A new company has hit the scene saying they’ll fix a lot of broken promises, but something else seems to be lurking about. Your Major Spoilers review of Sam Wilson: Captain America #1 awaits!

SAM WILSON: CAPTAIN AMERICA #1

Writer: Greg Pak and Evan Narcisse
Artist: Elder Messias and Valentine De Landro
Colorist: Fer Sifuentes-Sujo
Letterer: VC’s Joe Caramagna
Editor: Alanna Smith
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Price: $4.99
Release Date: January 1st, 2024

Previously in Sam Wilson: Captain America: One-time social worker Sam Wilson developed an ability to speak to birds as well as gaining a set of wings. He has also taken on the mantle of Captain America multiple times, this time being his latest.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MR. BRADLEY

Sam Wilson: Captain America #1 starts off in Harlem at a soup kitchen. Suddenly, a group of vampires descends on a group of people waiting for food. Sam Wilson appears and is able to fight them off with a touch of help from Steve Rogers. Afterward, Sam, his sister, and Steve attend a birthday party for Isaiah Bradley. At the same time, there Sam’s sister lets him know that a company called Eaglestar is setting up land for people who were screwed by unfair lending practices and wants Sam as their spokesman. The next day Sam goes to meet with this company and is shown their giant floating city in the sky where they have fields set up. While checking things out a swarm of metal dinosaurs attack, which Sam discovers is Eaglestar property.

UNCOMFORTABLE AND LAZY

Sam Wilson: Captain America #1 has some admirable aspirations that about wraps up the positive things about this comic book. First off, the writing throughout this issue is full of those situations where people unnaturally slip details into things, simply to try and sneak in some backstory, this is completely ineffective in informing the reader here and makes the flow of this issue choppy at best. This issue is bookended by two strange scenes, the first being the vampire attack which features an unsettling smiling Sam, then an inexplicable appearance by Steve Rogers. The issue then ends with the villain making a low-effort lie to set Red Hulk onto Sam apparently to cover up the fact that the metal dinosaurs that attacked were blatantly labeled with Eaglestar logos. The major problem in this book is the way that topics relating to race are treated, which can best be described as uncomfortable. In some instances the “beat you over the head” approach is taken, like during Isaiah Bradley’s birthday, which is attended by exclusively black superheroes and Steve Rogers, where Sam explains to his sister how Isaiah was betrayed by the government, right in front of him. Then in some situations there seems to be an odd attempt at humor, like when Sam makes it to Eaglestar’s city, some black farmers, while working a field, make a 40 acres and a mule joke featuring a robot mule. There just seems to be a lack of nuance and respect given to these topics which undercuts any sort of messaging that is trying to be made here.

WHY ARE THEY IN COSTUME?

In terms of technique, the art in Sam Wilson: Captain America #1 is perfectly fine. The problem comes from some artistic decisions. The prime one being to put all the superheroes at Isaiah Bradley’s birthday, a casual event, in their costume. This leads to strange situations like War Machine having a snarky back and forth with Sam’s sister, while speaking with the face mask flipped up on his armor. What this ultimately leads to is a shoehorned in moment to create a group shot of the characters in attendance, which only adds to the superficialness of how this comic approaches the topic of race.

BOTTOM LINE: AN UNFORTUNATE START

Sometimes, a comic just fails on multiple levels, and this is one of those. Awkward action sequences, stilted and annoying dialog, an unnecessarily complex plot, and some truly questionable attempts to address social and racial issues, combine to make this a truly unpleasant reading experience. 2 out of 5 stars.

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