I'm reading through the entire Gruenwald run and posting my nits. A (L) indicates that I didn't catch it, somebody on the letters page did.
#307: "Stop Making Sense"
*Cap, remembering the Invaders, calls them "the first costumed champions to ever band together." What about Freedom's Five, a group of heroes who teamed in World War I? I only mention it because Cap is friends with Union Jack, one of the members of this group, so he should know.
*The bullet hole in Madcap's clothes eventually disappears--he's invulnerable, not his threads. (L)
#308: "The Body in Question"
*I'm not sure how Sidewinder can teleport away at the end without his cloak--does he have it under his civilian clothes?
*On page eight, panel five, Cap is drawn without a nose. (L)
*During a fight with Cap, Armadillo shatters his shrinking formula. Wouldn't that then spill on him, causing him to shrink? (L)
#309: "Nomad Madcap Cap"
*Jarvis brings Cap an "American cheese on whole wheat" sandwich. However, the bread is way too white to be whole wheat. (L)
#310: "Serpents of the World, Unite"
*I wonder how Black Mamba is talking to the mute Death Adder at the Society meeting in the long shot. Sign language?
*The Constrictor claims to have never been imprisoned, but he was arrested by SHIELD in #283. I suppose he could have been lying. (L)
*Anaconda flips Cobra a quarter to call an ambulance for the Constrictor at the end of the issue. However, you don't need a quarter to call 911. (L)
#311: "Working..."
*Steve gets a job at Marvel Comics drawing Captain America. I wonder what Cap's secret identity is in this comic--otherwise, "Steve Rogers" seems like a really weird name for the artist of Cap.
*Steve says he's "known about comics for a long time," but last issue he had to buy comics just to see what they were like.
#312: "Deface the Nation"
*It could've happened offscreen, but Cap never promised to the Hutchinsons last issue to "improve communication lines"; he did later by himself.
*Lots of bloopers in the opening scene at the UN: The UN does not display its flags after night. The American, British, and Canadian flags swap orders between panels. There are two Japanese flags (the Rising Sun one and the standard one) on display. The American flag has a red stripe instead of a white stripe beneath its canton. (L)
*Flag-Smasher's gunbelt disappears on page 17. Cap's shield disappears from Flag's hand on page 19. Cap's shield disappears from his own hand on page 21. (L)
#313: "Mission: Murder MODOK"
*Cap calls the mall manager "Mr. Friedman" and "Mr. Freedman."
#315: "The Hard Sell"
*Gentry says he never saw the Serpent Society in person, but he clearly does (he talks to Cobra at AIM headquarters). Perhaps he meant he didn't see them at their headquarters.
#318: "Justice is Served!"
*Why would the Society send the MUTE Death-Adder out to conduct a ransom?
*So, the Scourge shoots Death-Adder down and then poses as a cab driver. Who's his passenger? Another Scourge trainee?
*Gary Gilbert has a clipping of the Wraith's death, who gets whacked in Amazing Spider-Man #278. However, that issue begins with a description of the bar massacre that occurs at the end of next issue (in which Gilbert dies).
*Cap recognizes Blue Streak's face, but can't make the connection between him and "the man on roller skates" wanted by the police? How many roller-skating supervillains are there?
*How DOES Cap deflect Blue Streak's laser shot with his shield on his back?
*Why is Scourge driving a truck at the end of this issue? Was he stalking Blue Streak or just trolling around looking for supervillains?
#319: "Overkill"
*Cap rules out the Punisher as Scourge because he doesn't use disguises...but I'm pretty sure Punny has before.
*Gilbert again mentions the Wraith's death, which contradicts Amazing Spider-Man.
*The Cheetah supposedly lost his powers after the end of his first appearance. Did he get new ones or just dress up like a Cheetah? Similarly, the Vamp was in a vegetative state at the end of her last appearance. I guess she got better.
*Mind-Wave is drawn more like how his henchmen (the Esper-T's) looked like in his last appearance. I guess he could have changed his appearance.
*Rapier wasn't really a villain per se; he was a crook but a vigilante who wanted revenge on Silvermane. I don't know what he was doing in the Midwest.
*The letters page misidentifies the issues in which Megatak and the Wraith die as one issue too early and too late.
#320: "The Little Bang Theory"
*Why does Scourge put on a woman's mask to talk to Domino? Later issues establish that Domino is an actual employee of the Scourge organization and thus would know who the members are.
*Is there any reason why Scourge dresses up like a skeleton to stalk Diamondback and Cobra...or is this just artistic license?
*The reporter says that everyone at the bar was wearing costumes. Gary Gilbert wasn't.
*Scourge says to Cap that he never killed anyone who had not been convicted of a crime. Hate-Monger III (an android) didn't. Neither did the Wraith, who wasn't a criminal. And the Scourge that killed the Wraith was about to plug Flash Thompson, who also did not have a record.
#322: "The Chasm"
*Cap says he has never taken another life before killing a terrorist last issue. A lot of readers (and me) doubted that, seeing as how Cap fought in World War II and even as regular 'ol Steve Rogers, had to have killed somebody. He also does decapitate Baron Blood...but I guess he was already undead.
#323: "Super-Patriot is Here"
*The letters page prints an incorrect blurb for next issue (#325's).
#324: "Speed Trap"
*Whirlwind is shown to have light, curly hair. However, one panel shows the curly-haired guy talking as the Trapster.
*Cap thinks Whirlwind is a "dyed-in-the-wool New Yorker." Whirlwind is actually from Kansas City, Missouri (although Cap wouldn't know this and Whirlwind has lived in New York since the '60s).
#326: "The Haunting of Skull House!"
*Faustus' hologram of the dead terrorist claims to be from Krakow, but at one point swears in German, not Polish. (L)
#327: "Clashing Symbols"
*A woman at the concert calls for "Springteen."
*The scabbard on Super-Patriot's side is not shown in the first few panels. (L)
#329: "Movers and Monsters"
*The Sweat Shop member who Cap knocks down, Earl, has his hair change from blonde to reddish.
All stories reprinted in the Essential Captain America Volume 3
Who Calls Me Traitor? Captain America #127
AIM finds out that SHIELD has protecto-suits & SHIELD automatically assumes the answer must be a traitor.
Now while that is a logical assumption (& the correct one here), there are other options that SHIELD should have considered as well. Such as the possibility that AIM has some kind of new surveillance equipment that SHIELD is vulnerable to, or even the possibility that AIM has some kind of superbeing with powers that can allow them to see through walls or something. Heck, a few issues later it's shown that MODOK (who leads AIM) has mental abilities that allow him to focus on whatever he concentrates on, which would have made the search for a traitor in this issue an exercise in paranoia.
Captain America #129, 130 & 131
In issue 127, Steve (Captain America) Rogers is riding a motorcycle & gets arrested for not wearing a helmet.
You'd think that he would have picked one up after that incident, but no, we see Steve riding a motorcycle in these issues helmetless as well. (Not to mention other issues with Captain America helmetless).
Madness In The Slums! Captain America #133
MODOK destroys two AIM people for the failure of the Bucky android last issue.
The Bucky android was built by Dr. Doom, not AIM. Why blame your own people when you subcontracted the work to an outside firm?
NNAN. This issue it's mentioned that Cap buried the Bucky android after it self-destructed instead of killing him.
Given the media frenzy over the return of Bucky last issue, I hope he notified the press & contacted the proper authorities before just burying the 'body' somewhere. I mean otherwise the media might just wonder what happened to Bucky.
More Monster Than Man! Captain America And The Falcon #135
Cap brings the Falcon into SHIELD HQ without notifying Nick Fury first.
Not only would it be polite, it would also be a matter of security.
Then again, one wonders what security requirements SHIELD actually uses anyway? In issue 127 Dr. Rider was a traitor, here Dr. Gorbo is practically insane. A later story in this collection reveals that an agent of Hydra had also infiltrated SHIELD. You'd think there would be some kind of background checks & personality profiles before they hire these people?
The World Below Captain America And The Falcon #136
When asked why he wasn't with Cap at the end of last issue when Cap & the gorilla fell into the incredibly deep hole, Falcon says that Cap asked him to stay in the city in case the gorilla made another attack there.
Actually, last issue had Cap ask the Falcon to come with him & the Falcon chose to stay in the city.
You know, given that there have been several underworld rulers in various Marvel books, you'd think someone might have pointed out to the people behind this project to drill a deep hole & bury radioactive waste in it, that they might want to watch out for/contact & ask permission from the Moleman, or Tyrannus, or whoever else is running around down there.
Hydra Over All! Captain America And The Falcon #144
You really have to wonder about Nick Fury's thought processes. He's giving a demonstration of SHIELD to government officials to get more funding & he's wasting dozens of expensive Life Model Decoys to do it.
Then again, maybe he figures that since the government doesn't understand how to be fiscally responsible themselves...
The Big Sleep! Captain America And The Falcon #148
A deadly nerve gas is being unleashed & Sharon suggests getting gas masks.
As I understand it, nerve gases can be absorbed by the skin so a gas mask wouldn't help.
The Falcon is shown wearing a gas mask, but his bird Redwing is not.
The Red Skull had said this nerve gas would kill humans & animals, so either he was wrong, or Redwing was just that goodOMT at avoiding the gas.
Okayyyyyyyyyyy... this skyscraper-sized robot has reached the edges of Las Vegas. Nothing indicates that Cap and/or the Falcon have gotten it away from the city before it explodes. And yet there are no comments about all the damage that would have occured if a skyscraper-sized robot had exploded in a city.
All The Colors ...Of Evil! Captain America And The Falcon #149
Page 5, Panel 7. Cap says, "Maybe when Nick gentles down".
Page 6, Panel 1. Cap thinks, "If Nick gentles down."
As I've never heard the expression "gentles down" I'm assuming the letterer misspelled 'settles'.
The Incredible Origin Of The Other Captain America! Captain America And The Falcon #155
This issue reveals that the other Captain America & Bucky were the ones from the 1950's.
You'd think that someone might have mentioned there was another Cap & Bucky at some point? I mean, maybe Nick Fury knew the truth about '50s CA&B, but shouldn't someone have asked Cap about 'his' 1950s career?
Also interesting in that '50s CA&B are stereotypically 1950s (racist, sexist, paranoid), but the Cap from the 1940s is a relatively modern guy with no stereotypical 1940 mannerisms.
One wonders at the possibilities if Englehart had toned down the stereotypes & tried to make '50s CA&B well-rounded characters rather than 2-dimensional cardboard cutouts.
Captain America #616:
On the second page of the story, "Opaque Window", author/artist Howard Chaykin has Cap using the word, "hinky". The story takes place during WWII. According to Merriam Webster's online dictionary, the first use of the word "hinky" was in 1956. Oops.
NNANJAO: Is it just me or does Bucky, on the title of the story, "Must There Be a Captain America?"* look like Ernie from Sesame Street?
Later in the story, there's panel showing Steve Rogers training to become Cap. The guy wielding the knife to the left looks like he could either be Flint Marko or a very ripped Norman Osbourn.
This issue has yet another instance of Steve Rogers moping that he is young in body/old in spirit with years of experience. I recently read Essential Captain America Vol. 2 and that concept began to bug me while reading it. Physically, how old is Cap supposed to be? Seems to me that when he tried to become an Army recruit, he was in his late teens, say, 18, 19 years old. A Wikipedia article places his age as being 23 at the time (1940). Okay so, then in April of '45, Cap and Bucky had their last WWII mission. So, not only does that gives Cap about four or five years worth of combat experience, but it also means Steve Rogers would have about 28 years old then.
While acknowledging that anywhere from 4-5 years of combat (depending on how long his training lasted) is a lot of experience to go through, it still doesn't make Rogers an old man in a young man's body. Steve Rogers should basically be a 28 years male. One from the 1940's, yeah, but the way it's portrayed, they make it sound like Cap's "mind, heart and soul" are those of an old man. He's an anachronism, yeah. But he's not an old man by any stretch of the imagination.
*If Marvel wants to continue publishing Captain America, there must be.