Captain America #612

Overall: The character assassination of poor Bucky continues this issue, with the media jumping all over the revelation that the current Captain America was the infamous Cold War assassin, the Winter Soldier. Bucky has been locked up in solitary, for his(and the other inmates)protection, while Steve Rogers does everything in his power to try to convince the media that Bucky is an American hero, not a traitor. Steve hires his old flame, Bernie Rosenthal(!!) to serve as Bucky's defense attorney, and she decides to go on TV to try to sway public opinion back towards Bucky. Steve also sends Black Widow and Falcon to capture Dr. Faustus, who, with his mastery of the human mind, would be able to give expert testimony on Bucky's behalf confirming that Bucky was indeed brainwashed by the Soviets during his Winter Soldier days. Meanwhile, Master Man and a small army of Nazi wannabes break the Red Skull's daughter Sin out of the nuthouse, who seems ready to take over her father's moniker as the new Red Skull. Her first plan upon getting free? To destroy Bucky's life even more.

This comic is doing a really good slow burn right now. Nothing really explosive happened here, but everything is starting to build towards Bucky's trial. We've met Bucky's lawyer, Steve seems to be trying to get Faustus to take the stand on Bucky's behalf(although I'm not sure how smart THAT is), and Sin/the new Red Skull has been sprung from prison, meaning she'll undoubtedly have some input as to the direction this storyline heads. All in all good stuff, with even better stuff undoubtedly on the horizon.

Score: 8 out of 10.Next time Falcon tells you to shut up, you'll SHUT UP!