because it is one
of the five best Avengers stories ever written but also because at its core it
is a Captain America story. The plot is Baron Zemo Jr. seeks to avenge the
death of his Nazi father at Captain America’s hands years ago and to do
that he hires an army of super villains to take down the Avengers for the
express purpose of getting to Cap and making him suffer. It’s excellent stuff
by Roger Stern, who is a legendary Captain America writer anyway so I’m
counting it as a Cap story.
– Cap is such an integral part of the Avengers I felt at least one Avengers
story should be on this list. This one makes the cut not only because it is one
of the five best Avengers stories ever written but also because at its core it
is a Captain America story. The plot is Baron Zemo Jr. seeks to avenge the
death of his Nazi father at Captain America’s hands years ago and to do
that he hires an army of super villains to take down the Avengers for the
express purpose of getting to Cap and making him suffer. It’s excellent stuff
by Roger Stern, who is a legendary Captain America writer anyway so I’m
counting it as a Cap story.
5 – Essential Captain
America
vol. 1 – This is Stan Lee writing the first Cap solo stories since World
War II. While Cap had already been thawed out in the pages of Avengers this is
where so much of the Cap mythos is created. We have the first appearances of
Cap’s current love interest Agent 13 Sharon Carter and his flashback World War
II love interest Peggy Carter. We have the whole Cap dealing with being a Man
Out of Time and joining SHIELD to find a place in the world that is a big part
of the new movie. We have flashback stories of Cap working with the Howling
Commandos that was in the first movie. We also have the return of the Red Skull
and the first appearances of Batroc the Leaper, MODOK and AIM. More than all
those famous firsts we have two really good stories in here. The first one
involves the first appearance of AIM, which is for my money the best of the
Captain America conspiracy stories. In a real rarity for the time period Stan
Lee crafts this year long story arc where Cap and SHIELD stumble onto this
shadowy group out for world domination. At first referred to only in whispers
as “Them” and “They” the threat and scope of their schemes continues to grow.
And as Cap begins to thwart their plans AIM just keep upping the stakes in the
things they throw at Cap—creating the Super Adaptoid, MODOK and ultimately the
Cosmic Cube. They are also the one who revive the Red Skull as they seek a way
to bring Cap down. Of course the Skull turns on them the first chance he gets and
steals the Cosmic Cube for himself in another famous story. The second big
story that I love in here is Cap vs. the Sleeper robots which is one of the
best examples of Cap facing a big high stakes end of the world type fight where
he is out of his depth power-wise and yet doesn’t slow down for an instant.
America
vol. 1 – This is Stan Lee writing the first Cap solo stories since World
War II. While Cap had already been thawed out in the pages of Avengers this is
where so much of the Cap mythos is created. We have the first appearances of
Cap’s current love interest Agent 13 Sharon Carter and his flashback World War
II love interest Peggy Carter. We have the whole Cap dealing with being a Man
Out of Time and joining SHIELD to find a place in the world that is a big part
of the new movie. We have flashback stories of Cap working with the Howling
Commandos that was in the first movie. We also have the return of the Red Skull
and the first appearances of Batroc the Leaper, MODOK and AIM. More than all
those famous firsts we have two really good stories in here. The first one
involves the first appearance of AIM, which is for my money the best of the
Captain America conspiracy stories. In a real rarity for the time period Stan
Lee crafts this year long story arc where Cap and SHIELD stumble onto this
shadowy group out for world domination. At first referred to only in whispers
as “Them” and “They” the threat and scope of their schemes continues to grow.
And as Cap begins to thwart their plans AIM just keep upping the stakes in the
things they throw at Cap—creating the Super Adaptoid, MODOK and ultimately the
Cosmic Cube. They are also the one who revive the Red Skull as they seek a way
to bring Cap down. Of course the Skull turns on them the first chance he gets and
steals the Cosmic Cube for himself in another famous story. The second big
story that I love in here is Cap vs. the Sleeper robots which is one of the
best examples of Cap facing a big high stakes end of the world type fight where
he is out of his depth power-wise and yet doesn’t slow down for an instant.
4 – Captain America:
Death of the Red Skull – J.M. DeMatteis
had a really strong run on Cap that is often forgotten about because it took
place between Stern and Gru but his stuff is just as good as theirs. This is
best Cap vs. Skull fight of them all. Again almost a full year of story build
as the Red Skull is dying so he enlists his daughter and Baron Zemo to
orchestrate his grand revenge on Cap including kidnapping every civilian Cap
knows and poisoning him to goad Cap into a final battle. This is also the
origin of the Red Skull.
Death of the Red Skull – J.M. DeMatteis
had a really strong run on Cap that is often forgotten about because it took
place between Stern and Gru but his stuff is just as good as theirs. This is
best Cap vs. Skull fight of them all. Again almost a full year of story build
as the Red Skull is dying so he enlists his daughter and Baron Zemo to
orchestrate his grand revenge on Cap including kidnapping every civilian Cap
knows and poisoning him to goad Cap into a final battle. This is also the
origin of the Red Skull.
3 – Captain America:
Winter SoldierUltimate Collection–
So this is the start of Brubaker’s run where he takes an idea that on paper
could have been such an obvious cliché and instead turns it into one of the
most gripping character driven yet action packed stories in Marvel history as
Cap deals with the Bucky’s return from the dead. The art is stunningly
cinematic, the stakes are high and the writing is rich (that Nomad chapter is
hauntingly effective). If you enjoy the new movie grab this one.
Winter SoldierUltimate Collection–
So this is the start of Brubaker’s run where he takes an idea that on paper
could have been such an obvious cliché and instead turns it into one of the
most gripping character driven yet action packed stories in Marvel history as
Cap deals with the Bucky’s return from the dead. The art is stunningly
cinematic, the stakes are high and the writing is rich (that Nomad chapter is
hauntingly effective). If you enjoy the new movie grab this one.
2 – Captain America:
The Captain – (also known at the time as Cap No More). This is probably my
favorite Cap story because it more than any other shows how Cap is more than a
costume, a shield and some superpowers. Rather it is Steve’s strength of
character that makes him Cap. For those who don’t know the government orders
Steve to return to active duty, he refuses so they take his costume and shield and
give it to someone else. We then get almost two years of parallel stories
following Steve and all his former partners as freelance crime fighters while
John (US Agent) Walker
becomes the new Cap. My only quibble with this trade is I wish it started with
issue 327 (Walker’s
first appearance) and not 332 but it is still a masterpiece.
The Captain – (also known at the time as Cap No More). This is probably my
favorite Cap story because it more than any other shows how Cap is more than a
costume, a shield and some superpowers. Rather it is Steve’s strength of
character that makes him Cap. For those who don’t know the government orders
Steve to return to active duty, he refuses so they take his costume and shield and
give it to someone else. We then get almost two years of parallel stories
following Steve and all his former partners as freelance crime fighters while
John (US Agent) Walker
becomes the new Cap. My only quibble with this trade is I wish it started with
issue 327 (Walker’s
first appearance) and not 332 but it is still a masterpiece.
1 – Captain America:
War and Remembrance – I’ve often said if I had to pick just one trade to
explain why Captain America
is my favorite A-list superhero this is the one. And yet it is not even a story in a
traditional sense. It’s just eight issues of Cap by a short-lived creative
team. It doesn’t even have the Red Skull in it. So why is it number 1? First,
Roger Stern gets Steve’s character completely, utterly, perfectly. Secondly, it
is a sample platter of all of Cap’s best beats. Like World War II Cap? We have
the definitive version of Steve’s origin in the past and we have him fighting a
Nazi vampire in the present that is seeking revenge on Cap’s now senior citizen
World War II era teammates. Like traditional superhero action? Cap goes up
against Mr. Hyde and Batroc the Leaper in as good a traditional superhero story
as you will ever read (and what it is also probably Batroc’s defining moment).
Like the “never say die” Cap who fights foes out of his league? He takes on Dragon
Man in this story. Like spy Cap? Well then enjoy Cap and SHIELD taking on
Machine Smith while Cap uncovers some secrets from his origin. Like character
driven stories? Stern creates a real good civilian supporting cast for Cap and
shows the way Cap inspires the man in the street leading to the centerpiece of
this volume when Cap is asked to run for President of the United States.
This is perfection and comics rarely get better than this.
War and Remembrance – I’ve often said if I had to pick just one trade to
explain why Captain America
is my favorite A-list superhero this is the one. And yet it is not even a story in a
traditional sense. It’s just eight issues of Cap by a short-lived creative
team. It doesn’t even have the Red Skull in it. So why is it number 1? First,
Roger Stern gets Steve’s character completely, utterly, perfectly. Secondly, it
is a sample platter of all of Cap’s best beats. Like World War II Cap? We have
the definitive version of Steve’s origin in the past and we have him fighting a
Nazi vampire in the present that is seeking revenge on Cap’s now senior citizen
World War II era teammates. Like traditional superhero action? Cap goes up
against Mr. Hyde and Batroc the Leaper in as good a traditional superhero story
as you will ever read (and what it is also probably Batroc’s defining moment).
Like the “never say die” Cap who fights foes out of his league? He takes on Dragon
Man in this story. Like spy Cap? Well then enjoy Cap and SHIELD taking on
Machine Smith while Cap uncovers some secrets from his origin. Like character
driven stories? Stern creates a real good civilian supporting cast for Cap and
shows the way Cap inspires the man in the street leading to the centerpiece of
this volume when Cap is asked to run for President of the United States.
This is perfection and comics rarely get better than this.
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