The Death of Captain America, Vol. 3: The Man Who Bought America

Captain America (2004) (Collected Editions) #8

by Ed Brubaker, Steve Epting (Illustrator), Jackson Guice (Illustrator)

The saga of the new Captain America continues! He's doing his best to carry on the legacy of Steve Rogers, but things go from bad to worse for Bucky Barnes when the Red Skull makes an unexpected move for the very soul of America!

Collecting: Captain America 37-42

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

144 pages, Hardcover

First published November 26, 2008

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

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sharon Carter is pregnant with the deceased Captain America's child. A presidential candidate is in the pocket of the Red Skull and his allies. Bucky Barnes is struggling to adapt to his role as the new Captain America when someone appearing to be Steve Rogers appears...

Brubaker's epic run on Captain America continues as Bucky Barnes steps up and proves he deserves the Captain America mantle. Sharon Carter finally shakes off the mind control and the Red Skull gets what's coming to him in a fashion. The Death of Captain America arc comes to a satisfying conclusion.

One thing that I like about Ed Brubaker's run on Captain America so far is his sense of pacing. One gripe I have with most comics these days is that they are slow paced, written with being collected in trade paperbacks in mind. Bru's issues, while geared toward being longer stories, are more satisfying individually than a lot of the comics on the racks today. I also like that Bru mines a lot of Captain America's past, like his relationship with Hawkeye, lesser used villains like Dr. Faustus, and the Captain America of the 1950s to give us stories that aren't just rehashes of old ones. Another thing I like is the new Captain America's relationships with the supporting cast, namely Falcon, the Black Widow, and Sharon Carter.

Any complaints? Not really. It was a good story but not earth-shattering. I'm still waiting for the Bucky-Red Skull clash to rival Hulk Hogan-Andre the Giant from Wrestlemania III. Looks like I'll be picking up more of Ed Brubaker's Captain America run.

[kim hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ┊ 5 stars

"This uniform..it carries a weight. But it's not a burden. It's a responsibility."

Woah. I was at the edge of my seat. AGAIN!

Thank you Brubaker for ending this volume series with so much action with twists and turns.

[James DeSantis · Rating 4 out of 5]

The final chapter in the Death of Captain America. Does it end well? Well, no shit, it's Ed Brubaker here!

So the new Steve Rogers is here. Or I guess the old Steve Rogers? It's a clone of rogers who was the super soldier in the past. ANYWAY he's back and he's going after Bucky because he thinks Bucky killed his Bucky, which he actually did. Confused? Read the comics. Then have the other half of Falcon and Natasha on their rescue mission to get Agent 13 back.

Overall, good stuff. The art remains some of the best around, the fights are brutal and great, and the emotions are on display perfectly. Bucky is really great when written by Brubaker. Dark but not so moody like the movies, and the weight of being the New Cap is perfect for a character development like his. I also think the ending sets up some big things. I didn't love the events that happened to agent 13. I also think the villains didn't really get anything much done here besides what happened to agent 13.

Still, great ending, and can't wait for the next part. I'm getting into things I haven't read soon, it's exciting. A 4 out of 5.

[Drew Canole · Rating 3 out of 5]

Things come to a reasonably satisfying conclusion here. I honestly did not expect all the plot threads to wrap up quite so soon - I figured they could have kept going for some time.

Bucky Barnes as Captain America is pretty great. Sharon Carter's storyline is pretty weak and she doesn't get much of a chance to shine here.

[Subham · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was another great one!

This is where everything comes together really well. First we have Cap of 50s and his origin and all and how he looks like Steve facing off against Bucky and there is a war of two caps and then Senator Wright forming a third party and running for president but its a plan with Red Skull involved and we finally see Falcon and Widow make their move to free Agent 13 and will they? Also what is Red Skull's plan to escape from the body of Lukin? And some interesting things with Dr Faustus. New beginnings and New endings here.

Amazing volume and I love the way Brubaker brings it all together in the end and pays off so many things and gives the final war between them sort of and also I kinda love the way he writes Sharon and gives her an interesting arc so yeah a must read plus the art! <3

[Chelsea &#x1f3f3;️‍&#x1f308; · Rating 4 out of 5]

Second time around, much more enjoyable skimming Sharon's plot. I will never understand why they chose to have her miscarry and get held hostage in addition to the plot with Steve's assassination. Seemed to me the guilt of that last bit would be enough of a plot to work with but... we have to torture female characters with unwanted pregnancies. Joy.

Anyway, the bits with Sam and Bucky forming their partnership were great. Loved seeing Bucky struggle with the weight of Steve's legacy. I really liked Clint's appearance - more effective if you read the Fallen Son issue where Tony tried to get Clint to take up the shield. There's a lot there with Clint's relationship with Steve but, unfortunately, it wasn't explored as much as I'd like. In either here or the few issues Clint appeared in for other series.

Anyway, it's worth reading for Bucky's adjustment to Cap's role. That and his bits with Sam were the only parts I found enjoyable.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a little hard to follow, but overall it was good.

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Act Three the nefarious plans of the Red Skull are revealed which include several strategies chief among them bringing backc some twisted version of Captain America and creating an economic crisis. The usual crew shows up to fight against and for the Red Skull.

I found Act Three to be the best of all three though I would say the first which detailed the death of Steve Rogers (the original Cap) was arguably the most moving.

“Captain America #25 which depicted Steve Roger's death was the highest selling comic of March 2007 with preorder sales of 290,514 which was double the sales of the Mighty Avengers #1 in the same period. The Death of Captain America was reported in ABC News, where Bryan Robinsons paralleled the events to the Post-September 11 World and Iraq.” (Wiki)

The former two tales to this three part story were titled: “The Death of the Dream” and “The Burden Man Who Bought America”. All three tales were written by Ed Brubaker. Artwork by Steve Epting, Mike Perkins and a few others.

There's a script in back with some former designs of how the new Captain America would look.

ARTWORK PRESENATION: B plus; CHARACTERS/DIALOGUE: B plus to A minus; STORY/PLOTTING: B plus to A minus; ACTION SCENES: B plus to A minus ; CAPTAIN AMERICA FOCUSES: B plus to A minus; WHEN READ: mid September 2012; OVERALL GRADE: B plus to A minus.

SPOILERS: a nice temporary setback for the Red Skull as he had to live in the inside robotic parts of Anim Zola.

Nice crossover between the girl on girl and the Cap on Cap and I enjoyed the three part epilogue.

[Greg · Rating 4 out of 5]

As the story went on I got into it a lot more. I still can't say that I'm a fan of Captain America, but the twists that the third part of the Death of Captain America took were more interesting than the set up in the previous two books.

[Connie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I own this book.

This is one of my favourite runs of Captain America that I've read so far. Can I just highlight, once again, how much I love and adore Bucky Barnes? This was such an action packed storyline, we see Bucky step into his role as Cap more and more as he fights against a fake Steve Rogers and attempts to dissemble Zola's plans while also trying to save Sharon from Dr Faustus alongside Falcon. Cap!Bucky really owns my whole heart and soul.

[Graham Barrett · Rating 4 out of 5]

(Read in 2009, review from 2024)

This volume brought the Death of Captain America saga to a close with Red Skull Red Skull-ing, a Carter family member living up to Peggy Carter’s example and Bucky finally coming into his own as Captain America. There’s a lot of moving parts, not all works (Red Skull’s daughter is annoying) but it was all good.

You know looking back on The Death of Captain America saga was fun but man is it depressing that a presidential candidate claiming they want to drain the swamp but are actually working for fascists and corporate interests ended up being prophetic (x2). Regardless this was a fun Cap story (and who knows maybe a real patriot like him can save us in 2024-2025)

[Alan Castree · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay, I love this run of Captain America. Though, it’s really disturbing everything Sharen Carter ( “Steve’s Girl” ) has been though. Like, yeah… That was maybe the biggest disappointment so far, and I couldn’t imagine how much mental trauma that would be for a woman (though Faustus made her forget… so is that another ticking drama time bomb). I guess it wouldn’t be so bad, but Sharon’s main role for the past many volumes was to be a victim.

The rest is good, really intense and rewarding for Bucky. There has been a lot of development for his character.

[Simona · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating: 3/5



Nu sunt o mare fană a Căpitanului America, pentru simplul fapt că acesta nu m-a atras în mod special până acum. Primul film din seria CA (The First Avenger) a fost singurul care m-a prins, povestea în sine fiind una interesantă, iar actorii jucându-și bine rolurile.

Revenind la oile noastre, nu știu bine ce să vă zic despre acest album pe care l-am citit. Nu a fost chiar pe placul meu, tematica războinică/politică neatrăgându-mă de fel, iar ceea ce s-a întâmplat în cele șase benzi desenate nu a reușit să mă impresioneze în mod special.

Noul Căpitan America este Ed Brubaker, zis și Bucky, este cel care duce mai departe spiritul de luptătorul al căpitanului, alături de acesta mai aflându-se și personaje precum Falcon și Black Widow. Niciun personaj nu m-a marcat, simțindu-le pe toate parcă la fel. Pur și simplu nu am reușit să mă mulez pe aceast comic, lucru de care îmi pare rău, căci partea grafică arată

Cu toate că am avut parte de destul de multă acțiune, nu am simțit-o pe cât de mult mi-aș fi dorit, cromatică maronie (de cele mai multe ori) a cadrelor dându-mi senzația de monotonie.

Nu știu sigur ce anume a lipsit, dar am simțit că a lipsit ceva, iar acel ceva ar fi putut să mă facă să devin interesată de acest album. Poate fi tematica, traducerea sau faptul că nu am avut toată povestea cap-coadă la îndemână (cu toate că editura a pus la îndemână un rezumat al întâmplărilor anterioare), sau altceva.

Sunt curioasă dacă voi sunteți fanii lui Cap' și dacă ați citit benzi desenate cu acesta. Aștept părerea voastră. ^_^

[Mike (the Paladin) · Rating 3 out of 5]

You've probably read some of my reviews where I tell of my history with comic books/graphic novels. I'm a long time Marvel fan and a long time Captain America fan.

So I find these books sad...not just sad because of the subject matter, but sad because of the low quality of the story. I am disappointed with what has been done here with Cap...

Even Cap's death was set up as an anticlimax. In the Death of Superman there's a Donnybrook of a fight that leads to the climax and Superman's death. Cap, who's fought every super villain imaginable to a standstill and lifted Thor's hammer is killed by a sniper in the book that sets this series up.

I'm simply disappointed in how Cap has been handled in a lot of the recent books.

So, 3 stars here. A sad weak story with some superb art.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5** i loved the bucky/nat so much more than i was expecting - might write a proper review soon

[Jaye Berry · Rating 5 out of 5]

God this run SLAPS. I've probably said that for every volume but it is truly iconic.

Here we have Bucky as Captain America. Sharon is pregnant with Steve Roger's baby and is kidnapped by the Red Skull and his people and there she finds someone there who looks just like Steve Rogers. He is Cap from the 50s and is brainwashed and sent by the Red Skull to fight Bucky who he's told killed Bucky. Meanwhile Red Skull has a senator under his control who is working to make a third party to run as president.

There's so much going on but at the heart of this (at least for me) was Sam and Bucky's friendship and partnership. Maybe I'm just in my feels because I recently rewatched The Falcon and the Winter Soldier show but oh my god I just LOVED to see them together, training together, working together and just hanging out. 🥺🥺 We were ROBBED of Sam talking to birds in the MCU!!!

This is a hot take but I don't think I like Bucky as Captain America and I don't think he does either?? I wish this volume had more Black Widow but I do be wishing every comic had more Black Widow.

Ever since it was revealed that Sharon was pregnant I just knew that wouldn't end well and huh what do you know? It didn't end well and it was so fucked up. On one hand I'm still sad the MCU never did Sharon's relationship with Steve but on the other hand I'm glad they never did so we didn't have to see her go through any of this. I don't like men writing this storyline at all and I don't like how they used one of the few other female characters to drive it.

I still hate the art but the writing is good otherwise, especially the dialogue and how much is going on and tied together (minus the above plotline though).

But also oh my god there were too many Captain Americas and I still kinda don't get it like the dude is just thrown in there with a quick explanation in which I went ???

Then all the politics actually had me screaming because you could not get any more Trump "make america great again" if you tried. It was so uncanny for real. It was so uncomfortable to read like did Trump read this?? Did he get his campaign ideas from the Red Skull???

[Mary Bronson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good conclusion to the trilogy. I thought it was wrapped up brilliantly. This was a more fast pace read and I enjoyed the characters more. I was felt bad for Sharon Carter. I might continue on with some other Captain America graphic novels, but I am not sure.

[abi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this significantly less than the last two, but it was still good nonetheless

[Mikel Maeztu · Rating 3 out of 5]

esta entretenido pero nada que sea de notable o sobresaliente.
Considero que Brubaker puede hacerlo mucho mejor

[Jeff · Rating 3 out of 5]

Brubaker’s Captain America run is legendary and I enjoy it. That being said, it gets a bit soap opera-like at times. Agent Carter is under mind control and pregnant with the deceased Steve Rogers’ baby. The original Cap is dead but Bucky is the new Cap and now there’s a pretender Cap working for Red Skull. Meanwhile, Red Skull is possessing a dude. It’s a bit much.

[Ctgt · Rating 4 out of 5]

8/10

[Aaron · Rating 4 out of 5]

In volume one, Captain America is assassinated on the courthouse steps following his arrest concluding Civil War. The perpetrators are Crossbones and a brainwashed Agent 13 aka Sharon Carter, and the masterminds are Doctor Faustus, Arnim Zola, and none other than the Red Skull. Bucky Barnes, also known as the Winter Soldier, begins his roaring rampage of revenge by gunning for Tony Stark but ends it in the clutches of the Red Skull. Sharon's involvement is uncovered and she subdues Falcon and Black Widow, who are also investigating the assassination.

In volume two, Bucky and Tony reconcile somewhat and Tony assists Bucky in becoming the new Captain America as per Steve Rogers' wishes. Bucky begins uncovering a plot that would place a puppet as President of the United States under the control of the Red Skull. Meanwhile, Sharon begins to break out of her brainwashing and discovers what looks like the preserved body of Captain America in the hands of the Skull.

In volume three, the body is revealed to be the Grand Director, the Captain America of the 1950's now controlled by Cap's enemies. Bucky halts the Skull's plans to control the country and shuts down Sin, the Red Skull's daughter. Sharon apparently kills the Red Skull, who ends up uploaded into a robot body.

Very good pacing and plotting by Brubaker in what ends up being a quintessential Captain America story without actually having the original Cap involved. Most of Cap's primary supporting characters and enemies are involved and the story only relies slightly on knowing the significance of some characters. Really satisfying, and a good story to adapt to film if Chris Evans ever exits the role.

[M · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ed Brubaker continues to set up his Captain America run as a legacy title. With Bucky now adopting the Cap costume and shield, the Red Skull seeks to put his plan to discredit the new Captain America into motion. As Bucky teams with Falcon and Black Widow to confront a corrupt political platform, Sharon Carter must try and escape from the Skull's clutches in time to prevent a government conspiracy from overtaking America. Weaving through complex layers of plotting, paying homage to - and improving upon - classic continuity, and tackling contemporary issues, Brubaker's series feels like it could actually happen on the streets. Seeing Bucky and the new costume takes a little getting used to, but the saga continues to show how the symbol of Captain America is one that continues to to resonate into today's world. Fantastically done.

[Práxedes Rivera · Rating 5 out of 5]

A knockout conclusion to this wonderful trilogy, 'The Man Who Bought America' is filled with surprise twists. Superhero fans know that rarely does a deceased character remain dead, so I expect a Steve Rogers re-birth trilogy in the future. This story contains equally shocking sub-plots: Rogers' death is barely discussed, Black Widow spends most of the time behind the scenes (but not really), and the extremely long timeline Red Skull engages in to wreak havoc are all worthy of their own trilogies. The artwork has the feel of a moving storyboard, bringing movement and balance to life. A terrific work!

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Red Skull plots to have his man elected into office with the help of Faustus.

Bucky, the new Captain America, struggles to uncover the deception.
He is thwarted by a third Captain that is not Steve.

A complicated but enjoyable read.
Good for those looking for the transitional period between Captain America's.

Notes
Dr. Zola plays a role.

Learning Curve
Moderate: Some knowledge of Captain America would be helpful

Reading Order
After Civil War

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the conclusion to this arc with what happened to the 50s Cap, the Red Skull, and Sharon's pregnancy. as always I enjoyed the characterization of Bucky/Cap (in regards to his difficulty living up to Steve's reputation) and his interactions with Hawkeye and Falcon too.

[Fugo Feedback · Rating 2 out of 5]

Me gusta la idea de que Bucky reemplace al Capi en su ausencia por muerte con aviso, pero las historias en sí ya están empezando a aburrirme. Una lástima, porque así parece que soy de los que claman por la constante vuelta al status quo.

[Dorin Lazăr · Rating 2 out of 5]

Povestea e bună, problema mea majoră este cu traducerea, care e una din cele mai proaste traduceri posibile - și cam ăsta ar fi aportul important al editorilor români. Povestea în cele din urmă o salvează, dar, să fim serioși, voi evita toate volumele traduse de Mircea Pricăjan de-acum încolo.

[Sesana · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really good close to the storyline. Obviously there had to be some threads left dangling, but nothing irritating. Definitely interested to see where this leads.

[Искра · Rating 5 out of 5]

Protect Bucky at all costs, please.