ADVANCED REVIEW: ‘Captain America,’ Issue #0

Captain America #0 is written by Tochi Onyebuchi with Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly, illustrated and colored by Mattia De Iulis, and lettered by VC’s Joe Caramagna. It’s published by Marvel Comics. “Future Proof” finds Steve Rogers and Sam Wilson—who both wield the mantle of Captain America—fighting the mad scientist Armin Zola. Zola intends to launch a rocket loaded with his “hyperevolution compound” into the sun, which will transform mankind into a race of Zolasauruses. It falls to Sam and Steve to stop Zola’s rocket, which is loaded with all manner of weaponry and counter-offensives, as well as Zola’s mad ravings.

In the same way that Supermassive served as an intro to Image Comics’ new “Massive-verse,” this issue is a perfect one-and-done story that helps set up the next era of Captain America stories. There’s a classic Cap villain, a threat that you could only find in the pages of superhero comics, and hints at what’s to come. And it all fits within 40 pages! In my opinion, more comics could use this kind of rollout. It’s a way to get longtime fans and newcomers to the comic book scene to check out your upcoming titles. And it makes good use of cross-company synergy since Sam’s return to the Captain America mantle dovetails with the events of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.

Another part of why the series works is how the writers work in tandem. Onyebuchi, Lanzing, and Kelly write a narrative with dual threads that run parallel to each other, with Steve entering the innards of Zola’s rocket and Sam engaging in an aerial dogfight with its outside defenses. The real meat of the issue lies in how they handle Steve and Sam’s interactions. Even before Sam was Captain America the two were partners and it shows here. They know each other’s strengths and how to use them to beat Zola. They also share some post-battle banter about which one of them is going to add an adjective to their name, in the vein of other Marvel heroes.

De Iulis delivers some of the most cinematic-looking artwork I’ve seen in a comic book, from the first page to the last. He makes excellent use of splash pages, including the opening where Steve and Sam descend from the skies and hurl their respective shields at one of Zola’s robots. All of it is painted in lush, vibrant colors that will leave readers unable to tear their eyes from the page. Speaking of shields, De Iulis gives Sam a new shield with a primarily blue color scheme and a sleeker, more futuristic-looking star symbol. And in one of the most striking images, both Sam and Steve destroy one of the Zola robots while shouting “I’M CAPTAIN AMERICA” in a moment that Caramagna displays in striking red letters.

Captain America #0 is a star-spangled action movie in comic book form that launches a new era for both Steve Rogers and Sam Wilson. With Onyebuchi tackling Sam in Captain America: Symbol of Truth this May and Lanzing/Kelly writing Steve in Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty this June, fans will have double the Captain America action.

Captain America #0 will be available wherever comics are sold on April 20, 2022.