It's been a while since I posted a comic book review, and would very much like to get back into that trend. I thought I'd start off by going right into an issue that's got just about everybody talking; All-New Captain America #1! This is a very important issue for Marvel, and for more reason than one.
So by the cover, you can probably tell that you're not looking at Steve Rogers anymore. No, this is Sam Wilson (previously known as The Falcon) we're talking about. To make a long story short, Steve had all of his super soldier serum (what made him super strong in the first place) drained from him in a place called Dimension Z, making him immediately age into an old man. From there, he felt it necessary to give Sam the shield and the mantle.
This decision of the status-quo change immediately screams risky. Putting Steve Rogers out of commission (again!) is one thing, but to also give the title to his former sidekick is something else entirely. It's also a decision that's going to likely confuse many casual fans who are just jumping in from this point. Marvel has already made plenty of other gutsy decisions these last few years (having Spider-Man's mind get swapped with that of Doctor Octopus', a new female Thor, etc.), but this one may stick out to people a little more; and more power to Marvel if it does.
As any fans of Stuart Immonen (pencils) and Wade Von Grawbadger (inker) can tell you to expect great things, and they're right on the money here. This is exactly the kind of high-quality artwork that one would hope to have associated with a title as big as this one. Every page and panel just oozes with style and flows together perfectly.
The majority of this issue focuses on action only, and that's fine for now. We get to immediately see Sam in action, as well as members of Hydra and some other villains thrown in for good measure. But that's not all. Sam also has a new sidekick, in the form of Nomad (Ian Zola). What makes this grouping immediately different is that unlike Steve and Sam, Ian is quite bitter over Sam being chosen over him to take the Captain America title. He makes this known very quickly on, and it will be interesting to see how this dynamic between the two of them plays out as the series continues.
Just about the only negative thing I can even think of when writing this review, is that some of the dialogue felt a little quick and forced, mainly due to the fast-paced story of this issue. It honestly didn't bother me one bit, even if the bits of humor thrown in felt a little stale as well. The last page more than makes up for any flaws you could find in this issue however, and sets things up rather nicely for the rest of this first story arc.
All-New Captain America is off to an excellent start, and it's great to see Sam finally joining the ranks of Marvel's top-tier superheroes. While it's very possible (and likely) that Marvel will eventually find a way to put Steve back into the forefront, I'm very much enjoying this current setup right now. I think any fans of Sam's character will more than agree with me that his rise in the ranks was long overdue.
9 Out Of 10
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