Old Partners, New Problems: Reviewing ‘Captain America: Symbol Of Truth’ #7

Captain America and Falcon are having a pretty rough go of things thanks to the machinations of the White Wolf. With Falcon out of commission and the Prime Minister of Mohannda dead, Sam Wilson will need some new but familiar backup to take the fight right to Mohannda. 

Once upon a time when Sam Wilson first picked up the shield, he had a young partner Nomad who was also known as Ian Rogers, the adopted son of Steve Rogers and genetically created child of one Arnim Zola. Long story short, Ian was assumed killed in a Hydra base explosion but actually survived to be transported to the combined Earths that made up Battleworld in the 2015 Secret Wars event (a whole long story) and hasn’t been seen since. Until now where he’s working for the government doing some of their tough brutal work (taking down Hydra still), far different than he was with Sam years ago. Such a good move by Tochi Onyebuchi to bring Nomad back in, because it gives Sam someone very different to bounce off of but also someone that he knew and was lost under his watch. 

That’s all grade-A drama that can be mined, especially when you throw in the fact that the attack on Falcon has changed him, and looks like he’ll be a threat they have to take down to help. 

I really like how the Sam and Ian differences play out as they rescue civilians of Mohannda, with Sam’s explanation about why he doesn’t kill is pretty solid. Sure it might also be seen as naive with the sort of things they are facing but also what is happening around the world regularly, but as a black man wearing the stars and stripes, he has to be even more aware of such things. Especially since they’re throwing themselves right into the middle of another nation’s civil war, a pretty dicey situation. 

While the previous issue’s art from Ig Guara felt like it was capturing some of the tones from prior arc artist R.B. Silva this issue takes a much bigger departure. That’s not inherently a bad thing at all, as this probably is more what Guara’s style is like. There is still some of the smooth slickness but things are a bit rougher in texture too with character features being a bit more exaggerated or a bit off-reality compared to what was in the first issues. Some pages are a bit less focused on detail and the focus is pulled back some, but the subsequent pages with more action and character movement are smoother and have a tighter focus. 

Compared to the last issue some of the colors from Jesus Aburtov are a bit brighter while still being somewhat toned down, matching Guara’s art. A lot of the action pages have a bright pop of color, especially the explosions (which is a pretty sweet page), others have a powerful mood-setting filter over them (like the red one in the helicopter) that enhance everything. What I like is how Aburtov has a set level of color for the real-world elements, keeping them lighter and more grounded, while allowing the super elements from costumes to shields and such have all the big bright pops of color. 

One can’t help but hear the big loud colorful SFX that are across these pages, flowing around the pages smoothly from Joe Caramagna. That’s how all the lettering is from this veteran letterer, hitting the right emotional notes with little bits of flair that make certain words or bits of dialogue hit harder than others. Always gotta love some great grawlix, and breaking dialogue up across panels to really make us feel that pause and exasperation. 

So far this book has been a really nice experience, tapping into both the political elements and action elements with the right balanced frequency. There are not always clear, correct sides to things, just like life, but Captain America’s drive to do right by people, especially those harmed under his watch, is commendable and something that is true to the character. 

Captain America: Symbol of Truth #7 is now available from Marvel Comics.