Captain America #600 Review

CAPTAIN AMERICA #600
Written by Ed Brubaker, Roger Stern & Mark Waid
Art by Dale Eaglesham, Butch Guice & Luke Ross

Having the extra few days before reviewing this issue has allowed me a rare opportunity to just let a much hyped book, as this 600th issue of Captain America was, to just sit and digest moreso than the typical 'read and review' Wednesday format I typically employ. In some cases, taking the extra time to let a new comic sit can change my opinion on it, much like how subsequent rereadings of Final Crisis did for me.

However, in this case, with the amount of hype and media attention Marvel threw at this issue, even with the downtime, I'm fairly disappointed with what was given to us. The issue is made up of several short stories that all act more like interludes or retrospectives than an actual story. Some were good, like the Patriot/Rikki Barnes segment or the short glimpse of what our villains have been up to and none were outright bad, but none felt important nor did any carry any real weight that could possibly justify the amount of hype for this issue.

I suppose the big news for this issue was the so-called return of Steve Rogers, who does not even appear in the issue nor is it confirmed he is alive. Sharon Carter, who was originally brainwashed into killing Steve, is still having visions/dreams of what she did and her most recent one reveals that she didn't use a normal gun to kill Steve and she's sure he is alive. Yes, something as ridiculous as a magic science gun from Arnim Zola is the big retcon for this death. Marvel should be ashamed of even trying to get media attention for this because I'm honestly embarrassed that such a cliched, well, comic book-like solution was used for such a real and tragic death. With how silly it is, I can't believe this was even picked up on by media. They should have really just waited for Reborn #1 before doing the whole mass media angle.

Verdict - Check It. It's a good issue, but nothing special and hardly worth the amount of attention it's received. It's greatest failing is probably due to not living up to the hype as it's still a solid outing for Brubaker and Co.

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