SPOILER REVIEW: Captain America – Steve Rogers # 2

Hail Hydra! We bring you our spoiler-heavy review for Captain America – Steve Rogers # 2 by Nick Spencer and Jesus Saiz for Marvel Comics.

In this issue we get to see how Steve Rogers becomes a HYDRA agent and it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out who was responsible for dear old Steve to utter two words we thought he would never utter “Hail Hydra”.

SPOILER ALERT

It’s none other than the Red Skull. Yes, the same Red Skull that the Uncanny Avengers have been hunting since the new volume began; the same Red Skull that defiled Charles Xavier’s body and stole his brain to use his mutant powers of telepathy.

So this issue goes to great detail to tell us how Skull managed to “defeat” Captain America and how his “triumphant return” was actually his greatest downfall.

I’m glad I didn’t sharpen my pitchfork with the cliffhanger ending of last issue where Cap had uttered those words. I was about to but then again, it felt like there was something big that we are totally missing just because we jumped to conclusions.

And by jove I was right!

It’s not on the same level of build up as Ed Brubaker but its really up there. Spencer does a slick pay-off while at the same time making his Steve Rogers book touch base with other titles that are being marketed around in both direct and indirect ways. Uncanny Avengers? check. Thunderbolts? check. Captain America? check.

While the book is called Captain America – Steve Rogers its actually a tale from the Red Skull’s POV, something we haven’t seen in Marvel books for quite some time now (outside of the already villain branded stuff like Illuminati of course). It gives us readers a look into how calculating and how insatiable the villain is. It’s written like he knew everything would come to this. Very interesting.

Props too for the art of Jesus Saiz in this book. Colors were a little dry for my taste as well as the inking but man, this issue is satisfying.

VERDICT: 8.5/10