After bringing to a close the Red Skull’s rather confused plan to seize control of the US, both Captain America and his book are in a slightly reflective mood. With an eighteen-month origin story behind him, it might be expected that Bucky would be energetically throwing himself into his new role. However, Ed Brubaker shows a keen understanding of the character he has rebuilt, treading a fine line. While never allowing the tone to slip into self-hating angst, he continually reminds the reader of the new Cap’s darker origins.

Picking up over a month after the Skull’s downfall, the story immediately makes clear that Barnes hasn’t had trouble occupying himself. After his actions have been so painstakingly documented over the previous year, it’s undeniably odd to see him running free in fleetingly referred-to adventures. The issue has a surprisingly consistant tone of calm anticipation, particularly when its fractured content is considered. The writer cuts seamlessly between a World War II flashback, the new Cap’s home life and the sort of old school super-villainary that is becoming increasingly rare in the Marvel universe. Luke Ross deserves much credit for his sharply defined work here, doing a superlative job of binding these elements together. Although benefiting from Frank D’Armata’s colouring to aid the book’s consistant identity, his art is vastly supiror to any of the title’s fill-in pencillers, standing on an equal footing with the departing Steve Epting’s work. By the end of the issue, however, it becomes obvious that the flashbacks to occupied China are directly relevant to the main plot. It’s curious to see the book’s normal juggling of elements being applied to a single story strand, and adds to the suspicion that this story will be a fleeting holiday from the ongoing epic which has constituted Brubaker’s run on the book to date.

Aside from leaving Bucky with the Black Widow to talk to, Brubaker strips away the book’s previous regular cast, leaving an apparently simplistic solo format at the start of this three part arc. While this may stem from a desire to minimise the Secret Invasion spoilers implicit in the book’s setting, the writer is more than happy to play up to the expectations of this cliché, with Cap’s musings and personal life interrupted by an enormously enjoyable one-off appearance from Batroc. This extended cameo is a perfect metaphor for the book’s direction- still packing a significant punch, but now with a touch of light-hearted panache.