My copy of Captain America #44 finally arrived.  For reasons even I don’t fully understand, I continue to subscribe to Captain America through Marvel Comics.  Only a few days ago I renewed my subscription for another year.  I suppose it is just easier to pay a yearly amount (and save a good chunk of change over the cover price) and not have to worry about missing an issue.  Still, delays and the occasional damaged comic have made me think about switching to another avenue. But that is neither here nor there.

Captain America #44 is the second part of “Times Arrow” and continues more or less where issue #43 left off.  The last page saw Batroc talking to his employer, a man who kept to the shadows and was quite thrilled to discover that James “Bucky/The Winter Soldier” Barnes is the new Captain America.  As issue #44 opens, we’re in 1968 and the Winter Soldier is off on a mission in China for his Soviet handlers.  They want him to kill Professor Zhang Chin.

In the present, James and Natasha meet with Ollie, the fellow from the United Nations who brought in Captain America and the Black Widow to investigate Batroc’s thefts.  Unfortunately for Ollie, doing so cost him his job in the United States; he’s being shipped off to Madripoor.  Whatever it is Batroc is after, the United Nations doesn’t want Captain America to know about it.  James heads out to track down the mercenaries Batroc was working with while Natasha attempts to find out what it is the United Nations is hiding.

To make a long story short, James knocks some heads around, gets a name and finds some clues.  Batroc, after “negotiating” with a kidnapped scientist, learns that “the package” is being moved the following day.  He calls his boss and confirms that he has left a trail for Captain America to follow.  And he did.  The clues James found, including a map and some money, lead him to the street where the United Nations is transferring something important under heavy guard.

James shows up just as Batroc and his goons attack.  As Captain America, James battles Batroc when suddenly a man in a flowing trench coat and a hat punches him.  Hard.  The man indicates that James knows him.  We’re back in 1968.  Professor Chin is confronted by the Winter Soldier, who he recognizes from their earlier meeting (when Captain America and Bucky freed him from the Germans during World War II).  The Winter Soldier, of course, isn’t quite sure what is going on.  Professor Chin wonders if he is going to die.  The man in the trench coat and hat appears behind him and says, “Not as long as I’m here.”

With that, the issue ends, with the rest of “Times Arrow” to be revealed in issue #45.  I was hoping we would learn more about the mysterious man Batroc is working with and why he is so interested in James Barnes being the new Captain America. It looks like I’ll have to wait for this month’s issue to figure out exactly what is going on. I assume its none other than Zhang Chin but that does seem to be the obvious choice. I’m also curious as to the identity of this caped, behatted character. Not to mention whatever it is the United Nations is trying so hard to keep from James. Lots of mysteries in “Times Arrow” and two issues in we don’t have any answers. So, the final issue in the trilogy had better be a humdinger.

With this issue, the lengthy “The Death of the Dream” storyline, which began with the death of Captain America in issue #25, is concluded. A new three-part story, “Time’s Arrow,” begins. Interspersed throughout the issue are flashbacks to World War II. Captain America, Bucky and the Human Torch are on a mission to find and save a “boy genius” by the name of Zhang Chin.

In the present, James (I keep wanting to call him Bucky, but he isn’t really Bucky anymore, is he) and Natasha have spent some time together in New York City. The weight of the lives he took as the Winter Soldier keeps him morose. He leaves Natasha for a late night ride on his motorcycle. He must really be dwelling on his actions as the Winter Soldier — why else would anyone leave a woman like Natasha wrapped in only a sheet for a solo bike trip?

Obviously, it won’t remain solo for long. He stumbles upon Batroc the Leaper and some goons ransacking a United Nations research facility. In the midst of trying to take down Batroc, James is shot in the back by some sort of electrical pulse weapon. It burns through his jacket and reveals Captain America’s shield and knocks him out. Batroc is quite interested with this. It turns out Batroc copied an archive drive from the research facility. When he meets with his employer, Batroc reveals that “the remains” should not be hard to track down thanks to the information from the drive. But what he really wants to talk about is the identity of the new Captain America. Batroc’s shadowy employer, who is apparently Chinese, is shocked to recognize the Winter Soldier and states that his leader will be pleased with the information.

So, given that the flashbacks to World War II must have something to do with the rest of the issue, my theory is that Zhang Chin is this leader, he has some sort of beef with Bucky/James Barnes/The Winter Soldier and now that he knows James is the new Captain America, things are going to get very interesting. Because “Time’s Arrow” is only a three-part story, there can’t be all that much more to it that what I have suggested.

As is often the case these days, I am not quite sure where this issue fits in with the rest of the Marvel Universe timeline. There is a panel showing James, as Captain America, fighting AIM, the Wrecker and a bunch of Skrulls (alongside Iron Man, Nick Fury, Luke Cage, Spider-Woman and others). So, I assume this issue takes place after Secret Invasion. But that doesn’t really matter all that much in the grand scheme of things. Because I only read a small portion of the books Marvel puts out, I never know what is going on.

Coming on the heels of “The Death of the Dream,” I suppose it is only to be expected that “Time’s Arrow” is a bit of a letdown. “The Death of a Dream” was a huge story, with big name bad guys, while “Time’s Arrow” has to settle for Batroc the Leaper. Still, James needs to deal with his demons before he can truly take on the mantle of Captain America, and if this story will let him do that, it’s a story that needs to be told.