AVENGERS #338 & #339

"INFECTIOUS COMPULSIONS" | "FINAL REDEMPTION"
A tale of loss and endings by
Writer: Bob Harras | Penciler: Steve Epting | Inker: Tom Palmer
Letterers: Bill Oakley w/Rick Parker (issue 338)
Colorists (issue 338): Witterstaetter, Mossoff & Tinsley
Colorists (issue 339): Tinsley, Mossoff, Scott & Skolnik
Editor: Ralph Macchio | Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

The Plot: (Issue 338) Within the Bretrhen's habitat, Beast, Black Panther, Quasar, and the Collector bury Naka. But no sooner have they completed this task and begun to anaylze the area, than another being bursts from the ground: Olar, oldest of the Brethren. On Earth, in Thane Ector's citadel, the fool visits Sybyl Dorn as she prepares to challenge and kill Thane Ector for betrying his people. At Avengers Mansion, Vision, Crystal, and Lockjaw return from a trip to the moon with Hank Pym, Beast, Black Panther, Quasar, the Collector, and Olar in tow. Beast reveals that the Brethren are little more than evolved germs, and the Avengere prepare to study Olar, with his permission, for more data.

The fool, however, has been spying on the Avengers and collects a recording of the group making their plans. Just as Sybyl Dorn has roused the Brethren against Than Ector, the fool appears and shows all present that the Avengers have captured Olar and are consorting with the Collector. Now believing the Avengers to be no better than the Collector himself, Ector turns on Sersi and orders his people to attack Avengers Mansion. After they leave, Sersi confesses to the fool that she knows the Brethren's secret. Meanwhile, Pym and Beast are studying Olar when someone knocks them out and kills the oldest Brethren. The Brethren then arrive and attack. Thane Ector gets past the heroes and begins beating the Collector, until the Collector reveals a new, stronger form and says that it was he who released the Brethren and sent them to Earth.

AVENGERS #336 & #337

"FOR HERE WE MAKE OUR STAND!" | "MUD AND GLORY?"
A tale of battle and fury by...
Writer: Bob Harras | Penciler: Steve Epting | Inker: Tom Palmer
Letters: Bill Oakley & Rick Parker | Colors: Christie Scheele & Renee Witterstaetter
Editor: Ralph Macchio | Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

The Plot: (Issue 336) Thane Ector erects a citadel atop the World Trade Center, and then sends his troops into Manhattan to estabish a perimeter. At Avengers Mansion, Captain America, recovering from the wounds he sustained in battle with Ector, speaks with President Bush regarding the situation. He then sends the Avengers out to face the Brethren. On the moon, Beast, Black Panther, Quasar and the Collector escape from the creature that had attacked them. They land their miniaturized craft and are surrounded by a tribe of the Collector's captive beings.

On Earth, the Avengers battle the Brethren in Manhattan, while Thane Ector observes from his citadel. Ector visits the captive Sersi and attempts to woo her, but his fool is displeased with this behavior and mind-blasts Ector. Aboard the Collector's ship, the Avengers make peace with the tribe. The beings explain that the Brethren escaped from their habitat on the ship and traveled from exhibit to exhibit, conquering each mini-biosphere, before they ultimately left. Back on Earth, Captain America and Black Widow arrive to battle the Brethren, and are joined shortly by Crystal and Lockjaw.

(Issue 337) In the sewer beneath Manhattan, Thane Ector and his fool chat about their race and eat some sludge. Aboard the Collector's ship, the miniturized Avengers contingent and the Collector, now joined by a tribesman named Nakka, continue on their quest through the Collector's various habitats. Meanwhile, the Watcher appears to observe Hank Pym in the Collector's ship. On Earth, the Avengers have regrouped in their mansion, where Crystal expresses interest in joining the team. Captain America agrees to allow her in on a probationary basis until after the Brethren have been dealt with.

Nick Fury calls Captain America to inform him that everyone killed by the Brethren has been stripped of all germs and bacteria. Meanwhile, Sybil Dorn attacks Sersi inside the citadel, transforming into a huge goop-monster during the skirmish. Thane Ector appears and sends Sybil away, then reveals to Sersi that the Brethren were mutated by the Celestials from germs. On the moon, the Watcher nudges Pym to direct his fellow Avengers toward the Brethren's habitat. As soon as the heroes reach it, Nakka dies and rapidly decomposes.

THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN AMERICA: SENTINEL OF LIBERTY #1 - 4

"FIRST FLIGHT OF THE EAGLE" | "BETRAYED BY AGENT X"
"BATTLEGROUND: PARIS" | "ANGELS OF DEATH ANGELS OF HOPE"

Storytellers: Fabian Nicieza & Kevin Maguire | Pencilers (issue 4): Steve Carr & Kevin West
Inks: Joe Rubinstein (issue 1) & Terry Austin (issues 2 - 4) | Inking Assist: Tom Christopher
Letters: Richard Starkings | Color Art: Paul Mounts
Logo & Book Design: Joe Kaufman | Assistant Editor: Barry Dutter | Editor: Mike Rockwitz
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco
Special Thanks to: Mark Gruenwald, Gregory Wright & Suzanne Dell'orto

Return with me now, to the dark days of 1991. As Marvel descended into the abyss that would result in the likes of X-FORCE and Todd McFarlane's SPIDER-MAN, they also gave us... this. An uneven, but mostly very nice retelling of Captain America's origin by Fabian Nicieza, Kevin Maguire, Joe Rubinstein, and Terry Austin. This series was published in the "Prestige" format, running 64 ad-free pages per issue. It's something I had had on my "to read" radar for years, but only recently got around to it, and now I find myself wondering why I took so long!

So, look -- right off the bat, I'll admit I haven't read many versions of Cap's origin. I've read variations on some of his earliest adventures, in various mini-series, flashback stories, and so forth. But the actual origin -- Dr. Erskine/Reinstein, the super-soldier serum, the Nazi saboteur -- I'm pretty sure I've only ever read that in the Roger Stern/John Byrne encapsulation from CAPTAIN AMERICA #255. So when it comes to the material presented here by Nicieza and Maguire, I honestly have no idea what they've kept from prior versions and what they've created anew.

But -- taking the above into account, after reading this series, I feel like the filmmakers behind CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER must have looked to this story for inspiration, at least with regards to the early parts of the movie. Heck, a near-direct line can be drawn from the first issue to the film's first act, taking into account the typical changes one generally sees in Hollywood adaptations.