While Captain America slumbered in ice, the world changed – for better and for worse. Steve Rogers awakens to a reality where battles are fought in the shadows through secrets and subterfuge, and villains aren’t so easy to identify. When a fledgling dictator named Victor Von Doom conquers Latveria, Steve faces a critical decision: adapt to a new kind of warfare, or forge his own path? And what will the choice he makes in the past mean for his future? Experience the untold tale of Captain America’s first encounter with Doctor Doom. Captain America #1 takes us to a time just as Captain America has come out of ice, but the “when” is a bit of a distraction.

Written by Chip Zdarsky, Captain America #1 kicks off a new volume with a bit of a retro story. Captain America #1 keeps to the basics but now has the character coming out of ice some time after 9/11, a shift that puts that important event more in line with the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It also throws in a whole lot of other questions like when did the Avengers form? That’s the biggest flaw of Captain America #1. While the comic is good, it’s really good, the sliding time scale creates a distraction as well as his now murky thawing. It squarely places the thawing around a certain time which feels like it weakens things a bit.

The issue introduces Captain America as he’s eating lunch then goes and stops a bomber from attacking the United Nations to be joined by Iron Man who then discuss the world as it currently exists and we learn its been a week since Captain America came back. But, it’s been a week, why is Cap just wandering around? Did the Avengers find him? There’s so many questions that now exist due to this interaction. Again, distractions but it’s distractions that set up this “origin” in some ways.

Beyond the reintroduction of Captain America’s revival, Captain America #1 introduces us to a new character, a young boy who wants to enlist after witnessing the events of 9/11. His story purposely echoes that of Steve Rogers, he’s a bit weak and bullied in the army. He’s clearly chosen to be a mirror to Steve. This individual’s mother calls the war racist and references the original Gulf War. The young boy clearly wants revenge not to defend his nation. What Zdarsky is setting couldn’t be more obvious if it hit you over the head and screamed in your face its intentions. Not to say it’s not good, there’s a lot of potential, but again the choice in 9/11 is the driver to enlist is a charged one and delivers the baggage that came with that event of over two decades of non-stop war.

The art by Valerio Schiti is solid. With color by Frank Martin and lettering by Joe Caramagna the comic is packed with action and the characters look great. The art is definitely interesting in that it attempts to blend the old and the new. Iron Man’s armor is a more classic look but the world is very much that of the 2000s. There’s some great emotional moments like the bomber at the UN scene and how Cap handles that and the bombers reaction, you can feel the emotion through the body language and facial expressions. Then there’s the moments of 9/11 depicted. It’s unexpected and a bit jarring for those who lived through that time but it doesn’t feel exploitative at all.

Captain America #1 is a strong start but it highlights one issue with Marvel’s universe (and comics as a whole) in the sliding time line as to when things happened. While there’s a lot of potential, the comic isn’t subtle at all making it clear what we can expect. We’ll see how this new addition to Captain America’s history plays out but overall, it opens up too many questions about the Marvel comic universe to not cause a distraction.

Story: Chip Zdarsky Art: Valerio Schiti
Color: Frank Martin Letterer: Joe Caramagna
Story: 8.15 Art: 8.3 Overall: 8.2 Recommendation: Buy

Marvel provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

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