Captain America and Bucky

Captain America has become one of those characters who can be incredibly hard to handle. On the surface, you have a pretty basic concept--super-soldier, frozen since WWII, fights crime and loves his country. There seems to be a lot to chew on, but there's no big fat character or personality hook that defines the character, as there is for Spider-Man, the Hulk, or the Fantastic Four.

Cap has been written well over the years, off and on, but Ed Brubaker's run as writer might be up there with the all-time greats. He has concocted an intricate superhero espionage story that taps into many of the elements from past Cap stories that have defined the title and the character, but he pushes them all in some pretty astonishing new directions.

To delve too deeply into the specifics of Brubaker's run would spoil the surprise, but it's hard to imagine any comic book fan worth his or her Spidey Underoos hasn't realized that Bucky Barnes is back as the Winter Soldier. Bucky's return is the perfect example of what makes this title great--it's unexpected, it's edgy, and it's played in a completely plausible manner (well, plausible by comic book standards) that transforms Cap's world and raises the stakes for all the characters involved.

With the much-publicized death of the titular character, Captain America has become an even better title, if that's even possible. The reactions to Cap's death are pushing these characters toward some inevitable showdowns that will continue to electrify this book. It's easily one of the best titles Marvel's putting on stands today.