written by Mark Waid
drawn by Leonardo Romero (with Alan Davis and Mark Farmer)
colored by Jordie Bellaire (with Irma Kniivila)
Having uncovered the Kree Conspiracy to turn the human race into Kree soldiers, historian and descendant of Steve Rogers, Jack Rogers, now finds himself in race against time (and the Kree). Unfortunately, in his efforts to bring back his illustrious ancestor, he has instead brought back his most infamous foe, the Red Skull. Now, Jack must use every ounce of knowledge he has as a historian, as well as a bit of his ancestor's tactical cleverness, to turn around what is basically a hopeless situation not just for him but all of humanity.
Having sat through Waid's strangely muted collaboration with Chris Samnee for six issues, which, while it definitely had its moments, was on the whole nowhere near their best work, I had sincerely started wondering if Waid had lost his mojo, if perhaps he'd stretched himself a bit too thin given all the Marvel books he's been working on in the last few years. His run on Cap had, up until the 700th issue, virtually no nuance, no real tension. It was all just cookie-cutter superheroics with a dash of practically half-hearted Trump-bashing thrown in towards the last few issues, but it was just so far from what I was used to reading that it was like reading the work of a different writer altogether. Or maybe my taste had just changed. That has all changed with this story; the Waid whose writing kept me glued to Matt Murdock's adventures is very much back.
I've said this (or something like it) throughout just about every issue of this storyline, but this feels like the story line that Waid came back to Cap to write, and ironically, Cap's barely in it. Make no mistake, though, it is a Captain America story through and through. Jack Rogers is a fascinating character to read; his motives may be simple, but the tools at his disposal are so widely different from Cap's that where the story is headed feels far from a foregone conclusion.
Leonardo Romero hits yet another home run with this issue, this time getting less support from "flashback" artist Alan Davis, who fills in with five pages as opposed to the eight of the previous two issues. As much as I respect Davis, I have to say I would have hope for someone a little more high-profile; Adam Hughes is a darned tough act to follow, truth be told. Still, at least the main artist really and truly delivers the goods.
There's only one more issue to go in this story and in Waid's run, and I can say now that it genuinely feels like a shame to see Waid go, given that it just now feels like he's getting fired up again. I'm also sorry to know that he's left the Champions title as well, though given how strongly he's finishing this series, maybe I'll be looking for where he pops up next, hopefully with Romero in tow.
9/10
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