"Two Americas" is a four-issue

Captain America Captain America is a superhero created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby who appears in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in '' Captain America Comics'' #1, published on December 20, 1940, by Timely C ...

story arc A story arc (also narrative arc) is the chronological construction of a plot in a novel or story. It can also mean an extended or continuing narrative, storyline in episode, episodic storytelling media such as television, comic books, comic strip ...

written by

Ed Brubaker Ed Brubaker (; born November 17, 1966) is an American comic book writer, cartoonist and screenwriter who works primarily in the crime fiction genre. He began his career with the semi-autobiographical series '' Lowlife'' and a number of serials i ...

, drawn by

Luke Ross Luke Ross (born Luciano Queiroz, 18 July 1972) is a comic artist known for his work on books such as ''Gen13'', ''Spider-Man'', ''Green Lantern (comic book), Green Lantern'', ''Indiana Jones comic books, Indiana Jones'' and ''Captain America (vo ...

and published by

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...

. The story arc takes place in ''

'' #602-605, in the fifth volume of the title.

Plot synopsis

Captain America ("Bucky" Barnes) and the

Falcon Falcons () are birds of prey in the genus ''Falco'', which includes about 40 species. Some small species of falcons with long, narrow wings are called hobbies, and some that hover while hunting are called kestrels. Falcons are widely distrib ...

investigate intelligence reports from

S.H.I.E.L.D. S.H.I.E.L.D. is a fictional espionage, special law enforcement, and counter-terrorism government agency appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, this agency first appeared in ''Strange Tal ...

about an anti-government organization led by

William Burnside :''This English mathematician is sometimes confused with the Irish mathematician William S. Burnside (1839–1920).'' __NOTOC__ William Burnside (2 July 1852 – 21 August 1927) was an English mathematician. He is known mostly as an early rese ...

, the Captain America of the 1950s. Burnside is revealed to be the new leader of the

far right Far-right politics, often termed right-wing extremism, encompasses a range of ideologies that are marked by ultraconservatism, authoritarianism, ultranationalism, and Nativism (politics), nativism. This political spectrum situates itself on ...

terrorist group Several national governments and two international organizations have created lists of organizations that they designate as terrorist. The following list of designated terrorist groups lists groups designated as terrorist by current and former ...

' Watchdogs'. The original Captain America, Steve Rogers, expresses his reluctance to operate alongside his colleague, and he decides to pass on the mantle while psychologically reflecting on the recent

American civil war The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

Controversy

''Captain America'' #602 drew controversy upon publication for the similarity between the protesters depicted in the comic and the

Tea Party movement The Tea Party movement was an American fiscally conservative political movement within the Republican Party that began in 2007, catapulted into the mainstream by Congressman Ron Paul's presidential campaign. The movement expanded in resp ...

. Particularly drawing scorn was a panel of a protester holding a sign that read "Tea Bag the Libs Before They Tea Bag You!" Also drawing controversy were remarks made by the Falcon implying that the crowd is racist. In his column on

Comic Book Resources ''CBR'', formerly ''Comic Book Resources'', is a news website primarily covering comic book news, comic book reviews, and comic book–related topics involving movies, television, anime, and video games. It is owned by Valnet, parent of publicat ...

, Marvel Comics Editor-in-Chief

Joe Quesada Joseph Quesada (; born January 12, 1962'' Comics Buyer's Guide'' #1650; February 2009; page 107) is an American comic book artist, writer, editor, and television producer. He became known in the 1990s for his work on various Valiant Comics books, ...

apologized for the sign, claiming that it was mistake added by the letterer at the last minute.

Collected editions

The story has been collected into an individual volume: *''Captain America: Two Americas'' (collects ''Captain America'' #602-605 and ''Who Will Wield The Shield?''

one-shot One shot may refer to: Film and television * One-shot film, a feature film shot in one long take with no edits, or manufactured to look like so * ''One Shot'' (2005 film), a Sri Lankan action film directed by Ranjan Ramanayake * ''One Shot'', a ...

, 128 pages, August 2010, ISBN 0-7851-4510-9)

Notes

References

* {{Ed Brubaker Captain America storylines Comics by Ed Brubaker

Plot synopsis

Controversy

Collected editions

See also

Notes

References