Captain America Just Took on the MCU’s Next Big Bad

Captain America has had a pretty good time in the 21st century. Cap finally became an A-list hero to the general public because of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, something he hadn’t been in decades. In the comics, starting with the 9/11 inspired run by John Ney Reiber and John Cassaday, Cap has had some of the greatest creators in comics working on his book — Ed Brubaker, Steve Epting, Mike Perkins, Rick Remender, John Romita Jr., Nick Spencer, Jesus Saiz, J. Michael Straczyniski, and more. Of course, there was Secret Empire, but we all kind of want to forget. In 2025, Marvel put two of their most beloved creators — Chip Zdarksy and Valerio Schiti — on a new volume of Captain America. This volume picks up around the time that Captain America was defrosted — which is now in the ’00s because of Marvel’s sliding time scale — and is honestly one of the best things I read every month.

Captain America #1 gives readers Cap’s first mission, all while introducing a new character — David Colton. Colton watched 9/11 happen and decided to join the military. His story echoed that of Steve Rogers: he was considered a weakling but let into the military, where he was beaten in training by everyone, including his drill sergeant. Colton was given the chance to become the new Captain America, and Captain America #2 not only gives us more about him, but also tells the story of him and Steve Rogers’ first meeting — infiltrating Latveria to free some American diplomats. However, this mission leads to some wild places, as Steve Rogers come face to face with the next MCU big bad — Doctor Doom.

Captain America Changes the Mission to Help the Latverians

Captain America #2 opens with Colton in Afghanistan, learning the realities of war, and then shifts to the plane to Latveria for the joint mission between the Captains America. Immediately, there’s a certain feeling to Colton, that the idealistic young man from the first issue and the scenes in Afghanistan has become jaded. Eventually, the group parachutes in. They’re met by a Doombot and the Caps fight it before the Latverian rebels they were there to meet show up. They suborned the Doombot, who now works with them, and make their way to the safehouse. We get another scene in Afghanistan, where Colton sees the worse of what war can do to people. While there, the rebels tell the Caps that Doom is vulnerable and they should go after him as well. Colton shoots this down, although Rogers want to help, and the two of them discuss it more away from everyone else. Cap wants to help but Colton, who outranks him as a major, orders Rogers to stop and more of his jaded attitude is put on display. In the safehouse, Colton reiterates what the mission is but Rogers says that he will help the rebels but he’ll do it as a distraction, allowing Colton and the rest of the squad to rescue the prisoners. Colton grudgingly agrees and the mission is set into motion.

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Rogers and the rebel leader Marius are able to sneak into Castle Doom with the help of the Doombot, coming upon Doom unaware as he eats. The rebel gets ready to snipe Doom, but Rogers stops him, insisting that they need to bring Doom in for his crimes against humanity. However, the argument is rendered moot when the Doombot attacks. It was all a ruse, as Doom allowed them to take the Doombot so he could use it to destroy the rebels. Marius is killed and Cap does his best to fight the Doombot, but it’s all to no avail. Cap is defeated by the Doombot, and brought in front of Doom. However, instead of Doom attacking Steve Rogers, he welcomes him to Latveria as a hero of the people, surprising Cap and anyone who is reading the book.

Captain America #2 is an excellent comic from start to finish. Colton is probably going to be the new version of Johnny Walker, a man chosen to be Captain America that was never ready for it. The flashbacks to the war in Afghanistan are brilliant, with Zdarsky trying to show that even the best people can be broken by war. This leads to the main story, where the differences between Colton and Rogers are made even stark. The situation in Latveria is extremely complicated. Rogers’s need to do the right thing no matter what does endanger the mission; while he’s morally right, he’s wrong from an operational standpoint. His old fashioned attitude endangers the mission, as he’s drawn into a trap by Doctor Doom.

Doom’s respect for Captain America actually makes a lot of sense to anyone who knows the history of the Marvel Universe. The Romani population of Latveria was brutalized by the Nazis, and those people were Doom’s ancestors. Cap almost certainly fought in Latveria, and that might be why Doom welcomes him as a hero. Captain America so far has been amazing, and this issue is yet another example of why you should be reading this book — an action-packed story pregnant with meaning.

Captain America #2 is on sale now.