The Trial of Captain America - Ed Brubaker

Ever since writer Ed Brubaker brought back Bucky Barnes from his apparent death in the closing days of World War II (and dang it, I still have to read that storyline, I’ve got the reprint collection sitting right here), the crimes he committed as the Soviet super-assassin The Winter Soldier have hung over his head. It was inevitable that somebody would want him to answer for them, and in THE TRIAL OF CAPTAIN AMERICA, it’s the U.S. government that comes after him. Although oddly enough, it’s New York City D.A. Blake Tower who’s in charge of the prosecution, not some federal attorney.


Anyway, as if being on trial for things that he did while he was under Soviet mind-control isn’t enough of a problem for Bucky, the new Red Skull (who is the old Red Skull’s daughter, previously and sometimes still known as Sin) is out to make his life miserable, too.


This story arc is a little slow-moving but still entertaining as it leads up to a final showdown at the Statue of Liberty (always a good spot for superhero fights), followed by a twist ending. Brubaker’s writing is good as always, and so is Butch Guice’s art (with the exception of D.A. Tower’s age and physical appearance being portrayed incorrectly, as Troy Smith pointed out in a comment on a previous post).


Under Brubaker’s guidance, CAPTAIN AMERICA continues to be one of the best comics out there today. While I didn’t enjoy this arc as much as some of the others, it left me eager to find out what’s going to happen next. That’s the true test of any form of serialized storytelling, I think.