The second part of the story sets the stage for the next several issues, where Loeb and Ed McGuinness deal with the subject of Anger. Wolverine retreats to the hideout of the New Avengers, who are in the midst of a card game with the Thing, arguing about Cap's death and the events of Civil War. Wolverine's news that Cap is dead sets off Spidey and a couple of the Young Avengers who take off while the others end up tangling with their old nemesis Tiger Shark, and must join forces with Namor to defeat the villain and the creatures he is controlling. 

Part three, ironically enough, deals with the bargaining of Captain America. John Romita Jr. joins the bunch to bring Hawkeye, believed killed by the Scarlet Witch, back from the dead, showing up at the old abandoned Avengers mansion. There, Iron Man takes him into custody to confirm that he truly is Clint Barton, before attempting to bargain with the former Avenger to fill Steve's shoes. After a brief run in with the Young Avengers in Captain America's costume, Hawkeye turns down Iron Man's offer to be in the public eye, choosing to go underground instead.

We find Spider Man standing over the graves of all the loved one's he's lost in issue four, illustrated by David Finch, fleetingly trying to stave off depression. Spider Man notices the Rhino and lets his anger get the best of him, attacking before being attacked only to realize that his opponent was there paying respects to his lost mother. The two bitterly tangle, while Spidey remembers similar circumstances facing the Hulk with Cap years before. Spider Man defeats the brute, and Wolverine shows up to remind Pete that he's not the only who's had to deal with a lot of loss in his life. 

Part five focuses in on Iron Man as he and countless other heroes bring Captain America's body to rest in Arlington National Cemetery, as Tony Stark accepts the fact that his friend and fellow soldier is gone. John Cassady handles the pencils, as he and Loeb handle this epic funeral. The Falcon delivers a eulogy, filled with the memories from the past, highlighting Cap's best qualities as rain softly drips from the heavens on the amassed crowds filled with everyone from fellow superheroes, to WWII veterans, to holocaust survivors, to current SHIELD agents. Days after the public ceremony, Tony Stark, the Wasp and Yellow Jacket convene with Namor in the arctic to place Cap's real body to rest in very place he was found frozen in ice so many years before.

The varying styles of the artists helps to set the appropriate tone for each of the book's focus subjects. Loeb drops some hints along the way toward who might be ultimately responsible or whether or not Steve Rogers is really dead, but does not confirm anything. You truly sympathize for these characters, some struggling more than others. Indeed not only have they lost their leader, but they have lost a true friend. In comparison to DC's Death of Superman story nearly fifteen years ago (the last time a publisher has killed off a character this popular), Marvel has done a good job of not showing their hand before it's played.

While the comic book geek in me tells me no character is ever really dead, it would seem to me that Steve Rogers will not be doing much other than filling a coffin anytime soon.

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