Captain America Vol. 3

by Gerry Conway, Stan Lee, Gary Friedrich

Cap's up against the usual army of orders in AIM, Hydra and the schemes of the Skull--but could the most familiar enemy face by...Bucky's? The Falcon becomes Cap's full-time crimefighting partner in the wake of this shocker Gangsters and gorillas A mysterious Stranger Nazis, robots and Nazi robots Featuring the friends and foes of Spider-Man, and the seb-slinger himself Guest-starring Daredevil and the Avengers Plus: The secret of the 1950s Captain...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0785121668
• ISBN13: 9780785121664
• Release Date: January 2010
• Publisher: Marvel Comics Group
• Length: 608 Pages
• Weight: 1.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.4" x 6.6" x 10.0"
• Age Range: 12 to 17 years
• Grade Range: Grades 7 to 12

Customer Reviews

good stuff from the early archives of marvel's golden age

This is an awesome book whether you're a Cap fan or not. Good stories and some of the best art to grace the pages of Marvel comics..Nuff said

Cap gets mature

The stories in this Essential Volume has more depth, the late 60s and early 70s society is reflected in the plots and the characters are less naive. Maybe the art is not iconic like the Kirby and Steranko stuff, but I think Gene Colan is the best artist for Captain America. In this Essential we have the art of John Romita Sr. and Sal Buscema too, so maybe this volume is one must have for the Cap lovers.

Cap & the Falcon - Together!

This is another very good go-around with America's star-spangled hero. Cap goes through a lot of personal turmoil in this collection, including his relationship with Sharon Carter and how he is viewed by the American public. The Red Skull shows up a few times as well as Hydra, the Cap & Bucky from the 50s, and assorted other villains. This is also the official beginning of the Cap/Falcon team. The Gene Colan artwork is superb at the beginning, followed by the incomparable John Romita, and the stylistic Sal Buscema.

The legend lives on.

Captain America really starts stepping up here. He gets a new sidekick in The Falcon, guest stars galore, the "return" of Bucky Barnes, and of course SHIELD shows up often. The weakness here however has to be the development of the Falcon. Perhaps the writers were unsure how to handle the character, and the years have definitely been kinder to Sam Wilson than his beginnings here, but it seems almost laughable at times. First, he fights hard to prove himself and become Captain America's new partner. Then he finally gets his name on the cover, and suddenly decides he doesn't want to be Cap's partner anymore. He wants to "stay and help the brothers in Harlem", so Cap says he understands and tries to leave him alone. Then Cap gets in trouble and SHIELD comes to get the Falcon's help, so he does then immediately quits Cap again after that mission. Then he tries to hunt down Spider-Man (remember, he was considered a menace by the press in the 70's), only to get beat down royally and helped by Cap again...before telling Cap he quit again. Then Cap needs help on a mission and Sam helps again...then quits again. Taken over a span of years as these monthly comics were originally published, this might not have been so obvious, but taken as a whole it really detracts from the story. Why would a hero like Cap keep coming back for help from the one man who doesn't want to give it when he has the entire Avengers roster to choose from? And why would Sam Wilson fight so hard to become a hero then decide "Ok, got that done, now leave me alone"? But there are positive notes here. Cap's turn as Nomad is coming up in the next collection, but we see shadows of it turning up here. There are some nice SHIELD stories, and the return of Bucky was a cool storyline (though I think they really should have stretched it out a lot further before revealing his real origin). The issues starring Spidey worked well because they always made a good team back in the 70's. So the weaknesses are here, but the strong points help make them passable. Not the best of times for Cap, but these are still strong points and they lead up to what soon becomes Cap's better storylines of the decade.

Captain America teams up with the Falcon in the early 1970s

With the recent "death" of Captain America in the epilogue to the Civil War that has rocked the Marvel Universe I decided to go back and read again the Silver Age adventures of ol' wing head. "Essential Captain America, Volume 3," reprints "Captain America" issues #127-56, which were originally published between 1970 and 1972. Captain America was created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby back in March of 1941 in Timely Comics' "Captain America Comics" #1. Cap entered the Marvel Universe in "Avengers" #4 in March 1964 after spending decades literally frozen in suspended animation, quickly becoming the leader of the group of superheroes. But by the start of the 1970s, Captain America was no longer a member of the Avengers' active roster, which had the Black Panther leading Goliath, the Vision, Quicksilver, and the Scarlet Witch. I mention this T'Challa being the leader of the current Avengers roster compliments the major development in Captain America's own comic book during this period, which was nakedly teaming up with the Falcon (despite the image above, the cover of this collection does not show the duo but just Cap taking on the Red Skull and what looks like the Hulk shooting flame out of his wrists). The symbolism of Captain America, the embodiment of the American spirit, teaming up with an African-American superhero was certainly worth of note at the time. The Falcon (a.k.a. Sam Wilson), first appeared in "Captain America" #117, created by writer Stan Lee and artist Gene Colan (who had replaced Jack Kirby as the book's main artist). "Snap" Wilson had been a hoodlum in Harlem, but on his way to Rio de Janeiro he crashes on Exile Island and ended up fighting alongside Captain America against the Red Skull. But when we start this particular run of stories Cap is still working closely with Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D., as befitting a friendship that goes back to World War II and Fury's Howling Commando days (hey, when do we get the Essential treatment for those guys? They were the first Marvel comics I ever read). But Fury uses Cap to bait a trap for a traitor (#127), and our hero takes to the road on a motorcycle so that Steve Rogers can find himself (#128). That is right: Captain America as "Easy Rider." Of course, he immediately finds the Red Skull (#129) and then Baron Strucker (#130-31), who apparently has found Bucky Barnes (#132), Cap's partner from WWII. Of course, he is not, which means Modok and AIM must pay for the deception (#133). This is where Cap decides that he has finally found a partner in the Falcon. Captain America and the Falcon set up shop in Harlem taking on Stone Face (#134), a giant gorilla (#135) and the Mole Man (#136), and then Spider-Man (#137), who joins the duo in a rematch against Stone Face (#138) in the issue where John Romita (Sr.) becomes the artist (For a couple of issues Colan's artwork was inked by Tom Palmer, foreshadowing what we would see through almost the entire run of "Tomb of Dracula"). S