CAPTAIN AMERICA versus MASTER MAN
(Marvel)
Where: Reborn #2 When: October 2009
Why: Ed Brubaker How: Bryan Hitch & Butch Guice

The Story So Far...
With the superhero factions split by an ideology of freedom and rights, it seemed appropriate for Captain America to lead them against his former comrade and newly appointed Director of SHIELD, Tony Stark. With the registration of powered individuals being enforced with extreme prejudice by Stark's SHIELD, it made perfect sense to take the fight to the other side as hard and true as they would any other force who threatened these basic principles. It made sense to enter into a Civil War with former friends, allies, and loved ones -- until the fighting filled the very streets that were tainted by a battle that killed hundreds, and it was time to surrender to a greater good.

By giving himself to Tony Stark -- Captain America seemingly confirmed the fear and suspicion that had seen him branded a rebel and traitor. He had appeased the establishment enough to declare an effective ceasefire to the superhero Civil War, but sacrificed himself in the process. His legend would appear to have one final passifying role to play, however, when, grandstanded infront of an audience of citizens and reporters, Captain America was gunned down and killed...

To the world, sniper fire by Red Skull's right-hand assassin, Crossbones, was responsible for killing the hero. In truth, it was a blow dealt by Sharon Carter -- Cap's former lover, ally, and an Agent of SHIELD. A blow dealt under influence from the Red Skull's brainwashing, with a far more devious plan in tact. For Captain America would not simply be murdered before the world's eyes, but rather, displaced in time and space, allowing the Skull and his co-conspirators opportunity to pluck Steve Rogers into their grasp at any moment.

Thus; the great Captain America is thrown from the turmoil of one war, to the nightmare of those wars he had already fought, his consciousness shunted from one time to another, reliving the horrors, but unable to act. In the theatre of 1944, the Captain awakens beside soldiers he knows will die, in a battle against another of the Red Skull's right-hand men, with the future so far away.

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Master Man 6 (Invincible)
Intelligence: Capt. America 4 (Tactician)
Speed: Draw 4 (Olympian)
Stamina: Master Man 5 (Marathon)
Agility: Capt. America 4 (Gymnast)
Fighting: Capt. America 6 (Warrior)
Energy: Capt. America 2 (Projectiles)


- With a frail body unable to support the willing spirit it contained, Steve Rogers was deemed a fitting candidate for an experimental Super-Soldier Serum devised by defected German scientist, Abrham Erskine. Operation: Rebirth was a success and the once feeble Steve Rogers was transformed into the ultimate man, nimble and strong, brilliant and adept. The Super-Soldier came with a price, however. Dr. Erskine was murdered by a double-agent during the experiment, before his serum could be shared. Thus; Steve Rogers is forced to walk alone as Captain America, the sentinel of liberty, America's finest fighting hero in the Second World War!

Alongside the finest soldiers the Allied Powers could muster, Captain America led many successful missions, a dynamo beyond human imagining. Even though he started alone, the Captain would eventually find equals and employ the aid of a boy sidekick -- the deceptively skilled Bucky Barnes! Together, they joined the likes of Sub-Mariner and Human Torch in forming the allied super-powers known as The Invaders! Their battles against the Red Skull, Baron Blood, and the many powered menaces of Hitler's Nazi Party, would make them the stuff of legends!

Possessing enhanced physical attributes as a result of the Super-Soldier serum, extensive training in hand-to-hand combat, and an invincible vibranium compound shield, the Captain would even continue his fight into the decades that followed the Second World War! After being frozen in suspended animation and floating lifelessly in arctic waters, Captain America was discovered by the Avengers! Thawed out in the modern day, he continues to fight for truth, justice, and the American way, an uncompromising ultimate man who stands with gods!

- A frail American Bundist and Nazi sympathiser; Wilhelm Lohmer threw himself upon the scientific mercy of the Nazi Party in an experiment using an alternate version of the Super-Soldier Serum created by scientist, Dr. Abraham Erskine. The results embued him with powers far surpassing those of his US counterpart, Captain America, granting him super-human strength, speed, endurance, and flight. The powers proved temporary, initially, but were later made a permanent part of his arsenal as he became the Aryan Übermensch, Master Man.

Master Man regularly battled the allied heroes of The Invaders throughout the Second World War, and returned to terrorize their surviving members in the modern age, having been placed in suspended animation by Baron Strucker in the mid-forties, along with his female counterpart, Warrior Woman.

Additional: Since his retroactive introduction in 1975, Master Man has become a relatively regular fixture of Marvel's fictional Second World War setting. Another Ed Brubaker flashback, in Captain America #5, Captain America and The Invaders were successful in defeating Master Man and the Red Skull. At present, this is the only other battle between the two characters featured on the site.

History: Captain America (1-0-0)
The Math: Captain America Ranking: Captain America (#7)

The Fight...
In 1944, the mind of a Captain America who has lived more than half a century beyond this point awakens. Trapped within his own body he relives an experience he remembers well. On a hill, there is a castle, and in this keep, the Red Skull attempts to enlist the occult influence of demons in the name of his Fuehrer and the Nazi agenda. With hard fighting soldiers at his front and back, the Captain knows they will win this fight. Even if Master Man -- Hitler's favourite ubermensch -- will succeed in dealing death to the side of right.

Even as he remembers, gunfire ricochets off his shield. He dives toward to his men, warning them of an incoming attack. They spill back and the Master Man leaps into the air, defying gravity with designs to destroy Captain America.

The human missile is sorely mistaken if he believes himself an unstoppable force. Like a clash of ideologies, star and swastika collide, Captain America's invincible shield against Master Man's invulnerable chest. The Captain's strategy to cut his opponent off eventuates with spectacular success, a mortal man taking the wind out of a superhuman monster! The blow sends them hurtling toward the castle backdrop, Master Man's body absorbs the impact.

Calling upon fantastic enhanced strength and agility, not to mention months of training and determination, Captain America repells off the face of the broken keep wall, leveraging Master Man's body out of the hole it made, and over his. The gymnastic maneuver positions him above the fall, once more, with speed enough to prevent Master Man any chance of reply

The two figures plummet downward, courtesy of gravity and an impressive move on the Captain's part. As he falls with shield pressed against Master Man's body, he considers the weight of knowing what is going to happen. When he lands atop Master Man, who crushes a bystanding vehicle, he considers the expertise of a Reed Richards or Tony Stark, who might make better sense of his time travelling predicament.

Master Man lies unconscious, for a moment or more, we cannot know for sure. The battle will play out as it always had, without the pondered influence of a Captain America from this time's future, to victory none the less. The world begins to fade from the confused Captain's conscious perception, and once more, he becomes displaced in time...

The Hammer...
This fight may have ended with a potentially inconclusive result, but we certainly saw Master Man in a state resembling defeat, and Captain America himself told us how the fight ends at the beginning, any way. Hey! If you can't trust Captain America, who can you trust? Thus, I give you our winner.

The time travelling theme of Reborn certainly fits the nature of this post, which is being written in November 2010 as part of a backlog series. It has been my feeling that the stories and battles of 2009 were simply too good to ignore. 2009 was also the first year this humble Comic Book Fight Club had the opportunity to reflect the year itself, with featured fights running concurrent to the comics themselves. The freshness of these reviews is obviously long past, but the desire to crown a 2009 champion from 2009 reviews is still relevant.

It would be difficult to talk about a project like Reborn without acknowledging developments that have come since. At the time, it was comparable to Flash: Rebirth, another secondary 'event comic' that bolstered the presence of a once absent hero. Ultimately, the specifics of Reborn were far closer to Batman: Return of Bruce Wayne, which is only now [in 2010] concluding a similar tale of an iconic hero displaced in time. For Batman, it was his Final Crisis trist with Darkseid that created the circumstances for an apparent death, and his shunt into time. By inevitable comparison, the Batman tale proved superior in origin and conclusion, a more satisfyingly conceived tale, simpler in it's details despite an apparently convoluted series of circumstances.

Despite his acclaim, I have found myself very critical of Ed Brubaker's work in the past. Unfortunately, that criticism remains a throughline on this site, where Reborn ultimately felt underwritten in it's execution, and ill considered in it's specifics. Where Grant Morrison has taken superhero comics into a new era by revelling in the absurdity of their aged and justified design, Brubaker appears much less confident, creating an understated tone that's appropriate to portions of the tale, (the WWII sequence featured), but clashes awkwardly with vital mechanics and characters that should have more energy around them. Bryan Hitch's pencils and the inks and colours they're oft associated with contribute to some of the uncertainty of this direction. For a story of this nature, a greater sense of adventure and embellishment might have been appreciated.

By running concurrent to Brubaker's similarly plodding revamp of the WWII-era Marvel Universe [The Marvels Project], scenes that retell Cap's famed beginning seem like even more unnecessary interruptions. A fight with Master Man is a fun action sequence for five opening pages, but with yet nine more dedicated to the origin, and several pages to an unremarkable fight scene between the Dark Avengers and Cap's allies, the issue feels bloated with air.
With Chris Evans set to star in Captain America: The Fist Avenger mid-2011, it's hard not to be a little suspicious of Reborn's preoccupation with restating Captain America's origins. Some similiarities between the design Evans will wear, and the part-Golden Age, part-Ultimate outfit worn in Reborn, are noteable. Might this have been part of Marvel's efforts to return the honus of redefining characters for the screen to the comics? I guess we might never know. The only alternative seems to be aspirations of a definitive work -- a functional honor I can't see Reborn claiming beyond it's monthly readers, and not just for negative reasons.

While I would've preferred an indulgence more in keeping with Brian Bendis' work on New Avengers; Brubaker's Captain America finally crawls out of an isolated corner, to rejoin the Marvel Universe. As a means to an end, Reborn succeeds in inititating the necessary stages to bring us to Marvel's Heroic Age, which might even justify the visual tone of Reborn as a juxtaposition, if not it's slow script.
I'm personally uncomfortable with some of the details, like whose body was where, and why Red Skull and Arnim Zola would go to such absurd lengths to displace and reclaim bodies, fake deaths, and other devices handled bettern in the Batman version, but at the end of the day, as a book that restores Marvel's iconic conscience, it is something new, and something necessary.

It wasn't bold and indulgent, but the invitation of Dark Reign into this book, and the appreciable build-up to Siege, is also a nice thing to see. Captain America's death was a small and personal affair, chiefly contained within that isolated run of Captain America. It seems like balance to have everyone involved in his return. Of course, it's connection to Dark Reign and Siege inherently defines it as a piece of the puzzle, and a less apt example of Marvel's fictional Second World War than the Brubaker's sister series, The Marvels Project. Earlier, more direct accounts of Captain America's origin exist, but if film-going audiences need Bryan Hitch to be tricked into absorbing the comics shared universe, then maybe I shouldn't be so critical. Let's wait and see how successful it is, though.

At the end of the day, I think modern audiences have come to accept certain things that may or may not make a good comic book. Reborn #2 contains maybe threads connecting it to other characters and realms of Marvel Comics, but doesn't contain too many contexts or plotlines. I find it hard not to be cynical about this cult of personality and acceptance of quantity over quality, but I don't want that to overwhelm the fact that there are enjoyable facets to this comic.

I chose to feature the fight between Cap and MM over the bigger battle between Dark Avengers and Avengers because, at the end of the day, it's one of the most enjoyable sequences in the comic. Master Man might actually be a creation of the modern age, but he is a reflection of our on-going relationship with history in this medium. The rest of the book might not feel savvy, but in that opening fight, I feel Brubaker and Hitch embue the smart things about comics. It's a simpler version of the colourful indulgence with which I believe [Grant] Morrison paints, and it is good. Just as it's been good to see both series embracing their legacy components, Bucky Barnes (Captain America) and Dick Grayson (Batman).

At the end of the day, Reborn is a series that amounts to 'Captain America is back', and that's really all you need to know. I would recommend investigating further before making a purchase, but would also suggest that it might slot neatly into holiday shopping if arranged with other stories.

Civil War, Death of Captain America, Siege, and their many spin-offs and tie-ins come together to form a saga that has shaped the Marvel Universe. Reborn interacts with each in a different way, and may be worth consideration in that context.

The Fight: 4.5 The Issue: 4

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THE INVADERS versus THE NAZI PARTY
Out of Time: Part 5 (Marvel)
Where: Captain America #5 When: May 2005
Why: Ed Brubaker How: Michael Lark

The Story So Far...
The mysterious murder of Red Skull serves as a bizarre precursor to the unravelling of history within the memories of Steve Rogers; known to the world as Captain America!

Cap finds himself distracted by the pursuit of truth as he begins suffering flashbacks to key events in his long history, each changed ever so slightly. The distractions prove so severe they nearly cost the hero his life, when Crossbones emerges to attack after the Captain investigates the desecrated graves of his allies from the Second World War.

Nick Fury: Director of SHIELD uncovers clues that lead to a rogue Soviet General, Aleksander Lukin. Cap's history folds back on him once more when Lukin is revealed as director of an international company called Kronas Industries. Named after a Russian village destroyed by the Red Skull, Cap recalls the battle to save it, accompanied by Lukin's mentor, Colonel Vasily Karpov...

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Master Man 6 (Invincible)
Intelligence: Red Skull 5 (Genius)
Speed: Sub-Mariner 4 (Olympian)
Stamina: Sub-Mariner 5 (Marathon)
Agility: Captain America 4 (Gymnast)
Fighting Ability: Captain America 6 (Warrior)
Energy Power: Human Torch 6 (Mass Destruction)


- The Invaders are: Captain America, Human Torch, Sub-Mariner, Toro, Bucky.

The Invaders were the premiere superhuman line of defense of the Allied Nations during the Second World War. Their membership was captained by the combined forces of; Captain America, Namor, the Sub-Mariner, the Human Torch, Toro, Bucky, and several other recruits, such as Union Jack, Whizzer, Spitfire, and Blazing Skull.

The Invaders were chiefly positioned to defend the world from the threat of the Nazi Party and their many superpowered machinations and allies. This struggle against tyranny would extend to the modern era, with many of the Invaders roster enduring through time by means of science, magic, and mutation.
Their legacy endures into the modern age, where the team is reunited on occasion to undertaker varying missions, such as; the liberation of Mazikhandar.

- The National Socialist German Workers Party, better known as the Nazi Party, was founded in the shadow of the first World War, in 1919. The party was built on the principle of philosophically uniting Germany free of social, economical, or ethnic division. Criteria for this homogeny was dependent on interpretations of the perfect Aryan race, and diffentiated from other movements by emphasising inclusion of the social middle classes.

A young German corporal, Adolf Hitler, was ordered to investigate the group, entering into political debate during his stay. This led to his invitation into the Party, and eventual ascension as it's iconic leader in 1933, appointed by Chancellor Paul von Hindenburg.

Hitler's fascinations were diverse and bizarre, including experimentation with elements scientific and occult. Attempts to recreate the famed Super-Soldier serum developed by Dr. Abraham Erskine for the United States of America resulted in Master Man: a frail American of German descent who was embued with powers far exceeding his American counterpart; Captain America. Master Man, Red Skull, and Warrior Woman represent the Third Reich's superhuman champions.

The Math: The Invaders Ranking: Captain America (#8)

What Went Down...
In the dying months of 1942 the Nazis had burrowed deep into the Soviet landscape, accompanied by Hilfswillige; Russian soldiers forced or willing to fight for the Nazi movement. Stalin's forces had plans to trap their enemies in the frost of a Russian winter, but word of a German super-weapon draws the intervention of the Invaders, who join the Russians to investigate.

The Invaders descend on Kronas, a northern village held by the Nazis.
Their scout, the diminutive teen, Bucky Barnes, leads the charge, evading defensive measures armed with but a knife. He swiftly and silently eliminates the frontline of the Nazi guard, clearing the way for his companions.

A trigger-happy Russian alerts the camp to the incursion, raising the alarm to not only the Nazi soldiers, but also their dormant super-soldier: Master Man!

On the ground, Captain America gives the order to Karpov and his men to protect the villagers, launching a personal assault against the Nazi soldiers. Like a one man army, Captain America successfully fronts a group of five soldiers, armed only with his shield and determination!

Meanwhile, in the skies above, the supermen do battle!
Sub-Mariner meets Master Man in aerial combat, appearing evenly matched with the Nazi super-soldier. The Human Torch and Toro do their best to tip the balance, but their flames threaten the Atlantean more than Master Man.

Bucky joins the Captain as he maneuvers his way across the compound in search of the German secret weapon. A congregation of Nazi guards makes finding the weapon easy, and despite their impressive numbers, Cap is able to defend the duo with his shield, leaving Bucky free to blow the machine gunners away with a grenade!

The young soldier proves hasty in his approach when a crackling, green energy bolt blasts through the wall of the village hut, leaving Bucky to narrowly avoid death, saved only by the intervention of his seasoned mentor!

Captain America and Bucky have but mere moments to survey the carnage wrought by the strange energy beam, before the onslaught of successive blasts begin to reach out like tendrils of death! The beams zig-zag across the battlefield, destroying poperty and soldier indescriminately!

Through the burning wreckage Cap spies his arch-nemesis, the Red Skull, manning the controls of the Nazi super weapon. He points the barrel with little regard for the lives of Americans, Russians, or even his own German soldiers!

The spreading flames threaten to ravage the small village, forcing the Torch and Toro to abandon their battle with Master Man to attempt to curb the damage. They do their best to absorb flames and melt the snow to rain, but it provides little relief. Leaving the super weapon to self-destruct, the Red Skull makes an escape with the Master Man, knowing full well that the Invaders will stay to fight the losing battle to save Kronas.

The Hammer...
This was such a tough one to call I was forced to convene with the judges! I was about ready to call this a draw, and maybe it's just July Fourth patriotism, but I've been forced to declade the Invaders the victors, by points! [Namor, Human Torch, and Toro only pick-up the assist!]

Those scoring along at home might like to note: while Master Man and Red Skull escaped after the former fought Sub-Mariner (and co.) to a stalemate; they were the representing exceptions of the Nazi Party, who suffered mass casualties in the exchange.
That, ladies and gentlemen, is good housekeeping!

Those of you displaced in time will be happy to join us in our indulgence of the July 4 pseudo-meme! While the Infinite Wars bares no special affinity for apple pie, we would be remiss to pass up the opportunity to discuss the thorough whacking of Germans. Nazis, I mean.

One has to exercise a little self-awareness and acknowledge that, on most outings with Ed Brubaker, we've had a consistent underlying theme of negativity. While I'm reluctant to retract any previously described acronyms or reactionary redefinition - I do feel compelled to balance the scales!
[EDITOR'S NOTE: Lazy Brubaker Syndrome; not to be confused with "IBS"]

Blogging boffins have flocked to Brubaker's work on Captain America, declaring it one of the most significant Marvel comics of the decade for it's contrivances, and it's sense of lasting consequence. While the reinvigoration of Cap's blood feud with the Red Skull has benefitted from the tempered urbana of it's presentation, it's the 'inconsequential' superheroics that have inspired my joy!

Flashbacks to WWII add a sense of disorientation and context to certain key components of Brubaker's stories, but ultimately, the deviation as it's seen in this issue is pure indulgence of the superhero medium -- and I love it!

Credit where credit's due: as is the case with early issues in most Brubaker series, the economy of story remains bouyant. Relevant insights delivered are mostly present to give weight to certain key characters in the story. Included is the vaguely Magneto-esque birth of Aleksander Lukin, punctuated by a single panel at the end of the conflict, while other beats deliberately emphasise the history of Captain America's relationships with Bucky and Red Skull (at the expense of any elaboration on Sub-Mariner or the Torches).

Recent history has taught us to resent this kind of revisionist history, but the number of writers making competent and measured efforts is growing! Geoff Johns remains the master of the clean-up, but Brubaker deserves a lot of credit for his many flashbacks that allude to a more grounded and belieable War-era history for Captain America. The sad truth for many of these characters is that their past does not reflect what we like to think of them in the modern era.

As someone who has not enjoyed Steve Epting's critically acclaimed work, it was a joy to read an issue dedicated to secondary artist, Michael Lark! The artist; whose contributions defined the worming flashbacks of the first year; provides his trademarked style of curiously squared and sometimes incomplete lines, which cast the illusion of reality far more efficiently than you might imagine.

Full credit goes to colorist, Frank D'Armata, whose allergy-inducing palette for present day scenes have been a major contributor to [my] depreciation of Epting's series pencils. Muted blues and greys have a softed gradient in the flashbacks, making them much less aggravating, and benefit from the clean juxtaposition of Russia's snowy whites. D'Armata shines with bold colour pops in scenes depicting the red of the Red Skull bursting amidst the glowing flames of Kronas' misfortune.

As with many golden age reboots there's nothing especially retro about the artistic presentation of these stories. Even so, there's a certain timeless quality to the pages, in spite of the prevelance of the Larks of today's popular comics.
It works! Especially when one remembers these are the beginnings of the golden age revival for Bucky: a character who, until this story, had enjoyed the rare honor of being a superhero left dead for decades. It makes for a solid start, leading in to an era of Bucky Barnes as the new Captain America, something we're disappointed to have been unable to feature on the site.

I can't tell you anything about this issue that you won't be able to see for yourself. I can, however, enjoy documenting a scene that might have been lost amidst the headline-grabbing exploits of a series that may have enjoyed acclaim for everything but the strengths of what it really brings. I just wish Brubaker could maintain the kind of energy these first storyarcs bring. Aquela é a vida da maneira é!

The Fight: 4.5 The Issue: 5

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