Random Happenstance

It's at least partly because I keep coming in midstream, but I haven't loved a lot of Captain America stories in his regular title for some time. There was something I enjoyed this issue, though! From 2024, Captain America #13/LEG#763, "The Last Stand of the Front Door, part 2" Written by J. Michael Straczynski, art by Carlos Magno. I got the David Yardin variant, which kinda looks like Morbius is giving Cap the business; I couldn't be lucky enough to get the Godzilla variant from the dollar bin!

Again, I'm coming in midway through a storyline, but I don't think I'd ever be onboard with pseudo-Starlin level metaphysics in a Cap book; as here he's working for Lyra, an embodiment of Life itself, to stop her brother Death from wiping out the human race, as he's somewhat understandably sick of watching us kill each other. With a small team of mutants (new ones, nobody we know!) and a Guardian (who I don't think is Heather from Alpha Flight? I was confused because she's had not-Canadian flag costumes before, but feels like that'd be mentioned somewhere, and she has a sword: OK, pretty sure now she's just for this arc) they have to get a psychic, Malik, to the "mystical safe house" of the Front Door Cabaret. Death gives a ton of power to a massive crowd, threatening them with their own demises if they don't comply and stop Cap and friends. Taking back some magic rings, which I hope isn't a Captain Planet riff, Cap throws down with Death, to force him to draw that power back. Lyra had offered Cap a chance, to go back to his old life, to "lay down his burden," which feels a lot like trying to comment on his MCU arc, but we know darn well Cap isn't going to cop out here, and he doesn't.

Death gives Cap a pretty bad beating, before he realizes Malik was safe and he'd lost; which to him meant the suffering of humanity would be extended. He threatens Cap, that a bad end was coming for him. With seemingly everyone gone, while healing up Steve wonders if they made it, but thinks he might never know...while unseen behind him, a flowerbed blooms.

So, that didn't work for me much, except seeing Cap being Cap, even in a plotline that didn't feel like it was for him; but the next issue had Spidey and Thor guest-starring, so maybe Straczynski could course-correct from there. What I did like, was a Deadpool and Wolverine "Street Ball" ad, in the style of the great Spalding Jack Davis ad from the 70's! I know I've seen Wolvie and Pool hoop it up multiple times (like when I first started reading Deadpool!) but my headcanon now is that they sucked and always have. Wolvie's short and heavy as hell, no way he can jump...(Pretty sure that's Ryan North and Scott Koblish.)