Fear Itself #3 (of 7)

Earth is going to Hell. The Gods of Asgard have abandoned the realm to return to Asgard and begin readying for a war whose first casualty will be the planet Earth. All across the world heroes and villains are picking up magic hammers and becomes mindless slaves (or sometimes not, a little consistency please) to the All-Father of Fear.

However, none of that is what this issue, and it appears ultimately this entire mini-series, will be remembered for. We knew Marvel was going to find a way to get Steve Rogers back into the role of Captain America before Marvel's big budget summer flick hit screens this summer. What we didn't know was what would happen to Bucky Barnes. Now we do. And it's not pretty.

After returning the character to the comics for the first time in decades and actually finding a way to make me care about Captain America's former sidekick, Ed Brubaker isn't even on hand when Marvel Comics and writer Matt Fraction decide to kill him at the hands of the Red Skull's daughter. Sigh. It may be worth a look, but don't expect it to be a pleasant one.

[Marvel, $3.99]