How do you end one of the truly great story arcs in comics history? If you're Ed Brubaker and Steve Epting, you ride the wave into a truly climactic ending, like the end of Beethoven's 9th Symphony or the Death Star scene. Big, bad, good, and evil. The kind of ending that makes you stifle a tear.

Brubaker is a genius, but I would like to credit Epting first. He has somehow captured everyone in the Captain America universe - from Red Skull to Zola, Black Widow to Bucky - in a way that is distinct, but consistent. Action scenes are somehow plausible, even when the text says they shouldn't be. At one point, Bucky jumps in front of a surface-to-air missile to deflect it using his (Cap's) shield. Physics says this should look terrible. Epting says it looks glorious.

Now, back to the plot. How Brubaker wrapped up the entire storyline yet left us wanting more I still can't fathom. Sharon - recent miscarriage and the guilt of having killed Steve. Sin - incapacitated and captured. Senator Wright - forced to quit the presidential race and resign. And the three that will take us forward for a long, long time.

1. Red Skull - horrifyingly trapped in Zola's robot body (and in obvious panic)!
2. Replacement Cap - lost in an era he just doesn't understand.
3. Bucky - now, without a doubt, Captain America.

Really, this story was about making James Buchanan Barnes into Captain America. His evolution was gradual, but by the end of this tale, he is a believable Cap. I am excited to see what his future will bring, but I have confidence as well. The Death of Captain America, Act 3 is exactly what a super-hero comic should be. I don't expect to see anything this good for quite a while. And that's OK with me.