Fallen Son: The Death of Captain America #2: Review

Jun 2007

Jeph Loeb, Ed McGuinness

Story Name:

Chapter 2 - Avengers: Anger

Review & Comments

Rating:

Fallen Son: The Death of Captain America #2 Review by Peter Silvestro (February 15, 2010)

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. The two stories run concurrently though the issue, with the Mighty Avengers plot on the top or left side of each page and the New Avengers on the bottom/right. The Mighty Avengers: Ms. Marvel, Iron Man, Wasp, Black Widow, Wonder Man, Ares, Sentry. New Avengers: Wolverine, Spider-Man, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, Spider-Woman, Patriot, Hawkeye (Kate Bishop).

Fallen Son: The Death of Captain America #2 Review by Rob Johnson (February 15, 2010)

This issue overlaps the previous 1 which is why Iron Man can't join his team and why Dr Strange is in an astral trance. Wolverine manages to make it back from there to the New Avengers in time for the end of the issue. But IM presumably has already started next issue. The Mighty Avengers are here fresh from fighting the New Avengers in the flashbacks in NAv#28 and part of 29, after being recruited in the flashbacks in MAv#1-2. Spider-Woman (really the Skrull Queen Veranke) only joined the NAv in the #28 fb. The fact that she is here now is another reason why I have proposed to the Marvel Continuity Project that the NAv flashbacks mentioned above are moved to before this limited series, as mentioned last issue. Thing isn't part of the New Avengers, he's just there for the regular poker game. (Pace Peter) Young Avengers Patriot and the Kate Bishop Hawkeye aren't on the team either. The patrol they go out on will lead them to next issue. And Wolvie follows Spidey into #4. Sub-Mariner is here after Civil War #7 where he joined in on Captain America's side. Tension between Atlantis and the US has been high since an Atlantean sleeper cell was discovered in CW: Front Line and Atlantean ambassadors were attacked. Namor will return in #5 for Cap's *real* funeral, and the tension will come to the boil in the Sub-Mariner: Revolution mini-series. Tiger Shark is a long-time Subby foe, when he's not being part of supervillain groups like the Hood's that he'll join in NAv#35. The online Unofficial Appendix thinks the Horn of Gabriel is another name for the similar Proteus Horn 1st seen in Namor's 1st Marvel Age appearance in Fantastic Four v1 #4, but the Official Index isn't so sure.

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Synopsis / Summary / Plot

Fallen Son: The Death of Captain America #2 Synopsis by Peter Silvestro

The Mighty Avengers: The Avengers receive a report that Tiger Shark has been sighted off the coast of Maine near a missile base and he is in possession of the Horn of Gabriel which can summon monsters from the ocean deep. Iron Man is unable to join them because Wolverine has just been detected aboard the Helicarrier (see issue #1) and Sentry had a therapy session. The heroes take the Quinjet to Maine where they see Tiger Shark and a massive monster; while the majority of the team deals with the sea beast, Ms Marvel confronts the villain. Tiger Shark yells that this is his chance to gain respect by beating down the Avengers. The heroes have their hands full with more sea monsters surfacing when Sentry arrives (his therapy session having lasted only 45 minutes). An enraged Ms. Marvel pounds on Tiger Shark until a shrill horn blast silences everyone and sends the sea-beasts back to the depths. Namor is on the scene, scolding the team for taking their anger at the death of Captain America out on the villain and the monsters. Namor scoops up Tiger Shark to face justice in his kingdom, and warns them that if he finds out the missiles are directed at Atlantis, they will see real anger.
The New Avengers: Ben Grimm, the Thing, arrives at a broken-down mansion that advertises itself as the site of a new Starbucks. He is admitted magically by Wong, since Dr. Strange is elsewhere in his astral state. Ben is escorted downstairs to a poker game with Luke Cage, Iron Fist, Spider-Woman and a distraught Spider-Man. After some bickering about who gets to wear a mask, the game starts; Spidey is too upset about the death of Captain America to concentrate. Patriot and Hawkeye are annoyed with Cage for not going on patrol—then Wolverine arrives. Logan announces to the group that Cap is certainly dead but Spidey won’t believe it and grabs him, yelling at him to shut up. The short-tempered Logan starts to respond with his claws but Ben separates them. Ben tells the group that their anger won’t change the fact that they lost one of the greats. A weary Spider-Man heads home, followed shortly by Wolverine, who intends to make sure he gets home safely. The rest, saddened, settle down to the game.