Ultimate Captain America #1 (of 4)

Jason Aaron (Scalped, Punisher MAX) and Ron Garney (Captain America, Amazing Spider-Man) team up for the first Ultimate Captain America mini-series. And even though the marquee talent involved should assure reader’s of a quality comic, the Ultimate line has had some spectacular failures as characters have been given their own title. I’m looking at you Ultimate Iron Man II… Ultimate Human… Ultimate Vision…  and Ultimates 3…  and Ultimatum.  So, unless Mark Millar is writing the Ultimates, I have become wary of new stories that seem to detract from my love of the Ultimates and Ultimates 2 – two of my favourite reads.

But Ultimate Captain America #1 is a good, fun read. And while the art is uneven from time to time, the story of the original Captain America meeting the Cap of the Vietnam-era proves to be exciting and action packed. For a long-time Captain America reader, the premise of ‘fill-in’ Captain Americas is nothing new, but in the original continuity Steve Rogers had already returned before the full fallout of Vietnam was understood, and so, this twist has never been explored before. The only thing that is throwing me at the moment, and I could be remembering this wrong, but it seemed like when Steve was found back in Ultimates #1, there hadn’t been a Captain America since World War II. If someone out there can help illuminate this “plot point”, I hope you will post a reply for us to read.

Ultimate Captain America is a cinematic, fast paced story that will appeal to both Ultimates and Captain America fans. For long-time readers of Jason Aaron’s work, the title doesn’t live up to his twisting plotlines from Scalped, but the more mature advisory warning allows him to write his signature action sequences. Definitely worth checking out!