The Hydra-aligned Steve Rogers has his fingers in a lot of pies, and eventually, one of those pesky do-gooders is going to accidentally foil him. But when it happens in Captain America: Steve Rogers #8, could it be opportunity in disguise? Is it good?
Captain America: Steve Rogers #8 (Marvel Comics)
Yeah, why is Captain America battling aliens? And why does he seem so bad at it? No matter, the new Quasar is here (hey, remember her?!) to fry a giant horde the way only the Protector of the Universe knows how! The day is saved, a plan is foiled, and a seed is planted for perhaps an even greater gambit.
Meanwhile, a long time ago in a war zone far, far away, li’l Steve’s caretaker makes an unexpected stand to stay on the right side of history. The famous father of frail Rogers’ playmate swings the other way, and you can probably guess how the woman in that 1936 argument fared. Maybe a modern, gestating queen will face a better fate ….
Is It Good?
Captain America: Steve Rogers #8 is much the same as what we’ve seen from the previous seven issues. Sinister Steve causes some trouble, he and (a fully clothed) Erik Selvig hash it out, and the whole game starts again. It seems like a little more is on the line now, though, as we’re shown for the first time what the new Quasar is capable of — which would mean even more if this weren’t her, what, second appearance in the book? So far she’s not so much been Chekhov’s gun as writer Nick Spencer’s footnote.
The past tale of Elisa and the child-who-would-be-Captain America is progressing, but to where is anyone’s guess. A rogues gallery of Hydra elite guest stars can’t distract from the fact that we still don’t know who Elisa is, if she’s truly connected to the Cosmic Cube called Kobik, or how she’s been able to help the rascally Rogers evade exposure until now. If this were issue #4 of a five-issue arc, that would be fine, but eight floppies deep with only the promise of answers MAYBE in March, and you won’t find a better edifice to hang the kitchy insult “decompressed” from. This series needs to pick up the pace, and soon.
Series regular artist Jesus Saiz, on the other hand, is in fine form in Captain America: Steve Rogers #8. The earth-orbit standoff between Captain Marvel and the Chitauri is a posterworthy sight to behold, and the attention to detail when Quasar joins the fight is triumphant. Saiz’s colors continue to impress, as reds and greens set the past scenes and remind the reader they’re not happening now.
Captain America: Steve Rogers #8 is a middling chapter in a sluggish saga that could still have a dramatic conclusion. It needs to hurry up and kick into gear, though, because if a climax happens in a comic, and no one’s there to read it, it likely won’t make an impact.
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