The road to hell is paved with good intentions. So is the road to a comic book about an old man’s love for a small boy in the middle of World War II. Hi, my name is James Johnston and I’m here to tell you where “Captain America: White” went wrong. Spoilers ahead!
Written by Jeph Loeb
Illustrated by Tim SaleISSUE #1 –
• From his re-awakening in the present day to his days on the battlefield during World War II, follow CAPTAIN AMERICA as he recalls a special mission during THE BIG ONE!
• It’s 1941 and the HOWLING COMMANDOS are just looking to kick back and relax….
• But CAP and BUCKY are about to make their night a whole lot worse!
• The EISNER AWARD-WINNING team of JEPH LOEB and TIM SALE reunite to tell a shocking story of CAPTAIN AMERICA AND BUCKY!
• Extra-sized issue featuring CAPTAIN AMERICA: WHITE #0
One of Marvel’s more stirring stories from its canon is the broken relationship between Captain America and Bucky. When Steve Rogers woke up in the 1960’s (then 70’s, 80’s, etc.) to find an entirely new world than the one he was from, he also found that his sidekick Bucky had died in a horrible explosion. That haunted him for several years, until he came upon the horrible realization that Bucky had been brainwashed by the KGB and turned into a super yaoi hunk. It’s honestly a pretty good story, and one you’ve heard or seen at least twelve times since The Winter Soldier became Tumblr’s favorite Marvel film. For that reason, it’s easy to see why Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale would approach it for their “Color Series” – a collection of mini-series where Marvel heroes cry about their dead girlfriends awhile and don’t get much else done.
There’s a real impact in those comics and I think that has to do with their respective deaths having a lasting impact on the hero. “Spider-Man: Blue” is resonant because the shadow of Gwen Stacy’s death still falls (heh) on everything Peter Parker does. Same with Karen Page in “Daredevil: Yellow” or Betty Ross in “Hulk: Gr-” You know what? Let’s keep it to “Blue” and “Yellow”. Everyone and their cousin knows that Bucky Barnes becomes the Winter Soldier so where’s the impact in “Captain America: White”? What’s the hidden story that will subtly shadow the way Marvel’s heroes have been living their lives? Well, after I read the comic twice just to make sure: I’m pretty sure “Captain America: White” is entirely about Cap’s unrequited love for his insanely underage comrade-in-arms.
Now, there’s a sizable portion of Captain America’s fans who believe that Steve Rogers and James Barnes could be in a believable relationship together. I can kind of buy that in 2015, when their biological age difference is only a few years apart. In “Captain America: Red, White, and Blue” Bucky is, at most, nine years old. Every time he’s on the page, I don’t see the gruff teenager forced far too early to be a killer in a war he doesn’t fully understand. I see a small baby who should be nowhere near the literal ox that is Steve Rogers. Tim Sale’s artwork has always been a little divisive among comic book fans as it’s an incredibly classic style that works for nostalgic stories or heavy noir. Even if he’s not my one of my Top 7 or whatever, Sale’s always been an artist who can be relied upon to do solid throwback comics like “White” seems it was meant to be. But the artwork in “White” seems too cartoonish to be believable. The relative realism seen in “The Long Halloween” for example is absent while Cap just makes shit-eating grins at empty tanks. For a comic book that was delayed for years, and from a team that has worked together for literal decades, it all feels a bit clumsy.
And it’s that clumsiness, rather than any ill-fated attempt at LGBTQA representation, which causes this book’s overwhelming message of “STEVE WANTS TO PLOW BUCKY!” There’s a scene where, again, nine year-old Bucky is shaving and getting ready to go to the club with Steve and the soldiers. Bucky mentions that there’ll be girls on the club which is exactly why he should be there. Here is an exact transcription of the following conversation, emphasis mine.
Continued belowBucky: There’ll be girls in there.
Cap: What’s that got to do with anything?
Bucky: I’m just saying with you being a —
Cap: A what…?
Bucky: Well, it’s just we both know I’ve had more experience in this department. I mean it wasn’t that long ago you were 4F.
Cap: -A strong glare-
Now, I know from reading years of Captain America comics that Cap was 4F (discharged from the military) because he was too scrawny and only became a soldier after a ex-Nazi imbued him with magical Aryan steroids or something. For anyone else, it sounds like Cap was discharged for being gay and that it was a secret he was meant to keep from Bucky. Look at that exchange. It’s like a Tennessee Williams play. And with so much of the comic consisting of narration where Steve obsessively rambles about wanting to keep Bucky safe and protected, like to the point where he’s just going to ignore the man in the iron armor and other guy who is the size of an ant, to go sit and think about his loss love. It’s honestly kind of romantic, or it would be if, yet again, Bucky didn’t look like a cast member on The Little Rascals.
Honestly, looking back at Loeb and Sale’s other Marvel works, I’m surprised this wasn’t about Peggy Carter. Especially since First Avenger and its ending made everyone weep over how Steve and Peg never gothic dance together. And there’s fewer comics exploring that territory, the meeting of a still-young Cap and an aged Peggy, than there are about Buck Grief. Fucking “Planet Hulk” did a storyline about Captain America losing Bucky and it was a thousand times better. And it was in “PLANET HULK!” Devil Goddamn Dinosaur was in a better comic about Bucky’s death than “Captain America: White Rights.” What’s the endgame for “Captain America: White and Proud” considering that Bucky’s fate is common knowledge? Are we really going to read five more issues about an old man said that he won’t see his precious small boy ever again? Bucky’s already back. Sure, he’s currently in a comic that, last time I checked, was entirely about him banging an alien but he can still go with Cap to get lunch any day he wants.
If it sounds like I’m blowing up one small facet of “Captain America: White Means Right” for the sake of a review, you’re overestimating how much substance this book has. Anything in this comic that isn’t Cap remembering Bucky is the same World War II flashbacks that Captain America comics have been featuring ever since Brusker started writing the character. Hell, there’s no real reason for “Captain America: White Lantern Power Ring” to exist when “Captain America: Man Out of Time” exists. That comic gives you a way better sense of Steve Rogers adjusting to the modern day without him sitting on a bench thinking about Bucky the entire damn time. You could also read literally anything else.
Final Verdict: 2.2 – When “Captain America: White” isn’t being unintentionally weird, it’s being stupidly redundant. That said, I’ll give the whole series a 10.0 if the next issue is just Bucky calling Cap a confirmed bachelor and Steve just staring him dead in the eyes.
