Steve Rogers: Captain America#1 Review

Much Ado About Hydra?

♦Tripwire gave its Senior Editor Andrew Colman the task of reviewing a comic that has been generating a lot of attention recently, Marvel’s Steve Rogers: Captain America#1…

Steve Rogers: Captain America#1
Writer: Nick Spencer
Artist: Jesus Saiz
Marvel Comics

With all the fuss and furore (not to mention death threats aimed at writer Nick Spencer) it seems that an appraisal of this week’s Facebook outrage is somewhat overdue. As it stands, we have a rejuvenated Steve Rogers back in the fold, made young and fighting fit again by a sentient Cosmic Cube called Kobik (a daft and rather facile 70s style plot progression – I approve) who also freed his arch-enemies Baron Zemo and of course, the Red Skull. Sam Wilson, formerly the Falcon but recently Cap, graciously opts to share the title of old Winghead (minus the wings, for some reason) with his (very) old mucker.

It’s all slick and professionally put together by Spencer and the more than capable Jesus Saiz, whose pencils add a distinctive, if a little shallow, sheen to the action. There’s subplots and flashbacks, with a young sepia tinted Steve Rogers, plus the reasonably well-handled yarn of an outsider falling into the manipulative hands of the Red Skull, which is a somewhat unsubtle allegory of today’s political landscape, but it all passes muster. There’s also an older Sharon Carter, perennial teen Rick Jones and Cap sidekicks Jack Flag and Free Spirit to round out the ensemble.

Apart from that, despite the competent, occasionally witty writing and its welcome echoes of old-school Marvel tropes, it’s all too familiar territory for this veteran reader – Sharon Carter (and Baron Zemo) spend time musing about the absurdity of their predicaments, while Steve Rogers silently pontificates himself into earnest oblivion while decking innumerable goons. And then there’s the seemingly tacked on cliffhanger, out of nowhere – and Rogers is the enemy he’s been fighting for decades all along. We have to wait a while for this bombshell, and it isn’t exactly telegraphed. It all conflates in the final couple of pages – the depression era Rogers is befriended by a mysterious woman, while the current version mutters something to himself about the vagaries of fortune and pivotal life-changing moments, which must be immediately seized, of course. And there it is, in a vaguely enigmatic fashion. He swaps teams. Hail Hydra.

So what is there to add? It’s an unwieldy, if not daft, plot twist, rendering 75 years of continuity null and void – Cap’s a nazi now, and always was – he’s the very antithesis of the sentinel of liberty, apparently. So let the opprobrium commence. It’s just not cricket when you consider that both his creators were Jewish, after all.

Of course, this is all temporary. This is Marvel after all, remember, indignant fanboys? There’s no controversy here – in the end, the series should be entertaining enough to find out how Spencer and Saiz work their way out of this elaborate corner. Super-heroes have broken bad before – it’s one of the oldest and hoariest chestnuts  in the canon. Heck, even in 1941 the Red Skull hypnotized Simon and Kirby’s creation into saying “Heil Hitler.” Granted, this is obviously a slightly different and more involved premise, which might mean it’s a series worth sticking with. But worth getting angry and upset about? Not a chance.

Steve Rogers Captain America www.tripwiremagazine.co.uk

ANDREW COLMAN