Captain America #600

Unlike Thor #600, whose JMS story alone gave that issue a 5/5, it was the other few good men that made helped this issue earn the level of excellence that it, its series, and its flagship character’s legacy deserves.

Just like issue #50 before it, the essence of #600 revolves around a man who is not even amongst the living. The issue starts with a wonderful, classy origin recap of Steve Rogers scripted by Paul Dini and illustrated, painted, whatever by Alex Ross. A nice way to start things off – I only wish they’d use it for every Cap issue from here on out.

The first actual story is by none other than Ed Brubaker, the cause of and solution to Steve Rogers’ death. Now, Reborn hub-bub aside, the big storm cloud looming about his part of this issue was the fact that he was going to acknowledge that Rikki Barnes - the Bucky from that thing with Onsalught and some other Earth and ew Jeph Loeb and Rob Liefeld did this no you couldn’t pay me to read this – has been plopped into our world and has been wandering aimlessly for some time. Many believed that this was going to be the one blot in an otherwise outstanding comic, and for good reason. Fortunately, her available pagetime – Rikki and Eli Bradley, aka Patriot had to share the story with other, separate glimpses into other characters’ perspectives – and Brubaker’s smooth operating did not allow for anything to come off too botched; in fact, I’ll admit to being at least a little interested in how she will begin to fit in with this world. If anything gave me a slight instance of dread, it was the plot developments during Sharon’s pages, but I’ll discuss that later.

Rogern Stern’s story about some of Steve’s old flatmates (and girlfriend) was almost a chore to read, but it was nevertheless endearing. (That’s all I want to say on it, really. That and Steve boned a Native-American woman. Nice.)

Of all the bits in here to truly stand out, it is Mark Waid’s story on stuff and things that really hit this one out of the ballpark. From an old brother in arms of Cap’s that was able to snag a photo of him and Cap on Normandy, to an NYPD officer receiving the very badge he gave to Steve, to some spoiled brat losing his potentially perverse empire to a man who is what I’d imagine is what Geoff Johns would looks like if he was stranded on an island with a volleyball for some time. Do I sell this story well? Probably not. But once you read the story itself, you’ll understand that’s not the point.

The issue is capped off by Cap co-creator Joe Simon on how it could be argued Cap was a rip-off and Jack Kirby suffering from mental illnesses - not what I was expecting, but it was nice to read- and a story by Stan Lee and Al Avison that is worth it just for the hilarious Red Skull faces.

So, there you have it. I could mention the brilliance in Norman Osborn’s behalf that reminded me of when Reagan twisted the words of Thomas Paine, or the logistics of why the gun that killed Captain America could also end up being the thing that saves his life, or even why Reborn couldn’t just start with #601 and later, but now’s not the time. This issue is a celebration of the past, the history, and legacy of the greatest superhero of all. An essential for Cap fans, then and now.