Marvel Week 1999-Captain America #18!!!

In the future--

SPOILER ALERT: Nothing even remotely resembling this cover picture happens on the inside. Sorry. So what does happen?

Oh, joy, a happy future!!

Oh, damn it's a dystopia!! I should have known...except for the Legion of Superheroes, when a future takes place a round number of years from the (publication) present, it's always a dystopia. Dammit!! Who's in charge these days?

Korvac? Bitching!!

(Nerd alert...it is never resolved if this is somehow Korvac revived after the events of Avengers #177, Korvac from an earlier point in his life, or a Korvac from some alternate time stream. Don't quibble with details, kids, we're on a roll here!!)

Anyhoo, this Korvac has some bitchin' time powers...no wonder he was able to kick Badoon ass.

But wait...perhaps his future isn't as perfect as he thought?


Korvac is not impressed:

Well, that's our story...thanks for stopping by, kids. Drive safely.

So who's responsible for the shortest issue of Captain America ever?

OK, Waid, what in the name of Betsy Ross is going on here?

No yet, young padawan. We've still got to see the effects of Cap's sacrifice:



Reboots? What the?


Ah, I see. Why is it that every time he possess the Cosmic Cube, Red Skull screws it up? What is this now, 4 or 5 times he's had ultimate power, just to piss it away?

Anyway, Korvac's got that power now, and he's been able to actually conquer the world with it. Ahh, but the Star-Spangled Avenger is the flaw in the ointment, constantly showing up to stir up the "cogs" in Korvac's "machine paradise." And rather than just kill Cap, whoop on the dissidents and ultimately stay in power, Korvac thinks he's playing a video game, and just keeps hitting the "re-set switch" until everything is just perfect. Whatta putz.

Of course, Cap is Cap, and this isn't the Civil War, so he doesn't give up...he just keeps trying and trying...

...and Korvac keeps re-booting and re-booting...


And so Korvac makes his big mistake. By allowing Cap to remember the previous boots, Korvac has also allowed Steve to refine his strategy again and again. And during each iteration, Cap now makes sure he has time for a little conversation with the other dude who can remember, Primax.


Hmmm, smells like foreshadowing to me!! Steve Rogers also uses his knowledge to build bigger and better rebellions:

And despite reboot...

...after reboot...

...Steve never gives up (unlike the Civil War), causing about as bad a "Groundhog Day" as you can for Korvac.

And he keeps coming, and coming, and coming...

Until, finally, Korvac is beaten by...


PRIMAX?!?

OK, it was pretty obvious, I know...

But the ultimate victory goes to Captain America, who clearly watched some 1960s Star Trek, as he plays Korvac like Kirk making a computer blow itself up:


Oh, Korvac, you are such a sap. Giving up your ultimate power, just so you can (maybe) become a little bit more "perfect." Well played, Captain, well played.

Of course, in the next issue, given the chance, Cap uses the knowledge he now has, doesn't kill the Skull this time, but STILL prevents him from getting ultimate power, and Korvac is wiped out into tiny little atoms (presumably). Winnage all around...again, completely unlike the Civil War. Sigh...

Oh, yeah, there's a little postscript:


Wa-hoo!!

Mark Waid had two great runs on Captain America (actually, one run interrupted by Heroes Reborn...grrrr). Facing the daunting task of taking over after Mark Gruenwald's unthinkable 137-issue run, Waid quickly drilled down to the core of the character, able to make Cap corny without being a clown, a warrior who fought for an ideal, and a soldier who just didn't ever give up (unlike, say, The Civil War).

There was a lot of great stuff I didn't show you in this issue, like Cap starting the Boston Tea Party--IN SPACE!! Cap recreating the Trojan War--IN THE FUTURE!! Cap literally putting a spanner in the works!!

Great run, great issue. (Although I really hated his Sharon Carter. I'm just sayin'.)

ELSEWHERE IN THE MARVEL UNIVERSE:

Speaking of alternate futures, they're hot and heavy in 1999 at Marvel.


A-Next (i.e., the next generation of Avengers) and J2 (i.e., Juggernaut's hypothetical kid) both had their own mags, as part of the "MC2," an alternate future universe that spun off from the Spider-Girl series. Can't say I ever read any of them.

Marvel also had:

Earth-X, or, as it was originally called, "Kingdom Come without Mark Waid and stretched out a nearly infinite amount of issues." I have read all the __-X stories in trade, and I've gotta say, I'm not a huge fan. Not terrible, by any means. But the storyline is almost irredeemably dour, requires a knowledge of Marvel minutiae surpassing even mine, and ofttimes was just too precious for words (Wolverine the descendant of Moon Boy? Please...). Not to mention long, long, long, and, well, long. Not really my cup of tea, I guess.

Here's the question, based on all this alternate history stuff--were fans and editors so disillusioned with Marvel's main output that they felt the need for "alternate versions?" I guess Marvel thought so, because the Ultimate line was right around the corner...