Hello, my friends. No matter what the battlefield may hold or even within whatever time period it may be set in, we must be prepared to face the various kinds of adversities that’re waiting to spring up onto us. This will be especially true for one man who wants to fight the good fight, yet he’ll wind up with more than what he could ever imagine. On that note, I once again welcome your return to my review series known as…
Phase One is nearing the end and while the majority of our principal players have been brought together within some initial outings, there’s still one last piece for us to acquire before we get to a historic capstone. As such, let us get to the film whose tie-in material will serve as our primary review subjects.
Originally distributed by Paramount Pictures, it made its Hollywood debut on July 19, 2011 before getting its general theatrical release three days later. Directed by Joe Johnston and with a screenplay written by Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely, the film was made on a $140 million budget and would go on to rake in over $370 million while also getting a mostly-positive reception from critics. As for what the movie had in store for fans in terms of tie-in comics, let’s finally march on in.
First up, we have a prequel mini-series called “Captain America: First Vengeance”. It was initially released as an eight-part, digital-only comic with Parts 1 & 2 coming out in February 2011 while Parts 3 & 4 made their way into the world in March. As for Parts 5-8, they wouldn’t see the light of day until June. Eventually, this would get collected into print form as a four-issue mini-series. The first half of this story would be published in the first two issues and would both make their way into comic book stores in May, with the first issue selling 13,689 copies while the second book had 12,116 comics purchased. Issues 3 & 4 would contain the entire narrative’s second half and would both be brought into the world in June. Part 3 had 10,660 comics acquired while the concluding chapter would have 10,322 comics bought & sold. It would then be collected into trade paperback form before getting released in July, where it would go on to sell 2,331 copies. As for who worked on this, Fred Van Lente was given solo writing responsibilities. As for the entire team of artists, the duo of Luke Ross and Richard Isanove respectively handled the artwork and coloring for the first half of each comic (or the first, third, fifth & seventh part within the original digital format). The second half of Issue 1 (or the second digital part) had Neil Edwards on pencils, Crimelab Studios & Daniel Green sharing the inking duties while Sotocolor took care of the colors. In terms of Issue 2’s second half (a.k.a. Part 4 of the digital version), Javi Fernandez took care of the artwork while Veronica Gandini solely handled the coloring responsibilities. Issue 3’s second half (a.k.a. the sixth digital part) had Andy Smith on pencils, Tom Palmer dealing with the ink while Gandini returned to helm the colors. As for Issue 4’s second half (or the digital series’ eighth and final chapter), Rich Elson took care of the entire artwork while Sotocolor came back to handle the coloring duties. With all of that build-up out of the way, what harrowing encounter awaited readers on the frontlines? Let’s get deployed and find out.
We open within the bullet-filled skies of the Nazi-Occupied Danish Straits in April 1944 where an Allied airplane is soaring amongst the enemy’s zipping anti-aircraft shells. After prepping for launch, Steve Rogers a.k.a. Captain America proceeds to jump out before he eventually deploys his parachute. From there, we transition to a small apartment within the Manhattan neighborhood of Hell’s Kitchen in June 1924 where Steve is playing with some army man figures while a picture of his deceased father Joseph from his time in World War I along with his Purple Heart lay upon a nearby set of drawers. Just then, his mother named Sarah calls for him as it’s then revealed that she’s in a sickly state. After learning from her son that he wants to be a soldier just like his dad, she tells him that he’ll need to fight for that dream. She then mentions that while other people will simply look at his body and tell him what he can’t do, they’ll never see the strong heart that she knows is within him. Sarah then has her son promise that he’ll use his head in order to know the difference between “fearless and foolhardy”.
We then transition back to the war-torn skies where Rogers’ airplane gets shot down. From there, he preps his gun before firing back at the opposing Hydra soldiers while using his shield to protect himself from their opposing bullets. After landing on top of their anti-aircraft cannon, he removes his parachute before engaging the enemy troopers. Just as one of them manage to hit Captain America’s head with their gun’s handle, we then transition to Hell’s Kitchen in September 1930 where a frail Steve is getting assaulted by some 10th Avenue goons just because he’s from 8th Avenue and was simply making his way through their area without paying their “toll”. Rogers refuses to comply as the leader continues to wail away on him, to which another kid suddenly appears and attacks the henchmen before successfully engaging the head perp. Even when one of the goon’s thugs tries to strike him from behind with a brick, Steve manages to smack the ruffian with a garbage can lid. The opposing youngsters are then forced to flee before the helpful kid tells Rogers that bullies always run away “true to form”. Steve says that he would’ve eventually worn them down before he tries to fight his new comrade for not believing him, yet the kid says that he’s peaceful and that he wasn’t inspired to get involved in the scuffle until he saw Rogers standing up to those ruffians. Steve then introduces himself and mentions that he’s been bouncing around different foster homes following his mother’s death when he was eight, to which the helpful kid then presents himself as James Buchanan Barnes and that his friends call him Bucky.
After we return to the battle, Captain America manages to defeat the entire group of Hydra soldiers before he and an opposing trooper manage to avoid Steve’s downed plane. Over at a Hydra base, the leader gets informed about their main enemy being in their general area before he then tells his informant that not only is he certain that it’s the same figure that America had sent, he believes that he can convert said man due to them having much in common with each other. We then shift over to an unmanned island set within said straits as Captain America makes his way through a thick forest. With another group of Hydra soldiers hiding out nearby, one of the troopers proceeds to toss a grenade towards him. Fortunately, Rogers managed to spot this as he throws his shield at it which deflects the bomb back towards the enemy figures and consumes them within its blast. After his shield bounces back to him, Captain America proceeds to fight several more enemy soldiers in front of an opposing base while its alarm blares.
We then shift to a Times Square-based art studio on December 7, 1941 as Steve, Bucky and a few other young guys are drawing a young woman who’s only wearing a bathrobe. Suddenly, a man comes in and tells the group that America is now at war after Pearl Harbor was bombed by Japanese aircraft while the rest of the public ultimately learn about the early-morning attack. While our two main men are out on the street, Rogers tells his friend that they must enlist in the military. Barnes mentions that his buddy was initially going to pursue painting, yet Steve says that this is “a higher calling” since they ultimately won’t just go after Japan but also Hitler’s Germany and Mussolini’s Italy as well. Despite James’ doubts about his friend’s physical state, Rogers wants his help in order to get ready for the recruitment physical. Ultimately, Bucky agrees to train him before we shift to Goldie’s Gym on December 11 where he uses boxing in order to toughen his friend up. Following a swift punch to Steve’s face, James tells him that this exercise is about “basic principals” since he must always stay alert or else the strong will take advantage. This several days’ worth of training is then intercut with Captain America making his way through several opposing Hydra soldiers as Barnes tells Rogers that he has to be faster and smarter than his foes. We then get to Rogers’ bridge-based jog on December 20 as Bucky is with two young ladies who’re visiting from Indiana (most likely Bonnie and Connie) before he tells his friend to shave some time off of his run.
Eventually, their Christmas Eve recruitment attempt over at the U.S. Recruiting & Induction Station over in Governors Island, New York Harbor has arrived. Unfortunately for Steve, he doesn’t pass his physical yet the doctor noticed his artistic skills on his enlistment papers and says that he can serve his country by making some patriotic posters. Despite Rogers saying that actually being on the battlefield is what matters to him, the doctor still denies him of his chance to get recruited. Out in the hallway, James is talking with a fellow recruit after he just got personally enlisted into the U.S. Army. He then sees Steve glumly emerging from the exam room and apologizes to his friend, yet Rogers says that he’ll get “a second opinion” as he takes his leave. We then shift back to the present time as Captain America takes out the enemy base’s blaring alarm before Issue 1 ends with him getting confronted by a Hydra soldier who’s wearing a heavily-armored suit.
Issue 2 begins with Steve fighting said foe while Hydra’s leader plays a record containing Richard Wagner’s “Der fliegende Holländer” (“The Flying Dutchman”) on a phonograph that’s connected to the sound system, thus allowing his foe to hear the famed opera during his scuffle. He then taunts Rogers from afar with the tune’s lyrics and says that the “call” is for those who’re greater than “the writhing mass of lesser men” to wield vast power, especially since “mythology and science fiction” tends to share this thread.
We then shift to the Berlin-based Deutsches Opernhaus in February 1934 where the opera has finished its performance to thunderous applause, including from an infamous attendee who turns out to be Adolf Hitler. Following the performance, Adolf talks to a small group of Nazi supporters about how he sees Wagner’s work as a celebration of “pure and noble blood” and that it’s a purity in which a “brotherhood of initiates” must unite together in order to protect. He then mentions how this “divisive process” is starting to occur upon the grand plain of world history and that any man who sees life in conflict will be heading towards “a new aristocracy”. Just then, they’re approached by someone who says that the old ways shouldn’t be disposed of entirely as it’s revealed to be the eventual Red Skull himself named Johann Schmidt. He then properly introduces himself as someone who works on Graduate Research in Physics over at the local university before he then mentions how Wagner’s music has influenced his work in a similar way in that it’s inspired their Führer towards “a path to greatness”, since he also sees the composer teaching them about their heritage being “more than metaphorical”. While Gruppenführer Kaufmann dismisses Johann’s “Jewish” teachings, Hitler tells him to stay calm before asking Schmidt about the link between Wagner and physics. Johann proceeds to explain how the Norse Tales that the composer adapted into his works actually have more truth than they seem and that what may look like magic is actually the oldest form of science, to which he intends to confirm with some proper funding. Adolf becomes fascinated by this notion before he tells Kaufmann to arrange a lunch-based meeting between himself and Schmidt before taking his leave, to which the Gruppenführer then learns that Johann is aware of him being the head of the Sturmabteilung’s (or Stormtroopers) Special Weapons Division. As they head outside, Schmidt then mentions how such advanced weaponry would allow their militia to supplant Germany’s actual army and that it would be the perfect place for him to continue his research. However, Kaufmann doesn’t want him to influence Hitler with any further “mystic drivel” and threatens to make him disappear if he comes anywhere near their Führer again before his men shove him to the ground and take their leave. Shortly afterwards, Johann is met upon by the Sturmabteilung’s leader himself named Heinrich Himmler who overheard the conversation and is willing to talk with him.
We then shift to the Bavarian-based Hanselbauer Hotel on June 30, 1934 where Kaufmann is demanding for Gruppenführer Infantry Regiment Krupp to get him a towel. To his surprise, he’s met upon by a fully-uniformed Schmidt who tells him that none of his men will be coming here. Kaufmann says that this place is solely for S.A. officers, yet Johann informs him that they no longer exist since he’s murdered every last one of them. Specifically, this is the start of the “Night of the Long Knives” as Adolf is consolidating power by having the army solely support his regime. To do so, Kaufmann’s own Stormtroopers were executed. Schmidt even says that Himmler shares his interests for “the old ways” and that the paramilitary organization known as the Schutzstaffel is absolutely “happy to oblige”. From there, he mentions that he’ll be in charge of the weapons program before slaying Kaufmann with a throwing dagger.
Back in the present time, Captain America continues to fight the armored Hydra soldier while Red Skull mentions on the loud speaker that the “superior man” isn’t born but made. Suddenly, the enemy trooper gets blasted by a Hydra tank that Rogers now has to go up against. We then transition to the S.A. Weapons Testing Ground in Kummersdorf on July 1934 where Johann and his S.S. soldiers are attempting to take it over, yet are being met with resistance as a shootout erupts. A fellow comrade informs Schmidt that the opposing men were all chosen by Kaufmann and that they’re loyal unto death, yet Johann and his men ultimately manage to gun down their opposition. Johann then discovers a scientist named Arnim Zola who was working on some advanced exo-skeleton technology in order for a single man to fight as if he was “a battalion”, yet Schmidt tells him that it’s the man that he wants to become the weapon and that Arnim’s budget will be rerouted to that. Zola nervously agrees to take up the task before being left to take in the bloody carnage.
Back in the present, the defeated exo-skeleton cladded Hydra soldier is about to get run over by the tank before Captain America manages to save him. However, Red Skull is furious with him for showing altruism towards “the weak” and says that he’s only preventing nature from weeding out any & all inferiorities from the ecosystem. From there, the Hydra tank proceeds to fire at Steve who manages to withstand the blast thanks to his shield.
We then shift to the German/Swiss border on September 14, 1935 where Abraham Erskine is traveling to Geneva with his family. Suddenly, the train gets stopped at a Nazi checkpoint before it’s revealed that they’re searching for Abraham himself. Despite his wife Greta not wanting him to surrender himself to them, Erskine doesn’t want any other passenger to suffer before he presents himself to the soldiers and gets told to come with them. Shortly afterwards, he gets brought to Johann who proceeds to interrogate him. Schmidt tells him that the reason he procrastinated with getting away was that he wasn’t willing to abandon his successful research on increasing the molecular density of cellular fibers through his own self-made “Synthetic Fibers”, to which Johann then reveals that his group had been observing this from afar in order to see how much he could accomplish without their assistance. Just then, Abraham would get warned about Adolf announcing at an upcoming rally about new laws that prevents Jews and Aryans from “intermarrying”, even mentioning to Erskine that his wife is Jewish. Oddly though, Schmidt says that he doesn’t support the Nazi’s “racist superstition masquerading as junk science” and even mentions how the “superior man” won’t be born since he sees the “master race” as something that Abraham will be forced into making for him. Erskine still calls him out for being deplorable despite him not sharing the hated party’s racist belief, to which Johann shows Abraham’s family getting taken away while mentioning that they would be killed either for being Jewish or because he refused to help him. With no possible choice, Erskine reluctantly takes up the scientific offer.
Back in the present, Rogers wearily gets up before he hears a familiar voice telling him that he knows how to take the tank out but he wants him to follow his instructions. As such, Issue 2 ends with it being revealed as Tony’s father himself: Howard Stark.
Issue 3 opens in February 1940 at the L.A.-based club known as Ciro’s where Howard gives an armory demonstration of a shield that’s made out of a special metal called Vibranium, which the researchers from his company known as Stark Industries have discovered within the deepest parts of Africa. He explains that this metal actually absorbs kinetic energy before he then has a female assistant named Donna help him demonstrate it as she fires an energy gun at it. However, he gets knocked back by the shot as he realizes that he actually used a steel prototype. He then gets helped up by Cl. Chester Phillips who wishes to have a private conversation with him. Later on after the crowd disperses, Chester explains that the film that they’re about to watch was smuggled out of Nazi-Controlled Germany thanks to “Agent 13” who’s a British agent that’s been placed within the villainous party’s special weapons division known as Hydra. As the reel starts up, Phillips mentions that a rebel-held town within the fascist-controlled Spain called Guernica was wiped out by Gen. Franco’s own Nazi allies. It was initially believed that the Luftwaffe was behind this, but they now know better as Howard sees the terror that Hydra delivered with their highly-advanced weapons.
Back in the present, Captain America is evading the enemy tank’s energy-shooting cannon while Stark mentions that a prior version used a flamethrower. Howard then instructs Steve on how he can take this vehicle down as Rogers uses his shield to pry the hatch open before entering the tank, only to discover that it’s being remotely controlled. Stark wants him to pry open the control box, yet Captain America smashes it open with his shield. Back inside the base, Arnim informs Red Skull that he’s just lost control of the tank.
As Cap begins to rewire the vehicle, we then shift back to Los Angeles in 1940 where Howard is on a nighttime drive with Phillips as the colonel says that America’s non-involvement with World War II is being seen by both the White House and the War Department as only “temporary” since the Third Reich is being seen as the world’s biggest threat. This would especially be true with Hydra’s provided weaponry. As such, Chester goes on to mention that President Franklin Delano Roosevelt approved the private formation of a collective containing America’s greatest minds called the Strategic Scientific Reserve and that FDR himself has personally invited Stark into joining them. Howard initially mentions that he’s declining the offer before a police car appears with its accompanying officers ordering him to pull over. However, Phillips notices the suspicious appearance of said cops as he slams his foot onto Stark’s (which is already on the gas pedal) and tells him to not slow down. His instinct turns out to be right as the officials are actually Hydra agents before one of them leans out of the car and opens fire. Chester manages to shoot the opposing gunman before Howard tells him to press a specific button on his hand rest. Phillips ultimately presses the right one as a few missiles get fired from his vehicle and blows the opposing automobile up. Chester then mentions how the military hasn’t been supplied with that kind of weaponry before, to which Stark then tells him that he’s accepting the offer to join the SSR.
Back in the present, Captain America drives the tank into the Hydra base in order to zap some of the opposing troopers before emerging to defeat several more with his shield. While some Hydra soldiers standby at the ready to engage him from the upper level walkway, Red Skull orders them to wait since he wants their foe to properly suffer.
From there, we shift to the Bavarian Alps in November 1940 and within Castle Kaufmann where a maid named Eva is outside Johann’s room as she then tells him that he needs to eat something since it’s been two days since his “accident”. However, Schmidt has caused a furious mess as he says that there’s “no accidents” before ordering her to leave him alone. Down in the dungeon, Abraham is being held prisoner as Zola tells him that he’s failed in his experiment. As such, Arnim now has his chance to instill his “technological solution to the Ubermensch Soldier Program”. Erskine rebuts with the notion that his serum actually did what it was supposed to do since “it enhances what is already within”, yet it’s Schmidt who’s failed at “being human”. Zola tells him that their leader won’t see it that way and will make sure that he & his family will eventually get executed. Just then, Eva comes in and tells Arnim that dinner is ready as he proceeds to take his leave.
Later, Zola and several Nazi officials have suddenly fallen asleep during their supper while she begins to free Abraham. Not only does he find out that she’s caused those inhumane men to doze off, but she’s actually British Intelligence’s own Agent 13 a.k.a. Margaret Elizabeth “Peggy” Carter. After they make their way upstairs, they comes across several Nazi officers that she manages to gun down. They then proceed to fight their way up the stairs as he mentions how he has to discover where his family is being held, but she regretfully informs him that they were being held within a concentration camp near Dachau and that they lost their lives alongside thousands of other prisoners during a breakout of Typhus back in 1937. As such, he was purposefully kept unaware of said information in order for Johann to still have some leverage on him. After she defeats one last enemy official, she soon discovers that Erskine has swiped her gun and intends to confront Schmidt in order to make him dearly pay. Peggy tells him to not throw his life away with that fruitless attempt since Johann’s newly-enhanced strength will be too much for him to deal with. As such, he can properly defeat Schmidt by making his serum for the Allies and have Hydra regret ever forcing him to create it. They then reach the roof before Carter uses a grapple gun to shoot a line out towards an Allied plane before they get pulled up towards the aircraft. Once they get inside, they’re met upon by Howard and Chester.
From there, we shift back to the present as Captain America is about to be confronted by some gun-wielding Hydra soldiers before Issue 3 ends with the Howling Commandos bursting in to engage this surprise attack.
Issue 4 begins in October 1943 at a top-secret Hydra Weapons Facility located in the Austrian Alps as several prisoners are being placed in a cage while Colonel Lohmer talks to a fellow Nazi soldier as to why their party will win this war. While he does acknowledge the advanced arsenal being made within this facility, he says that the Reich is unified “in blood as in purpose” while their enemies are nothing more than “Polyglot Peasants”. The prisoners then proceed to introduce themselves to each other, starting with Timothy “Dum Dum” Dugan & his comrade named Jimmy who’re both from New York City and are members of the “Fighting Irish of the 69th”. Next up is Gabriel “Gabe” Jones who comes from Georgia and is a part of an all-Black squadron called the 92nd Infantry. From there, the Birmingham, England-born James Montgomery Falsworth introduces himself as he mentions that he’s also the last surviving member of “His Majesty’s 3rd Independent Parachute Brigade”. Finally, there’s Jacques Dernier who was alongside his fellow Frenchmen going up against the opposing Nazis back in Marseilles. After Gabe makes an insulting French joke, the whole group ends up fighting each other. While the imprisoned guys are eventually forced to work on assembling the Nazi artillery, Lohmer narrates about how they won’t be able to fight back due to them being against each other and that their hatred will get channeled into working for them. Suddenly, Jimmy collapses due to him catching Pneumonia while on the battlefield and that it’s getting worse for him. Sadly, Lohmer proceeds to beat him to near-death with an empty cannon shell while Dum Dum is being held by a pair of Nazi officials. Later, all five men are back in their cell as Jones examines Jimmy and discovers that he’s barely alive. However, his worsening Pneumonia along with his contusions and broken ribs will make it highly unlikely for him to make it through another shift. During their discussion, James remembers that Jacques is an explosives expert before he tells Dugan to swipe some gunpowder. He then brings up his own specialty for strategy within his brigade before telling Jones that they’ll be able to get back at Lohmer if they all “work in tandem”.
They then proceed to put their plan into motion during the next shift with Dum Dum and Sam each subtly providing Falsworth with some key chemicals before he hands them off to Dernier. Meanwhile, Lohmer learns from a fellow official named Lt. Kleiber that a specific prisoner (Jimmy) is too sick to work. While Jacques combines the chemicals and pours it onto a certain chain, Lohmer says that he won’t accept the captive’s illness as an excuse before Kleiber orders James to operate the crane. He proceeds to pick up an excessive amount of heavy scrap metal before hovering it over Lohmer as the corrosive chemical dissolves the chain, causing the fiend to get crushed to death. Later, they’re all back in their cell as Dugan tells Jimmy that those Nazis will just assume that it was the faulty machinery that caused their official to lose his life. Soon enough, it’s then revealed that “Jimmy” is actually Bucky.
We then shift back to the present where the Howling Commandos provide a timely assist to Captain America by gunning down the opposing Hydra soldiers. Cap then uses his shield to smash open a door in order to finally approach Red Skull for a crucial confrontation.
We then shift to 1942 and specifically, the underground lab in Red Hook, Brooklyn where the main cradle for “Project: Rebirth” has been built by Abraham and Stark with Phillips then mentioning how they’ll need a man to be used for this. Peggy tells him that they’ll need to get their first choice right since she’s seen how lethal power can be in the wrong hands, to which Erskine agrees since he doesn’t approve of any of the 20 candidates that the Colonel has proposed as they’re not of the “highest” standard. We then shift back to the present as Steve charges towards Johann, only to phase right through him. Schmidt explains that he’s using what Arnim’s calling a “sonogram” or “an image formed of sound waves” since he’s too busy with his Hydra duties to face his opponent at this time. He then says that because he’s already observed the present artifacts, he’s remotely sending a huge electrical surge via the Vita batteries into them in order to blow the base up. Red Skull then tells Rogers that only he will be able to escape the blast due to his enhanced speed and that he’ll have to choose to either leave his comrades to die or stay and perish alongside them.
We then flashback to 1942 over at the New York-based Camp Lehigh as Chester presents his “Project: Rebirth” candidates to Abraham while they’re training against each other. However, Erskine is unsure about any of them since his serum enhances their dominant nature. Phillips tells him that this isn’t an easy choice for him to make, but President FDR wants him to move forward with the project. As such, the Colonel mentions that he’ll personally decide if no choice gets made. However, Abraham tells him that it won’t happen since he’s the only one who knows how to create his serum and that he has no intention of ever writing his formula down which is the only reason why Johann kept him alive. As such, Erskine says that the choice is ultimately his to make and that he won’t rest until he makes it before taking his leave. Back in the present, Captain America tries telling Dum Dum to retreat with his men yet Dugan says that he should flee. Ultimately, Steve throws his shield past the runestone and into the outer wall with enough force to smash it. They all then manage to flee from the base before it explodes, to which Dum Dum then mentions the runestone to Rogers before asking him if the S.S.R. has informed him on what Red Skull and his group have in store. Cap says that they’ll have to find out before promising that they’ll make sure that Schmidt ultimately fails.
From there, the mini-series ends in 1942 at the Queens, New York-based World Exposition of Tomorrow where Erskine is at the local Recruitment Station before he hears and sees the frail Steve arguing with Barnes about how much he wants to count towards this grand conflict. As Rogers sits in the exam room, Abraham learns from an official that he’s tried to enlist at various stations within the tri-state area while also lying about his birth state and that this is his fifth attempt. Despite it being a serious crime, Erskine still decides to talk with him since he sees this man as the one they need.
We now get to the two-part comic adaptation which came out in November & December 2013. Part 1 saw 6,740 copies sold, while Part 2 would have 5,827 books purchased. As for the creative team, Peter David would lead the charge as the main writer. While Wellington Alves was the sole penciler, he would share inking duties with Manny Clark and Anderson Silva. As for the colors, that would be handled by Sotocolor. As for how this team would handle the movie’s translation onto the printed page, let’s once again fall out and see for ourselves.
After skipping over several scenes which includes an arctic-based exploration team discovering an aircraft along with a certain person & object frozen inside it in the present day, a transition towards Tønsberg, Norway in March 1942 where Johann & his men burst into a church in order to acquire a particular cube, followed by a transition to New York City where a frail Steve fails his military recruitment physical due to having numerous health issues before he eventually stands up to a rude person at a movie theater and gets beaten up by said goon yet gets helped from an Army-bound James, we truly open at the World Exposition of Tomorrow in May 1942. After omitting a scene where Rogers & Barnes are with their respective girlfriends Bonnie & Connie as they witness Howard demonstrating a hovering car that ultimately fails due to the time period’s limited technology, we then have Steve standing right outside of the recruitment station as he looks to once again attempt to join the military. Bucky asks him why he wants to fight, to which Rogers says that he doesn’t want to be limited to collecting scrap metal while other men are sacrificing themselves and that he can do just as good as they can while being expected to “do no less”. Later, Steve is in an exam room. Despite the comic omitting his doctor getting informed which leads to him believing that he’s been caught lying about his home state and thus tries to flee, he’s soon met upon by Abraham who’s aware of his attempts to get recruited by venturing to various states. However, Erskine admits that he’s actually interested in the five prior tries before asking Rogers if he wants to kill some Nazis. Steve admits that he simply doesn’t like bullies, no matter where they’re from. As such, he accepts Abraham’s offer and finds himself recruited. We then skip past the part in Hydra’s base where Schmidt and Zola use their newly-acquired energy cube to charge up their weapons as they discover how much vast power it has, as we then find ourselves at Camp Lehigh. Sadly, the adaptation omits Carter’s debut scene where she attacks a recruit named Gilmore Hodge for mocking her British nationality as well as making a sexist comment towards her. It also skips past Chester’s introductory scene, Rogers’ physical struggles with the obstacle course and his display of brains over brawn when it came to acquiring a flag from a tall and somewhat-slick pole as all of this begins to attract Peggy’s attention towards him. While Steve and his fellow recruits are doing push-ups, Cl. Phillips talks with Erksine about him having serious consideration towards choosing Rogers for their project despite his scrawny build. Abraham says that he’s looking for qualities that’re “beyond the physical” and that he doesn’t approve of Hodge due to him being “a bully”. Chester says that wars aren’t won through “niceness” and are instead won with “guts” as he then takes a grenade, pulls the pin and throws it towards the recruits before he then warns them about it. While everyone else proceeds to duck and cover, Steve actually jumps onto the grenade in order to shield them from the blast. Fortunately, it doesn’t explode as everyone realizes that it was a dummy. Later that night, Erskine meets up with Rogers in his bunker where he proceeds to explain how he wound up with Johann in the first place. Following the first World War, his people struggled mightily to recover before Hitler and his Nazis showed up. Adolf would hear about Abraham and his work before confronting him into joining his organization. Erskine refused, to which Hitler ultimately sent the head of the Nazis’ Research Division known as Hydra (who turned out to be Schmidt) after him. He then explains how Johann was convinced that great power was purposefully left on Earth by the Gods in order for the “Superior Man” to one day find it, which was especially true when he learned about Abraham’s serum and what it could do. Schmidt ultimately took it despite it not being quite ready, yet it still amplified his overly-dark nature. Erskine then mentions that his serum will boost a person’s overly-good trait which is why he’s chosen Steve to be the one who undergoes the project. Abraham mentions how strong men can potentially “lose respect for power” if they’ve known it throughout their lives, yet a weak man understands the vital values of both strength and compassion. Afterwards, he has Rogers promise him that no matter what results will emerge from the experiment, he must stay who he is which is “a good man”.
The comic then skips over the scene where Red Skull is getting his portrait painted while informing Arnim that their spies have located Erskine and that they must take his serum away from the Allied Forces in order for them to assure their victory in the war, along with Steve riding with Peggy towards a Brooklyn-based secret base containing “Project: Rebirth” underneath an antique store as he talks about his past with bullies alongside his struggles with having a relationship while also mentioning that he’s waiting for “the right partner” to dance with. Once they reach the underground lab, Rogers takes his place within the cradle before Abraham announces that they’ll be performing some microinjections into their subject’s “major muscle groups” before saturating him with Vita-Rays as the adaptation omits a minor detail that had Phillips presenting this experiment to a group of important figures which included Senator Brandt. From there, the experiment gets underway as Steve gets injected with the Super-Soldier serum before the cradle closes onto him before he then gets bombarded by Vita-Rays. After a while, Rogers ends up screaming from the pain that it’s causing him as Erskine tells Stark to shut the reactors down. Fortunately, Steve overheard this and tells them not to since he can take this. After a short while, the experiment is complete as the cradle opens up to reveal that Steve is now in a more muscular and healthier physique. Suddenly, the observation deck explodes due to a hidden bomb as it’s revealed that Hydra had a secret agent amongst them. The guy (who pretended to be a State Department representative named Fred Clemson, at least in the film, but is actually Heinz Kruger) then swipes the remaining vile of Abraham’s serum before gunning him down and fleeing. With his dying action, Erskine points at Rogers’ heart before he passes on. Steve then proceeds to chase after the perp who ultimately tries to escape within a mini-sub (known as a Fieser Dorsch). Fortunately, Rogers’ enhanced strength, endurance and agility allows him to catch up before he punches the hatch in order for the incoming water to disorient the fiend. After bringing Heinz onto the surface (while the adaptation omits a brief moment where the last remaining vial of Super-Soldier serum falls and shatters onto the ground during a last-ditch scuffle), Steve demands for the secret agent to reveal who he’s working for. However, Kruger simply says that he’s “the first of many” and that once one of their heads gets cut off, two more will take its place. As such, he bites down on his fake tooth which activates his cyanide capsule, says “Hail Hydra” and then dies from the raging chemicals within the poisonous pill. The comic then leaves out a scene at Hydra’s base where Johann is met upon by a few Nazi officials who’re checking up on him for their Führer, yet Schmidt is able to tell that Adolf is causing his own reign to fall. As such, he proves his intention to surpass Hitler by using a cannon that’s powered by the otherworldly cube to decimate said officials. Meanwhile, Rogers has had some of his blood acquired in the hope of recreating Abraham’s Super-Soldier serum despite Carter mentioning how it’s going to take them several years to do so now that the good doctor has been murdered. Steve says that Erskine deserved far better than his fate, to which Peggy says that he would be proud of him even if this was the only time that it worked. Following the omission of a brief moment where Howard is examining the Fieser Dorsch before he mentions how he’s never seen any vehicle like this, Chester then tells him and Carter that they’re flying off to England in order for them to take the fight to Hydra. Rogers wants to go them, but Phillips says that he’s going to Alamagordo instead. Steve says that he doesn’t want to be a lab rat since the serum works, yet the colonel admits that he wanted an army of super soldiers and that only having one isn’t enough. Afterwards, Senator Brandt mentions how Rogers needs to be out showing the world what an “American fighting man” is made of (especially since the chase had several people seeing our main man perform some heroic feats, even though the senator doesn’t remind him of that detail here). Steve says that he wants to perform, to which Brandt tells him that he’s been “promoted”.
What follows is a montage of him touring all across America dressed up as a made-up figure called Captain America while he helps promote the purchase of war bonds. Eventually in November 1943, he makes his way to Italy (specifically, five miles from the front) for a USO-style show for the troops. However, they act rude to him and only want the female dancers to perform for them as they force him off the stage by throwing tomatoes at him. Later, Rogers is doing some drawing before he’s met upon by Carter who talks about his performance. He mentions how at least accepting Brandt’s offer has him inspiring U.S. citizens, especially since he would be a lab rat otherwise. She then tells him that despite his limited options, he was meant for better things. He then says that he used to dream about going overseas, being on the frontlines and serving his country, but not like this. They then see some wounded soldiers being brought in for medical attention before she mentions that Schmidt had sent his forces to Azzano in order to fight off about 200 Allied troops, to which only less that 50 ended up surviving. She then brings up how the audience of soldiers are all that’s left of the 107th Infantry Regiment, to which Steve then remembers that his friend James is a part of said squadron. As such, he meets up with Chester and asks him if Bucky is still alive. Phillips then says that Barnes didn’t return before Rogers asks him if a rescue mission will be executed, to which the colonel says that he’s not risking the lives of several more men just to trek thirty miles past enemy lines before telling him that he’s “a chorus girl” that wouldn’t understand. Steve say that he does (before the comic then omits a minor detail of him heading off on his own while she departs alongside him due to her agreeing to her notion that he’s truly meant for bigger things), to which we then cut to an airplane at night as Stark and Peggy accompany Rogers on his solo rescue mission. Steve gets informed about the prisoners being held at a Krausberg-based factory that’s being used as a Hydra camp, to which Carter tells him to use his transponder once he’s ready as its signal will provide him with some extractive help. Just then, some anti-aircraft gunfire gets shot towards them as Rogers decides to not wait to get brought directly towards the base and tells his friends to retreat once he jumps out. She then tells him that he can’t give her orders, to which he says that he’s “a captain” before he exits the plane.
After the adaptation omits a scene where Johann tells Zola to push their weary prisoners even harder towards making weapons for them along with some notable captured soldiers being put into their cells, Steve proceeds to sneak his way onto the base all while he takes some Hydra soldiers out while the comic leaves out a minor detail where he finds a piece of ammunition that the otherworldly cube is powering and takes it with him. He then gets the prisoners’ attention by defeating the last Hydra trooper in his way before Gabe asks him who he is, to which Rogers tells them that he’s Captain America. From there, he frees the imprisoned soldiers before asking them if there’s anyone left. Falsworth tells him that there’s one being held in the Isolation Ward, to which Rogers then instructs the group on how they can get out of the base before he heads out to reach the final trooper. As Steve fights his way past several Hydra soldiers, Schmidt and Arnim see this (along with the former prisoners mainly defeating the enemy troopers as well, not that this detail is included here) on their security cameras. Realizing that their forces are outmatched, Johann decides to blow the base up. Later, Rogers reaches the last prisoner who turns out to be Bucky and frees him. James gets stunned by how much taller his friend has gotten before they both begin to head out. Just then, the base begins to blow up as our duo are forced to head to higher ground. Suddenly, they come across Schmidt and Zola as the former mentions about Cap’s films along with Abraham playing a part in helping him. Steve manages to punch the fiend’s face, yet Johann retaliates with a fierce strike that Rogers manages to block with his prop shield (with the comic omitting the minor detail of it leaving behind a fist imprint) before Schmidt lands a fierce punch. After Steve forces him back with his legs while mentioning that Erskine told him how his personal experiment failed, the walkway gets retracted (specifically by Arnim, not that the comic shows that detail) before Johann says that he was the deceased doctor’s greatest success. Schmidt then removes his face mask to reveal his true face before Red Skull tells Rogers that he’s too afraid to admit that they’ve “left humanity behind”, to which he says that he fully embraces it “without fear” before he and Zola proceed to escape (with each of them doing so through individual vehicles, not that it gets shown here). With the building continuing to get decimated by further explosions, Steve and Bucky make their way towards the uppermost level before Barnes manages to get across a gantry before it collapses from the building’s increasing damage. From there, Rogers is forced to use his enhanced strength and agility to leap across.
Later on back at the Allied base, Chester tells Peggy that he can’t punish Howard due to him being the U.S. Army’s top weapons contractor yet he’ll do so to her. She then says that neither she nor Steve regret their actions, yet Phillips says that Rogers & several of their soldiers have lost their lives and that their division will get shut down as a result. Just then, they notice several of their troops gathering towards something that’s gotten their attention before they head over to check it out. To their surprise, Steve, Bucky and his fellow surviving 107th Infantry Regiment have returned with some of Hydra’s weapons & tanks in their possession. Rogers then approaches Chester and says that he’s ready to receive some disciplinary action, to which Phillips tells him that it won’t be necessary. Shortly after Carter learns that our main man’s transponder got destroyed, Issue 1 ends with Barnes getting their fellow soldiers to cheer for Captain America.
After omitting a quick scene where Steve doesn’t attend a valor-themed medal awarding ceremony hosted by Senator Brandt (which is where Stan Lee’s cameo occurs), Issue 2 begins at the S.S.R.’s War Room where Rogers shares the specific points upon a European map that he managed to see while he was rescuing James. Afterwards, Chester tells Peggy to coordinate with MI6 in order to ultimately find Hydra’s main base while they begin to put some pressure onto Johann courtesy of Steve himself. Later at the Whip & Fiddle Pub, he tells the core members of the 107th that they’ll be returning to enemy territory in order to fight back against Hydra as all of them (including a previously unmentioned, at least in terms of these tie-in books, Jim Morita) agree to join him, especially Bucky who’s willing to follow the “little guy from Brooklyn who was too dumb not to run away from a fight”. The adaptation then omits a few scenes including a red-dressed Carter arriving at the pub to set up Rogers’ equipment testing meeting with Stark, Howard himself testing a piece of the otherworldly cube’s power from the ammo sample that Captain America brought back, followed by the tension placed upon Steve due to a minor character named Lorraine seducing him and Peggy walks in on him at that inopportune time. On a side note, that along with the kept-in airplane scene had a detail not included in the comic in which Rogers thought that Carter and Stark had some romantic feeling for each other (Specifically, Fondue). Later, Steve meets up with Howard at his lab as the latter provides him with some carbon polymer armor for him to wear. As for his new shield, Stark is about to present some options. Rogers then notices a circular shield and asks about it, but Howard says that it’s actually a prototype that’s made out of Vibranium which is stronger yet lighter than steel. Not only that, but it’s the rarest metal on Earth and it’s all they have of said metal. Just then, Peggy comes in before Rogers asks her what she thinks of his potential new shield. She then responds by firing a gun at him as it manages to block all of her shots, to which the adaptation then omits a minor detail where he presents Stark with an idea for his new outfit. From there, we have a montage of Captain America leading the Howling Commandos towards the decimation of Hydra’s grasp upon Europe from late 1943 to early 1944. Afterwards, Red Skull is furious towards his group’s mounting losses before he tells Arnim that they’re getting close to launching their globe-shaking offensive yet they can’t defeat “a simpleton with a shield”. As such, he wants Zola to finish their foe off soon.
We then shift to a later mission over by the Danube River where Steve and company have learned (from an communicative receiver that they’ve taken from Hydra, again revealed in the film) that Arnim is on a train that’s making its way through the mountain-filled region, yet they also discover from their intercepted transmission that it’s making its way through the area at a fast pace. Just then, the train arrives as Rogers, Bucky and Gabe proceed to zipline down onto it before it passes through. While Jones slowly makes his topside way towards the lead train, Captain America and Barnes are progressing from inside the cars. Suddenly, they get ambushed by a Hydra soldier armed with a pair of powerful cannons (as opposed to the movie where the duo gets separated and James initially faces a pair of enemy troopers wielding regular guns by himself). After the blast was powerful enough to disarm Steve of his shield along with creating a massive hole on the side of the train car, Arnim orders his soldier to finish their foe off. Bucky then picks the shield up and tries to retaliate, yet the opposing goon’s shots hit him with enough force to get him flung through the opening. Even though Rogers manages to finally take said fiend down, he fails to save Barnes in time who ends up falling towards the frozen riverside. Afterwards, Jones finally reaches the front of the train and captures Zola.
Later, Arnim is brought into the S.S.R.’s Interrogation Room where he’s then met upon by Chester who presents him with an encoded message that’s been sent to Washington, D.C. Specifically, it says that Zola is being sent to Switzerland due to him fully cooperating and providing some crucial information. Arnim then says that Johann will know that it’s false, yet Phillips tells him that he’s become a liability and that he still knows more about Schmidt than anyone else. Zola proceeds to mention that Johann thinks that he can walk amongst the Gods and that only the entire world will satisfy him, due to his plan’s own “sanity” providing no consequence since he’s targeting the entire world. After the adaptation omits a scene where Red Skull rallies his Hydra troops towards their devastating goal for the entire globe, we then shift to the remains of the Whip & Fiddle Pub where a depressed Steve is drinking just as he’s met upon by Carter (along with the comic leaving out a detail that the enhanced metabolism provided by the Super-Soldier serum prevents him from getting drunk). Rogers blames himself for not saving Bucky after his friend had constantly saved him in the past, to which Peggy then tells Rogers that his comrade greatly respected him and that he should allow his compatriot to have the proper dignity of his choice. He then says that he’s going after Schmidt and that he won’t stop until Hydra is completely wiped out, to which Carter then finishes his drink before assuring him that he won’t go through this by himself. Later on within the S.S.R.’s War Room, Chester shares his interrogation results on how Johann is delusional since he sees himself as a God who’s willing to wreck havoc upon the world to prove it. Howard also mentions that Schmidt has access to powers that’re beyond their own capabilities and that he’ll be able to wipe out the entire Eastern Seaboard in only an hour. When asked by Steve how much time they left (compared to Gabe in the film), Phillips says that they have less than a day. Fortunately, they’ve finally managed to locate Hydra’s base within the Alps. Even though Peggy says that they can’t just go right up to their enemy’s front door (as opposed to the movie where it’s Morita who says this), Rogers mentions how it’s exactly what they’re going to do.
From there, we transition to Captain America riding his motorcycle into the base before he’s eventually surrounded and captured. He’s then brought to Red Skull who admires his arrogance, but tells him that even he has limits. Johann then mentions how Abraham resented his “genius” despite giving him “everything” before he then asks Steve what makes him so special, to which Rogers simply exclaims “nothing” since he’s “just a kid from Brooklyn”. Just as Schmidt is about to finally exterminate him, the Allied Forces begin their invasion with both Chester and Carter making their way in alongside another group of troops. Back inside, a fellow soldier (specifically Falsworth in the movie) manages to return Captain America’s shield to him before he goes after Red Skull. Ultimately, the fiend manages to get inside his main bomber plane (which was called “Valkyrie”) and begins to take off as Steve is unable to catch up despite his enhanced speed. Fortunately, Phillips and Peggy arrive in one of Hydra’s cars in order to help him reach it. Just before he gets within range, Steve shares a kiss with Carter before she tells him that they’ll go dancing later. From there, he leaps onto one of the plane’s wheels before he finally makes his way inside.
The comic then omits an action scene where Rogers fights off some Hydra pilots who were going to ride specialized mini-bomb planes that were targeted for certain U.S. cities. He ultimately reaches the cockpit before he and Red Skull engage each other in a climatic fight. Eventually, Captain America uses his shield to hit Johann with enough force for him to get slammed into the container holding the otherworldly cube (finally given its name in this adaptation as the Tesseract), jarring it loose. Schmidt then grabs it before its vast power not only consumes him, but causes him to vanish in a blinding light. Afterwards, Steve reaches the controls and contacts the captured base as he tells Peggy that Red Skull has been killed (at least from his perspective), but he’s having some difficulties with the plane. She then asks for his coordinates in order to help him find a safe landing site, but Rogers says that his foe has locked the aircraft’s navigational system and that the plane has about 100 tons of explosives that’re heading for New York City. As such, he’s going to force the aircraft down towards the water. She then tries to tell him that they have enough time for them to find another way, yet he says that he’s in the middle of nowhere and that any hesitation will cost them the lives of several innocent civilians. She then offers to send some rescue ships out to find him, but he admits his doubt on them being able to reach him before he then says that they’ll need to delay their dance-filled date. Cater then tells him to meet her at the Stork Club next Saturday at 8pm, to which he then admits that he still doesn’t know how to dance. Suddenly, the plane crashes into the arctic and causes the transmission to get cut as she’s left in tearful silence. From there, the adaptation omits the celebratory London-based V-E Day which marked the end of World War II, the Howling Commandos having a drink in honor of the seemingly-deceased Captain America & Bucky, Howard’s expedition team discovering the Tesseract within the frosty ocean water and Peggy coming across Steve’s file while she and the rest of the team are taking their operational system down on a job well-done.
We then shift to Steve waking up to the sounds of a baseball game on the radio (a Philadelphia Phillies/Brooklyn Dodgers game, to be exact) and manages to recognize some details about the in-progress game before a female associate come in to check up on him. He then begins to suspect that something’s not right as he asks her where he’s at, to which the woman says that he’s in an NYC-based recovery room. However, he mentions that the baseball game on the radio occurred in May 1941 and that he actually attended that contest. As such, a pair of officials come in to subdue him. However, he forces them out of the fake room before he begins to take in the unfamiliar surroundings and proceeds to run outside. Several agents manage to chase after him before he reaches Times Square and sees loads of unfamiliar sights all around him. Just then, some S.H.I.E.L.D. agents surround him before he’s then approached by Director Nick Fury who tells him that they were trying to acclimate him into modern society since he was asleep (a.k.a. frozen in ice) for nearly seven decades. And so, the comic ends with Rogers letting it all sink it as he assures Nick that while he’ll be alright, he’s mainly glum due to him missing his date. The adaptation then leaves out a post-credits scene where Cap is in a 1940s style boxing facility as he repeatedly punches a punching bag before hitting it hard enough to snap it from its support, to which Fury then approaches him about an upcoming mission that sees them trying to save the world.
Finally, allow me to briefly mention this fourth issue of “Guidebook To The Marvel Cinematic Universe” . Published in January 2016, this went on to sell 5,896 copies. Not only does this include how the core characters were handled throughout the film along with some minor players, but it also includes the details for certain people that were available within “First Vengeance”. In addition, it also includes some information as to how they were originally fleshed out in the initial comics. Like the other guidebooks, this makes for a comfortable & informative read after you’ve read the initial mini-series along with the actual movie and is worth checking out.
Overall, this was a unique batch of comics that added plenty of character depth to the mainly entertaining movie via its mini-series while the adaptation was somewhat lacking yet still an enjoyable read. “First Vengeance” leans into its greatest strength in that it provides crucial background details to the film’s core characters. With Steve, it’s most likely that he admired his father Joseph for committing himself to the call of duty and country. It’s possible that another reason for his dad inspiring him to work his way into the military is that he would be making a difference for good upon the world, but it doesn’t really expand too much beyond what’s given on the page. Fortunately, him getting constantly beaten up by bullies just because of his frail figure can be seen as a major reason since he does mention his disdain for them in the film. In terms of that reasoning, it could be that he wants to take these so-called bigger men down a peg due to them believing that they can stand tall over weaker beings like him with no opposition at all. Either way, it succeeds in showing how much Rogers has had to endure in this area throughout his life. On a minor note, it was also interesting for us to see the early days of his artistic side since the movie does briefly show him drawing a performing monkey not too long after he was forced off the stage by the rowdy troops. Not much else to say about that detail or even about Rogers himself, so let’s get to how the mini-series fleshes out Bucky. It turns out that him saving Steve from a bully’s back alley beatdown wasn’t just exclusive to the film, since it was a similar incident to their past that inspired him to take action which led to them meeting each other and ultimately become good friends. Because Barnes didn’t have the physical struggles that his buddy had, he was able to provide his compadre with the proper training and drive that would serve as the necessary fire that Steve would need to combine with his own stubbornness that he got from his father in order to find that one fateful door of opportunity. Following their initial recruitment, we wouldn’t hear from James again until he and some key members of the 107th Infantry Regiment were captured during their failed encounter against Hydra. Even though he does get an illness during the battle which would get worse while he’s imprisoned, it was also the reason as to why he was beaten up by a Hydra official and suffered contusions & broken ribs as a result. He must’ve been young enough to heal from his medical ordeals or he somehow also received medical attention which seems implausible given how Hydra started off as a division of the Nazis. As such, the latter would be seen as unlikely due to the ruthlessness of the featured fictitious group here as well as the real life group was. After all, he’s physically well enough for his eventually escape alongside Captain America and especially for their subsequent missions prior to his fateful fall. Either way, his given backstory serves the mini-series pretty well as he’s presented without anything severely major hampering throughout the entire ordeal. Next up, we have Johann and how he initially worked his way into Hitler’s good graces. It’s fitting that he confronts the infamous Führer at an opera that performed a composition by Wagner since he does share a notion that was brought up in the prior movie “Thor” since just like Jane Foster, he believes that there’s some definitive truth to be found within the fantastical. Unlike her who was more interested in discovering what wonders could exist out in the vast unknown, he wants to take whatever ancient power could possibly exist in order to weaponize it against those he sees as beneath him. While Kaufmann closes his opportunistic door since he wants to shield Adolf from the seemingly farfetched, the Gruppenführer and his S.A. ultimately pay with their lives once Himmler allows Schmidt to join the Führer’s inner circle as part of the infamous leader’s power consolidation. This would also lead to the eventual Red Skull coming across Arnim and bringing him in as his scientific right-hand man, yet their first meeting here also explains a moment in the movie that shows why Zola is partially in fear of him. It’s mainly noticeable following Johann’s execution of the visiting Nazi officials who discover that he intends to overtake Hitler’s own evil empire as after he utters “Hail Hydra” following a few present troopers saying the infamous phrase as well, there is some worry upon his face as it draws back to the aforementioned initial blood-soaked meet. As there’s not much from this section to mention about him, we then move on to Abraham. In terms of interesting details about him, this mini-series expounds on his bunker-based talk with Steve by showing us how he wound up within Schmidt’s iron-clad grasp. Due to his lengthy work upon improving the human body through his own synthetic proteins, it got the Nazi’s attention as Johann would imprison him in order to make him work on said serum while essentially sending his family to suffer a gruesome demise. It wouldn’t be until Agent 13 comes along that he gets brought into a far-more noble opportunity to use his scientific work in order to combat the wrongs that were done to people like him. Between the movie and this mini-series, it’s never explained as to how long Erskine had been working on his eventual Super-Soldier serum compared to when his research ultimately came under the Third Reich’s eyes. Either way, he does admit regret towards creating it during his rescue which ties into everything having some kind of negative consequence, even though he’ll get his chance to use his creation for a better and far-more nobler being. As such, it’ll let him strive for what all human beings should still do with whatever noble endeavor that they hope to accomplish which is to just do the best that you can. With Howard, he was already a budding tech genius before Phillips meets up with him in order to bring his burgeoning technical prowess into the fray. Despite the fact that America wouldn’t get dragged into the global conflict for more than a year at that point, the news reel as well as a chance encounter with a pair of Hydra secret agents pretending to be police officers would open his eyes as to how serious things are getting with the growing evil looming over the world. In addition, the mini-series also allows for Stark to provide some kind of assistance towards our Sentinel of Liberty which ultimately becomes wholesomely helpful compared to the complex and somewhat combative partnership that Steve will ultimately have with Howard’s superhero son. Either way, Stark’s setup was fairly short yet was still productive for what it was. As for Chester, he’s already fully-entrenched in the U.S. Military given his official status and has probably seen enough similarly weird things during his entire career. Given how he’s a supporting character, he doesn’t have any major arcs in either here or the film yet he still provides a respectfully seriousness that’s delivered in just the right way and makes him pleasant to the reader. Moving on to Peggy, her main contribution to his mini-series is that she’s been undercover within Hydra for some time and had been secretly providing crucial information on Hydra to the Allied Forces. While she would receive some proper character development within the film itself, she manages to shine within her major spotlight time that would be the second half of Issue #3 (a.k.a. Part 6 of the digital version). She’s tough enough to hold her own against the opposing Hydra agents while also calm and caring enough to inform Abraham of the cruel fate that has been cast upon his family. Either way, it’s a solid introduction to a wonderful female character which adds some spice to her cinematic progression. Finally, let’s briefly get to the Howling Commandos. Even though they must remain imprisoned within a specific Hydra weapons factory in order for Captain America to come along and bust them out, their featured issue allowed them to show the beginning of their forging comradery as they manage to display some resourcefulness in order to get some gruesome payback against Lohmer. Despite that being the extant of their time in this mini-series, their introduction was somewhat brief yet was only a small spark of the rebellious flame that Steve would ultimately light for them. As for the last half of Issue #4 (a.k.a. the 8th and final digital chapter), it reunites Phillips, Erskine, Stark and Carter as they set the groundwork for “Project: Rebirth” and it intentionally keeps Abraham vague as to why he doesn’t approve any of Chester’s top candidates since it elaborate his reasoning within the film itself. It’s ultimately fairly short, yet still remains effective enough for what it is. Tying all of these things together is an intercut narrative of Captain America fighting through several Hydra soldiers before he and the Howling Commandos reach where they think Red Skull is at. More than likely, it takes place after the montage of these men dismantling Hydra’s various weapons factories but before the fateful mountain range-based train mission over by the Danube River. Despite Hydra’s ever-piling losses by this point, it makes that Johann wouldn’t want to confront our heroes at that moment in time since he would like to get his grand American-based bombing scheme to be fully operational fairly soon. All-in-all, this mini-series excelled at being a supplemental piece that complimented the movie that it’s tied into since all of the film’s main players get plenty of things to do away from the featured cinematic adventure, the pacing & action were well-handled and the artwork allowed its main narrative to florish as well as they can be. After all, the various artists do their best to match Ross and Isanove’s style as the transition between the different works never feel overly jarring which help the reader maintain a steady reading pace for them to maintain engage in the entire story. As for the two-part adaptation, it mainly does a good job in following the movie’s plot. As far as the scenes that were left out of this translation, a handful of them could’ve made a case to be reinstated if even within a trimmed up fashion. One that should’ve been left within the comic was when the Nazi officials realize that Schmidt has every intention of overtaking Hitler’s own world-conquering ambitions before their get blasted out of existence, which would also mean reinstating the scene where the Tesseract gets installed into Hydra’s weapons and powers them up. As for what is actually here, the characters are presented within their proper progressions, the artwork is reasonably good throughout and the narrative’s main details are delivered within a steady reading pace. It delivers enough of what was initially on the big screen while maintaining the bygone Golden Age feel of the time period that it takes place in, complete with an engaging group of players, fairly-well displayed action and a familiar black-and-white feel that’s still brings a good impact. If you get the chance, then check these particular pieces out for a reading session that you could do all day.
Next Time: We’ve seen a group of remarkable people not just in film, but also within the comics that were associated with them. As a familiar and mischievous being makes their grand return alongside some otherworldly terror for a battle that can’t be fought by regular beings, those previously featured figures will need to come together in order to save the Big Apple and the world. Our four-paneled view of Phase One concludes as we delve into a certain batch of books that’re all about “The Avengers”.
Captain America (created by Joe Simon & Jack Kirby) and all related characters are owned by Marvel Comics.
