Captain America #14: Doom’s Price

Valeria von Frazen is an interesting character, but as a secondary addition to a story arc already 3 issues in, she doesn’t add much to the story. Thankfully, Zdarsky doesn’t spend too much time on Valeria and her dynamic with Doom. Instead, we skip to the moment between them that matters.

Instead of a long, drawn-out character arc that this storyline simply doesn’t have the page count to do, Valeria’s arc is simple. She has wanted to get revenge on Doom for years, and rightfully so, but her desire for vengeance doesn’t blind her to the fact that striking Doom down would make her just like him. With that, she chooses to focus on the bigger picture, and Steve gets another ally in the fight against Mephisto. The decision avoids feeling “hand-wavy” because Mephisto’s role as a villain has already been so well established.

Ton Lima’s art has done a good job of depicting the barren, fiery wasteland that is Mephisto’s domain. The art in this issue continues to do the same, with scenes such as Red Skull’s attack on what looks like a small village. Characters look distinct, even as they all sport similar wasteland attire, and action scenes are smooth and easy to follow on the page.

Romulo Fajardo’s colors enhance the tone of that art. However, some panels have generic solid-color backgrounds, and the shading of colors on some characters looks bland. The special effects, whether it’s the gleam of a new shield, Doom’s magical aura, or the raging fire all around, each look excellent despite the lighting looking uniform across the page rather than coming from a specific source.