Captain America: Road To Reborn

Captain America (2004) (Collected Editions) #10

by Ed Brubaker, Roger Stern, Mark Waid

Where were you when Captain America died?

It's one year since the death of Captain America. And for the many friends and foes of Steve Rogers, this is the last step on the road to Reborn. For Sharon Carter, it is a journey for redemption. For Bucky Barnes, it is a journey of reflection. For his friends in the Avengers, it is a journey of reconnection. And for Norman Osborn, the Red Skull and others for whom the American Dream is counter to their own selfish desires, it is a journey of recrimination.

What happens next will make or break the Dream forever! Road to Reborn is full of dramatic, milestone moments -- including stark revelations concerning the death of Steve Rogers, key character moments and the revival of hope that the Dream still lives! Led by writer Ed Brubaker (Criminal, Daredevil) -- and featuring contributions by Captain America legends Gene Colan, Mark Waid, and Roger Stern -- this is essential reading for any Cap fan, new or old!

Collects: Captain America #49-50 and #600-601

Genres: Comics, Marvel, Graphic Novels, Superheroes, Graphic Novels Comics, Comic Book, Fiction

184 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 4, 2009

About the author

Ed Brubaker (born November 17, 1966) is an Eisner Award-winning American cartoonist and writer. He was born at the National Naval Medical Center, Bethesda, Maryland.

Brubaker is best known for his work as a comic book writer on such titles as Batman, Daredevil, Captain America, Iron Fist, Catwoman, Gotham Central and Uncanny X-Men. In more recent years, he has focused solely on creator-owned titles for Image Comics, such as Fatale, Criminal, Velvet and Kill or Be Killed.

In 2016, Brubaker ventured into television, joining the writing staff of the HBO series Westworld.

Reviews

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

In my quest (yes, I'm calling it a Quest now) to read everything that Captain Brubaker wrote about Steve Rogers, I came across this.
Now I'd already read it a few years back, but...
See, the thing is, since I re-read the Death of Captain America storyline, I've been promising myself that I would hold off on my re-read of Reborn.
It's KILLING me!
I'm one of those crazy people who got all emotional over his death. And even though I know that they brought him back, I feel itchy if I don't read those two back to back.
You know, to sort of reassure myself that he's ok.
Yes. I realize that make me sound like a lunatic.
But. I'm being good, and holding off on Reborn.
It's staring at me right now! I wanna read it so bad!

Anyway, Road to Reborn doesn't really count. It's just a taste.
A sip. It's not the hard stuff!
And really it's not.
Basically this is just a bunch of One Year Later stories.
How is Sharon? How is Bucky? How is Falcon?
How are random people I don't even care about?
There are are lots of tributesish stories. Some good, some meh, and some ehhhhh.
I liked it anyway.
It's like decaf coffee...better than nothing, but not totally satisfying.
However, I do feel this is a Must-Read for completionists!

[Subham · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not gonna lie but I read like 100 pages of it and gave up as they have nothing to do with the main story. This focuses on different POVs like whatever Sharon is going through and finding some strange things about the gun she killed Steve with and well good hope and some great stories about Bucky's past and well him getting a family and then OYL and we see the effect Steve's death had on everyone and where they are and its a sweet story showing Steve for the icon he was and its lovely, plus a good story by Waid focusing on his neighbors which was heartfelt and the other stories were skippable. So yeah a good prelude to the main event: REBORN!

[James DeSantis · Rating 3 out of 5]

One thing I really enjoy about Brubaker's run so far is he makes almost every character, even side characters, complicated.

This is really focused on Sharon trying to return to normal life. After the events of Captain America's death she hasn't been doing good. What could make it worse? Her finding out she lost a child. On top of that the volume also deals with Bucky still being the hero he doesn't think he is. He's still dealing with what he did in the past and how to continue going. Then the rest of the volume is showing bits and pieces of everyone in Caps life from Crossbones to Red Skull to Falcon.

Overall, I enjoyed the stuff with Sharon and Bucky a lot. It's well done, has purpose, and you feel for these characters. If nothing else Brubaker knows how to make them human like while also still having that superhero flare. The flipside is all the moving pieces are interesting but kind of feels filler in a way and the last issue is kind of a waste of a backstory that's not that great.

Overall, another good volume, but not great. This is the transition period when Bucky is returning to Winter Soldier and Steve comes back as cap. REBORN is next! A 3 out of 5.

[Drew Canole · Rating 2 out of 5]

I suppose the title says it all, this is Brubaker spinning the wheels waiting to launch Reborn. We get numerous recaps of the story told thus far and Captain America's origin. The issue 600 is a reflection and tribute to the character, but nothing too special. It's all fine but I think as a collection it's just a bit repetitive.

The Gene Colan issue looks great, but it's a pretty generic story and I think it should have been presented in B+W as the color just seems out of place.

It does set up Norman Osbourne as a bad guy in the Civil War story (Which I haven't read, so it's nice to get a bit more background).

This volume and the last one of the Brubaker run are easy to skip. Looking forward to seeing how Steve Rogers comes back to life in Reborn.

[Sesana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Normally, I would get irritated when I realized that I was reading a trade with only four issues. This time, though, I just can't get upset. For one, two of the issues (600 and 601) are significantly longer than normal, making this trade no shorter than I would expect. Besides, I don't think these four issues would have sat comfortably with either the previous or the following trade, so they kind of had to be put together. Of course, the resulting collection kind of feels like a mishmash, half forwarding the major storyline and half a sort of tribute to years of Cap. Overall, a fun read. That said, I did get thrown out of the story when Brubaker expected me to believe that it took Sharon six months to notice the giant scar across her stomach. Come on, now.

[Benji's Books · Rating 2 out of 5]

If the last volume wasn't filler, this one was, for sure. That's not to say the art and story was not good. This was mostly a collection of different stories, written by numerous authors and drawn by different artists. Every one of them varied in quality, but to each his or her own. I would not call this essential, as much as I wanted to love it. I mean, the first couple pages are done by Alex Ross! But other than that, meh.

There's a reprinted issue of Captain America Comics no. 16 from July 1942, that was actually an interesting read. Often, I'll find older comic book dialogue hard to read. It was a different time and just too corny, but written by Stan Lee, it was not as bad as I'm used to. It's fun to see how far back Stan had been ending every sentence with an exclamation point!

Anyway, while this volume was mostly fun, I wouldn't call it essential. I guess you could even skip it if you wanted to, but there are some Ed Brubaker Cap stuff within its pages, so if you're reading all his Cap stuff like I am, this is indeed something you should read.

2 stars for the art alone. Story wasn't essential, but writing was decent. Just wasn't anything that stood out, besides Alex Ross, of course. Interesting to note: Roger Stern, who wrote the Life and Death of Superman novelization, penned one of the stories. Also, all of these stories take place after the death of Captain America.

[RG · Rating 3 out of 5]

Felt like this massive collection was very repetitive.

[Adam Spanos · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ed Brubaker's run on Captain America has revitalized the title, unfortunately this story such as the previous one are weak. Additional information on Bucky Barnes is nice, but not essential to driving the plot any farther and is just filler for Captain America Reborn. The last several books have been great and very interesting, it is a shame Marvel has to waste time on issues like this.

[Quentin Wallace · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just as the title says, this volume is pretty much just a setup for the Reborn series, where we finally see Cap return. I did like the vampire story illustrated by Gene Colan, since Tomb of Dracula is one of my all time favorite comics. Not a bad volume, just not as "meaty" as most of the previous volumes.

[Someone Who Reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

American soldiers turning into vampires?! (O_o)

[J · Rating 3 out of 5]

This volume was kinda "meh," which seems to be the general consensus. Basically, it's a collection of filler type stories dealing with how Sharon Carter was faring after being a pawn of Red Skull, and then there's the 600th issue which is kinda the same, showcasing how many people were dealing with the death of Captain America one year later. The final issue was a tale of Cap and Bucky in WW2, drawn by master artist Gene Colan, and this was probably the best of the book. Colan was always great at mystery type stories, and in this one, Cap fights vampires in Belgium. Good stuff.

There was a column by Captain America co-creator Joe Simon, and a two page bit by Hembeck that didn't have his trademark humor.

Marvel doesn't provide much context for what's going on in this book, though. Apparently, the Skrulls invaded again and Tony Stark's SHIELD has been disbanded, but now there's a new Iron Man who is no other than Norman Osborne and some group called HAMMER. A female Bucky from an alternate universe (I think) shows up wanting to be the new Captain America's sidekick, but she encounters the Patriot from Young Avengers. None of this makes much sense unless the reader is aware of what was going on in the Marvel Universe at the time. I had read Young Avengers before, so I knew who Patriot was, but the rest was confusing at best and it would have been great to hve seen some kind of editor's note or something to let the reader know what was happening. Few people like being dropped into a story in media res. I know I sure don't.

So, the stories aren't bad, but the whole book is just filler for the Captain America: Reborn coming up next. The issue prior to #600 even has the note "To Be Continued In Captain America Reborn," or something like that. Which means half the book wasn't all that pivotal to moving the story forward. Additionally, I get the impression that Marvel tells Captain America's origin story, and the whole saved-from-ice-by-the-Avengers bit, as many times as DC does with the whole Superman-rocketed-from-Krypton-as-a-baby bit. It's tiresome to read over and over again. We get it, Marvel, we really do. Your iconic heroes and their origins are well known by now. Please stop beating us over the head and boring us to tears over it. Thanks!

[Chelsea 🏳️‍🌈 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is still a wonderful read!

I really love seeing all of these different people, supers and civilians alike, come together to pay tribute to Cap the best way they know how.

Sam, Bucky, Luke, Jessica Jones, Jessica Drew, Clint Barton and other unregistered heroes coming in plain clothes to the illegal tribute in the park. Eli Bradley befriending the lonely Rikki Barnes because he thinks it's what Steve would have wanted. Officers, WWII veterans and a mysterious benefactor bidding on Cap memorabilia. Most of all, there were so many people refusing to let the media's demonization of Cap change what they know to be true.

Surprisingly, one of the most moving parts was Bernie Rosenthal's memories of Cap. I don't know a lot about her, to be honest, but I loved seeing Cap through her eyes and the quote attached to him at the end of her portion of the story.

Definitely a recommend if you're a Cap fan.

[Mike (the Paladin) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was a bot torn on this and almost went to a 3 star rating, unheard of for me with a Captain America book. This sets up or leads into Steve's return (a bit). The upside here are the "background stories" and the replays of Cap and his situation. The down side is it's a bit muddled and the art is a mixed bag.

There are places in this volume (done by various artists) where the illustrations are beautiful There are other places where the art just doesn't do it. (I'm not referring of course the the panels supposed to look like that). The story mixes view points and eras, not a bad thing but at times it's not great. I found myself skimming over parts, not good.

All in all still a good book, follow it up with Cap's return and it's all good.

[shakespeareandspice · Rating 2 out of 5]

What does it say about a main protagonist when you enjoy one of his girlfriends as a side character way more then you like him? I don’t think Steve Rogers works for me beyond larger story arcs. Unless I’m guaranteed of some fantastic Sharon Carter moments, I’m limiting myself with Captain America stories. He’s either boring or just irritating.

[Molly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this a lot more than I thought I would - I thought I'd find the unrelated stories a bit of a drag, but they actually provided a lot of insight into the Cap legacy in the Marvel universe, which turned out to be a really compelling component of the trade. Some of the stories were really heartwarming - it's a relief to see Sharon a bit more relaxed after her ordeal in the previous trades, and the issue about Bucky's birthday was really sweet. Of course, the build up to Steve's inevitable return is interesting and I'm intrigued to read the actual explanation soon.

Overall it's not my favourite of the Brubaker run so far, but it's a nice interlude, which also manages to move the story forward.

Plus, a WW2 era vampire story? Unexpected but very good!

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm starting to skim this now... how many origin recaps are there? Great Gene Colan story!

[Aildiin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is really a filler book, not much is happening

[B!!! · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eh

[Amory · Rating 1 out of 5]

I liked the first Sharon Carter and Aunt Peggy part, but wasn't into the rest of it.

[Shelley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mostly a mishmash of stories, checking in on a variety of people one year after Steve's death. I didn't even know all the characters. Really the important bit is that Sharon starts to remember what happened and is pretty sure that Steve isn't actually dead. One good Bucky story about growing up with the Army (and how that screwed up him even before Hydra and Russia got a hold of him) and his birthdays.

[Stephen Olley · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a treat! I was expecting a few issues of fragments of stories that had been pulled out of context to lead into the main Reborn story. What I got was a real celebration of Captain America. Thoroughly enjoyed.
(It gets several billion bonus points for actually explaining what has happened previously so you don't need to do any research before picking it up - always a plus.)

[Alan Castree · Rating 2 out of 5]

This volume was a mixed bag. About half if it was good. Half was a bunch of random repetition. Just when we finally get back to Sharron and Sam it cuts to do a bunch of Marvel stuff and Anniversary stuff. Maybe the next volume will get back to the main story.

[Виктор · Rating 1 out of 5]

The absolute worst in the series, unbearable.

[T.I.M. James · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reviewing a graphic novel is a bit different to a normal novel, especially when it is a collection of issues rather than an original work; even more so when it was a story that I read in its original form.

Ed Brubaker had a terrific run on Daredevil at the same time as he was writing Captain America, and as a whole his Cap run nearly matched Daredevil. These issues cover part of the time when Steve Rogers has been (apparently) assassinated, with Bucky/The Winter Soldier now taking the role of Captain America. The series also celebrates the milestone 600th issue of the Captain America title, so there is a lot going on, much to do with the impending return of Rogers.

The biggest fault for me was the lack of the Bucky Cap through these issues. The man was in many ways, a much better fit for the modern era and had adopted the name and costume, but we rarely see him in these pages, rather having glimpses into the lives and supporting cast. When Bucky does appear it is generally in connection with these other stories where he appears as an incidental character, or to tell a story of the original Cap. (This is more than acceptable in the anniversary issue – you could not have that with Steve Rogers.)

The art is provider throughout by a number of different artists, which although all good, works against the fluidity of the issues, and they do feel slightly disjointed, lots of smaller stories that stand alone rather than nit together, working better in monthly format than in collected form.

Even then, at the time of reading, I felt these were the weakest part of Brubaker’s run on the title, which is a shame because the ongoing story on either side of this was universally superb.

[Brandt · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have really loved Ed Brubaker's run on Captain America but the two volumes since The Death of Captain America , both The Man With No Face and this volume, which contains the end of Captain America vol. 5 and the anniversary issue #600 and a special flashback story drawn by Gene Colan for #601 seem more an interlude to something greater to come. Issue #600 in particular feels like Brubaker tying up some loose ends for the Captain America supporting cast and setting up for the Captain America: Reborn miniseries. It's not necessarily bad, since our expectation is that Steve Rogers will come back (Bucky/Winter Soldier as Cap is interesting, but unlike a Wally West-like run as the Flash, this doesn't seem sustainable.)

Considering how awesome the first four years of Captain America was under Brubaker's watch was, it's not shocking to have to step back and take a breath...especially if it means undoing killing Captain America. But here's to hoping that Reborn picks up the pace and gets back to the level of quality in Brubaker's work that I have come to expect.

[Linnea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Road to Reborn is made up of a collection of different vignettes as kind of a tribute to Steve Rogers, and I think because of that lack of a cohesive storyline I just wasn't as into it as I have been with other books in this series. The stories were all over the place, ranging from Steve's domestic life, to a fem!Bucky/Young Avenger from another planet, to an old Stan Lee Red Skull comic (definitely a highlight), to fighting vampires in WWII (another fun one, just random as hell)... As with any collection of short stories, some were more interesting than others and the ones that were interesting just made me want to have more context! I guess that's how MARVEL gets you to buy more books... fair enough lol. I think the best part of having these different vignettes was how they were illustrated by different artists, which made for a fun read and showed just how diverse illustration can be even within the same genre. I think that overall my main takeaway is that while Road to Reborn had its ups and downs and was a fun read in its own way, this "tribute" feels a little meaningless since I'm assuming Steve comes back in the next book.

[Ian · Rating 2 out of 5]

A collection of stories dealing with the aftermath of Steve Rogers' murder, one year on. As Sharon Carter struggles with the knowledge that, whilst under mind control, she killed her beloved Steve, Bucky continues to wrestle with the nature of living up to Steve's example as Captain America.

This is very much a jumbled collection of vignettes featuring various characters whose lives were forever altered by the presence, and loss, of Steve Rogers. It's not terribly coherent and none of the stories featured really get any chance to develop any depth.
In reality, this book is just intended, as the title suggests, to whet readers' appetites for the 'Captain America Reborn' storyline which would see return to the land of the living.

Although there are some good parts to this book, Bucky recounting a tale of WWII Nazi vampires being a particular high point, overall it just feels like it's spinning its wheels waiting for the main event to kick in, which it never does here.

* More reviews here: https://fsfh-book-review2.webnode.page *

[Jesse · Rating 2 out of 5]

This wasn't much of a book. There were two "origin/previously on..." stories, and a bunch of random short stories. The only actual arc in it was like 3 issues involving Sharon Carter remembering when she shot Cap, and finding the gun, only to discover it was weird. I obviously knew Cap was going to come back, and vaguely remembered that it had something to do with time travel (although honestly I wasn't sure if I was just mixing that up with Batman's death. That came like a year or two later, right? It's crazy how similar they were.) But that doesn't really get shown in this book, it's just planting the seeds. So yeah, some enjoyable stuff, but it's all very much preamble to Reborn, and so not very satisfying on its own.

[Rocky Sunico · Rating 4 out of 5]

This volume wasn't so much a story on its own as more like a clip show of different Captain America stories all tied to the big Issue 600 achievement. Thus it reads more like an anthology of stories that help update us on how the different characters have been doing given recent events. And between the death of Captain America, the Winter Soldier, Bucky becoming Captain America, and Secret Invasion, obviously, a lot has happened.

Don't get me wrong, there are some great pieces here and interesting tribute stories covering the length and breadth of Captain America's history. But at the same time, it also feels like a lot of setup for future stories without really committing to a particular narrative path just yet.

[Henry Blackwood · Rating 2 out of 5]

This trade was a real slog to get through. It’s obvious that marvel were holding off for a few issues for ‘Reborn’. Which is all good and fine but this trade suffered immensely for it. There’s only so many times you can rehash the same Zemo Island story and Steve Rodgers origin before it gets boring. They literally told the same fucking story again and again in almost every issue of this trade instead of making an interesting in between story.

I don’t need more stories of Buck and Cap in the war with a sprinkle of his origin and Bucky’s supposed death. I shouldn’t be over reading about it right now but I am. This is super lazy and I’m very disappointed.