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Captain America: The Chosen
#1-2
Book Released: 26 Sept 2007
Posted 18 Oct 2007
Writer: David Morrell
Artist: Mitch Breitweiser
Letters: Cory Petit
Colors: Brian Reber
Publisher: Marvel Publishing, Inc.
3.80 out of 5 Stars
Reviewed by J. W. DeBolt Jr.
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In Afghanistan, Corporal James Newman is living the hardship of
active combat. We see the war from his eyes. He knows why he’s
there: “If I help make this country safe, I hope to help make
America safe.” Yet it is a far from easy task. The endless
fighting has drained him, causing him to despair. He misses his family
— including a newborn son. With minimal support — his wife
had to buy and send him body armor — and being unsure of his
enemy — which hides among the populace — Newman is
reaching the limits of his strength to fight.
“Dark and moody, Mitch
Breitweiser’s art
matches the serious tone of the story. I would purchase the rest of
the series based on the art alone.
”
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Then, improbably, he sees Captain America, who offers words of
encouragement and fights at his side. Cap helps him rescue a G.I. who
is pinned down in the middle of a firefight, speaking the
soldier’s mantra “Courage. Honor. Loyalty.
Sacrifice.” After that rescue, and helping several more soldiers
in battle, Newman reunited with his unit — which saw no trace of
Cap and think the corporal is just imagining things in the stress of
battle. But whether Cap was physically present or not, his spirit was
enough to carry Corporal Newman through the crisis of confidence.
Corporal Newman’s unit is next sent in to a cave to locate
and destroy a terrorist weapons cache. The interior confines cause
Newman to flash back to his childhood to a point when he was scared,
trapped in a junkyard car trunk. With his fear of the cave’s
confines drawing in around him, he and his team locate the cache, but
they also find a terrorist there who throws a grenade. The explosion
brings part of the roof down, trapping all but Newman. He begins to
try to dig everyone out, but is almost overcome with fear and despair.
At that point, Cap appears to him again. He reminds Newman of his
inner strength — how he saved himself through his persistence
and by not giving up. Cap gets Newman to call upon the same inner
strength in these circumstances, and Newman finds the will and
wherewithal to dig the men out.
We learn that Cap himself is in the lab where he was created, on a
table, hooked up to life support and other, unknown, machines. He
tells the corporal that he is dying.
This story may take place just after Cap was shot and before he
died of his wounds. The scientists trying to keep him alive are
apparently doing something else, something involving the transfer of
consciousness or at least telepathy. Perhaps the government is trying
to get one last bit of usefulness out of their investment before they
squeeze it dry.
Where writer David Morrell (Creepers, Nightscape) is
going with this is unclear. He has told the same tale twice with
separate facts — the soldier finding his inner strength through
Cap’s inspiration. So what more can be said? We do have the
mystery surrounding Cap’s circumstances — how did he get
to the lab? What is to become of him? How long has he got to
live? Is this after he was shot? Is this the real Cap? At
one point, Cap is in uniform on his lab table, and at another, he
isn’t. Is that artistic license? Or are there two Caps?
At one point, he seems to be with S.H.I.E.L.D. — is that Nick
Fury from the back? But at another point he’s in a different
room.
We do get the hint of another subplot when the artist gives us a
close-up of a technician with the cryptic caption, “If you get
close to Captain America, you’re one step closer to the
President.”
The first two issues of this six-issue series give precious little
information. This appears to be mainly about the fittingly named
Newman becoming a new and more confident man.
The art by Mitch Breitweiser (Annhilation, Ultimate
Fantastic Four), however, is outstanding. Dark and moody, it
matches the serious tone of the story. I would purchase the rest of
the series based on the art alone. Some of the best panels: the
expression on the face of the terrorist in the cave as he pulls out
the grenade pin; Cap handing Newman his helmet with the photo of
Newman’s baby in the helmet strap; the central three panels of
the scene where Cap lifts a humungous piece of debris and hurls it
into a rooftop sniper nest across the street. The painterly style
gives the explosions and action an ethereal quality, perhaps echoing
the dreamlike environment surrounding Newman. No one else can see Cap;
Newman questions his own sanity.
Perhaps this is series will result in Newman becoming the new
Captain America. The job has already been turned down by a couple of
people. This may be Newman’s testing prior to his draft.
According to the author, the first issue sold out but is available
in a second printing. The third issue comes out this month (October)
and a hardbound version of the complete series will be sold in June
2008.
—CCdC—
Cover image used without explicit permission in accordance with the "Fair Use" provision of US copyright law.
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