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Captain America: Marvel Knights
Captain America, Vol. 2: The Extremists
For more than 60 years, Captain America has safeguarded the red, white and blue against all who seek to destroy the United States. He is the living embodiment of patriotism, the spirit of unity and support among all who call America their home. Captain America clashes with Redpath, an adversary that shares his ideal of a powerful and unified America, but lacks his morality. Redpath and his team of cronies The Extremists plan to cleanse America by force and only Captain America can stop them.
Collecting: Captain America 7-11
Collecting: Captain America 7-11
120 pages, Paperback
First published June 18, 2003
3 people are currently reading
62 people want to read
About the author
John Ney Rieber
306 books23 followersJohn Ney Rieber is an American comic book writer. He has written for the comics The Books of Magic, Captain America, G.I. Joe and Tomb Raider.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
October 22, 2025
"I am sick . . . of people . . . trashing this country!" -- our livid title character (preach!)
Although it began promisingly enough - both with the initial volume AND the start of its follow-up - this Captain America series quickly spirals into a sophomore slump with The Extremists. I'm not some finicky fan of the star-spangled Avenger - give me that adrenaline-charged moment where Cap races his trusty motorcycle towards a forest inferno, and has put a smackdown on a wannabe supervillain named 'Barricade' (spouting lame one-liners, like he's auditioning for a 007 film) who is phallically wielding a massive flame-thrower. But then . . . the narrative steers directly into some incessant moroseness - featuring the actual antagonist, a former ally who non-stop speechifies with tiresome post-modernist rhetoric about how the U.S. government has long been flawed and evil and just whatever, dude 🙄 - and it has me giving second thoughts on continuing to the subsequent volume.
Although it began promisingly enough - both with the initial volume AND the start of its follow-up - this Captain America series quickly spirals into a sophomore slump with The Extremists. I'm not some finicky fan of the star-spangled Avenger - give me that adrenaline-charged moment where Cap races his trusty motorcycle towards a forest inferno, and has put a smackdown on a wannabe supervillain named 'Barricade' (spouting lame one-liners, like he's auditioning for a 007 film) who is phallically wielding a massive flame-thrower. But then . . . the narrative steers directly into some incessant moroseness - featuring the actual antagonist, a former ally who non-stop speechifies with tiresome post-modernist rhetoric about how the U.S. government has long been flawed and evil and just whatever, dude 🙄 - and it has me giving second thoughts on continuing to the subsequent volume.
December 6, 2017
Captain America must face off against an old friend and ally Inali a former SHIELD agent.
Inali, a Native American, wishes to destroy the US Government for its forefathers crime of stealing the country from his ancestors. Cap of course fights back.
It seems like The Extremists lost its way from the interesting first volume in the series. It tries to evoke the same thoughtfulness, but lacks the emotional conviction of the first volume. The storyline simply felt too forced.
Inali, a Native American, wishes to destroy the US Government for its forefathers crime of stealing the country from his ancestors. Cap of course fights back.
It seems like The Extremists lost its way from the interesting first volume in the series. It tries to evoke the same thoughtfulness, but lacks the emotional conviction of the first volume. The storyline simply felt too forced.
"So, who's the better American, Steve? The man who does what the government asks, no matter what? Or the man who runs around dressed in a flag and lives a higher ideal than the country whose name he shares?"
"The better American is the man who does what his heart tells him is right for the betterment of all mankind -- not just for other Americans."
May 24, 2019
It really is simply... average.
The art isn’t always my favorite. The strangest thing is, at times, it was so dramatic with its use of colors, shadows and positioning. But, for most of it, I don’t love some of the harsher angles it gave to the character’s faces.
Anyway, this run continues its surprisingly open minded views on who deserves protection. The last volume was about the innocent people in the Middle East with some references to those killed in the crossfire during WWII. This volume talks about Native Americans... by demonizing them?
I don’t like the way Inali’s character was handled, to be perfectly honest. I will say, it was an interesting concept to give him a different source for his weather abilities. I liked seeing him face off against Thor. But, that was about all I liked of it.
I also thought thought the weird tension between Steve and Hana was needed.
But, overall, while this isn’t terrible. It’s not a recommend from me.
The art isn’t always my favorite. The strangest thing is, at times, it was so dramatic with its use of colors, shadows and positioning. But, for most of it, I don’t love some of the harsher angles it gave to the character’s faces.
Anyway, this run continues its surprisingly open minded views on who deserves protection. The last volume was about the innocent people in the Middle East with some references to those killed in the crossfire during WWII. This volume talks about Native Americans... by demonizing them?
I don’t like the way Inali’s character was handled, to be perfectly honest. I will say, it was an interesting concept to give him a different source for his weather abilities. I liked seeing him face off against Thor. But, that was about all I liked of it.
I also thought thought the weird tension between Steve and Hana was needed.
But, overall, while this isn’t terrible. It’s not a recommend from me.
May 6, 2019
This started off great but the 2nd half kind of drops the ball.
We get a story of people betraying Cap. There's nothing really new there, that seems to always happens. But when Cap meets a old buddy of his we get a flashback of who Steve is. With that you think these two, once friends, can see eye to eye. However, even the villain you can feel for in some ways. Similar to Killmonger from Black Panther, you get a sense of sadness for this character and his previous experiences.
While it starts off as political as the last volume and just as interesting, it falls into one of my most hated comic tropes. Illusions. Cap has to fight what isn't there to grow into a new person. It's boring and not interesting. I did like how the ending wrapped up though.
Overall, it's worth a read since it's still well written and this is 100% Captain America. But the middle up until the end is blah and over done. A 3 out of 5.
We get a story of people betraying Cap. There's nothing really new there, that seems to always happens. But when Cap meets a old buddy of his we get a flashback of who Steve is. With that you think these two, once friends, can see eye to eye. However, even the villain you can feel for in some ways. Similar to Killmonger from Black Panther, you get a sense of sadness for this character and his previous experiences.
While it starts off as political as the last volume and just as interesting, it falls into one of my most hated comic tropes. Illusions. Cap has to fight what isn't there to grow into a new person. It's boring and not interesting. I did like how the ending wrapped up though.
Overall, it's worth a read since it's still well written and this is 100% Captain America. But the middle up until the end is blah and over done. A 3 out of 5.
August 14, 2024
Jako początkujący fan komiksu w roku 2017 postanowiłem, że przeczytam większość, jak nie wszystkie komiksy od roku 2000 wzwyż. Widząc jaki jest ogrom materiały zmodyfikowałem jednak swoje plany i w przypadku Marvela wziąłem się za karb z serii Marvel Now! Są jednak przypadki, które wypada znać, w przypadku Kapitana Ameryki jest to seria Eda Brubakera.
Niemniej jakimś szalonym pomysłem stwierdziłem, że zanim wezmę się za ten run, który Egmont wydał na polskim rynku bodajże w 9 całkiem pojemnych tomach, które kiszą mi się na półkach, tak powrócę do tego idyllicznego pomysłu z początku mojej komiksowej przygody. I tak zaczepiłem się o serię Capa, jaka miała swój początek w 2002 roku.
Zwłaszcza, że tom pierwszy mam i sobie go cenię, zwłaszcza za zeszyt odnoszący się do tragedii z 11/09/2001. Więc wartowało by i tę serię skończyć. To nie był udany pomysł, ale nie wyprzedzajmy faktów. Tutaj jednak zaczyna mi brakować pozytywnych aspektów lektury, całość zaś zaczyna być mocno średnia, mimo takiej odczuwalnej dozy patosu przy tej wersji Steve'a Rogersa.
Zwłaszcza, że mija kilka dni od lektury, a ja już pozapominałem większość wątków tu obecnych. Na przeciw Kapitana staje tu Redpath, który mimo że podziela wizję bohatera, tak jego metody budzą sporo zastrzeżeń. W zasadzie nowy antagonista, mający dobre pobudki, ucieka się tylko do przemocy. "Mały" utrudnieniem jest też to, że zdaje się władać mocą żywioły powietrza, prawie niczym Storm z X-men, więc danie mu po gębie może nie należeć do najprostszych zadań.
Poprawna historia i nic poza to. Zresztą za moment serię przejmie ktoś inny, a po nim jeszcze inny "ktoś" w postaci Roberta Kirkmana, ale to i tak nie zagwarantuje poziomu, na którym bym się dobrze bawił. Bardziej 2.5/5, za niektóre sceny walk, z lekkim żalem, bo pierwszy tom miał w sobie sporo emocji i serducha. Tu się wkradła quasi-generyczności, a ja się nudziłem w oczekiwaniu na przewidywalny finał.
Niemniej jakimś szalonym pomysłem stwierdziłem, że zanim wezmę się za ten run, który Egmont wydał na polskim rynku bodajże w 9 całkiem pojemnych tomach, które kiszą mi się na półkach, tak powrócę do tego idyllicznego pomysłu z początku mojej komiksowej przygody. I tak zaczepiłem się o serię Capa, jaka miała swój początek w 2002 roku.
Zwłaszcza, że tom pierwszy mam i sobie go cenię, zwłaszcza za zeszyt odnoszący się do tragedii z 11/09/2001. Więc wartowało by i tę serię skończyć. To nie był udany pomysł, ale nie wyprzedzajmy faktów. Tutaj jednak zaczyna mi brakować pozytywnych aspektów lektury, całość zaś zaczyna być mocno średnia, mimo takiej odczuwalnej dozy patosu przy tej wersji Steve'a Rogersa.
Zwłaszcza, że mija kilka dni od lektury, a ja już pozapominałem większość wątków tu obecnych. Na przeciw Kapitana staje tu Redpath, który mimo że podziela wizję bohatera, tak jego metody budzą sporo zastrzeżeń. W zasadzie nowy antagonista, mający dobre pobudki, ucieka się tylko do przemocy. "Mały" utrudnieniem jest też to, że zdaje się władać mocą żywioły powietrza, prawie niczym Storm z X-men, więc danie mu po gębie może nie należeć do najprostszych zadań.
Poprawna historia i nic poza to. Zresztą za moment serię przejmie ktoś inny, a po nim jeszcze inny "ktoś" w postaci Roberta Kirkmana, ale to i tak nie zagwarantuje poziomu, na którym bym się dobrze bawił. Bardziej 2.5/5, za niektóre sceny walk, z lekkim żalem, bo pierwszy tom miał w sobie sporo emocji i serducha. Tu się wkradła quasi-generyczności, a ja się nudziłem w oczekiwaniu na przewidywalny finał.
January 22, 2016
Overall, this was a good story about Captain America questioning his place in the world and the people he works with. A good Captain America story has him dealing with all kinds of people, and this one did that. Steve's values shine through, and it has personal elements as well as large-scale ones. While I also appreciated that Cap had the sense to call in Thor when it got rough, I really didn't think Thor was characterized very well, and the metaphor he used was awful, and just kept going and going. That really detracted from my enjoyment of this volume.
October 25, 2015
I tripped over Marvel Knights probably while looking for reprints of Marvel Fanfare and decided to give it a shot. If this was a fair example, I'll be hunting down more. Generally I'm not a fan of Captain America, but this one made pretty good use of the man and the costume. It didn't really add to his back-story, it just fleshed out what kinds of choices he would continue to make. With pretty good art and better than typical writing. 4.5 of 5.
July 24, 2007
Again, part of that Captain America reading spree I did a while back.
Find my note on it here:
[http://gypsylibrarian.blogspot.com/20...]
Find my note on it here:
[http://gypsylibrarian.blogspot.com/20...]
May 11, 2011
Love that art by Jae Lee, and really love that cover art by John Cassaday.
July 2, 2012
Buff... después del gran primer arco Rieber se queda entre bambalinas y le da a Austen la colección... terrible.
July 26, 2015
Individual issues on comixology
May 12, 2016
Donald Trump can learn a thing or two from this guy
July 20, 2016
by far the best comic I've read. I LOVEEEEEE this.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews