Broken Frontier

The long-anticipated mini-series by author David Morrell (First Blood) arrives, with a bizarre though not entirely unique take on the Captain America concept.

Originally, this series was meant to be Captain America: The End , a part of Marvel’s theme-based “What If…?” canon of tales to explore what certain writers would do if they were allowed to write any particular character’s last story.  However, after the recent death of the good Captain in Captain America #25, the series was renamed to reflect its lack of connection to that headline event.  Instead, Captain America: The Chosen is a stand-alone mini, though surprisingly, it could easily have served as the official continuation of Cap #25.

The story revolves around a soldier in Iraq, fighting the good fight for America, missing his wife and kids, and coming to terms with the horrors of war -- the grey areas, the inability to distinguish friend from foe from neutral, the panic, the disorganization, the fear.  Then Cap appears, and he appears in a very…off-putting way, one which harkens back to those more propaganda-laden days of his WWII adventures, though an explanation for this is given by the end of the issue.  Unfortunately, it’s not the most captivating of concepts.

SPOILERS IN THIS PARAGRAPH ONLY: What happens is this - Cap shelters the soldier and helps rescue him from enemy fire.  In doing so, he also rescues a pair of innocent civilians.  Then Cap disappears, and the soldier is informed that he alone rescued the civilians, and that he’s soon to receive a commendation for his efforts.  Cut to: a laboratory in an undisclosed location, where Cap lays semi-conscious, hooked up to tubes and near-death.  It seems the spirit of Captain America can now travel, and be embodied by those most in need.  Which basically makes Captain America…Captain Universe.  Minus the cosmic stuff.

It’s an interesting idea, though a bit heavy-handed.  Any story that raises Cap beyond that of an actual character makes me cringe, as anything beyond that is too mindlessly patriotic.  Sure, the point will be that the spirit of Cap goes beyond borders and nationalities  and that it’s about freedom.  But he’s Captain America.  So to put him in a position where he acts as more than a man, or at least a man that was possessed of more than flesh and blood and ephemeral idealism, is to claim a boundary and nationalistic stance under the guise of having none.  Which doesn’t work.

The idea may be salvaged in future issues if Morrell chooses soldiers of other nationalities to be imbibed of Cap’s sensibilities, though even then, that merely paints a picture that all others should act and be possessed by the ideals of America, which is again too strong a message, especially in these days of America’s utter disgrace on the international front (due to said overbearing idealism, I might add!).  Morrell’s script, though, is very well done, and reads fluidly and naturally - a rare occurrence for a novelist’s first comic.

The art by Mitch Breitweiser is drop-dead gorgeous, and is highly reminiscent of the look and ambiance Cap received when John Cassaday was aboard during the star-spangled icon's previous Marvel Knights outing.  The look holds a gritty photorealistic quality to it, superimposed atop a more classic comic book artistry a la Trevor Hairsine and Dougie Braithwaite.

Dismissing all else, I was very impressed by the quality of Captain America: The Chosen ; it showcases high production values, and obviously was crafted by talented individuals.   The story, unfortunately, holds too many possible quandaries, and ultimately the concept won’t pull its own weight beyond a single outing or two.  Nevertheless, I’ll try for another few chapters, as this has massive potential, and I’m curious to see if Morrell does indeed fall into any of the pitfalls I can’t help but predict from this first issue alone, or if perhaps he’ll adroitly sidestep them all and deliver something honestly worthwhile.