Marvel’s new take on Captain America, from writer J. Michael Straczynski and artist Jesús Saiz, is all about stories. At least, that’s what the comic tells you it’s about. Steve Rogers’ narration throughout Captain America #1 continually returns to the simple concept of stories, and how they have all sorts of ways to begin and end. It’s clear early on that the iconic American hero is getting a new type of origin story, especially as the issue dives back in time to his early years as an orphan in New York City. Ironically, “story” is exactly what this book is missing straight from the gate.
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There’s plenty of great character work for Steve, which is no easy feat given how many decades we’ve been reading comics starring the original Captain America. When it comes to story, though, Straczynski’s new series leaves a lot to be desired. Even with a few different timelines at play, there is so little forward momentum, it’s easy to cast doubt on where this series is actually going, and whether or not it’ll actually be worth joining it for the ride.
Captain America #1 possesses a promising start as it opens with Steve standing up for the other residents of his apartment building. When the landlord reveals plans to sell the building and force hard-working families onto the street, Steve leverages his Avengers salary to buy the entire complex, keeping it rent-controlled so everyone can stay. Taking a page out of Matt Fraction and David Aja’s iconic Hawkeye run, we get to see another side of Captain America. We get to see what the true goodness of Steve Rogers can look like in modern times, as he tackles at home.
As the issue continues, Straczynski and Saiz dive deeper into Steve’s backstory and his history with the building he currently occupies. The stage is set for readers to learn more about his relationship to his mother, as well as his potential run-ins with stateside Nazis ahead of World War II. And in its most uninteresting pages, Captain America sends Steve on a brief mission with the Fantastic Four and we’re given some background on a villain that’s nearly impossible to care about. A body-hopping entity with plans on world domination shouldn’t seem this lifeless.
When the comic is focused on just spending time with Steve navigating the modern world, Captain America is at its best. He’s supposed to be the best of all of us, right? So what does he do when there aren’t potential world-ending nightmares in another dimension and he is simply hanging around the Lower East Side? The juxtaposition of Steve’s creation in the 1940s and the evolution of our world today sets the stage for all sorts of important and engaging tales to be told with this character in New York City. Unfortunately, that’s only part of what this series is up to. At times it feels like that concept is set to be abandoned altogether once the stage is set for a super-powered showdown, but we’ll have to be patient to see how that plays out.
Saiz’s art doesn’t do Steve any favors, either. The characterization is repetitive, and oftentimes bland, especially when it comes to Steve’s modern everyday appearances. Rather than being stoic and introspective, he comes off as empty. To be fair, the younger version of Steve brings a lot more life to the pages. The brief glimpses of action in this debut issue offer a lot of promise for the kind of exciting imagery we could see in future issues, but there’s very little of it here.
Captain America #1 teases a promising new exploration of Steve Rogers, which should be worthwhile for the beloved character’s fanbase. If it wants to actually achieve anything new or interesting, though, there’s still a lot of work to be done. For now, it’s spending too much time talking about stories and not nearly enough time actually telling one.
Published by Marvel Comics
On September 20, 2023
Written by J. Michael Straczynski
Art by Jesús Saiz
Colors by Matt Hollingsworth
Letters by Joe Caramagna
Cover by Jesús Saiz
