Crossbones by Steve Epting

This piece means so incredibly much too me.

Ed Brubaker, Steve Eptings and Mike Perkins work made me fall in love with Captain America-Comics and it also was the first time i met Crossbones.

I always had a faible for mercenary and henchman characters and Crossbones definitly suceeded in both of those categories. I also like the idea of non-superhuman characters fighting against characters with superhuman strength.

Crossbones seemed to have some strange code of honor when he was fighting Steve Rogers (Winter soldier-arc). Steve wasn`t really in controll of his actions and Crossbones just left the battlefield since it wasn`t the "right" way Captain America should die in his eyes.

The dynamic between Red Skull`s Daughter Sin and him was just so psychopathic, but he always seemed like a protector to her and i really appreciate that part about his personality.

Both of those two scenes show that even in the worst of all people, there can be some good character traits hidden (very) deeply. Don`t get me wrong. Crossbones is a evil man following an even more evil man, but those few scenes made me think: "What if there would have been another upbringing for this man? Could he have been a great shield agent or elite soldier for the greater good?"

Those questions lead to me wanting to know all about the character. So i went back and read nearly everything from his first issues till today and that is the way i found the amazing Gruenwald Captain America-Run and so much more.

Thank you to CGC whose private signing made this possible!

Funfact: I`d like to imagine that this design and armor plate was worn by Crossbones below his west in the Brubaker run.