Review: ‘Captain America’ #1 Gives Steve — Not Cap — A New Mission
by Tony Thornley
Steve Rogers is one of the best people in fiction. He’s the definition of “neutral good”- a hero that does the right thing for the right reasons, damn the rules. Captain America #1 goes a long way to show exactly what that means.
A new era for Steve Rogers begins from J. Michael Straczynski, Jesus Saiz, Matt Hollingsworth, and Joe Caramagna.
Steve Rogers wants to make a difference. So when his childhood apartment building goes up for sale, Captain America gets into real estate. He becomes a force for good all across the neighborhood, his actions saving lives in more ways than one. However, a threat dating back even before his time as Captain America is about to rear its ugly head.
Generally speaking, this is a strong debut for this newest volume of Captain America. Straczynski gets Steve’s voice right away. He uses the action scenes to build up Steve’s character, not just to get in a requisite six pages of punching. The idea of Steve Rogers becoming a good landlord is a bit tone deaf considering how many struggle with the ethics of landlords though. It’s done with the best of intentions, but to have a heroic character get involved in an institution that is actively harming the nation’s economy is incredibly shortsighted and pulled me out of the story a few times.
Saiz and Hollingsworth do some career best work on this issue. Saiz’s line work is dynamic- the opening fight with the giant mech is exciting and works immediately to hook the reader- but he also does great things with the quiet moments. Steve’s quiet strength in the flashback scenes are such a highlight as we spend time with him and see how he’s the same character even without the physical similarities. Hollingsworth’s colors are great- muted in the right places, with bright splashes as Steve takes action.
This is a strong launch that has a lot to say about Steve Rogers. I’m not entirely sure what it’s going to do as a Captain America story. The supernatural threat is ill-defined at the moment, and could be interesting in the end. At the moment though, it’s not much more than interesting with problematic elements. There’s enough to like though that I’ll be back.
Captain America #1 is available now from Marvel Comics.
Overview
The launch is solid, but has some problematic plot elements. The art is fantastic though, and there’s enough to like that bring me back next month.
