Seriously, Rick Remender is unable to kill any character.  (Well, so’s every other comic writer these days, but that’s a discussion for another time.)  A few issues back, that villainest of all villains, Baron Zemo, killed Captain America’s sidekick Nomad, a.k.a. Steve Rogers’ adopted son Ian from Dimension Z, by hanging him upside-down from chains, slitting his throat with a sword, and filming his death with the intent of sending to Steve for Christmas! (And then he wanted to sterilize America’s minority population via an army of fleeeas! You just don’t get more villainous than Baron Zemo!)  It was pretty unambiguous!  Oh but wait never mind Ian’s alive.  Turns out his armor is full of patented Arnim-Zola-brand ooey-gooey bio-gel, so it fixed him right up!  With that in mind, I found myself skeptical at the cliffhanger of that same issue where the vampiric Baron Blood ate Redwing, the Falcon’s longtime avian sidekick, leaving him to happen upon the grisly remains!  Could this be an actual fatality?  Because, yeah, that would be pretty messed up!  But nope, never mind, now I guess he’s just a vampire falcon whaaaaat is happening.  After Ian tells Captain America to go stop Baron Blood while he holds off Zemo, later the building explodes, with no survivors, so Baron Zemo and Ian are presumed dead by absolutely no one.  Seriously, Steve Rogers, the guy’s adopted father, just shrugs it off!  Well, I guess if he can’t bother getting emotionally involved in this story…!  But at least this was all illustrated by Stuart Immonen, who remains a treasure and we are lucky to have him.

But can we talk about Steve Rogers?  For those of you blissfully unaware, Captain America had the super-soldier serum leeched from his body, so after the Falcon took over the role and iconic shield of Captain America, Steve Rogers is just a wee little old man with a cane in more of a strategic, advisory position.  That is, when he’s not being a vengeance-crazed lunatic on a crusade against his fellow heroes, smashing stuff, suiting up in battle-armor, and again suiting up in battle-armor.  I absolutely allow that Tony Stark has way more history and dramatic tension with Steve Rogers than with Sam Wilson, but I can’t help but feel like Sam isn’t getting a chance to (oh god) fully spread his wings (I’m sorry) as Captain America while Steve hangs around like a helicopter parent.