Captain America vol 9, #1 from Marvel Comics -
Captain America, the REAL Captain America has returned. He returned in time to help save the world that was firmly in the grip of Hydra. He is the hero he always was, yet his friends, his government - the world - seem wary of trusting him again. Still, he fights, quelching a violent, bloody terrorist attack in the nation's capital, and stopping crime on the streets of NYC. But there's something deeper afoot. In Russia, Anti-Hydra groups have risen to crush the remaining Hydra loyalists led by a new, dangerous, merciless cabal called The Power Elite. In America, the president has shut Captain America out, choosing instead to tap some of Cap's best old friends and worst enemies, men and women with questionable pasts and special skill sets, to covertly track and eliminate the root of the terrorist attack - an attack carried out by soldiers wearing the American Flag itself on their faces. Captain America is out in the cold, unsanctioned, unsupported. How will Captain America take his rightful place as the living symbol of a country that he no longer recognizes, and that no longer trusts him? And where will he turn for help against the Power Elite who has found a way to insinuate themselves into our government at the highest levels?
Luminary, Ta-Nehisi Coates, best selling author who exploded into comics a little over 2 years ago with Black Panther vol 6, brings the real Captain America back to his own series in a story that highlights all the best parts of why we love Captain America. Coates shows that Steve is a man of peace, and a man of action - a reluctant, philosopher-warrior who doesn't revel in the glory of combat and carries the heavy burden of the consequences of battle on his mighty shoulders. Steve feels the alienation from the country he holds so dear, and its deep mistrust towards him. He senses that somehow, we have forgotten the price of freedom, lost our way, and to avoid the natural controlled chaos of being a free nation, we unwittingly chose the safety and order offered by a dictator with Captain America's face. And now, another enemy is inside the gates, The Power Elite, an obvious nod to C. Wright Mills' novel of the same name that shook the nation in 1956. Cap is just the man to escort them out - but how can he do it all alone, out in the cold? Coates masterfully uses the text boxes to reveal the nobility, confusion, and determination of America's greatest flag-draped hero. Leinil Francis Yu's pencils are equally masterful. From Captain America's explosive battle scenes to his thoughtful, powerful gaze, Yu's lays down panel after panel of stellar comicbook art. This story, in my opinion (useful, or useless as you find it) is the height of great comicbook storytelling - these are the types of stories that inspire readers, and make us think about our world in a different, more meaningful way. Captain America was MADE for these types of stories because, like it or not, Captain America has been a political symbol - a symbol of national ideals - since his inception. Sometimes we need to be reminded of those ideals. Sometimes, those ideals change as the nation changes, advances, and grows. Captain America is not an agent of the status quo, but an agent of the common good who, as Coates writes it, echoing Frank Miller (Daredevil vol 1, #233, 1986), "is loyal to nothing...Except the dream." Captain America #1 is simply amazing.
RATING: 11 out of 10 (extended scale).
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