Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty

Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty #1-12

by Mark Waid, Ron Garney, Brian K. Vaughan

During his height of popularity in the late 1990s, Captain America was given a second monthly title-and it's collected here in full! Featuring Cap stories from across the ages! With the invaders in World War II! With Iron Man after his iceberg rescue! Against terrorists with S.H.I.E.L.D.! COLLECTING: Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty #1-12, Rough Cut

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

360 pages, Hardcover

First published January 19, 2011

About the author

Mark Waid is an American comic book writer widely known for shaping modern superhero storytelling through influential runs on major characters at both DC Comics and Marvel Comics. Raised in Alabama, he developed an early fascination with comic books, particularly classic stories featuring the Legion of Super-Heroes, whose imaginative scope and sense of legacy would later inform his own writing. He first entered the comics industry during the mid 1980s as an editor and writer for the fan magazine Amazing Heroes, before publishing his first professional comic story in Action Comics. Soon afterward he joined DC Comics as an editor, contributing to numerous titles and helping shape projects across the company. After leaving editorial work to focus on writing, Waid gained widespread recognition with his long run on The Flash, where he expanded the mythology of the character and co-created the youthful speedster Impulse. His reputation grew further with the celebrated graphic novel Kingdom Come, created with artist Alex Ross, which imagined a future DC Universe shaped by generational conflict among superheroes. Over the years he has written many prominent series, including Captain America, Fantastic Four, Daredevil, and Superman: Birthright, bringing a balance of optimism, character depth, and respect for comic book history to each project. Waid has also collaborated with notable artists and writers on major ensemble titles such as Justice League and Avengers, while contributing ideas that helped clarify complex continuity within shared superhero universes. Beyond mainstream superhero work, he has supported creator owned projects and experimental publishing models, including the acclaimed series Irredeemable and Incorruptible, which explored moral ambiguity within the superhero genre. He later took on editorial leadership roles at Boom Studios, guiding creative direction while continuing to write extensively. In subsequent years he expanded his involvement in publishing and digital storytelling, helping launch online comics initiatives and advocating for new distribution methods for creators. His work has earned numerous industry awards, including Eisner and Harvey honors, reflecting both critical acclaim and enduring popularity among readers. Throughout his career Waid has remained a passionate student of comic book history, drawing on decades of storytelling tradition while continually encouraging innovation within the medium. His influence extends across generations of readers and creators, and his stories continue to shape the evolving language of superhero comics around the world today through enduring characters imaginative narratives and thoughtful reinventions of familiar myths within popular culture and modern graphic storytelling traditions.

Reviews

[Adam Graham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty was a year long second Captain America series with tales told throughout Captain America's history from the 1940s to the modern day. There's no overriding story, rather these are kind of like, "Untold Tales of Spider-man" or perhaps D.C.' s Legends of the Dark Knight.

Mark Waid (who was writing the principle Captain America series at the time) writes most of the stories in this book.

Let's break down the stories, one by one:

The book leads off with a Sharon Carter story that showcases the difference between Cap's values and those of others in intelligence including Nick Fury, who had no problem with a black ops raid where the goal is to take people out. The way the book plays out highlights how Steve Rogers character calls those around him to a higher standard. An odd choice to lead off the book, but solid. Grade: B

The second story, "Descent into Madness" is a three part World War II thriller following the adult members of the Invaders (Captain America, the Human Torch, and Submariner) in an adventure that takes the team to Atlantis. Nazis have taken over the android Human Torch and are using him as a weapon to attack the Atlanteans in the name of America in hopes of get Atlantis to ally with the Nazis. It's a great wartime story and was actually better than many of the Invaders stories I read from the 1970s. I do have to say that Cap's psychoanalysis of the relationship between Sub-mariner and his mother felt a little off for 1940s Captain America. Then again, the Invaders was written during the 1970s about the 1940s so maybe it's not so far fetched after all. Also Ron Gurney (who was also the regular artist on the Captain America comic) does a great job on the art and bringing the 1940s to life. Grade: B+

Issue 5 featured two shorter stories that were concluded in Issue 6. Issue 6 also featured another continued story that'd be wrapped up in Issue 7.

"Old Soldier/Iron Will" features an untold story set after the events of Avengers #4 with Captain America thawing out and joining the Avengers. Iron Man's having second thoughts as to whether Cap really hasn't lost a step in two decades. The story captures the "Man out of time" feel of Captain America pretty well as the Brooklynite Cap comes to a demolished Ebbetts Fields and assumes people are moody because they missed their favorite radio program. Of course, they encounter an enemy that shows Cap's timeless value. The story had a lot of nice touches including the villain (which only Waid would think of with his incomparable comic book knowledge) and Iron Man in his Silver Age armor. Grade: A-

"The Great Pretender/Double Trouble" A story finds Captain America undercover in an insane asylum as someone claiming to be Captain America because inmate is rattling off natural security secrets and Cap has to find out why, and he's not the only one interested as proved by the arrival of the Chameleon. The story is good but nothing really special. Grade: B-

"Come the Revolution/When Free Men Shall Stand": This story was written by Roger Stern who wrote for Cap in the 1980s and imagines Steve Rogers as having a revolutionary war ancestor who fought and wore a colorful costume and shield. The story was okay, but really seemed to miss the point of Captain America. Steve Rogers wasn't a guy with ancestors who fought in the Revolution. Most guys didn't have that. It's the type of story you'd expect in the Silver Age-if Cap were at DC. Grade: C

"An Ending:" This story written by Brian Vaughn would be appropriate if this comic were called, "FDR." The point of the story is that FDR managed to get a young Steve Rogers through a very difficult early life with all of his radio speeches and then gave Captain America the courage to actually fight the by admitting his polio had left him wheelchair bound. While FDR certainly was popular, it seems odd to have a story that serves no other purpose other than show FDR as young Steve Rogers personal savior and inspiration for everything. Grade: C-

"Flashpoint/Back in Black": This story in Issues 8 and 9 features the Cap and his bronze age partner, the Falcon (i.e. Sam Wilson, a Black Harlem social worker.) When Cap is apparently killed in a plot by the Sons of the Serpent to claim him as one of their own, Wilson takes over as Captain America. The story has a lot to say about how racial hatred is stirred up and the actual plot as well as Sam Wilson's relationship with Cap makes the story interesting. Less so, the denoument which is a bit odd. Still, this was pretty enjoyable. Grade: B

"The Janus Chamber:" This is an odd one involving Captain America trying to save JFK and Marilyn Monroe, and a singer. The story attempts parody and acknowledges at the beginning that it's ahistorical, but as it is, it's a very lame attempt of humor that when it's most understandable is actually kind of offensive particularly using the JFK assassination as punchline. The art is terrible. Really, this is the worst Captain America art I've ever seen. It's just awful. Grade: F

"Hello? Hello? Send some new Linoleum:" This story has the Human Torch explaining to the real Captain America the story of how he met an imposter who fooled everyone but used his status as "Captain America" to rob the bank. The story is recreated almost exactly as it was in the 1963 Silver Age Strange Tales story with Cap incredulous at it all, "He buys a ferrari, a rocket-equipped sky platform, and a state of the art escape missile to rob twenty grand from the bank." Cap's humor may be a little off base, but the whole story is charming and funny. Grade: A-

"Brother in Arms" The double length final issue has Cap recalling his relationship with Bucky. Here Waid has to work to flesh out the character of Bucky: Why was he a "mascot" in the middle of wartime? What was he like? Waid fills in the character by making him a bit of a scrounger and the young orphan son of a training officer who is allowed to remain on base. He's a charmer and Cap worries if he understands what life's all about. The story ends very poignantly the moment before Bucky's assumed death during the battle against Baron Zemo. Waid does a good job and this is a nice way to end the book. Grade: A-

Overall, the book is worth getting particularly at the relatively low prices that it sells for as used. The Mark Waid stories are great if you've been a fan of Cap through his many changes. The rest of the book is only so so.

[Peter Derk · Rating 2 out of 5]

The mind-blowing thing about this collection, it's a perfect sample for the whole "everything old is new again" thing that happens in comics.

Can we talk about a few thing that happened in 1998?

1. Captain America V. Iron Man
Yes, Earth's Mightiest Heroes had a fistfight in 1998. Of course, it involved some weird bullshit and they weren't real enemies, but we still had the two exchanging blows.

2. Sam Wilson Captain America
Yep! In 1998, in this series, Sam Wilson took on the mantle of Captain America when it appeared that Cap had been killed. Now, this story was quite bizarre for a few reasons, but none more so than the involvement of a white power group trying to make it appear that Cap was a big fan, and the leader of this group not only tried to make a gas that killed black people while leaving white people unharmed, but also claimed that geneticists were refining sickle-cell anemia as a favor to this white power group. I guess what I found really confusing about this, other than all of it, was...why would a white power group bother trying to make it look like Cap was on their side if they were making a gas that killed all black people? Were they hedging their bets? "Well, if our black people killing gas doesn't work, a PR campaign is the next step down to racial dominance"? If this is their two-pronged plan for success, if one prong succeeds, it totally negates the need for the other prong. Also, with the sickle-cell thing? Did a portion of the company just run out of shit to do and they were like, "We have a murderous gas in the works. Maybe keep perfecting sickle-cell, eh?" To what end? Why are these people working on all these different projects that, if successful, make the other projects totally obsolete? Who is running this thing? These are not very smart white people.

3. Bucky's return (sort of)
Growing up, there were a few comic book people who died and DIDN'T come back to life.

There was Uncle Ben, who is still dead.

There was Gwen Stacy, who was cloned, and also had some secret babies, but was mostly kinda dead on Earth-616, but was alive on as Spider-Gwen on Earth-65, and on Earth-TRN565 there was a Gwenpool. I guess if you're going to make a hero an alternate version on another Earth, Stacy is where it's at. Also, I'm beginning to suspect that the numbers assigned to these planets are arbitrary. TRN565? That's a buncha bullshit.

There was Jason Todd, the Robin the Joker killed. If you're not a student of comics, interesting fact, Jason Todd replaced Dick Grayson as Robin, and DC set up a hotline people could call into in order to determine Todd's fate at the hands of the Joker. Would he live or die? The votes were pretty close in the end, after more than 10,000 people had called in. There is a rumor that some guy setup an auto dialer of some sort to call every 90 seconds for 8 hours in order to sway the vote, but this is unproven lore. And of course, Todd came back in 2005.

There was Bucky. Bucky stayed dead for a long time, until he didn't. Such is comics!

4. Nazis use the sunken city of Atlantis to mount an unexpected attack on the Allies
Okay, this hasn't ACTUALLY happened again that I know of, but of all the ideas here, I feel like this one's got legs. With flippers on it. It's got Nazis, it's got a legendary underwater city. It's got 1940's scuba helmets. It's got it all.

[Artur Coelho · Rating 2 out of 5]

Confesso um certo fraquinho por este, que é o mais icónico dos personagens da Marvel, apesar dos seus óbvios contornos a puxar a nacionalismos e patriotismos. Se bem que a personagem tem uma gestão inteligente, mais a puxar aos ideais de liberdade e democracia do que simples acenar de bandeira. Nesta série de histórias assinadas por Mark Waid e outros, olha-se com um olhar moderno para as aventuras do passado do Capitão América. É um revisitar algo nostálgico, mas sem cair na emulação, das histórias clássicas dos anos 40, 60 e 70. Isso torna esta leitura divertida, ler o tipo de história simplista daqueles tempos contado com as técnicas narrativas atuais. Mas não vai muito para além disto, e depressa a série se perde em enfado.

[Jdetrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are some good comics in this collection (although no great ones), but its something of an anthology series, and some of the creators handle the character better than other. And with all love to Roger Stern, the idea of a Revolutionary Captain America seems....unnecessary.

[Jaida Rossiter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good

[Librariah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really loved the “Brothers in Arms” issue. Mark Waid has yet to disappoint me.

[gin · Rating 3 out of 5]

half were really good and the other half were boring
needed more sharon too

[Ginny · Rating 3 out of 5]

half were really good and the other half were boring
needed more sharon too

[Robert Pereira · Rating 2 out of 5]

Boring

[Little Timmy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first 6 issues of this series are great the 2nd 6 not as much. Recommended

[Fizzgig76 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reprints Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty #1-12 (September 1998-August 1999). Captain America has been America’s sign of justice for decades. Be it battling with the Invaders and Bucky in World War II against Nazis forces, fighting racism in Harlem with the Falcon, or even his distant relative helping liberate America from the British, Captain America is always at the forefront of history and the voice of the American people!

Written by Mark Waid, Ron Garney, Brian K. Vaughan, Roger Stern, and James Felder, Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty was a spin-off title to the popular Captain America series which also had just relaunched after Heroes Return. The comic focused on different periods in Captain America’s long existence and also presented alternate realities. The entire series has been collected in a hardback deluxe edition.

Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty is really hit or miss. Some of the stories are quite good, others are quite bad. None of the stories really wow you or really change your perception of the hero...that could be considered a good thing or a bad thing, but it also means it is rather blasé for the classic character.

I really wish this series had dared to be more experimental. The comic was the perfect opportunity for some extreme writing. Even Brian K. Vaughan who normally writes rather edgy work is good but neutered here. I would have love to see a few dark, dark Vertigo-esque storylines, and I would have loved to have seen the role of Captain America (as the Sentinel of Liberty) explored more like it was in The Ultimates. That being said, the stories by themselves are still for the most part good, but just more of the same.

The art for the comic also misses the mark a bit. The stories take place all over time but the comic chose not to stylize it. I would have loved to see the art style stretch from the ’40s to the ’90s. It could have been a real fun opportunity for artists and readers.

Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty is not a bad comic, but it could have been so much more. Captain America has the potential to be a fun character but can also be very bland. This collection falls somewhere between with some weak issues and some good issues. If you are a fan of the character and ok with ’90s comics, it is worth the read.

[Ottery StCatchpole · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Mark Waid written stories were awesome, or at least very good. The book didn't always take place in the present which works really well for a character like Captain America. The book is rich in history and a lot of background, you get stories with Bucky even though at the time the events of Winter Soldier had not come to light. All in all it is a good book. Ron Garney's artwork when it appears is solid, though in the first story it suffers because of Dan Panosian's inks. He is a very stylistic inker, I think he was a penciller once for Image comics, and his penciling style kind of shows over Garney's pencils. You can see the pencil only artwork for the whole first issue in the back of the book and decide for yourself. What amazes me, is the script that Mark Waid sent for the first issue, essentially describing everything but giving nothing in the way of a worded script. When Ron Garney received the script he didn't know what anyone would be saying in the story. It is a true testament to the writer and the artists talent that the stories art works so well with the words and captions that follow, as the first is a very solid story. That said, there were some weak stories in the book and even some writing by Brian K. Vaughan though if you're looking for his signature style you'd be hard pressed to find it, as one story is merely dialogue off of Mark Waid's script and the other is the second part of that story. The story taking place during the Kennedy era is the weakest not only in art, but story-wise and the book suffers immensely for it.
That said, Mark Waid is not also without some fault. The Falcon and Cap story set during the 70's is itself a very rough story and pushes very hard to entertain and be relevant to the issue of race relations back during the turbulent 70's. That said the artwork was awesomely done by Cully Hamner. All in all the quality of the stories in this book varies but the majority are good if not up to Mark Waid's usually brilliant storytelling ability. I would recommend it for anyone to read but only hardcore Garney and Waid fans should buy this.

[Mark · Rating 2 out of 5]

This reimagining of the early Cap. America stories has some nice twists... and then some just peculiar "hey, look, Ma, they let me monkey w/Cap!" moments. There is NO cohesive whole, though... sigh.

[Philip · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great stories, which is usual for Waid, but I didn't care for the art. Very 90s.