Captain America: Steve Rogers #4 Review – A Story Of Leaders And Followers

Captain America hasn’t been himself lately, and credit for that goes to his greatest enemy The Red Skull, who can’t help himself when it comes to his ultimate goal of making Steve Rogers kneel before him.

His hubris, however, may just backfire.

“We have so much to discuss, you and I”

Writer Nick Spencer continues his solid work on Cap’s supporting cast, including Maria Hill, Sharon Carter, and Rick Jones, but it’s in Director Hill that we see the just how far S.H.I.E.L.D. has fallen, and how determined she is to piss off just about everyone around her. It’s times like these that show just how much of Nick Fury’s philosophy she has come to embody, willingly or not.

Outside of Hill, the focus sits squarely on the actions of Steve Rogers. In previous issues, the character has been asked to do some pretty dreadful things, and this issue is no different, but it’s here that we truly see how deep the Hydra programming goes. Steve’s attacks are brutal and lack any remorse, something well-conveyed by the art team of Javier Pina and Miguel Sepulveda.

“But in my experience, nothing worthwhile ever did come easy”

In fact, the artwork in Captain America: Steve Rogers continues to be excellent, especially when Spencer dives into Steve’s “reworked” memories. They draw a magnificent Red Skull, and their Captain America is to be admired as well, but some of the other characters that pop up throughout aren’t nearly as defined, and look rather rushed in comparison.

Speaking of defined, this is titled as a Civil War II tie in, but the term tie-in should be used as loosely as possible.

Spencer continues to take the character in interesting directions, further down a path that will be quite a challenge to come back from, if and when that ever happens. Cap’s best traits are somehow still on display, though, but without any sort of filter, and it allows fans of the character to greater appreciate one of Cap’s best and most overlooked qualities, his restraint.

Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars.

Written By: Nick Spencer

Art By: Javier Pina & Miguel Sepulveda

Colors By: Rachelle Rosenberg

Lettering By: VC’s Joe Caramagna