By Zack Quaintance — I recently reviewed Captain America #0, a sort of launching pad for Marvel Comics’ due of new Captain America comics. The concept for these dueling books is simple: there are now two Captains America, one of which is long-time holder of the mantle, Steve Rogers, and the other of which is one-time Steve Rogers sidekick, Sam “The Falcon” Wilson. Captain America - Symbol of Truth #1 arrives today, and it’s the book starring Sam Wilson (the Steve Rogers book — Captain America — Sentinel of Liberty #1 — is currently due to arrive on June 15).

Now, Sam Wilson has held this mantle before, and this comic is well aware of that. In fact, it struck me as a pretty natural extension of the last time Sam was the star of the regular Captain America comic, back in the 2015 run that was written by Nick Spencer. At that point in time, Steve Rogers had had the super soldier serum removed from his body; he was in the book and the Marvel Universe, just aged up, generally lending Sam support and advice (sometimes at odds with Sam’s actions) from the sidelines. The main difference this time around is that Steve is out there elsewhere in the universe with his own powers, also carrying the Captain America mantel.

I wrote in my Captain America #0 review that I’m not a huge fan of this. I vote entirely to age Rogers back or find another way to otherwise retire him. Sam Wilson taking over the mantle is a natural extension of the Captain America stories we’ve been reading for years, and delivering the character with a shared identity feels like a forced way to cater to all readers, robbing Sam Wilson of some spotlight and a bit of urgency. But, that’s not the way Marvel Comics is inclined to operate, so I’m willing now to accept that and evaluate this book on its own merits within that established editorial decision.

With that in mind, Captain America - Symbol of Truth #1 is a strong debut for Sam Wilson’s latest stint carrying the Captain America mantle. The book opens with an eight-page action sequence, within which Sam and his own Falcon sidekick, Joaquin Torres, are fighting relatively faceless soldiers trying to rob a high-speed train carrying super soldier serum. It’s fast-paced, accessible, and good-looking, rendered by one of Marvel’s best (if a bit unheralded) artists in R.B. Silva, colored to a shiny perfection here by Jesus Aburtov.

The storytelling is hard-hitting and kinetic, and it delivers on standard superhero comics expectations, a solid if unsurprising choice for a new high-profile run on a well-known character (though we get more context about what’s really going on in that train later…).

And really, that opening sequence could have just as easily starred Steve, or, really, any other Marvel superhero. Aside from the mention of serum, there’s not much inherently Captain American about it. That changes in the next scene, a flashback to Sam in Harlem contemplating his new role as Cap with old friend Misty Knight. This, to me, is where the scripting by Tochi Onyebuchi really begins to shine, where he can write interesting and lived-in character dialogue unique to the starring character.

And it’s not just the quiet chatting between friends. In short order, the Sam-Misty meet-up is interrupted by a speech on the street, a community activist talking about serious, real world issues that effect the Black community in this country — being pulled over by police at a disproportionate rate; having doctors discounting their reports of pain; and losing loved ones to gun violence. Unlike the opening, if you were to put Steve Rogers into this scene, it’d be a very different book. This scene to me is a glimpse at what this book will be interested in with Sam Wilson in the starring role, and there’s a lot of potential in these pages.

The best Captain America stories to me have always been built upon a tension, tension between what America can be at its best and what America actually is today. Sam tells Misty Knight, “…making this country a place where we can live and thrive, that’s my job. This movement means I ain’t doin’ so hot.” To me, that bit of dialogue is almost a thesis statement for this new run: Sam Wilson is looking at all of America, and he’s trying to make it a place where that sort of community activism has less work to do, less issues to tackle.

It’ll be interesting to see how that interest begins to intersect with the other strong ideas and elements of this comic: the traditional action scenes, the return of a classic villain toward the end, Joaquin’s own journey with what they found on that train. This first issue was a great hook, one that has me curious to see where all of this is headed.

Overall: A strong start for a new story with Sam Wilson taking up the mantle, Captain America - Symbol of Truth #1 delivers an action-packed story that lays out this run’s interests moving forward. 9.2/10

REVIEW: Captain America - Symbol of Truth #1

Captain America - Symbol of Truth #1
Writer: Tochi Onyebuchi
Artist: R.B. Silva
Colorist: Jesus Aburtov
Letterer: Joe Caramagna
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Sam Wilson picks up the shield once more - and enters a world of trouble! Following a lead from Misty Knight, Sam intercepts a mysterious group hijacking what appears to be an empty train. As he digs deeper, he discovers that the plot may be connected to a crucial piece of Captain America history...and, surprisingly, Wakanda. The world is ready for two Captain Americas - but is Sam Wilson ready for what comes next? Acclaimed writer Tochi Onyebuchi (BLACK PANTHER LEGENDS, Riot Baby) teams with Stormbreaker R.B. Silva (POWERS OF X, INFERNO, FANTASTIC FOUR) to open a thrilling new chapter of CAPTAIN AMERICA history!
Price: $4.99
Buy It Here: Digital

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Zack Quaintance is a tech reporter by day and freelance writer by night/weekend. He has written about comics for The Beat and NPR Books, among others. He Tweets compulsively about storytelling and comics as Comics Bookcase.