Captain America #14
"Hell's Angel" Part 3
Writer: Chip Zdarsky
Artist: Ton Lima
Colorist: Romulo Fajardo Jr.
Cover Artist: Valerio Schiti & Romulo Fajardo Jr.
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Steve Rogers's adventures in Hell continue, with Victor Von Doom being faced with one of his greatest sins (and that's saying a lot)…
Lost Love Found
Valeria. Victor Von Doom's great love.
The woman he gave to demons in exchange for power.
This probably isn't a happy reunion…
Valeria is in possession of the Antidivine, a weapon that can kill Angels. And she's trying to use it on Doom. Steve Rogers has to save Victor, because even someone as awful as Doom doesn't deserve his soul being destroyed.
But Doom… shows contrition? Yeahbutwhat?
So our group grows by one.
In the real world, Nick Fury Jr. comes to visit Steve's hospital room—the latest person hoping for Steve to wake up and tell them the right thing to do.
Back in Hell, Steve and Doom continue building their army, only to learn the Red Skull has been doing the same…
Inconceivable
Before we talk about Steve, I need to talk about the Doom of this issue.
Dr. Doom is everywhere right now, something to do with a movie I guess? So it's easy to get a little bit of burnout with the character. But between Al Ewing, Ryan North, and Chip Zdarsky here, we are getting so many great takes on Doom with new dimensions to his character. To see a version of Victor Von Doom that would apologize to someone he wronged… that's not something you see every day. Or ever.
Valeria is a great tool to show just how much Victor is trying to change. What he did to her was utterly unthinkable (hey, that was the name of the Mark Waid and Mike Wieringo story arc in Fantastic Four where Doom did the deed in question!), and he knows it. So maybe Doom really is trying to do better.
Or maybe he's playing everyone and plans to take Mephisto's throne for himself. Who can say?
Now Steve. He's completely out of his element, trapped in literal Hell, but he's still Steve Rogers, damn it. He's still the purest soul in the Marvel universe, and he's still a born leader. So he's doing the best he can. When he finally realizes he can use that purity as power and pulls a version of his shield from the ground, that was an awesome moment.
And now he gets to punch undead Nazis in the face. You can never go wrong with punching Nazis.
Back in the real world, things continue to go to hell without him. I really do think that the whole Armageddon event wouldn't have happened if Steve were there—which I'm sure is exactly why he's having this Hell adventure instead.
In the Army Now
Chip Zdarsky continues to show how well he gets Steven Rogers. Even in the pits of Hell, he's still the most inspiring person you've ever met, who can even make his enemies follow him. Well, maybe not the Red Skull. But that guy sucks anyway. This issue isn't quite as fast-paced, with a bit more "gathering the army" in the middle, but there's still plenty of great character work and a cool action scene against a massive demon.
Speaking of action, Ton Lima does a great job here. The giant demon jailer is ominous and creepy, and you can feel the threat as Steven and company face it. I'm a little confused by the Antidivine, because everyone refers to it as a sword, but it's clearly drawn as a sickle? And the image of the Red Skull, riding a skeletal dragon, with an army of undead behind him? That's just metal.
Romulo Fajardo Jr. gets to play with plenty of different effects here, such as the powers of the Antidivine and Steve tapping into his pure soul. Those things stand out against the reds and oranges of Hell, with the demons and the landscape standing out as doomed and horrible. And again, I have to mention the skeletal dragon—such a cool image, and the colors make it pop against the Hell backdrop.
Acts of Contrition
Captain America #14 continues Steve's journey through Hell by bringing Victor Von Doom face-to-face with one of his greatest sins, and showing just how much the villain apparently wants to change. There's some great action here, and the promise of more to come as Steve and company face off with the Red Skull and his army. He may be sitting out Armageddon, but Steve Rogers is certainly not resting on his laurels.