Comicshistory and Superhero Reviews

Captain America #1 (2018) Comic Book Review

Captain America is back! Having just overthrown the fake, Hydra-loving Captain America, our Star-Spangled Hero is trying to pick up the pieces in this newest first issue in the Captain America comic book series. This review will bring you up to speed , as well as provide comments on the plot, dialogue, and art (Leinil Yu ), as well as on the writing of the newest Captain America writer, the famed Ta-Nesi Coates. This comic book is the first comic in the ninth volume of Captain America comics (Captain America vol. 9, #1).

Alex Ross Cover Captain America #1 (2018)

Titled "Winter in America: Part 1," the comic book opens, oddly enough, on a winter scene in Russia, where we find a Hydra convoy ambushed by none other than an old foe of the X-Men, Selene, the Black Queen of the Hellfire Club. She rescues a Hydra prisoner. Through the dialogue, it is clear that Russia is still largely under Hydra control, though there are "Russian anti-Hydra partisans" resisting Hydra.

We then switch to Washington D.C., where Captain America is battling cyborg duplicates of Nuke, the flag-tattooed ultra-patriot. Working alongside Cap we see Bucky Barnes, the Winter Soldier. When the battle ends, Peggy Carter arrives along with a surprise guest/government representative. Most of the exposition from this point on involves Cap (and Peggy) reflecting on all that has happened to them, from their time in Arnim Zola's Dimension Z (as seen in Captain America vol. 7, #1-10). A lot of the discussion, and the thought balloons we see from Cap himself, revolves around the impact the whole Dimension Z, Cosmic Cube, and Hydra takeover has had on them, and on America. Cap is wondering if he is trusted anymore by the government, and by the American people.

Clearly, this first issue is setting up another episode of Cap wondering about his place in America, and, ultimately, about his legacy. We have seen this before in Marvel Comics involving Cap. After Watergate, he gave up being Cap entirely, going with the Nomad persona, and after 9/11, we saw him question what America is doing in the world, and, of course, in the big Marvel Civil War event, Cap actually led an anti-government resistance. All these events, inlcuding where I think Ta-Nesi Coates is taking Cap this time, just reinforce the fact that Cap is ultimately a character who signifies the very American concept of being independent, and for standing up for what is right, regardless of what the current government leadership is saying or doing. Captain America stands for the ideal of America, not just for the flag, and not just for the passion of the moment. Coates titled this tale "Winter in America," and while it can be seen as a commentary on current American politics, Coates is too good a writer to just use this as a screed against the current regime. Captain America will be doing something epic, in this series. Wait and see. And why did Coates choose an X-Men villain to set the stage in this book? Again, looking forward to that explanation.

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