Fallen Son: The Death of Captain America #1: Review

Based on an idea by J. Michael Straczynski. The chapter titles are based on Dr. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross’ five stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance.

There is a continuity problem with the Wolverine (amongst others) Official Index positioning of this issue, which has the Fallen Son issues before the flashbacks in New Avengers #28-30. The trouble is that in this issue Wolverine confirms that Captain America is dead, but in NAv#28fb he goes along with the rest of NAv to rescue Cap when they're told he's alive. I have proposed a solution to this problem (and some more) to the Marvel Continuity Project (the folks behind the sequencing of appearances in the OI's), and they've agreed it's a good idea. The flashback spreads ove NAv#28-30, but I have suggested that it can be split in the middle of #29. #28fb and the 1st half of #29fb can be moved to before the Fallen Son issues. I'll say more about this in detail in NAv#28&29. But it puts the New Avengers' attempted rescue of Cap before Wolvie finds out he's really dead here. (They find that the rescue is a trap, and Cap's body is a fake.) SHIELD's barbershop entrance debuted in Strange Tales #136. As seen here a barber chair could take you down to the underground HQ. Matt Murdock has recently (Daredevil v2 #93) returned from Europe and taken his costumed role back from Danny Rand, who took his place during Civil War. Wolverine and the other New Avengers are now based in Dr Strange's Sanctum Sanctorum as seen in the flashbacks mentioned above, but DS himself is only considered a guest star by the Official Index. It was Sharon Carter, hypnotised by Dr Faustus, who actually killed Cap. It was presumably Dr Faustus who gave Crossbones the mental block which stops him from remembering that it was Red Skull who ordered him to shoot Cap. Since Civil War: Initiative Iron Man has overseen the formation of the Mighty Avengers in flashbacks in MAv#1-2, and also made Ms Marvel head of the SHIELD Operation Lightning Storm team in MsM v2 #13. He and the Mighty ones were then in the NAv flashback mentioned above where they fought the New team.

The following is a description of the comics bannered as actually belonging to the Initiative. They were mainly published before or during World War Hulk (even though later issues of eg Avengers: Initiative and The Order are obviously still part of the it). The only exception is New Warriors which is bannered to #8, 2 months after WWH finished. The Sub-Mariner mini-series was published at the same time as WWH, and the above-mentioned Order doesn't start until a month later than that. Another bannered set of issues that doesn't start until the same time as WWH is Moon Knight #11-13. But this brings up the question of how relevant some of these supposed tie-ins are. #11-12 include some elements that place them within Civil War, and #13 merely has MK unsuccessfully trying to Register. At the other end of the scale we have Avengers: Initiative (training young heroes), Mighty Avengers (New York State team), Order (California team) and Thunderbolts (Colorado team). Omega Flight are also considered an affiliated Canadian team. Supposedly Fantastic Four are a team for New York City, but I see no sign of an Initiative connection in their adventures in their own mag and the bannered issues of Black Panther. Of course the Iron Man issues are easily incorporated. And Ms Marvel heads a special State-less SHIELD team in her title. New Avengers could be classed as an opposition to the Initiative.

Some of the series are more follow-ons to Civil War. Captain America #26-30 features the aftermath of Cap's death in 'The death of the dream'. Punisher War Journal #6-11 has Punisher donning a Cap-like costume in tribute to take down a new Hate-Monger. In Nova #2-3 the hero returns home from Annihilation. He's unhappy about Civil War and its results, so he leaves again (for Annihilation Conquest). And in the 2007 Sub-Mariner limited series relations between Atlantis and the US become more strained, and Namor also faces revolution from within. New Warriors vol 4 (#1-8 claiming to be Initiative tie-ins) is actually more a House of M spin-off as it features a group of depowered mutants. I'll describe the sequencing of early Initiative events in #5.