Fallen Son: The Death of Captain America #5: 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. Captain America’s pallbearers: The Thing, Black Panther and Ms Marvel in costume, Tony Stark, Rick Jones, and Sam Wilson in civvies. The story includes many flashbacks to highlights of Cap’s career, with appearances by several characters including the original Avengers (with Hulk, who left the team before Cap joined) and the Invaders.

Namor's promise to protect Steve Rogers' body for as long as he rules the oceans may be a bit empty because at the end of the upcoming Sub-Mariner: Revolution limited series Atlantis would be destroyed, the Atlanteans dispersed and Subby without a kingdom. According to the Official Index quite a bit happens between the fake funeral and the real 1, including Ben Urich and Sally Floyd confronting Tony Stark in Civil War: Front Line #11 about his behind the scenes manipulation of events in CW. The following is a description of the sequence of events in the early Initiative era, culminating in the 1st story in Mighty Avengers and related issues of New Avengers. The easiest way to sequence the stories is to follow Iron Man who pops up nearly everywhere. (The recently-returned Thor is keeping mostly to himself. Hulk is not yet back from Planet Hulk. Captain America is dead and Winter Soldier is off to 1 side working up to replace him.) (Things are complicated by many events told in flashback.) In #1 I already disposed of the Initiative-bannered Moon Knight #11-13 happening earlier. Captain America had already died in CA#25, and we saw that before #1 Iron Man and Ms Marvel formed the Mighty Avengers in flashbacks during their #1-2. Then I inserted the flashbacks in New Avengers #28-29A as the NAv were tricked into trying to rescue the allegedly-not-dead Captain America, and face the MAv. I can add that meanwhile Punisher adopted a Cap-like uniform to defeat a Hate-Monger in his War Journal #6-10. Then there's the stuff surrounding Cap's funeral in this series and CA#26, during which Ms Marvel forms SHIELD strike force Operation: Lightning Storm in her #13, work starts on the Initiative training ground Camp Hammond in a flashback in Avengers: Initiative #8, and Ben Urich and Sally Floyd confront Tony Stark in Civil War: Front Line #11 about his behind-the-scenes manipulation during CW, especially his use of Green Goblin.

After this Black Panther and Storm temporarily replace Mr Fantastic and Invisible Woman in the Fantastic Four in FF#543-544 and BP#26, and Ms Marvel captures Arachne in MsM#14. In FF#544-546 the new FF have their 1st adventure involving Epoch, Galactus, Silver Surfer and the return from the dead of Gravity. Plus King Solomon's Frogs. Then in BP#27-30 the Frogs take the team to a Skrull planet in the Zombieverse where some Marvel heroes have become zombie mini-Galactuses. And in the unbannered sequel in #31-34 the Frogs bring them back to the right universe but to another Skrull planet where long ago Thing had his adventure with Skrull mobsters and gladiatiorial games. In PWJ#11, the last of his bannered issues, Punisher meets Winter Soldier and gives him his 'Cap' costume and the real Cap mask he found in CW#7. Iron Man goes to see Thor in his new #3 to get him to register. Thor is very unhappy about Civil War and the Thor clone. IM compromises by giving the Earthly Asgard diplomatic immunity. And Tony Stark recruits some extra members for the Order team in flashbacks in their #1 and #6. The Canadian government recruit Sasquatch for Omega Flight in #1. Iron Man has already given them US Agent amd Arachne. In a continuity clash with Civil War: Initiative #1 Sasquatch is *told* that Michael Pointer will be joining them as Guardian. He recruits Talisman. IM and MsM cameo in #2 as the other 3 join to help take on the Wrecking Crew. #3-5 follow as the Great Beasts join the fight until Beta Ray Bill pops in and leads them off to another dimension. Pointer then appears as Weapon Omega with other OF members (not Beta Ray Bill, or Talisman who quit) in a story that runs through the anthology title Marvel Comics Presents (2007). IM guests in #4,6,10.

In the middle of all that I have proposed to the Marvel Continuity Project to bring 3 mini-series (Adam: Legend of the Blue Marvel, Sub-Mariner v3 and Penance: Relentless, all involving IM) back before MAv#1-11. This is still being considered by them. It is part of a scheme to remove some apps of Dr Doom in SMv3 and Pen:Rel from the period after MAv#11 where he he supposedly imprisoned by SHIELD. As a side effect it brings lots of Thunderbolts issues back into this timeframe too. But those 3 mini-series also include apps by Invisible Woman and Mr Fantastic, when they're supposed to be away on Titan. Fortunately MF's app in MAv#6 is already explained in the Calendar as a visit back to Earth, so I can with some justification make it an extended visit by both of them. The A:LBM and SMv3 apps are just those 2, but the Pen:Rel app includes Human Torch and Thing. And this is all in the period when there is an alternate FF including Black Panther and Storm while IW and MF are away. I explain this by positing that King Solomon's Frogs not only took the alt-FF dimension and space-hopping but through time too, which the capricious objects can do. So MF and IW come back from Titan because the Baxter Building alerts them that the alt-FF have been away a long time. The alt-FF return between SMv3 and Pen:Rel, but BP and Storm take some time out to take care of Wakandan stuff around Pen:Rel. After everything Iron Man and the Mighty Avengers try to find the New Avengers in the flashbacks in NAv#29B-30. Then we have the main part of NAv#27-31 in Japan where the NAv uncover the Skrull Elektra. Meanwhile MAv start fighting Ultron from their own #1. This takes both teams through an invasion of Venom Symbiotes. MAv blame it on Dr Doom and attack Latveria, to arrest him in MAv#11. Meanwhile the NAv are dealing with the Hood and his new gang. I'll describe the next phase of Initiative later, possibly in MAv#11.