Sam Wilson settles into his new costume and delivers a decent, if fairly standard, adventure in “All-New Captain America” #3.
Written by Rick Remender
Illustrated by Stuart ImmonenThis is it! The new generations meet–Captain America vs Sin, daughter of the Red Skull! The truth in regards to the blood of equalization is revealed, but Hydra’s proliferation is too wide, there is no stopping them now. Nomad stands tall against the ruthless might of one of Cap’s oldest foes!
Every superhero needs an arch-nemesis, and for the third Captain America that means facing off with the second Red Skull. Sam Wilson has barely had time to enjoy the new-hero smell of his costume, and he finds himself facing against echoes from Steve Roger’s past. Sinthea Schmidt aka Sin, daughter of the original Red Skull, has teamed up with Baron Zemo in a plot to sterilize the human population and only Captain Sam stands in their way. But all that doesn’t really matter. The true conflict is in Sam’s mind, as he struggles with his new persona and tries to reconcile his suddenly confusing past.
Superheroes are nothing without their origin story. They exist in a world that is all nurture and no nature. Nobody does the right thing because it’s the right thing to do. Everyone has deep seeded emotional issues that can be drawn out for dozens of issues and years of storylines. The problem that Rick Remender faces with Sam Wilson is that his origin has already been dissected and examined from every possible angle. Wilson was flying around the Marvel Universe as Falcon before Wolverine was rocking yellow spandex and Venom was infecting half of Manhattan. There just isn’t much pre-hero territory for Remender to explore, so his solution is to make Wilson hallucinate a whole new origin.
The idea that they might have not immediately bounced back from severe emotional trauma and dedicate themselves to a lifetime of punching things in costumes is anathema to heroes. Therefore the idea that Wilson’s past might be a convoluted fantasy designed by the Red Skull really does throw him for loop. The problem that arises is that this internal struggle lasts for about a dozen pages. Remender is wise enough to use to prove that Wilson has the unshakable moral resolve and emotional fortitude that proves him worthy to wield Captain America’s shield, it just doesn’t make for the most gripping read. The reader just starts to wonder if maybe Sin’s long speech could be true, and then just quickly we are assured that the status quo will remain unchanged.
Remender has ensured that Sam Wilson fits naturally into the role of Captain America. The hallucination that sends Wilson back to World War II is a nice way to situate him in the wider history of the character. Remender fills the issue with the hallmarks of Captain America, there’s warfare, bravado, and punching Red Skull in the face and more. It does get slightly wordy at times, but there’s always another action scene just around the corner.
After penciling over twenty issues of “All-New X-Men”, Stuart Immonen has proven to be one of the most reliable and versatile artists at Marvel. His work on “All-New Captain America” straddles the line between stylized and realistic. He uses many lines to give the images a good amount of shadow and grit, but he stops short of drawing dirt-filled pores on Cap’s face.
Despite the fact that large chunks of this issue are taken up by dialog, Immonen still manages to cover a lot of visual ground. The WWII flashback looks appropriately chaotic and grim, and the image of Cap strapped to a tank surrounded by a swirl of skulls is quite gripping. Immonen runs through a visual history of the new Captain’s life, and from his early days in Harlem, to the time his crashed onto a tropical island and to his years in the very bright costume of the Falcon, it makes 46 years of comic history feels unified and concise.
A character as righteous and morally superior as Captain America could come off has slightly annoying at times. Fortunately it’s a good thing that Immonen makes him like wicked hardass whenever he has to proclaim how righteous his is. When faced with lies, the new Captain literally rips free of his chains and announces his dedication to the truth. It’s a bit on the nose, but it’s a great looking image.
Continued belowThe final action scene gives Wilson the opportunity to use the classic motifs of Captain America and Falcon, so there’s plenty of fun gliding and shield-throwing to be enjoyed. Immonen doesn’t have the cool superpowers of the X-Men to work with, but he still crafts an engaging and exciting scene as the new Captain punches the new Red Skull. He resists falling into the easy trap of pages filled with endless explosions, and pencils images that are still detailed and vivid.
One of the best and worst things that can be said about the “All-New Captain America” is that it feels a lot like the old Captain America. It’s a solid story that deals with WWII, the Red Skull, and moral righteousness with plenty of action along the way. It’s a smart decision to appease long-time fans and assure readers that no one is trying to reinvent the wheel that is Captain America, but it just seems like they could have done something that was grounded more in the world of Sam Wilson than Steve Rogers.
Final Verdict: 6.0 – Even with great art and several entertaining moments, it still feels like a standard Captain America story. It’s not bad, just pretty familiar.
