The new “Sam Wilson as Captain America” comic saw release this week, and I am pleasantly surprised. To be honest I had no expectations towards this comic. We’ve seen plenty of people handle the mantle of Captain America over the years, and we’ve even been introduced to an African American Captain America before, so this is nothing new or shocking.
I’m a little behind with the whole story line, but I know enough about Cap losing his “immortality,” and the events and characters in this comic spin out of the series that I’m currently reading in Marvel Unlimited (few months behind), so I can see the tie-ins. There is a good flow, which seems to be happening in the comics I am reading now, and Captain America #1 has a good flow. Rick Remender, our scribe, is doing a good job of keeping the story line flowing. I haven’t kept up with the current Internet hate of comic writers, so I don’t know if Remender is on a Bendis curve or a Busiek curve, but I personally like the writing. He’s got a good sense of Cap history and is doing a decent job of creating a new history while including the long past.
The art is from Stuart Immonen, and he’s been a long-running favorite for many years. I’m loving his take and looks on the characters like Cap and Nomad, giving them updated looks while keeping to the core of the superheroes and the characters wearing the costume.
The most difficult thing to adjust to was Sam Wilson hanging on to his Falcon parts, specifically the wings and the flying. It took some getting used to as it adds a new element to “Captain America,” who has never flown in his time. After chewing on that, and getting used to it, and rationalizing it through some twisted take on the American bald eagle, I’m cool with the wings and the flying. As far as Sam Wilson playing the part of Cap? Why not? He’s been Cap’s sidekick for as long as anyone and knows what it’s all about.
The other aspect to the book that I like is the growing Captain America Corps theme. Steve Rogers and Sharon Carter are steering things from afar, with Sam Wilson at the frontlines taking cues from the two old soldiers. And Ian Rogers, Cap’s new Zola-clone adopted son, takes on the mantle of Nomad, and he’s a bit of a feisty one. It’s a great mystery team and it currently works. There’s a “Batman Beyond” mentorship going on between Rogers and Wilson, but that’s been the basis of their relationship since the ’70s. And the new Nomad opens up some interesting themes with Cap and his son.
The first issue is good. You might find yourself a little lost as there isn’t much back story, and you will be expected to run as you are learning to walk. The issue is fast-paced with a ton of action. It’s the perfect in-your-face, high-paced comic with a great cliffhanger you’d want from a relaunch.
