Captain America, Vol. 3: Loose Nuke

Captain America (2012) (Collected Editions)

by Rick Remender (Writer), Carlos Pacheco (Penciler), Nic Klein (Artist)

Captain America and the Falcon are in for the fight of their lives! Captain America has returned home, but his years in Dimension Z have left him out of synch with the world he knows. As the deranged super-soldier Nuke rampages in a foreign nation, the disturbing existence of the Weapon Minus program is revealed. But who is the Iron Nail, and what will make him Cap's newest arch-nemesis? Captain America faces Nuke with the lives of thousands on the line - but as the Iron Nail's revenge takes form, Nuke's true mission is revealed!

Collecting: Captain America 11-15

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

136 pages, Hardcover

First published April 9, 2014

About the author

Rick Remender is an American comic book writer and artist who resides in Los Angeles, California. He is the writer/co-creator of many independent comic books like Black Science, Deadly Class, LOW, Fear Agent and Seven to Eternity. Previously, he wrote The Punisher, Uncanny X-Force, Captain America and Uncanny Avengers for Marvel Comics.

Reviews

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ugh. Captain America just isn't appealing to me anymore.
Full Disclosure: I have not read the Dimension Z storyline, yet.

So, the bad guy forces the elite to work digging holes, in order to make them understand what they have been doing to all the little people.
Um. Am I supposed to dislike this guy?
Hell, I'd vote for him if he ran for President!



But, not all of his tactics are so amazing, and he sets loose a dippy super-soldier with faulty programming called, Nuke.
Evidently, he was the Vietnam war's answer to Captain America. And now he's running around killing people in other countries, and planting a big, fat American flags on their soil.
Because that's not annoying...at all.



Ok, so Cap is still crying over all the heartbreak that happened in Dimension Z, S.H.I.E.L.D. is fighting Winter Soldier for some reason, and Dragon Guy is trying to discredit the United States to the rest of the world.
Let's face it, that last on wouldn't be hard to do...
That's the plot in a nutshell, and while I didn't hate this one, I also wasn't impressed with it, either. I'll go back and read the previous volumes at some point, but I just can't seem to get excited for this title.
I can, however, still get excited by this...





Ok, fine. I'll keep reading this title.

[Mike · Rating 2 out of 5]

​My first instinct is "oh sweet" - bringing back the character that for me at the age of 12 was probably the coolest villain I'd ever seen: Nuke.

Then I start to read this. And keep searching for a modern take, an interesting angle, a second dimension to this arch-exaggeration of a character.

This here's a guy who was a cross between poster boy for Nancy Reagan's "Just Say No" obsession and the leading edge of the gun-nuts-on-rural-compounds movement. Grown up now, I'm repulsed by what I loved, and feel like this anachronism just can't get away from his man-out-of-time nature (ironic, for a comic that Remender is writing to evoke that same sense around Cap once again).

Every glimpse of Nuke looks like a tracing from Miller's DD issues 232-233, where he first "birthed" Nuke:




And Nuke's got all the same crypto-80's Reagan-is-god rhetoric, none of the nuance we saw in Netflix' Jessica Jones portrayal. Stompin around with probably the same M-60 he got from the Rambo post-filming auction.

Yawn. And if it's not one poor-man's-political-zealot it's another. Some dude with dragon powers, bawling about Western corruption, capitalism or some tripe. I'm a born socialist, but dayum is it tiresome to wade through lazy rhetoric. Do any of these characters pick up a magazine or check in on Facebook these days? Or are they all parachuted in on tachyon puffs from the bygone eras?


We got some pretty art out of it though:

(TWUNNG has to be the best sound effect I've read in years)

But Remender slouches so bad in the writing he even gives Cap the cheesiest of lines:

(Is all war the same amount of hell? Is some just a bit heck-ish?)

It took until the last page of this book to get to something imaginative - Dr. Mindbubble, the psychedelic super-soldier?. I'm just afraid Remender is going to fumble the ball in the next book, even with a concept as promising as this.

[Chelsea 🏳️‍🌈 · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

This would have been improved if it was a bit shorter. I felt like the fight with Nuke was dragged out and my eyes glossed over during the backstory for the Iron Nail (was that the best name?)

Regardless, I enjoyed the Steve parts of this. It's strange but, as ambivalent as I am about this run, it is the most (openly) emotionally vulnerable we've seen Steve in Cap comics. I like that he's actually taking time to deal with his grief and his loss - or that he tried to before he forced himself to get back in the field.

The part where Cap talks to Nuke about being the child of immigrants was good.

I can't say it enough - I still hate how sexualized Jet is. It's pointless, it's unfair and I just keep imagining how much cooler this relationship would be if she was treated like a young girl that had been through a rough situation. If she and Cap had a relationship a lot more like Clint Barton and Kate Bishop's - built on mutual respect with no sexual context whatsoever. That would have been 10x more interesting because you know she wouldn't have been walking around Cap's place in her bra and panties if a different writer - especially a female one - had been writing this story.

Urgggggg, but I digress - this was a bit more enjoyable than the last one.

[Subham · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was like really good omg!

I loved this one as we see Cap dealing with the various Ptsd experiences he had of losing his son and beloved and well Sam is here to help and then they get a call to stop NUKE and we see Agent Simpson and his troubled past and motives and how Cap helps him or does he and how Sam stops him and also makes some bold choices that will define his run as Cap (later duh). And its a great moment for Steve too as we see the toll the previous stories took on him and I like how Remender doesn't just brush it away as a one-off thing!

And then the big revelation of whose behind it: IRON NAIL! The chinese socialist and well we see his motivations and origins and getting revenge on SHIELD and stopping Cap and the man controlling Nuke and what he plans to do next to Cap which will be interesting to read about! Its a great storyline and I love it, the art was so much better here and made the writing (which was already great) even better!

[James DeSantis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great volume of Cap in Remender's short but so far pretty great run.

With Cap trying to recover from the events of Dimension Z he's trying to find his place. Along with Jet he's determined to let the pass go, but it's always easier to say it than do it. And so his main struggle is letting go while also protecting the ones close to him. On top of that Nuke shows up and this time he's going around to different places and destroying them and planting a US flag. Letting the tensions of war build up.

I loved a lot of this. The Iron Nail part, the background villain, is probably the least interesting part but still entertaining. It's really the excellent moments with Falcon and Cap talking about loss and grief, or Jet trying to fit it, or even Steve going head to head with Nuke in brutal combat while also talking about what it means to be American.

With a new artist, things flow well enough, and still has a similar vibe of the last volume. I enjoyed alot of this volume and can see this run going down as another great Captain America run. That's always nice. a 4 out of 5.

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cap is recovering from the loss of loved ones and mentoring an alien woman when he is called into action against an "unstoppable" meta-human commanded by "The general" and of course there is more going on than usual.

Good artwork, acceptable plotting.

OVERALL GRADE: B minus to B.

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dealing with the aftermath of the Dimension Z arc, it's nice to see that those 12 issues aren't being wasted and shoved under the rug, they're causing Captain America proper pain and it's affecting how he's reacting to the world nowadays. The bulk of this story deals with Nuke, a crazy super-soldier who cannot disobey orders, being deployed into countries and murdering everyone in sight in the name of America, which of course, Cap has to go and stop. There's a little more too in than that, with new nemesis Iron Nail popping up to cause some problems, and the reveal of the Weapon Minus program too, but the Nuke story is the hook here, and the way in which Cap tries to deal with him is a nice change, especially for a character that's usually just murdering everyone like Nuke.

The art is what detracts from this story. I've always liked Carlos Pacheco but his current style always seems unfinished and bland, with this as no exception. It's disappointing because Pacheco was always an artist that I thought was reliable (though not for any regular shipping schedule), but this is another turn out by him that makes me doubt that.

[Frédéric · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cap deals with the consequences of his stay in Dimension Z. Even he can suffer from PTSD. In the meantime a former S.H.I.E.L.D agent turned red starts to show his cards and Nuke- of DD fame-goes on a rampage against civilians, smearing the flag.

As I’ve already said I’ve never been a huge fan of Rick Remender but I’ll say this series is the best I’ve read from him by far. This guy was simply made to write Cap!
His way to deal with Cap’s troubles after DZ is well done and it’s somewhat troubling to see him crying and suffering but perfectly logical when one comes to think of it.
The Iron Nail is well handled too so far. His communist rantings are (for once) reasonable enough to be heard and he is not portrayed as the caricature we often see.
And there is Nuke... He was great in Miller’s Born again but the next times I saw him were rather... disappointing to say the least. But Remender goes back to the origins and the character gets interesting-and moving- again.

This was a good volume, even though art was barely meh throughout.

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another random library find; I hadn’t read the first 2 volumes (Castaway in Dimension Z, Vols. 1 and 2) when I found this. Enough background information was provided in the summary of events at the beginning and in the mentions of previous events throughout the story.
The art is really good, beautifully detailed.
The writing in the parts focused on ex-Agent Simpson AKA Nuke and Iron Nail is heavy on the diatribes. Simpson became a sympathetic character as his story was revealed; he’s a cyborg who was deployed in Vietnam as sort of an equivalent to Captain America, but he’s been reprogrammed/brainwashed. The parts about how the public turned their backs on veterans of Vietnam and the conversations when Steve Rogers and Sam Wilson are trying to talk Simpson down became very poignant and are well done. Simpson’s fate is tragic. The Iron Nail rants about capitalism, etc., didn’t interest me; he’s just another one-dimensional villain out for revenge, even if he does have some kind of dragon-god-spirit thing possessing him. The parts of the story focusing on Steve’s struggle to readjust to life after Dimension Z are also understandable and very good. The flashbacks to Steve’s dying mother choked me up. And I think it was good Steve got rid of most of his memorabilia—his place was like a museum, and that was not healthy.
But then the story calls in yet another villain, Dr. Mindbubble, whom I’ve seen somewhere else, in a story I didn’t like and/or didn’t finish—no, thanks. I’m not interested in how the next volume plays out.

[Adam Spanos · Rating 3 out of 5]

This collection picks up right after Cap's return from Dimension Z, and Cap has been shattered physically and emotionally. More so than any other author I have read, Rick Remender digs into the character of Steve Rogers and allows us to feel his pain. While many consider the Brubaker run to be the story of Bucky just as much or more so than the story of Steve, Remender truly explores Steve's psyche in a way that I find incredibly interesting.

In these issues, we see the toll that Dimension Z has taken on Steve. He is not as sharp mentally as he normally is, and he relies heavily on support from his friends Falcon and Jet Black. We witness Steve's human side and his capacity to make a mistake. It's a side of Steve not often seen, but I absolutely love the way Remender shows us that no matter what Steve goes through, he always stands up. The action here is good...the mental and emotional struggle are better!

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

About as good as a rehash of Frank Miller's groundbreaking original "Nuke" storyline in Daredevil could be expected to be, with plenty of room to develop a new Big Bad in the "Iron Nail"- love his old school anti-capitalist rants, really fit in with the throwback post-Vietnam scenario involving Nuke.

[Lex Cillian · Rating 3 out of 5]

The only reason I have read this book as many times as I have is because the characterisation for Nuke is pretty good and given that I am trying to go as that guy for Oz Comic Con, I need to do my research. If only Jet wasn't over sexualised and the overarching villain wasn't a racist stereotype...

[Quentin Wallace · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this volume slightly more than the first two. This just seemed more like a Cap story. This one features Nuke, the failed Super Soldier who first appeared back in Daredevil. Cap vs. Nuke was a pretty cool fight, and there's also a much bigger plot behind the scenes. The volume also ends with a bang, although there's a pretty kooky character introduced on the last page, Dr. Mindbubble. He looks like a rejected DC Character from the 60s, but next volume I'll see if he's cooler than he sounds. The art was favorable as well.

Another good volume in an above average Captain America run.

[Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the worst things I have ever seen happened here. Captain America bawling his eyes out. I am hoping there is some bigger end game here. If not this is horrible storytelling. One of Cap's biggest strenghts is his will to carry on. Those scenes ruined that. I only gave it a 3 star out of loyality to Cap. I am nearly done with Marvel in general. No one knows how to build a story any more and their entire artwork style is poor at its best.

[Nuraina Abdul Razak · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really good one! It explores the themes of patriotism and fanaticism and how sometimes the line gets very blurred. I love how comics creatively engage readers on these deep themes. Who says comics are shallow?

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gimme a red! I love Nuke.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Captain America Volume 3: Loose Nuke. A continuation of the Marvel NOW! Captain America saga. It is also at this point that I head into the unknown on the series.

Loose Nuke for me is the strongest volume of this series so far, but it relies heavily on the events in the Castaway in Dimension Z arc. Steve is dealing with the loss of his lover in Sharon Carter, and his son Ian. We actually get to see a more vulnerable side to the character than we normally do. Comics can be quite quick to move onto to the next storyline and event. I like that spend some time with Steve and processing what has happened.

This is also more of your typical Captain America book when it comes to the plot. Loose Nuke deals with the character of Nuke, a super soldier that has gone awol. He is being manipulated into trying to start a war. It is Caps job to defuse the situation.

There are also some interesting plot points regarding the freedom of the press. The impact it can have both positive and negative. Plus how people control the media to suit their needs.

We also get more supporting characters show up here. Sam Wilson aka The Falcon shows up as Steve’s friend and partner when he needs it most. We also get the Samuel L. Jackson style Fury (as well as the old school one in flashbacks) show up along with S.H.I.E.L.D. Jet Black - Zola’s daughter that Steve rescued from Dimension Z makes an appearance too to further her story.

On top of this we get the introduction to a new (or at least to my knowledge) villain in the form of Iron Nail. An odd name for the character, but going by his introduction here and the name of the next volume, I assume he will play a big part going forward.

The artwork is now done by Carlos Pacheco and Nic Klein. A change from John Romita Jr. who did the previous volumes. I didn’t dislike Romita’s style, but now that we have left Dimension Z, it seems a sensible point to change the art. The art is instead less blocky and of a more realistic style.

Overall I’m liking the direction this series is taking. Dimension Z was a different and refreshing Captain America story. Now we are back on Earth this is what you would expect from the character. It is good however that they are focusing on the effects Dimension Z had on Steve, rather than just brushing it aside. Captain America may be a super soldier but he is still a human.

[Owen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Remender writes a good Cap, but this one feels filler.

Fresh off returning from an alternate dimension or something (idk I didn't read the first two volumes), Cap is depressed. After 12 years away, he's back in a New York City he barely recognises. Sound familiar?
For all this exact trope has been done to death (with it being tied to Cap's origin story) it feels different this time around. Rather than a cheap copy, it feels more like a nostalgia trip. It was nice to see what we already know and love done slightly differently.
Anyway, Cap is so depressed after losing his girl and adopted son or something (idk I didn't read the first two volumes) that he's moving like DMC 2 Dante:

And what better way to pull him out of a dark place than to throw Nuke at him? As I'm sure you know, I hate Nuke. Or at least I did? He may have nuked Born Again but he's actually really good here. His militaristic moral code aligns closely with Cap's and the two are a lot better suited than Nuke and Daredevil. I even felt sympathy for Nuke here and started to like him by the end.

The man responsible for controlling Nuke is none other than Ran Shen, or as he's known here, The Iron Nail. After loving him in The Bitter March, I bought this and the next volume purely for him. After the Bitter March setting him up for an Obito-esque heel turn, I was so excited to see what the Iron Nail was all about. What a disappointment. He's a clown. Mandarin from Wish:


All being said, it was a solid volume. Unspectacular but a forgiving read with some notable highlights and, most spectacularly, the beginning of Nuke's redemption arc in my eyes.

[Jirka Navrátil · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cap je zpět z Dimension Z a je úplně v hajzlu, zlomený a demotivovaný a neví co se sebou. Tady už je to fajn Remenderovina a je to trošku deep než jen mlácení se mezi sebou. Jsem zvědav na další volumko.

[Kurt · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m liking this run. (Admittedly, I’m a little weary of Dr. Mindbubble, but we’ll see!)

[clumsyplankton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did like this however I think I’d have liked it more if I had read dimension Z before this.

[Relstuart · Rating 1 out of 5]

Having Cap think he needs to destroy all his WWII mementos to move on with his life is bizarre and not ok.

[John Yelverton · Rating 3 out of 5]

They need to seriously turn down the angst in Captain America or this book series will be virtually unreadable. Everything cannot be an unmitigated disaster or there will be no reason to follow this hero any longer.

[Jordan Lahn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A big improvement over the first two volumes. This one gets Cap back with his supporting cast, and starts to advance the larger plot of this series. I'm hoping it continues to improve.

[Sonic · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is such a HUGE letdown after the amazing two previous volumes in Dimension Z!

The sub-par artwork goes great with the sub-par writing.

[Travis Duke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid cap story from remender. Cap is a hard character to expand because of his ethos but I like the direction on this book. It's a straightforward story with crisp art.

[Krzysztof Grabowski · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mam niemały zgryz z trzecim tomem oddzielnych przygód Capa w ramach Marvel NOW!, bowiem o ile fragmenty, które koncentrują się na jego emocjach są kapitalne, to już cała intryga zarysowywanego nam tutaj przeciwnika i jego działania trącą... stęchlizną?

Ponad dekada w wymiarze Z odcisnęła na Kapitanie swoje konsekwencje. Nie tylko fizyczne (obserwujemy jak operują mu klatkę, w miejscu gdzie miał ten ekranik), ale i psychiczne. Widać to zwłaszcza podczas wspólnego wyskoku na miasto z Falconem, gdzie Steve zwierza się z tego, iż miał przybranego syna. Mamy tu konkretne emocje, więc nie dziwi decyzja Rogersa, aby wypalić to co wiązało się z jego przeszłością. Dosłownie.

Obecność Jet też nie pomaga, ale jest tą jedyną która rozumie Kapitana, bo sama straciła brata, jednocześnie otwierając oczy na to kim jest naprawdę jej ojciec. Strat jest przecież więcej, bo największą bohaterką poprzedniego tomu okazała się dziewczyna Rogersa, Sharon, a która uratowała sytuację poświęcając własne życie. Wszystko to załamało by normalnego człowieka. Co się stanie z symbolem Ameryki?

Zresztą całość wpływa na Kapitana poważnie, co widać świetnie dalej. Jednym ze złoczyńców jakich prezentuje nam tu Remender jest Nuke, żołnierz który został zmodyfikowany podobnie jak Cap i który łyka jakieś srogie piguły, które wzmagają jego siłę i zdolności bojowe. Jest on takim kontrastem do Kapitana. Odpowiedzią na to jak wyglądał by Kapitan, gdyby nie powstał w czasie II wojny światowej, a w okresie wojny w Wietnamie. W trakcie walki w końcu ta dobra strona traci hamulce i to był tak świetny moment, świadczący o desperacji, bezsilności, bólu. Ja chciałem tego więcej, ale autor skupił się na przestawieniu jakiegoś złola, któremu smok wsadził w klatę pazur...

Gdy się skupiamy na emocjach to jest dobrze, ale gdy przechodzimy do akcji, to już całość siada i nie dochodzi do tego poziomu poprzednich dwóch tomów. Nie dłużyło mi się to, ale momentami było nudne, choć samo postępowanie złoczyńcy, który potrafi relatywnie dobrze wyjaśnić podwładnym, czemu mają pracować było czymś zaskakującym. Gość nie zabija bezsensownie. Wow. Fajnie, że tak się da. To bardzo racjonalne, że ten zły siłą intelektu czy argumentu potrafi przekonać kogoś do czego, bez stosowania przemocy.

Scena, gdy Falcon puszcza dziennikarkę z pewnymi zdjęciami, a które są potem zmanipulowane, jest trochę naciągnięta. Zwłaszcza, kiedy ta pożal się Boże, dziennikarzyna mówi o wolności prasy, która ma być gwarantem wolności w ogóle, a potem serwowana jest scena z materiałem w internecie, wyrwanym zupełnie z kontekstu (a oczerniającym Steve'a i armię amerykańską), podanym tak aby się zgadzała liczba wyświetleń... I widok Falcona, który zdaje sobie sprawę jak został wy... Śmieszne. Wszystko to jakoś tak pięknie wiąże się z dyskredytowaniem wizerunku USA, co jest w zakresie działań podejmowanych przez zakulisowego złoczyńcę. Troszeczkę za wygodne to scenopisarstwo.

Romita Jr. ustąpił miejsca Pacheco i w sumie dobrze, choć ja miałem wrażenie, iż bardzo dużo z Romity było w tym tomie w stylu tego artysty pochodzącego z Hiszpanii. Kreska jest szczegółowa, bardzo przyjemna dla oka i nie mam do czego się przyczepić. Nieco szkoda, że trzeci tom jest takim fillerem przed rozwinięciem konfliktu z Iron Nailem, który nie ma zbyt wiele wartości dodanych, poza kapitalnymi sekwencjami, gdzie górę biorą tłumione emocje. Bardziej 2.5/5.

[Carrie (brightbeautifulthings) · Rating 3 out of 5]

As much as I’m enjoying Remender’s Cap run, this is probably my least favorite so far, likely due to the fact that it’s veered away from Steve and Ian’s little found family relationship. Steve is back in his own world, once again a man out of time, which honestly fits right in with Remender’s characterization. Cap works better here as a slightly sadder, grittier hero. Jet is sadly underused in this collection though, and it feels like sidelining one of the story’s potentially most interesting elements.

On the other hand, it takes an interesting look at a different villain, another super soldier called Nuke, who goes on a rampage of what are essentially nationalistic, xenophobic war crimes. The contrast between Nuke and Steve is fascinating and well-developed: both super soldiers, both patriotic, but taking their beliefs in wildly different directions. For anyone who thinks Captain America is a war-mongering, jingoistic 'Murica good 'ol boy, one need only point to this collection. That was never Cap or what he stood for, but for all Nuke’s flawed ideology, Steve doesn’t lose his compassion for a fellow veteran. As always, I feel like Remender really taps into this character’s truest qualities and plays them out for us to appreciate on the page. Oh captain, my captain. ❤️

I review regularly at brightbeautifulthings.tumblr.com.

[Kris Shaw · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I read and enjoyed the first two volumes in this series, the never-ending barrage of comics released each week made it impossible to keep up with everything, so I dropped this title. My local library has a ton of collected editions, so I grabbed Vols. 3-5 of this series when I saw them. The price was right.

Remender is a good writer, and while this isn't as good as Brubaker's run on the title (what is?), it was still very enjoyable. Fast paced and action packed, Remender manages to pack enough of the suspense and intrigue which were the hallmark of Brubaker's run into his run.

Cap is back after spending twelve years in Dimension Z. He was gone from Earth only a few moments, but twelve years of his life were spent there. Nuke is on a rampage, and Cap barely has a second to catch his breath before the son of Nick Fury pushes him into action. A new heavy, The Iron Nail, is revealed in this arc.

The artwork is all decent, the writing is good, and there is no unnecessary swearing. This would even be worth paying money to read.

[Desmond Killian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love it or hate it, the Castaway in Dimension Z arc was crazy. I was really looking forward to this volume because I hoped it would raise the stakes even further. Unfortunately it's not that good. First of all, it's a sequel to Daredevil: Born Again that ponders Nuke's rehabilitation just in time for him to be turned into an actual literal nuclear bomb. Second, the Iron Nail is so obviously a Yellow Peril Chinese stereotype-- he's a Communist warlord with magic powers who's also part dragon. I know Rick Remender leans hard on the pulp action genre but there are some tropes better left unexamined. It makes me wonder why I've been so lenient with Warren Ellis when he pulls the same thing in The Authority and Planetary. 2.5/5