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Captain America #8: Review

Apr 2024
J. Michael Straczynski, Carlos Magno

Story Name:

Intermezzo, Part Two of Two


Synopsis

Captain America #8 Synopsis by Peter Silvestro

At the Pale City, backstage at the Front Door Cabaret, Captain America and Lyra (Life Incarnate) are battling an army of hideous monsters trying to break through. Lyra tells Cap that the monsters are people she once knew who are no longer alive and would not want to be in this condition so he need not hold back. So he doubles down, slaughtering the grisly pack with his new crystal shield which now responds to his needs as the old one could not. Just when the enemy seems to be thinning out, Lyra tells Cap that they were merely the scouts then the combat resumes in earnest, any of the monsters that get by and reach the entrance to the Front Door are met by the theater’s regulars, fighting on a second front. And then her brother arrives, Death Incarnate, a red-eyed glob with four arms and the usual sardonic manner. Lyra warns Cap to look at him only through his crystal shield. The villain taunts his sister and her hero, offering to show Cap his death: Cap is in the same spot, choosing to sacrifice himself for the others but making a fatal mistake. He tells Cap to look at Lyra through the shield and she looks like pure light—but “Brother” is then able to touch Cap’s right arm, rendering it dead and useless. Lyra promises that Cap will stand against the foe, who then vanishes to wait for another time. She helps the wounded Cap back to the cabaret…

…where they discover that Mari, the girl with butterfly wings, has died in the battle. Lyra can call her back but it would leave her with no power to heal Steve’s arm; he insists that she raise Mari, which she does. But through love she can also heal Steve but with a cryptic limitation: it will stay healed for the rest of his life but not until the end of his life. Steve understands. Before Steve goes he has one last question: why him rather than the X-Men or Thor or Captain Marvel who all have more power? Lyra tells him it’s because he has only one cause in his life: to protect the innocent. She reveals that she is gathering those who have the potential to affect the coming nexus but four are missing and she wants Steve to find them. As he departs, Teresa hands him his horoscope, which outlines his heroic qualities and encourages him to love.

The emcee welcomes the lost and struggling to the Front Door where they are under protection….


 

Review / Commentaries

Rating:
4 stars

Captain America #8 Review by (April 3, 2024)

Review: So, JMS outlines his upcoming run for us. Cap is called by Life to fight Death, framed in terms out of Dr. Strange, all looking cool while creating yet another mystic cosmology behind all of the other ones we’ve seen over the years. Captain America is presented as the selfless hero who will never quit, which is what we have known all along and why we love him. And then the comic turns into a video game and we see Cap sent on a quest for four missing persons, giving us the shape of the upcoming episodes in the series. We are then given a soppy love letter to Cap in the form of his horoscope. My big question is: with all the talk about Cap’s death, plus some cryptic prophecies to confuse us, is JMS planning to kill Cap again? His previous death was one of the most celebrated comics events of the last thirty years (2007) so will Marvel have the audacity to milk it for a second time? They had better not. Or has Marvel finally run out of heroes to kill for big events that now everyone is getting a second demise? Get in line.

Comments: Intermezzo refers to the music that bridges the acts in a show. STAR WARS (a/k/a A NEW HOPE) is one of Cap’s favorite movies of all time. Steve’s birthday is September 28, 1922 (mentioned last issue) which makes him a Libra but not, I hope, a gullible twit who believes in astrology.




> Captain America comic book info and issue index

Elektra

Excelsioring your collection:
DIAMOND SELECT TOYS Marvel Premier Collection: Avengers Endgame Captain America Statue, Multicolor
Holy smokes, Batman!
(The Boy Wonder)

Carlos Magno
Carlos Magno
Espen Grundetjern
Taurin Clarke (Cover Penciler)
Taurin Clarke (Cover Inker)
Taurin Clarke (Cover Colorist)
Additional Credits
Letterer: Joe Caramagna.

Characters

Listed in Alphabetical Order.

Captain America
Captain America

(Steve Rogers)