Marvel’s New Captain America Is Becoming the Best Cap Run Ever

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Marvel has been struggling lately, especially since DC released its successful Absolute line of books in 2024. For years, Marvel dominated comic book sales, but they haven’t had as many strong ideas recently, and it shows in their releases. Despite this, there are still some excellent titles coming from Marvel, particularly Captain America by writer Chip Zdarsky and artist Valerio Schiti. Even after just four issues, this series is consistently impressing readers and looks to be a standout title.

Captain America has a long and impressive history filled with fantastic stories. Legendary comic book creators – including Jack Kirby, Mark Gruenwald, and Ed Brubaker – have all contributed to the character’s adventures. Like the nation it represents, Captain America has evolved over time, and the best stories reflect that change. The current series is particularly strong, and many believe it has the potential to be the best Captain America run ever written.

The Newest Volume of Captain America Uses Marvel’s Sliding Time Scale in a Bold Way

To really understand why this book is so effective, it helps to look back at Zdarsky’s earlier work with Captain America, specifically Avengers: Twilight. That story is a perfect Avengers tale, imagining a future where the Avengers’ final battle inadvertently leads to a fascist government. It features Steve Rogers leading a new team of Avengers in a rebellion against this oppressive regime. It’s a great portrayal of the team’s potential, but its real strength lies in what it says about America itself.

Though he’s Canadian, writer Al Ewing seems to deeply understand American politics. His Avengers: Twilight features a villain (no spoilers!) who subtly builds a fascist government, and it unfortunately feels very relevant to what’s happening in the US today. This political layer adds a compelling depth to the story. He’s exploring similar themes in his Captain America run, but instead of focusing on the present, he’s examining how America has changed since 9/11, comparing and contrasting that shift with the era of World War II.

What’s really neat about Captain America comics is how they often reflect the state of the United States. In the 1970s, the stories captured the country’s disappointment after the Nixon years. The 1980s saw Captain America struggle with a nation becoming more conservative and prone to violence. After 9/11, the comics dealt with the impact of that tragedy on the country. Later stories focused on Cap working with government agencies like SHIELD, mirroring a surge in patriotic feeling. This is what makes Captain America so compelling – while you can get standard superhero adventures, the character truly shines when he’s a reflection of American society.

The current run of Captain America is cleverly reshaping the Marvel Universe’s history using Marvel’s established sliding timeline concept. Captain America was originally revived after the events of 9/11 and during the Iraq War, and in this new take, the government attempted to create another supersoldier with a similar origin story. Cap’s initial mission is a secretive operation deeply impacted by the emotional weight of those past conflicts. While Marvel typically doesn’t emphasize the effects of its sliding timeline, this story arc is making it central to the narrative. By reflecting the changes America has experienced in the 21st century, the author is giving Captain America a fresh and compelling backstory, making the character feel incredibly relevant again.

Captain America Is Giving Readers the “World Outside Their Window” in the Best Possible Way

Marvel’s rise in popularity during the 1960s was largely due to its focus on relatable, realistic stories. Stan Lee often said Marvel reflected the world outside readers’ windows, and that approach resonated with audiences. However, more recently, Marvel has struggled to connect with readers, seemingly prioritizing attracting fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe to its comics with limited success. Marvel excels when it grounds its superhero stories in real-world issues, and Kelly Zdarsky’s Captain America run is a prime example. It cleverly uses the character of Steve Rogers and the Captain America mythos to explore the societal impact of 9/11.

Captain America is incredibly popular now because of the Marvel movies, but his comic books haven’t always lived up to that hype. While there have been some solid runs since Ed Brubaker finished writing the series in the early 2010s, none have been truly exceptional. The current volume is a strong return to form, using Captain America to explore themes about America itself, alongside exciting superhero battles – the first storyline featuring a fantastic showdown with Doctor Doom. This series has both great art and a compelling story, which isn’t always the case for Captain America, and if the writer, Zdarsky, maintains this level of quality, it could become the best Captain America run ever, and even one of Marvel’s all-time best.

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2025-11-12 01:14