Oh, seated next to Pym Particles and the Fantastic Four, the plot device is totally fair--I think those tend to get a pass because they're such old stories. My major argument with the Tachyon thing is that it feels retconned--a large chunk of the first issue explaining "what really happened" didn't help that. From a marketing standpoint (like you said, a jumping off point for the new Cap fans), the flashbacks are needed. But from a storytelling standpoint, it feels like wasted space. I can't shake the feeling that they could have used it better. If it is that Steve needs to remember who he is, then that point completely passed me by, which is a shame because that could have made me like the flashback scenes a lot more.

I sort of feel a little cheated on the Tony thing. Tony is such a huge part of Steve. Cutting him out feels like they're missing something important. Even having just a brief, no-dialog shot of him in issue three was a giant relief on that angle. I would take more of that in a heartbeat. With what's going on in Iron Man, it's completely possible that we won't have Tony when Cap does finish coming back, or at maybe not a Tony capable of having a reunion. I think that makes the fandom a little nervous about Cap's story. It definitely makes me nervous!