First things first – Brian Hitch hit the ball out of the park on this issue. I have mentioned before that Steve Epting is my favorite Cap artist (and one of my favorite comic artists period), but Hitch did a beautiful job of integrating all of the characters in this book (especially the Nazi psychopaths and Doom hanging loose in Latveria).

We finally see how the plot for this book matters. It was easy to be frustrated several months ago to find out how quickly Steve Rogers will be returning. The Cap title had done beautifully in the post-Cap era, and rushing Steve back to the land of the living seemed quite cheap. However, we now see how Steve’s loss to the timestream has become a torture to him – causing fatigue to the man who cannot feel fatigue (paraphrasing the Brubaker). The machinations of the villains in this book are painful to the observer, as is the helplessness of Sharon Carter (whose helplessness has become a great device). The little bit of hope coming from the after-Steve crew (Bucky, et al) is tempered by our rising angst. Without wanting to spoil the plot, I am not at this point sure that Steve Rogers will return to the land of the living as the Captain America that we have loved for more than 60 years. Frankly, I don’t know what will happen. I just want to read on.