Winter Soldier #8

Dang, this book improved in a hurry. I figured I’d love the strong ties to the Marvel U in the opening arc, but this title is actually a lot more exciting in a world of its own. We’ve got Bucky, Black Widow, Jasper Sitwell, and that’s about it as far as long-standing Marvel characters go. Everyone and everything else in this title is all about spies. This is a thriller, not a super-hero title. In fact, I’d say this would make for a hell of a TV show.

As expected, Leo’s goal is to turn back the clock for Black Widow. He wants her to revert to the bad old days when she was a Russian spy, and it certainly looks like he’s succeeded. At this point, I’m fuzzy on Natasha’s true origin, but in one of her origins she was a ballerina, and I see she’s back to that career at the close of the issue. Probably going undercover!

Now, I’m fuzzy on Leo’s long-term goals, since the Cold War is over. Does he want to heat it back up? In the end, it doesn’t matter; because it’s great seeing Bucky and Jasper just rake themselves over the coals for failing to save the Widow. I hope Natasha gets to play some role in her eventual freedom; she’s too good to just be a woman in peril.

Michael Lark is a big part of the reason why this looks like a TV show. He does remove Jasper’s signature crew-cut, but I guess the guy needs to be modernized a bit. It could be a bit of a problem that everything is so dark. It’s fine for now, but Leo and Buck look pretty darn similar except for that robot arm.

Good