Captain America, Vol. 5: All Die Young, Part Two

Captain America (2018)

by Ta-Nehisi Coates, Alex Ross (Cover Art), Leonard Kirk (Artist)

Collects Captain America (2018) #26-30.

One last showdown! Captain America has been framed for murder, imprisoned and then made a fugitive - his reputation smeared and his spirit tested - all at the shadowy hands of the manipulative Power Elite. Now, Cap will take his fight straight to the Power Elite. But his greatest enemy awaits, reborn deadlier than ever: the Red Skull! Prepare for an all-out fight to the finish and a climactic conclusion to the saga that has tested the ethics and ideals of the man who embodies America like no other! Acclaimed writer Ta-Nehisi Coates concludes his extraordinary exploration of Steve Rogers - the man, the myth, the living legend that is Captain America!

Genres: Comics, Marvel, Graphic Novels, Superheroes, Fiction, Graphic Novels Comics, Science Fiction

114 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 14, 2021

About the author

Ta-Nehisi Coates is the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Between the World and Me, a finalist for the National Book Award. A MacArthur "Genius Grant" fellow, Coates has received the National Magazine Award, the Hillman Prize for Opinion and Analysis Journalism, and the George Polk Award for his Atlantic cover story "The Case for Reparations." He lives in New York with his wife and son.

Reviews

[Chad · Rating 2 out of 5]

Coates run on Captain America fizzles to an end as he's more concerned about making comments on today's society than an entertaining comic. It is possible to do both. Leonard Kirk's art looks really unfinished. His art really suffers without an inker to tighten everything up.

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ta-Nehisi Coates ends his Captain America run with one final confrontation between the Daughters Of Liberty and the Red Skull, as the Power Elite begin to crumble. I'm not sure if this is where Coates intended to end or not, but it definitely feels both rushed and unfinished unfortunately.

There are a lot of lingering ideas that aren't followed up on here - the relationship between Alexa Lukin and Sin goes to a new level, but I'm not sure if this was something Coates wanted or not (although they're running with it in United States Of Captain America so who knows). I also feel like the Daughters Of Liberty and the return of Peggy Carter is going to be forgotten quite quickly as well, which is a shame since it's a great idea.

Then there's the ultimate ending of it all, which feels completely flat. If this was any other confrontation between a hero and a villain, I'd probably be okay with it, but it feels both beneath Captain America to defeat his foe in the way he does, and definitely beneath the Red Skull of all people to fall for it. It feels like both of them suddenly acquired 'old person who doesn't understand technology' syndrome just for the sake of it, and it left a bad taste in my mouth. It's also not a true ending for either of them - Cap rides off into the sunset, and we aren't even sure if the Skull was defeated or captured, or if he just slunk off back into the shadows again.

Leonard Kirk's never been one of my favourite artists, but his work here is decent enough, if nothing spectacular. I don't really have much else to add on that front.

Not the ending I wanted, not the ending I'd expected, and a bit of a disappointment all around. I hope Coates' Black Panther ends better when I get around to reading that.

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

And so ends the Coates run on Captain America.

It was decidedly OK and very much of its time. One can easily imagine khaki pants and tiki torches inspiring the arc, and fair enough as the "America" for which the titular hero stands is very much in a moment of soul-searching and agony.

As a side benefit, I finally saw the panels that started the whole "Jordan Peterson is the Red Skull" kerfuffle some time ago on #Twitter and elsewhere.
Droll! Also, there were some astute observations regarding humanity's unwillingness to accept facts that challenge comfortable or comforting worldviews.

[Subham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow what an ending to an epic run!

Steve goes to Madripoor and what we get is the return of the Red hulk and its epic the way its shown and it honors Ross and then the final fight with Alexa and Red Skull and we see how the Skull got his army and yeah is very of the times and may flare some people up but again its showing the truth of whats going on but then the backstory with whats going on with Sin and Alexa, the back-planning of Kingpin and Foreigner and the fate of Alexa and how differently will Steve defeat the Red skull.

Its a great volume and I love the ending and how Cap defeats him and its different for sure and the emergence of a new/old villain and about time they got elevated after being the central villain of a big event and yeah its exciting part of this comic and also the ending with the four of them - Steve, Sharon, Peggy and Bucky and the walk off ending.

Its great overall and yeah it has flaws but I liked it and I have some fond memories reading this run and this volume shows why, Coates writing is not for everyone but I loved it and he honors his whole mission run of the "dream" and its great overall. So yeah a must recommend from me!

[Dakota Morgan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ta-Nehisi Coates' run on Captain America ends with a whimper. I couldn't tell you what the goal of this series was. Beyond the first two volumes, Captain America takes a backseat to Peggy and Sharon Carter - maybe that was the point? Focus on women in Cap's orbit rather than stodgy old Cap himself? Count this series as a success if that's the case.

Count this series as a failure if you want a coherent storyline. Red Skull is the villain now (again) and he seems to be manipulating the idiot white male into...dying in terrorist strikes at mass rallies? Who the hell knows, man, but Cap's having none of it. Another key character for some reason: Sinthea aka Sin aka angry woman with red hair and a knife. Why does she suddenly deserve a storyline? No idea.

The volume ends with Cap pulling the oldest, dumbest trick in the book on Red Skull (He meets with Red Skull, whereupon Red Skull reveals his Grand Plan and Steve says "Oops, I caught alllll that on video). I have some regrets about powering through this series. Maybe it's a good thing Coates is moving on from being a Marvel comics author.

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kind of a blah, anticlimactic way to wrap things up. And the artwork is pretty blah, too...

[Emmett Spain · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ta-Nehisi Coates has an excellent handle on the psychology of disenfranchisement. He understands the factors-at-play in making America what it is today, and he injects those ideas skilfully into the narrative, giving the events a sense of currency and import that Captain America comics have rarely boasted. It's quite adult in that way. The problem, such as it is, is that for all of Coates's insight and intellect, his Captain America run suffered from a central problem: it was not particularly entertaining.

Fights come and go and are generally very dull. Characters talk and exposit and express their ideas, mostly through thought bubbles or running monologues that aim for depth--and sometimes achieve it--but often feel stodgy. Most character motivations can be summed up by people saying "Everyone is weak and I'm going to squash them" or "I'm not going to stand for this" over and over. It's numbing, flat, and at odds with the otherwise inspired insights of a writer who clearly has plenty to say about America that's worth reading about.

Simply put, this volume, like the entire run, was often interesting and rarely entertaining. As a comics fan, and someone who was deeply moved by Coates's superlative "Between The World And Me", I feel bad in knocking the guy because I think he is an important voice in American culture. But ultimately, I can only be honest in saying that I think Coates is a phenomenal polemicist and an average entertainer.

So ends my experience with this run, which I will not be revisiting. I do hope your mileage varies from mine.

[James DeSantis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another solid but not amazing volume and the end to Coates run.

I liked what Coates did here in some respects. Talking about how Red Skrull grows with his sick worldwide views and then making young men follow in it. Sounds like today, huh? But overall nothing felt very "fulfilling" in the end. No real reveal. No big payoff. And the art came across kind of weak.

So a decent ending to a decent cap run.

[Chelsea 🏳️‍🌈 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, I appreciate that Coates is the first Captain America writer I've seen dedicated to writing female characters with significant roles. Sharon Carter, the Daughters of Liberty, Selene, Sin and the other female villains were dealt significant time and involvement in the plot. It's refreshing, to be honest.

However, after the fantastic first volume, this series really dipped for me. I love the internal monologue, but after 2 volumes, it's sort of the same thing over and over again. Made even more noticeable by the fact that Steve doesn't express his great speech to ask Americans to keep the faith until the last volume. And it didn't stand out all that much, in my opinion.

The plot just didn't really hold my attention. I was really bummed that Sam was only in a few pages of the entire run but they brought Peggy Carter back from the dead for some reason. It felt like they were trying to drag parts of the MCU into the comics and my god, I really, really, really hate it when they do that.

So, I feel like Coates executed this well, but it was elements I just wasn't here for. I'm sure this was totally someone else's jam. For me personally, it's not one of my favorite Cap books.

[Chris Thompson · Rating 2 out of 5]

An unfortunate end to an otherwise great series by Coates. The story was disjointed and confusing. Coates also falls into bad habits from his Black Panther days and gets too wordy, with characters talking endlessly about modern American politics in bland fashion.

I also felt that Captain America was portrayed as an oaf. At one point he pointlessly engages in a fight that paints him in a bad light, and at another he knocks a villain down and turns his back as if that villain won’t retaliate.

Lastly, the art was not great. Volume 4 was a let down, and this just feels like Coates was rushing to get this series over with and move on to something else. He probably should have stopped at volume 3.

[Chris W · Rating 3 out of 5]

After reading this you can tell Coates likes talking about America but does not care much for Captain America. Steve feels like a side character in his own book. Red Skull literally uses Jordan Peterson's ideas (complete with a rules for life panel) but with an extreme right wing twist.

The way skull is "defeated" is classic cliche bond villain stuff but done in a fairly anti climatic way.

It's an ok title. However, for me, Coates had more inspired writing in his first 2 Cap volumes.

[Quentin Wallace · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

Coates wraps up his run with a decent conclusion. It was different that what you'd expect from a Captain America conclusion, but maybe that's a good thing. Overall he did have a good run, managing to do some things we've seen before but with a new spin.

It wasn't my favorite Captain America run (although I'm not sure what would be, Brubaker's run maybe?) but it was good.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This wrapped up the story arc, and it was solid, if not satisfying. That said, it's not satisfying because life isn't satisfying, because Ta-Nehisi Coate's Cap run is basically a Cliff Notes version of the shit show that is (US)America in terms of white surpremecist radicalization, desperation in the face of economic and a demographic changes, and the complexity of "fighting" "enemies" when the "enemies" are merely harnessing collective discontent and the corruption of the wealthy and powerful. I admire Coates' (through his representation of Cap) tenacity to hope, to believe in the Dream and see it as something to work towards despite the flawed reality and history of the US, and by extension, humanity.

[Alex Sarll]

Coates' Cap concludes, and there's much to like here, not least its grappling with the whole notion of the title character, which is in earnest but never merely earnest. And I like that, unlike many big-name writers, he worked with the continuity as he found it, rather than assuming fame gave him license to sweep it all away and tell some story he'd had in mind for years. But I still wonder whether the supporting cast wasn't a little too full to let it breathe (and within that, whether another artist might have got more out of the Skull/Sin dynamic in particular). And for all that the ending does gesture at wrinkling and problematising the old 'villain is undone by showing people the truth about them' resolution, the idea of it succeeding even this well in the context of modern politics still feels ludicrously optimistic.

[Dexter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ich weiß nicht, ob ich schon mal eine so sehr den aktuellen politischen Zeitgeist - und somit die gefährliche Situation, in der sich die Idee unserer Demokratie befindet - aufgreifende Geschichte gelesen habe. Ta-Nehisi Coates ist das über einen sehr langen Run seiner Arbeit an Captain America eindrucksvoll gelungen. Fast schon beängstigend realistisch - wenn da nicht überall Menschen in Kostümen durch die Handlung rennen und somit das Erzählte etwas weniger echt machen würden. Andererseits sind es vielleicht genau solche Heldenfiguren, die uns im echten Leben fehlen, wenn es um die Auseinandersetzung mit rechten und faschistischen Motivationen geht.

[Matt Maielli · Rating 3 out of 5]

“They’re trying to kill an idea.”

Didn’t blow me away, instead felt like a bit of a curt wrap-up. But still fun to see Coates’ take on Cap. Red Skull pointing out that Steve literally slept through the Civil Rights Movement is pretty funny.

[Blindzider · Rating 2 out of 5]

This wraps up Coates run on Captain America and I have to admit that it is better than the previous volume but not by much.

It has more of Coates pointing out some of the things wrong with America, particularly the current need for people finding a purpose for their lives, but finding it on social media with its twisted viewpoints and unbending perspectives. After reading this volume and stepping back this is a little more obvious and a worthy challenge for Captain America, it just feels like the story meandered along the way.

I also can't tell if I was so disinterested that I missed parts of the story, because in this volume there were a couple spots that I was completely lost. It seemed as if full pages were missing.

Lastly, the art continues to be less than stellar. Shockingly, it was all done by Leonard Kirk who I've seen elsewhere and looked much better than it does here.

Perhaps reading this straight through without gaps would produce a more cohesive story.

[Tom Ewing · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ta-Nehisi Coates was the right creator at the right time to do a Cap run asking the very reasonable question - how on Earth do you write Captain America stories when America looks like a complete binfire? It's not, ultimately, Coates' fault that there may not be an answer to that. His run, which comes to a somewhat anti-climactic end in this volume, explores what Captain America can be a Captain of when the status of "America" as an ideal and as a nation is so highly contested.

The vagaries of Marvel's macro-level storytelling did Coates a major favour. He's coming off a fictionalised version of a fascist takeover of the US, the (very poor) Secret Empire event. Which means he can have his cake and eat it - do a story asking, essentially, "what are we that we could let this happen?" but have the 'this' be in-universe rather than the real world events we all know Coates is writing in the wake of.

It means Coates' run can be about real things - racist violence on the border, fascist propaganda in the heartland, rallies bringing together a dark spectrum of bootboys and dupes, all against a backdrop of a country that suddenly feels destabilised and unsafe - without needing to name the real names behind those things. Instead, though, all Cap's rank-and-file opponents are being manipulated by the "Power Elite", a motley collection of Marvel bads inevitably headed up by the Red Skull - and it's this dimension of opposing super-conspiracies (Cap has his own secret teams) that ends up feeling like a glib answer to the thoughtful questions the rest of the comic asks.

The presence of the Skull raises narrative expectations that the finale fluffs somewhat - we're ushered towards another confrontation with the Red Skull, and Coates cleverly subverts that momentum. The Skull can't be beaten any more with a satisfying sock to the jaw - his poison is part of the country now. But the solution Coates offers instead - sunlight, disinfectant, etc - is one we know to be just as hollow. And so does Coates, as his rueful final pages acknowledge. His run is a Captain America story which had to be written, but ultimately it's not a Captain America story that can earn a satisfying conclusion, and for all Coates' intelligence and skill, he can't wriggle off that hook.

[Dustin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This run started well and sorta flamed out. The last volume had some redeemable moments that kept me reading, but it didn’t leave me wanting more.

Comics has always been a creative space for social and political commentary, so it’s expected. At times, it worked and came off as deeply moving and insightful. Other times, it felt forced and stale. Especially in light of the last few years. Like Coates wasn’t even hiding it or being subtle about it by the end of the book. The ending was not only predictable, but rather shallow and hurried. Legendary rivals like Cap & Red Skull need a bit more drama, tension or surprise. I felt there were some good ideas and plot lines that were left unfinished and the action was lacking.

Anyways, I want to be fair. this could’ve also been a result of COVID delays and when the comic shop had them available. Some were read in single issues, some in TPB. Led to long periods generating waning interest. In summary, Coates is a good writer. And Cap is a favorite. I’d love if he takes another crack at it. Sometimes it was great, sometimes it was boring. This just didn’t work consistently enough.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this graphic novel to be fine but nothing too exiting BUT that might have been in part my own fault. I have read this series over such a long period of time that by now I really don't remember who half the characters were or why I am supposed to care about them. In addition by now the whole focus on men feeling like they need to feel like men and following a villain seems oddly out of joint though some of that is simply because some of those issues have be revamped over the past year and a half with COVID, so it felt like it was trying to be super relevant to today but a today of a few years ago so ended up feeling very dated to me.

I don't think any of these issues are because of Ta-Nehisi Coates's writing, but instead feeling like time has kept moving, or since it is a Captain America comic maybe it was just frozen and defrosted in a different America. This felt like a response to the Trump era which was very traumatic for many of us and personally I need more space before I will be able to process all the horrors of that period.

[Ross · Rating 4 out of 5]

A disenfranchised America is, and always will be the Kryptonite for Captain America. It'll be interesting to look back and see just how this matches up to the contemporary events of the time. We've had several volumes of Ta-Nehisi Coates' Cap run that are filled with a disillusioned Cap trying to make sense of things.

This volume is the 'cherry on top' of the story. We've got the Selene sub story finished. We have the Power Elite breaking down. All that's left is the final confrontation with the Red Skull.

That part feels a bit off. It feels like the resurrection of Aleksander (and Red Skull) brought back an older copy of Red Skull. They keep reminding us that Steve is a 'man out of time' and the world is different for him. It feels like that's happening to the Red Skull, no matter how well thought out his villain monologue is.

I great run nonetheless. I'm probably pin it higher than Mark Waid's time on the title.

[Adam Fisher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ta-Nehisi Coates run on Captain America comes to an end here. I love the direction Cap is going in. Naysayers will call this Cap "woke", but in my opinion, it's time for Captain America to represent and understand all of America. I'm definitely down with Steve now.
This Volume takes out Alexa Lukin, raises Sintrea to new villain Superior (who looks way too much like Goblin Queen with a finished outfit), brings back Sharon Carter, and shows Red Skull the real power of the internet and it's followers. Overall good. Anxious to see what direction Cap heads next. AND how this Cap will relate with the Avengers.
Recommend.

[ac. · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5/5

such an underwhelming finale to what looked to be a very promising run in the beginning :( I will miss Coates' attentiveness and care for Sharon and her relationship with Steve and what that means to him as Steve Rogers and not Cap, but I will 100% not miss his lack of care about the actual plot of the volume and his loose grasp on everything else involving it.

praying that the next writer brings something new and interesting to the table plot wise and outside of the usual "Steve is disappointed in America, once more" fare! <3

[Joe Colistro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Solid ending to a bit of a lackluster run on Cap. Coates managed to tie it all together and make it feel like classic Cap in the end, which I really appreciated. His new take on how the Red Skull foments anger and chaos is a great shot at right-wing extremism and totally believable. There were some dramatic character shifts, particularly with Alexa Lukin, that seemed to come out of nowhere and left me a bit confused, but his work with the rest of the cast was great. Several side characters got good progress on their arcs and I'm excited to see where they head.

[Sarospice]

Coates doesn't stick the landing. Feels like there was more today but the contract ended. Also, the art was so bad. I would have been mad if I bought this as floppies. He leaves Sinthea somewhere interesting so we see if anyone picks up the pieces. Also liked this idea Cap is no longer a man out of time, he's out of country ...

[Christopher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full of Rob breaking humour, epic plot twists, great art that really lets you see what is going happening, three-dimensional character from the start and epic world building from all over the place that will keep you guessing what is coming medium guessing what is going to happen to Peggy, Cap, Shuri, Peggy and the rest etc! :D

[Sean · Rating 3 out of 5]

All of Coates' story elements come to a head here and while there is more action some of it falls flat. Alexa Lukin turned out to be a solid character but once again the Daughters Of Liberty never clicked with me. Leonard Kirk's art was also disappointing and a step down from his usual fare. Overall, a decent Cap story but not one of his best.

[Bekka · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this after Agatha mentioned the Daughters Of Liberty in Agatha All Along and I really enjoyed it, despite not reading the rest of the run (I will be going back to read the rest at a later date). The team around Cap was fantastic, and I really liked the social commentary too!
TW for blood, violence, radicalisation, sexism

[Kory · Rating 5 out of 5]

Coates so well captures the current state of the US in these comics terms, and in ways that will probably be forever prescient. Of course, no one who should read this ever will, or never will grasp the meaning behind it.

[Terrance · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the social commentary.