Written by: Derek Landy
Art by: Angel Unzueta
Colors by: Rachelle Rosenberg
Letters by: VC’s Joe Caramagna
Cover art by: Alex Ross
Cover price: $3.99
Release date: January 26, 2022

Captain America / Iron Man #3 puts Cap and Tony on the trail of Fifty-One in the hopes of reclaiming the Hydra Supreme armor and stopping him from collaborating with Myrmidon.

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Was It Good?

Yeah, this issue is nonsense.

The art from Unzueta and Rosenberg is solid all the way through. This is a visually engaging book with plenty of action in the last half of the issue that shows why Cap and Iron Man are the two most formidable Avengers in close-quarter combat.

Everything else around that action set piece is silly nonsense. The (new) Paladins feel dejected after botching the mission in the last issue, and they feel more so after Cap advises them to get more training to work up to bigger and better missions. Any team with a sense of purpose would take that advice to heart and do something with it. Instead, the Paladins spend several pages on a rooftop whining about how everyone hates them and then inevitable in-fighting occurs. Nothing in this issue surrounding the Paladins has anything to do with Cap, Iron Man, or the main conflict. It’s a waste of page space.

Then we find out the heart of what Fifty-One and Veronica Eden are up to. It turns out Fifty-One is up to something good, but Veronica has a plan (which you’ve already been told through narration in the prior issue) to wipe out all costumed individuals, both hero and villain. Her plan involves partnering with Overseer via a romantic relationship to enact their…

*record scratch*

“Say what now?” you puzzle. “Eden is in a romantic relationship with an A.I. computer?” you query. That’s right, and it’s as nonsensical and silly as it sounds. Nothing about Eden’s motives make sense. Eden’s plan doesn’t make sense. Her relationship with Overseer doesn’t make sense. And, I don’t know what Landry is doing here but wasting the time of perfectly good artists.

Pick this up if you want to see Cap and Iron Man engaged in some cool battles against an overpowered robot. But don’t expect much else.

Final Thoughts

Captain America / Iron Man #3 tries to have fun with heartfelt moments between our lead heroes, and a cool robot battle but fails at everything else. Eden’s plan is nonsense, her “partnership” is nonsense, and despite some very fine art, this series as a whole is turning into pure nonsense.

4/10