Captain America: Two Americas

My Captain America re-read continues with "Two Americas" by Brubaker, Ross, Guice, & Magyar. Another good outing of Cap Bucky and the Falcon as they go up against the insane Captain America from the 1950's who replaced Steve while he was in deep freeze and believed to be dead. This Cap is completely bonkers and teams up with the Watchdogs to "teach America a lesson." The first lesson is blowing up the Hoover Dam. Good stuff from Marvel. Highly recommended.

Much like Wally West had solidified his spot as the preeminent Flash - before Barry Allen came back from the dead and supplanted him - I contend that James Buchanan Barnes has been more than serviceable in holding down the Captain America role. Except that now Steve Rogers is back - and never mind the awfully contrived manner he's brought back - and so the big question is will the original Sentinel of Liberty take back the shield or will Bucky stay on? The one-shot CAPTAIN AMERICA: WHO WILL WIELD THE SHIELD? - collected here in CAPTAIN AMERICA: TWO AMERICAS - settles that conundrum. This trade also reprints issues #602-605 of the ongoing CAPTAIN AMERICA comic book. And, okay, let me just SPOILERIZE it for those who don't yet know - in an unexpected twist, or at least I didn't expect it - Steve and Bucky have a heart to heart after stomping Mr. Hyde, and Steve convinces Bucky to stay on as Cap. But Steve has an ulterior motive for this. Jackson "Butch" Guice handles the artwork wonderfully in this one-shot, except for a few panels in which he draws Steve Rogers in a really ill-fitting suit. You'd think a living legend would score a better tailor.With Bucky firmly established as the Captain America (for however long it lasts), writer Ed Brubaker gets right into the four-part "Two Americas" arc. I've loved everything about this series since Brubaker took over, but I'll just go ahead and say it: "Two Americas" is my least favorite arc so far in Brubaker's run. I think it's because militant/white supremacy stuff has always left me cold.Brubaker picks up a plot thread he'd left dangling some years ago as we catch up to William Burnside, the deranged 1950s Captain America who reawakened to an America he doesn't recognize and is definitely not down with. He and Bucky got into it a while ago, with Burnside eventually slipping away. We learn that Crazy Cap has returned to his hometown of Boise, Idaho and gotten hooked up with the Watchdogs, a right-wing militia which looks all askance at the current American government. And, sure as crew cut haircuts, a despicable plot straight out of the textbook of "I Really, Really Hate Melting Pots" is hatched.Bucky and the Falcon, getting wind of this, attempt to infiltrate the Watchdogs, and how they go about this demonstrates that Bucky isn't exactly what you'd call a brilliant strategist. It doesn't take too long for his plan to fall apart."Two Americas" is a by-the-numbers story, and that doesn't help. I got a kick out of the "tax man" bar scene, which is how Bucky gets an in with Crazy Cap's militia, but at the same time I felt let down by the uninventiveness of it. On the positive side, Bucky and the Black Widow are still going strong. I really enjoy how Brubaker portrays the interactions between Bucky and the Falcon. They've developed a tight bond in a short period of time, and it's worth reflecting on Sam Wilson's long-established sidekick turn with Steve Rogers versus his more of an equal footing relationship with Bucky. If anything, the Falcon acts like the mentor/big brother to Bucky.Artist Luke Ross is no Steve Epting, but I like his gritty pencils and his style is somehow reminiscent of Epting and Mike Perkins' work. Butch Guice is solid inking Ross's stuff. The art dynamically showcases the Falcon in action, and in fact the Falcon, even when rendered flightless, gets busy with the fight fight even more so than Cap. Cap barely gets a chance to throw in his two cents, fist-in-the-face-wise. However, "Two Americas" concludes with a frantic Cap having to make one of them hard decisions. But it's not a hard decision at all for me to rate this one 3 stars out of 5.

Well, great may be a bit strong, but if you are a fan of the Ed Brubaker story arc, then you'll want to continue your reading through this volume. There is some strong character development for Steve and Bucky as they face off against bad Cap (fifties Cap, it's a long story if you don't already know it). I read this issue primarily to get current so I could read the Siege stories without hitting any plot spoilers. It isn't as good as the volumes collected in the omnibus but it would be hard to top that.

I highly recommend this book, the whole thunderbolts series, and anything involving them, just all around great stories and artwork

Great story very well done. An awesome edition to the cap story. Great for Steve rogers and James (Bucky) barnes fans. If you read reborn you should know that Steve rogers is back. This graphic novel is the start to a great story of who will be the true captain America now that there are two.

The is not involved and there are no twists. It is just like watching a short series on television. The story was a fairly good read.

I really enjoyed this book, it was a great wrap up to the other story lines in the cap series. I also love how the author delt with the "bad" Captain America, a storyline which had been in and out of the main storyline.

I loved Cap and the Winter Soldier, Death of Cap and Cap reborn. This one, however, was not my favorite. I expected it to be more Bucky and Steve (the two "Americas"), not Bucky and psychotic Cap. The subsequent "Trial of Cap" was great, though.

2 Americas? Bucky and Steve?Nope.Bucky and 50's Cap who nobody cares about.The writing is great, the plot is alright and the art is consistently good.Some interesting points and a few lessons learned for Bucky, but I'm gonna call this one a 'filler episode'

Great thanks

C'était sensationnel de voir cette série continuer pendant la disparition du personnage phare (mais je n'en dirai pas plus pour éviter les spoilers), je vous conseille donc absolument de lire au moins les 50 premiers numéros de la série scénarisée par Ed Brubaker assisté par Steve Epting au dessin. Ici on a toujours droit à Ed Brubaker, Steve Epting a quitté la série, c'est son remplaçant intermittent qui prend le relais ici : Luke Ross. Qui je me souviens s'était bien débrouillé dans Captain America #10 (ou #9), ici ces numéros ne lui rendent pas hommage, la mise en scène non plus.Il n'y a pas grand chose à dire au niveau du scénario de Who will wield the shield. Ce numéro raconte juste comment Steve Roger et Bucky Barnes décident qui va continuer à être Captain America.Après dans ce tome se trouvent les numéros #602-605 de la série Captain America avec l'arc: Two Americas. Dans cet arc Captain America (Bucky Barnes) est mis sur la piste d'un Captain America de remplacement des années 50 (William Burnside) qui a mal tourné, suite à l'usage de produits chimiques pour lui donner ses pouvoirs. Bucky l'a déjà affronté dans les épisodes précédents, je ne me souviens plus à quel moment exactement, celui-ci lui avait échappé. Dans sa quête Bucky va être accompagné du Faucon (Sam Wilson). L'histoire sera sans grande surprise, quand à elle. Le seul élément qui aurait pu être intéressant c'est que l'auteur se penche un peu plus sur ce mouvement (dont le leader est le faux Captain America) de gens déçus des Etats Unis frappé par la crise économique, chose qu'il ne fait pas il les considère juste comme des terroristes. Le seul moment où il creuse à peine c'est dans l'affrontement final entre Bucky Barnes et ce faux Captain America qui est un peu émouvant, à ce moment là on se dit que ça aurait pu être Bucky Barnes à sa place.Bref les personnages ne sont pas travaillés, c'est juste une histoire comme une autre sans relief particulierCe recueil est donc plutôt bof comparé au reste de la série, on pourrait presque s'en passer sauf si l'on est un grand fan de la série.Le recueil est en couverture dur type cuir avec une jaquette papier par dessus. Il y a toutes les couvertures incluses et les couvertures alternatives aussi dans ce livre.

Dans ce recueil de transition, Brubaker poursuit la remise en selle en douceur de Steve Rogers, affirme la légitimité de Bucky et traite le cas de William Burnside. Rogers, encore convalescent et qui avant de renaître était dans des limbes qui lui ont permis de revivre son passé mais aussi d'apercevoir des éléments de son futur, est appelé par le président des USA. La scène est intéressante. Il est à noter que, depuis un épisode fameux de Spider-Man ( Spider-man: Election Day ), Marvel a décidé qu'il s'agissait de Barack Obama et non pas d'un président de fiction. Obama ne s'en trouve pas moins embarqué dans un pays placé sous la coupe réglée de Norman Osborn. Bucky, évidemment, veut arrêter d'apparaître en Captain America mais Rogers adoube le chef des Vengeurs et nouveau compagnon de route du Faucon. Autre scène intéressante de cet ouvrage. Reste Burnside, un fan du Captain America de la seconde guerre mondiale, qui a poussé le cosplay très loin puisqu'il a apparemment reçu un ersatz du sérum de super soldat. Sauf que la formule, défectueuse, a gravement altéré sa capacité de jugement. A l'ère de la montée en puissance du Tea Party (et de groupes de pensée bien moins fanatiques de débat démocratique), Burnside prend la tête d'un groupe paramilitaire avec le projet de réveiller les USA. Ceci échappe apparemment à la vigilance du H.A.M.M.E.R. mais pas à celle de Nick Fury. Rogers étant appelé à d'autres missions (cf. le crossover "Siège"), il revient à Bucky et au Faucon de s'occuper de cette menace. Avec certes peu de finesse pour la présentation du complot de Burnside et de ses sbires, mais un talent intact en matière de suspence, Brubaker "fait le boulot" et ses dessinateurs en font de même. Spider-man: Election Day

Reflects the essence of Captain America.