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Captain America (2018)

Captain America, Vol. 2: Captain of Nothing

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Superstar artist Adam Kubert joins Ta-Nehisi Coates for the next dramatic development in the life of Marvel's Super-Soldier! Captain America - wanted for murder! And the victim is a familiar face in the Marvel Universe! How? Why? You'll have to read to find out!

COLLECTING: CAPTAIN AMERICA 7-12

144 pages, Paperback

First published September 25, 2019

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About the author

Ta-Nehisi Coates

274 books14.8k followers
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.

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5 stars
132 (15%)
4 stars
377 (42%)
3 stars
310 (35%)
2 stars
56 (6%)
1 star
4 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 109 reviews
Profile Image for Chad.
9,153 reviews1,001 followers
November 11, 2019
Coates is definitely getting better as a comic book writer, but this is severely decompressed. It probably should have been three issues as opposed to six. I do think he's doing more interesting things with the garbage from Secret Empire than Nick Spencer ever did. I also like how Coates is pulling a lot of elements in from Ed Brubaker's run on Cap. If he ever gets his pacing correct, he's going to be a damn fine writer of comics.

Kudos to Adam Kubert for actually meeting a deadline for 6 months in a row. Unfortunately, he had to change his style to basically sketches to make it. The boy needs an inker or at least a colorist to darken all his lines. They get completely lost behind the colors. Unless that was done purposely to hide the unfinished art.
Profile Image for James DeSantis.
Author 17 books1,175 followers
December 9, 2019
Captain America is now in jail for a crime he didn't commit. But isn't that life?

Steve is framed for the murder of General Ross. Instead of running he decides to turn himself in. While he does that the people who conspire against him begin their plan to frame him as a murderer and the cause of many people's death. On the flipside you have the ladies of liberty whooping ass and taking names as they used their powers to free Steve...but will it be that easy?

I love the multiple threads going on. Evil Steve, Steve rogers in jail, the ladies kicking ass, and so much more. All on top of some great art with some fantastic character moments and politically charged message. The twist and turns keep coming as well. The end result isn't as satisfying as say the last volume but it still leaves some big things up in the air to make me want to read volume 3. This run has been great so far.

A 4 out of 5.
Profile Image for Paul.
2,247 reviews20 followers
February 4, 2020
It’s undeniable that there are some great moments in this collection, and I did enjoy it, but I can’t help but question how many ‘Captain America No More!’ stories we really need. At this point, this is just a tired rehash of what was already a tired rehash the last time they did it.

On the plus side, they genuinely surprised me with the identity reveal of ‘Dryad’; I was so sure it was going to be ! As a forty year comicbook veteran, it’s really nice to be proved wrong occasionally...
Profile Image for Malum.
2,577 reviews159 followers
August 20, 2019
If you like tons of action and a fast-paced plot, you might get frustrated with this volume. Steve gets put in prison and he just kind of sits there for several issues having deep thoughts.

I still like where Coates is going with this series, though. Cap is living in a post-Cap world that has not only moved on from him, but actively distrusts him. It's an enemy that Cap can't just punch in the face.
Profile Image for Subham.
2,963 reviews83 followers
December 27, 2021
This was quite fun.

Steve is in prison after the supposed murder and well its a great drama seeing him locked up in the prison and well teaming up with villains like of the wrecking crew to go after its warden Baron Wolfgang von strucker and I love how the two old foes crash and its excellent-ly done as he takes him down and the formation of Daughters of liberty and prison break and maybe a new identity and all that meanwhile the big plot with Power enterprises and Lukin builds in the background.

I like the slow noir thriller kinda feel and its awesome and it tests Steve on so many levels including his beliefs and what he believes is right or wrong and also gives some characterization to the villains and maybe all of them are not bad guys. I like the role of the DRYAD and her reveal was one of the best parts of the book and the art by Kubert is gold!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Chris Lemmerman.
Author 7 books108 followers
November 5, 2019
Captain America is a wanted man – and he’s not about to go on the run again. Trapped in a prison filled with supervillains and run by one of his deadliest foes, Cap must navigate the ins and outs of prison life so that he can survive long enough for Sharon to assemble a team to rescue him. It’s political intrigue and backroom machinations galore in this second volume of Ta-Nehisi Coates’ Captain America run!

Captain America may be a superhero, but he really shines in these kinds of political stories. It’s what Ed Brubaker managed to do with Steve to great effect, and Coates draws on all that and more. He embraces Steve’s complicated past, throwing in characters from Aleksander Lukin to Sin and Crossbones, as well as keeping Sharon Carter front and centre despite her more advanced age thanks to the events of Remender’s run. It’s a hodge podge of continuity, but Coates makes it work almost effortlessly.

Given that Cap’s in prison for most of this arc, and the focus is almost entirely on Sharon and the Daughters Of Liberty (a new team of superhero women who kick major ass, plus the mysterious new Dryad), I’m surprised at how well this held my attention. Prison stories work for a while, and this one never outstays its welcome, ending just as you think it’s going to get stale. Meanwhile the cohesiveness of the Daughters Of Liberty makes them feel as if they’ve existed forever (which they claim to have, working behind the scenes), while the machinations of the Power Elite continue almost unabated, setting up god knows what for further down the line. Plus the Dryad reveal is a complete and total WTF moment that I can’t wait to see explained.

The only real drawback of this run so far has been the art. Adam Kubert pencils all six issues, which is an achievement in itself given his notorious slowness, but it’s not great even so. His panels are sparse, and sometimes you can only tell characters apart by some random identifier. I like that he’s adjusted his style to meet the monthly schedule, but the quality has definitely suffered as a result, and the proceedings sometimes feel thin and watery thanks to very light inking and bland colour palettes, rather than packing the impact that they should have. I get that the prison scenes should feel desperate, but they shouldn’t look boring, surely.

Coates’ Captain America is giving me major Brubaker vibes, and I haven’t felt that since…well, Brubaker. It’s good enough that it’s got me jumping on in single issues rather than waiting for the trades, and given how large my reading pile is usually (and the fact that I’ve never read Captain America monthly), it says something that it’d make me want to add it to the list. Maybe I should give his Black Panther another try…
Profile Image for Blindzider.
962 reviews24 followers
November 9, 2019
Similar to his Black Panther run, there are elements of Coates' writing that I enjoy, but it also falls short in other areas.

Coates' is putting a mirror on society, examining what America(ns) have become in regards to freedom, rights, etc. Excellent topic, especially for a character like Captain America. The subject matter elevates comics, giving an entertaining story while providing food for thought. However, the general plot is a tired trope: hero is accused of a crime and put in jail, next to all of the criminals the hero helped put in there. The thought-provoking stuff is primarily through captions which are really Cap's thoughts and maybe a little through dialogue.

There are bits of dialogue that are fun: addressing what women should be called nowadays, a criminal wanting to eliminate his supervillain name and go back to his "real" name (can you run from past sins by rebranding yourself?) Coates' takes a jab at white privilege built on the back of slaves. It's quick, but having recently read his "The Case for Reparations", it was quite clear.

Again, certain elements I enjoy, but as a whole, there's something about the framework that is lacking. Perhaps it is the overused plot device. Or because the pacing is a little slow: even the action scenes are metered by evenly paced thoughts. The general feeling of the book is slightly depressing and morose as Steve tries to figure out what has happened to society, what his role is, and just how can he best help?

Interesting stuff, good enough to keep reading, but not bad enough to dismiss.
Profile Image for Robert.
1,867 reviews150 followers
June 15, 2020
Coates does what he can but I feel I have seen too many "heroes in the Big House" as well as "Captain America disgraced and on the run" stories in recent years and before.



The Daughters of Liberty angle in interesting, though. Interesting enough to get me to want to come back for the next volume, anyway.

Profile Image for Guilherme Smee.
Author 26 books155 followers
February 20, 2020
Os roteiros de Ta-Nehisi Coates são bem nos moldes dos roteiros que Jeph Loeb fazia no começo deste século: poucos quadros, poucos diálogos, ações desenfreadas, quadrinhos que podem ser lidos em pouco tempo. Mas a diferença? É que são bem escritos e bem engendrados e melhor ainda: não são sempre a mesma trama! Este é o segundo arco de Ta-Nehisi com Steve Rogers, o Capitão América. Ele é o que deveria ter acontecido com o verdadeiro Capitão América na esteira de Impérico Secreto. Na época, pareceu que as pessoas não se importavam que Steve Rogers instaurou uma ditadura no seu país tolhindo sua liberdade. Parecia até o Brasil de hoje! Mas Ta-Nehisi Coates mostra que não é bem assim e coloca Rogers dentro de uma rebelião no presídio em que ele conta com a ajuda de super-heroínas femininas comandas por uma certa figura misteriosa. Então, a revelação dessa figura misteriosa faz valer ter acompanhado o quadrinho até ali. Que essa foi uma jornada muito especial, principalmente com a ajuda dos ótimos desenhos estilizados de Adam Kubert, isso certamente foi. Vamos ver o que o futuro reserva para a relação de Steve com a misteriosa figura!
Profile Image for RG.
3,087 reviews
October 8, 2019
It got better as the issues went on. Spent alot of time within the prison. I feel like Coates is improving as a comic writer but he's still not there yet.
Profile Image for Sesana.
5,740 reviews336 followers
January 29, 2020
This strikes me as the kind of storyline that I'm going to have to see fully completed before I'm really sure how I feel about it. I liked the Daughters of Liberty, I especially liked Sharon being such a badass, and I liked that this particular problem Steve finds himself in both naturally follows from previous stories (of course people are having a hard time trusting him!) and isn't easily resolved by punching. That said, this could get really convoluted, and I'm not sure I want to see this stretch out for too long.
Profile Image for Chelsea &#x1f3f3;️‍&#x1f308;.
1,793 reviews6 followers
April 24, 2022
3.5 stars.

I didn't enjoy this volume as much as the last one, but the concepts are good! I love the Daughters of Liberty and I really hope Marvel finds a way to bring that back. Not only was it down to a team of women to help Steve out, it was a team of diverse women. I'm sad Storm didn't come in until the end, but this concept was really interesting! I'm really confused as to why Marvel keeps trying to shove Peggy Carter into everything though. Probably another sad side effect of the comics having to be influenced by the films now.

Anyway, this plot was interesting, but a little dragged out, in my opinion. More of Steve having to give up on being Captain America (I'm still not entirely sure why considering I know he took the name back up after this book?). He struggles with needing help from less than desirable people to prevail here and it makes me wonder what was really accomplished by him giving himself up? He was able to keep the shield out of their hands, but was that really worth getting thrown in a max security prison with bad guys who'd formerly worked for Nazis? Could we not have protected the shield another way?

Oddly enough, some of these threads reminded me of Danny Rand's prison breakout in Power Man & Iron Fist. I feel like we just wanted the image of Steve Rogers in prison again, but I wasn't super thrilled with how long this arc dragged out.

Anyway, I'll be checking out the next volume, as well!
Profile Image for Shannon Appelcline.
Author 26 books150 followers
March 26, 2021
V2 of Coates' Captain America continues on from the upward trajectory of the previous. This time it's about Steve in prison, and it's got two really delightful character spotlights: we get Steve in prison, interacting with supervillains as people; and we get Sharon working with a team of superheroines calling themselves the Daughters of Liberty. They're both great, and sometimes the Steve-in-prison plot is sublime.

That's not to say this volume is without flaws. The biggest one is that the plot feels like it's jerking the characters around at the whim of the writer. So, we get Steve rather suddenly dumped in prison, and then when the stars align it's suddenly time to get him out.

Still, this is a nice volume.
Profile Image for Connie.
1,579 reviews21 followers
December 1, 2021
I read this book via Kindle Unlimited.

Carrying on from where the last volume left us, Steve is in prison, Sharon is trying to figure out what is going on. Steve's whole world is falling apart, everything he has stood for has fallen apart. At the end of the last volume, we find out that the woman behind it is Alexa Lukin, wife of Alexander Lukin and she basically wants to bring him back from the dead. Which she does. We got plenty of content in this book, Steve questioning himself, finding unlikely allies. My favourite thing about Steve is that he always seeks to be proved wrong. He always wants the best out of those who have jarred him multiple times. I love HIM. I really need to continue this series ASAP.
Profile Image for Frédéric.
1,455 reviews70 followers
May 26, 2020
A very reluctantly given 3* rating.

Basic plot is a good- thriller/conspiracy story to get Steve out of the picture (and out of jail)- and so are the dialogues. Good action scenes and an inspired Adam Kubert draws the series with nice colors by Frank Martin.

So why reluctantly? The team Sharon calls up to help Steve comes so far out from left field it just pissed me off. .
No other reason, really. It's not the team per se. Had it been an ad hoc construction I'd have gone for it. But this convenient flag weaving secret organization nobody had ever heard of left a bitter taste in my mouth.

Profile Image for Garrett.
1,731 reviews23 followers
October 28, 2019
Coates again uses Cap for what he's always been for, editorially; holding up a mirror to the condition of being an American in a time when country and ideals - to say nothing of government - seem so completely fractured and meaningless. What does Cap represent at a time like this? Coates's answer is brilliant, and I can't think of the last time something has excited me on the page like the Daughters of Liberty. Good follow up, and an important read.
Profile Image for Quentin Wallace.
Author 34 books177 followers
September 30, 2022
Cap ends up framed for murder and in prison, but this is Cap, so that doesn't last long. This volume ends with Cap becoming Steve Rogers again as he tries to fight back against those that framed him. This has a very dystopian feel to it. Captain America is a great character for a political thriller, and that's basically what we have here.
Profile Image for Trevor.
592 reviews14 followers
June 19, 2020
In some ways, I liked this more than the first volume. Captain America being in prison and having to compromise his values to escape is a lot of fun to read. However, the sillier elements of this one didn't work as well. For example, I like all-female superhero teams but this time it felt a little too self-congratulatory.

Overall, I enjoyed reading this and would probably read another of Coates' comics again but I doubt I'll go searching for them.
Profile Image for B. P. Rinehart.
752 reviews284 followers
December 7, 2019
So we get Steve Rodgers in a deep situation as most people think he is Hydra and the real antagonists wanting to BE the next Hydra. While Rodgers is being institutionalized, we learn more about the folks who put him behind bars and the folks who have become his only salvation now that his official-rank is temporarily on ice.

I have to say that between this, The Water Dancer, and The Black Panther series, Ta-Nehisi Coates likes his badass women--both as protagonists and antagonists. In a comic book about one of THE great MEN of superhero comics, the women in this series are holding the balance as both destroyers and saviors (that is as much as I'll spoil for now).
Profile Image for Travis Duke.
1,032 reviews14 followers
November 13, 2019
A good follow up to vol.1 Coates is crafting a deeper story but it also feels very familiar at the same time. Captain is still dealing with the aftermath of the Hydra Supreme. It is clear now the ripples after the Hydra event are just beginning and Steve has a hard road, but he wont be alone! The Daughters of Liberty are a rad bunch of women who kick ass and take names and they are gonna help Steve out. The end of this book ramps up nicely with a big fight and some big ideas. Captain America is the title but Steve is about to step up to the plate.
Profile Image for James.
2,473 reviews68 followers
February 27, 2020
So all the conspiring the enemies did against Cap in the last issue have paid off here. He is framed an put in jail. Nice watching Cap trying to survive in there and really awesome watching the Daughters of Liberty kick ass and save the day. I have really been digging the pacing of this whole series so far. Sometimes you don’t need to rush your way to the end. I love Coates slow steady pace. Then that reveal of the Dryad?!?!?! So ready for vol 3!!
Profile Image for Scott.
635 reviews10 followers
October 12, 2019
It was good but a little long and confusing. While the art was nice some of the layouts were difficult to read. There were too many double page spreads where you couldn't tell which direction to read.
Profile Image for Scott Lee.
2,158 reviews7 followers
October 26, 2019
Coates does solid work here, exploring what it means for Steve to be Captain America with the MU's America being in the state it's in following the events of the Secret Empire storyline, and frame-up for murder with which this volume opens. The story's a slow build, with most of the action left to the "Daughters of Liberty," a group of superheroines that includes, Sue Storm, Mockingbird, Jessica Drew, and a few others. (Natasha would be a natural, but isn't there.)

Our primary villains here are Von Strucker--who, by resisting the "Supreme Commander" as a corruption of Hydra, was able to cut a deal--and the Supreme Commander himself, although where his arc ends after his last panel is ambiguous and more than a little uncertain.

Coates seems to be setting up a promising storyline, and I buy the arguments for having Steve set aside (at least temporarily) the Captain America moniker that are set forth here. I actually like that no one else is taking up/being shoved into the role. I'm really curious to see what Coates has coming for this book, as the pre-amble seems to be over with now and a major story under way.
Profile Image for Lucas Savio.
552 reviews25 followers
February 21, 2020
Estava lendo o pantera do coates (o início da fase e achei bem morno) e então vim para essa que tem uma pegada mais frenética e rápida. Consigo enxergar uma evolução ao estilo para melhor ele continua pensando em arcos longos oq me agrada e se está lendo no brasil recomendo completar um arco para ler q é mais benéfico e em relação a história to gostando bastante do rumo.Ressignificando o capitão em dias atuais e tocando em assuntos de extrema importância: o feminismo .
Profile Image for Shannon Haugland.
102 reviews
August 3, 2021
Another great first-person story penned by Coates, allusions to present day issues with police good and bad, prisons and BLM. A pageturner, with solid pictorial storytelling and fab artwork. Also liked the entry of female superheroes to save the day for our identity-plagued Captain. More from this man Coates, please!
Profile Image for Laura.
27 reviews7 followers
March 8, 2020
*googlet, wo und wann Vol.3 zu bestellen ist*
Profile Image for Zeina (Taylor's Version).
340 reviews9 followers
April 3, 2021
The concept of the comic was really good and I was really invested in the comic the whole time I was reading it and the illustrations were FANTASTIC! You should really read this book ( and the ending was really good!!)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 109 reviews

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