With the news of Steve Rogers’ return hitting the blogosphere, we at Blog@ decided to take a look at some of the winners and losers when it came to Captain America: Reborn.

WINNER: Sharon Carter. Sharon has been through the wringer the past two years of issues, going through mind control, kidnapping, and even the loss of her unborn child. But the worst part for her has been the guilt — knowing that she killed Captain America. But as we’ve seen in Captain America #600, the rumors of her causing Steve’s demise have been greatly exaggerated — and this frees her from the prison of her own making.

WINNER: Tony Stark. This is a character whose greatest struggles have been defined by guilt — whether its retreating to the bottle when SHIELD tried forcing him to create weapons, or hunting down armored heroes and villains to stop the proliferation of his Iron Man tech. But his current run from Norman Osborn — complete with the eventual erasure of his mind — stems from his guilt over Steve Rogers’ death. Heavy was the head that wore the crown, but with Steve Rogers’ return, the cracks in the Iron Man’s armor might actually shrink.

WINNER: Clint Barton. The one-time Hawkeye had been given the reins of Avengers leadership by Luke Cage, finally cementing the dream Clint had had way back in his first appearances in the series. But is Ronin really leadership material? The Magic 8 Ball points to no, and Steve’s return might mean that Clint can finally stand down and do what he does best: snipe the leader.

WINNER: Barack Obama. He’s a one-man comics bailout machine! If there’s anyone appropriate of welcoming Steve back, I think it’d be this guy. I smell a variant cover coming on! (I kid because I love.)

WINNER/LOSER: Steve Rogers. On the one hand, he’s packing a pulse, which is nice. On the other hand, this is a guy who has been in captivity for at least a year (in Marvel time), and Marvel has alluded to the mental and physical anguish he has taken. And with Norman Osborn running the show, there are going to be a lot of people looking to Steve for support — many in the Marvel U want a savior, but will Steve want this burden? If he started fraying while working against Tony Stark, imagine what’ll happen when Norman drops the H.A.M.M.E.R. on Steve’s resistance. And if he was in that coffin, that’s about a year of ultimate solitary confinement…

WINNER/LOSER: Bucky Barnes. The idea that his mentor — the guy who brought him back from the edge — is still alive has to be a good feeling for Bucky. But on the other hand, it was Steve’s spirit that really guided his rehabilitation from assassin to hero, with the Star-Spangled uniform giving him a purpose to channel his aggression in a positive way. With Steve coming back, will Bucky’s semi-reformed life come crashing down again?

UNDECIDED: Isaiah Bradley. On the one hand, while it’s been announced that Steve will come back from the dead, that means poor Isaiah Bradley is still lost in his own little world, a victim of an imperfect usage of the Super Soldier Serum. However, with Kyle Baker’s image shown last week, there’s still a possibility — albeit a slim one — that Isaiah will come back to fighting form in the present, rather than having a World War II-era flashback.

LOSER: Hank Pym. For once, Hank got to be the good guy, leading his version of the Mighty Avengers throughout the world, thumbing their nose as the villainy of Norman Osborn’s Dark Avengers. For Hank, one of the worst parts about the Skrull Invasion was that his imposter earned the spotlight he had always craved — and the Mighty Avengers was Pym’s way of honoring his wife, honoring Cap, and making himself a hero in the process. With Cap coming back, Pym is no longer the figurehead he once was… and that might not be good for him.

LOSER: The Red Skull. First and foremost, he’s living in an Arnem Zola robot suit, where your head is in your stomach. Secondly, if Steve Rogers is still alive, this means his plan has failed. To quote Jim Carrey: Leh-hoo… zeh-her. Loser.

LOSER: The Grand Director. He certainly looks the part of Steve Rogers, but with the Real Deal coming back from the grave, the Grand Director’s reason for being is now completely lost. You can count on a confrontation between G.D. and Steve and/or Bucky.

LOSER: Norman Osborn. While he easily made Tony Stark into a traitor, tarnishing Captain America will be significantly more difficult for the one-time Green Goblin. As we’ve seen in Captain America #600, Steve Rogers is a very hot topic in the Marvel U, with some viewing him as treasonous, but many more seeing him as a hero, through and through. Since Norman has become all about the PR war, having the patron saint of World War II rise from the dead and speak out against him could certainly hurt his “Iron Patriot” image, as well as inspire some of the more conflicted heroes under his thumb to possibly rebel.

LOSER: Stephen Colbert. He has to give the shield back. Careful, Rogers, you don’t know where that thing has been!

LOSER: Whoever was in that casket in Fallen Son #5. If that wasn’t Steve in that coffin that Iron Man and Namor dropped into the Arctic, who was it? Somebody who probably would have opted for cremation, that’s who.

This entry was posted on Monday, June 15th, 2009 at 10:58 am and is filed under Marvel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.