Everyone knows Captain America, but for MeinMMO editor Niko, it lacked substance for years. He often seemed like a clichéd symbol of the USA. However, Marvel gives him a new stage that makes him a damn good character.
The most famous leader of the Avengers is probably also because of the Captain America movies. He entered the MCU in 2011 after Iron Man, Hulk, and Thor. Even though I find him cool in battle and he has a strong dynamic with Bucky, I always felt something was missing.
Captain America was too perfect
. The new comic Captain America No. 1
reinterprets the superhero and makes him question his own name.
Captain America (2025) No. 1 was sent to us by Panini as a review copy.
What is the personal legacy?
What is Captain America No. 1 about? With the comic, author Chip Zdarsky (Batman: Failsafe) and artist Valerio Schiti (X-Men: Inferno) are redoing the classic story of Captain America. Just like in the MCU, he awakens in the present world after being frozen in World War II.
His first major threat this time is Doctor Doom and his dictatorship in Latveria. Again, he must come to terms with the new world, which is very different from what it was during World War II. Instead of becoming the leader of the Avengers as in the MCU, he goes back to the US Army, the place that was once so important to him.
But there is also a modern Captain America. Together with him, he embarks on a mission. There, he must not only get used to new methods and threats, but also question what his name and legacy actually mean.
Zdarsky does not just make a simple remake of Captain America; he tests his symbol in this story and thus creates a gripping retelling already in the first volume.
Our victory has changed something
Instead of focusing only on Steve Rogers as Captain America, the comic also shows the story of David Colton. He was also a weak guy who desperately wanted to become a soldier to embody justice. He also received the super-soldier serum and became Captain America.
Parallel stories of the two are told: Steve Rogers, how he is adapting to the new time, and David Colton, how the horrors of war also haunt him in modern times. Doctor Doom works pleasantly in the background. It’s not really about him as a villain, but rather about the meaning of peace and of Captain America as a hero of the USA.
Both heroes question peace and the question of how wars can really be ended. In his thoughts, Steve Rogers says during a covert operation: Our victory has changed something. Why does it chill me then? Is it this new idea of freedom? The world… filled with military presence… under constant observation.
These questions feel modern, especially coming from a character like Captain America, who can certainly be described as this military presence in some stories. This elevates the character to a new level and gives me, as a Marvel fan, finally a sense of why he is such a good leader.
It should also be emphasized how Captain America No. 1 works with colors. While the panels in real-time look very bluish and cold, Colton’s flashbacks are yellow-orange in color. This replicates the old look of military films and games from the Xbox 360
– and PS3-era, making the implied critique even more tangible.
Heroes are always symbols, and those must be questioned
The actual story with Doctor Doom is okay, and the fights are not bad but also not outstanding. What Zdarsky, along with Schiti, is starting here as a series, however, is a nice example of how to elaborate on and question the symbolism of superheroes.
This way, even the poster boy of the Avengers becomes a character that can still be explored almost 86 years after the first appearance, because even someone like Captain America is not trapped in his time.
How can I read Captain America No. 1? Panini has published the first 3 issues in a German version in a collected volume on January 27, 2026. This is also a good starting point. Otherwise, the series is also available through subscription from Marvel Unlimited and on platforms like Kindle Digital, which are only available in English.
If you are collectors of single issues, you can only get them as imports. Marvel has also given Thor a new series that starts off pretty well, even though it completely rethinks the character and takes away his powers: Without the mighty Mjölnir, Thor is finally a really good superhero in Marvel
