written by Ta Nehisi Coates
penciled by Leinil Francis Yu
inked by Gerry Alanguilan
colored by Sunny Gho
Having learned of the truth behind the army of "Nuke" clones that has been attacking American cities over the last few months, Captain America rushes over to the (fictional) former Soviet Republic of Alberia to confront the sinister minds behind Power Enterprises. After dispatching with ease several foot soldiers, Cap finds himself facing a notably more formidable adversary in the Taskmaster who gets the jump on him. Meanwhile, the captive Sharon Carter comes face to face with the mysterious Aleksa, whose true identity and agenda are finally revealed.
Having kicked the story into high gear last issue, Coates keeps up the momentum this issue with another fast-paced action sequence, followed by a bombshell of a story revelation that portends even more ill for Cap, who's still recovering from the beating his reputation took from the events of "Secret Empire." I doubt this story can truly wrap up in two more issues, and it seems, especially from Marvel's marketing, that there are quite a few dark things on the horizon for the star-spangled Avenger who will soon come face-to-face with a foe from his past, and a new one he's never faced before: the murderous energy vampire Selene.
After explaining why T'Challa and Okoye can't join Steve with a single line of dialogue, Coates jumps into things straightaway, with a lot of that inner monologue that's elevated his take on Cap past a simple action story. Following last issue's shocking revelations, Steve realizes what's going on and it's eating him up inside, but that's the least of his problems.
I really, really enjoyed how Coates pulled a bit of a bait-and-switch with his storytelling. What initially looks like a comicsgater-triggering diatribe about Russia controlling Trump's America almost instantly turns out to also be a good old-fashioned revenge story with a callback to a much-beloved epoch in Cap's recent history. In short, whatever the subtext of his story may be, Coates has remembered to give his readers something to sink their teeth into first, like a fight with a classic bad guy Taskmaster as well as a villain who means some serious business, and for whom it's all personal. This is something Coates gets right that Tini Howard didn't when she wrote the recent Captain America annual. There's really nothing wrong with standing on soapboxes, especially in this medium, but it really helps to have a a good solid story as the foundation. Coates' advocacy got the better of him when he wrote his first Black Panther volume a couple of years back, but this time he's going quite refreshingly old-school.
Speaking of old school, I quite like the way Coates approaches Taskmaster, who deserves much more than the B-list treatment he often gets in other books, even as recently as in the Amazing Spider-Man issues I've been enjoying. This is, after all, a bad guy who can basically mimic the fighting style of just about every skilled fighter in the Marvel Universe, and he deserves his due, which he seems like he'll be getting in these pages at least. Yu amps up the menace by drawing his mask pretty much like a skull, which makes it easier to take the threat he poses that much more seriously. He, Alanguilan and Gho continue to shine on this book, and the fact that Coates' story is now on par with their consistently stellar artwork means that we should be in for a treat for the next few issues at the very least.
8.5/10
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