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Ultimate Comics: Captain America #1-4
Ultimate Comics: Captain America
Captain America meets his ultimate nemesis: the Captain America of the Vietnam War! As new enemies face off, old secrets from the Super-Soldier project are revealed. From the superstar Wolverine: Weapon X creative team of Jason Aaron and Ron Garney, get ready for a hard-hitting story of one man's quest to serve his country - and the sacrifices he must make.
Collecting: Ultimate Comics Captain America 1-4
Collecting: Ultimate Comics Captain America 1-4
112 pages, Hardcover
First published June 8, 2011
6 people are currently reading
224 people want to read
About the author
Jason Aaron
2,356 books1,680 followersJason Aaron grew up in a small town in Alabama. His cousin, Gustav Hasford, who wrote the semi-autobiographical novel The Short-Timers, on which the feature film Full Metal Jacket was based, was a large influence on Aaron. Aaron decided he wanted to write comics as a child, and though his father was skeptical when Aaron informed him of this aspiration, his mother took Aaron to drug stores, where he would purchase books from spinner racks, some of which he still owns today.
Aaron's career in comics began in 2001 when he won a Marvel Comics talent search contest with an eight-page Wolverine back-up story script. The story, which was published in Wolverine #175 (June 2002), gave him the opportunity to pitch subsequent ideas to editors.
In 2006, Aaron made a blind submission to DC/Vertigo, who published his first major work, the Vietnam War story The Other Side which was nominated for an Eisner Award for Best Miniseries, and which Aaron regards as the "second time" he broke into the industry.
Following this, Vertigo asked him to pitch other ideas, which led to the series Scalped, a creator-owned series set on the fictional Prairie Rose Indian Reservation and published by DC/Vertigo.
In 2007, Aaron wrote Ripclaw: Pilot Season for Top Cow Productions. Later that year, Marvel editor Axel Alonso, who was impressed by The Other Side and Scalped, hired Aaron to write issues of Wolverine, Black Panther and eventually, an extended run on Ghost Rider that began in April 2008. His continued work on Black Panther also included a tie-in to the company-wide crossover storyline along with a "Secret Invasion" with David Lapham in 2009.
In January 2008, he signed an exclusive contract with Marvel, though it would not affect his work on Scalped. Later that July, he wrote the Penguin issue of The Joker's Asylum.
After a 4-issue stint on Wolverine in 2007, Aaron returned to the character with the ongoing series Wolverine: Weapon X, launched to coincide with the feature film X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Aaron commented, "With Wolverine: Weapon X we'll be trying to mix things up like that from arc to arc, so the first arc is a typical sort of black ops story but the second arc will jump right into the middle of a completely different genre," In 2010, the series was relaunched once again as simply Wolverine. He followed this with his current run on Thor: God of Thunder.
Aaron's career in comics began in 2001 when he won a Marvel Comics talent search contest with an eight-page Wolverine back-up story script. The story, which was published in Wolverine #175 (June 2002), gave him the opportunity to pitch subsequent ideas to editors.
In 2006, Aaron made a blind submission to DC/Vertigo, who published his first major work, the Vietnam War story The Other Side which was nominated for an Eisner Award for Best Miniseries, and which Aaron regards as the "second time" he broke into the industry.
Following this, Vertigo asked him to pitch other ideas, which led to the series Scalped, a creator-owned series set on the fictional Prairie Rose Indian Reservation and published by DC/Vertigo.
In 2007, Aaron wrote Ripclaw: Pilot Season for Top Cow Productions. Later that year, Marvel editor Axel Alonso, who was impressed by The Other Side and Scalped, hired Aaron to write issues of Wolverine, Black Panther and eventually, an extended run on Ghost Rider that began in April 2008. His continued work on Black Panther also included a tie-in to the company-wide crossover storyline along with a "Secret Invasion" with David Lapham in 2009.
In January 2008, he signed an exclusive contract with Marvel, though it would not affect his work on Scalped. Later that July, he wrote the Penguin issue of The Joker's Asylum.
After a 4-issue stint on Wolverine in 2007, Aaron returned to the character with the ongoing series Wolverine: Weapon X, launched to coincide with the feature film X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Aaron commented, "With Wolverine: Weapon X we'll be trying to mix things up like that from arc to arc, so the first arc is a typical sort of black ops story but the second arc will jump right into the middle of a completely different genre," In 2010, the series was relaunched once again as simply Wolverine. He followed this with his current run on Thor: God of Thunder.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 81 reviews
July 12, 2011
A brief introduction to MY THREE CAPS (all 3 sitting in a diner in Heartland, USA):
Captain America #1 (Steve Rogers): iconic, idealized version of the best aspects of America, created to be the perfect American soldier and a symbol of American freedom and decency to the world. After politely turning down your offer of a beer, this Cap takes another bite of “Mom’s” apple pie and comments, “Golly Ma’am, this here is some really swell pie.”
Captain America #2 (Ultimate universe Steve Rogers): iconic, grizzled hero of World War II who passionately loves America, just as passionately hates France, and rains a torrent of ass-kickings on the enemies of America because ‘the U.S. may not be perfect, but we’re more perfect than you.’ After turning down your offer of some apple pie, this Cap takes a big swig of beer and bitch-slaps some war protestor in the next booth for bad-mouthing America.
Captain America #3 (Ultimate universe Frank Simpson and Cap during Vietnam): a pill-popping, steroid-addled, cyber-soldier who had his love for America spent in the corpses of the 1000’s he was ordered to kill in Vietnam, passionately hates America (not sure how he feels about France) and wants Cap #2 to see the TRUTH about the country he serves so faithfully. After throwing your offered apple pie across the room, this Cap kills an American soldier sitting in the next booth, grabs his bottle of Jack Daniels off the table and pisses on a photo of Richard Nixon holding the American Flag.
Well forget about Cappy #1 as he is pretty much gone and living in the Old Anachronisms Home. We all can have different opinions of this and I am not making any judgments, but I do think it is time we accept that old Cap is gone. This story is all about Cap #2 (now, simply Captain America) and Cap #3 (aka Nuke aka angry bad guy aka Frank Simpson).
SoDukeNuke’m (long thought dead) turns up peddling super-soldier serum to the North Koreans until Cap shows up to stop him…..and proceeds to get the flag-loving snot beat out of him by Mr. AngryAtAmerica. I mean Cap gets P..U..M..M..E..L..E..D like a narc at a biker rally.
So after waking up bruised and battered and a wee bit pissed, Cap goes after Mr. Flagface, which, of course, is exactly what Nuke wanted. You see, he wants to teach Cap the error of his ways before he bleeds him. He wants Cap to “break” and see America as the evil, imperialist empire that Nuke believes it is. So he takes fun little torture-filled history lesson through some of America’s darker deeds.
I will leave it there and let you discover how it ends, but it is certainly worth picking up. The writing was excellent, the plot was well thought out and the art was terrific. I do want to give the writers some special kudos for avoiding one pitfall had the potential to be a real disaster (at least for me).
This story, when you boil it down to its essence, is really a classic confrontation between the soldier that “still believes” and the soldier who has been “irrevocably disillusioned” as a result of the things he has done for God and Country. In framing the contrast between Cap and Nuke, the writers initially have Cap looking A LOT like a Government stooge who blindly follows the “party line” in his unshakeable allegiance to America. Despite how much I really liked the rest of the story, this would have been a complete miss for me if they had stuck with that image of Cap.
Fortunately, and without spoiling the story, the writers were able to flesh out “who Cap is” in the climactic scene and I thought they did a terrific job with it. All my fears were put to rest and I became a fan of their version of Ultimate Cap. He is a compelling, nuanced character that I will be interested in reading more about in the future. Of course, I still love Cappy #1 too, but after over 30 years with him I am happy to see him get an update. 4.0 stars. Recommended!!
Captain America #1 (Steve Rogers): iconic, idealized version of the best aspects of America, created to be the perfect American soldier and a symbol of American freedom and decency to the world. After politely turning down your offer of a beer, this Cap takes another bite of “Mom’s” apple pie and comments, “Golly Ma’am, this here is some really swell pie.”
Captain America #2 (Ultimate universe Steve Rogers): iconic, grizzled hero of World War II who passionately loves America, just as passionately hates France, and rains a torrent of ass-kickings on the enemies of America because ‘the U.S. may not be perfect, but we’re more perfect than you.’ After turning down your offer of some apple pie, this Cap takes a big swig of beer and bitch-slaps some war protestor in the next booth for bad-mouthing America.
Captain America #3 (Ultimate universe Frank Simpson and Cap during Vietnam): a pill-popping, steroid-addled, cyber-soldier who had his love for America spent in the corpses of the 1000’s he was ordered to kill in Vietnam, passionately hates America (not sure how he feels about France) and wants Cap #2 to see the TRUTH about the country he serves so faithfully. After throwing your offered apple pie across the room, this Cap kills an American soldier sitting in the next booth, grabs his bottle of Jack Daniels off the table and pisses on a photo of Richard Nixon holding the American Flag.
Well forget about Cappy #1 as he is pretty much gone and living in the Old Anachronisms Home. We all can have different opinions of this and I am not making any judgments, but I do think it is time we accept that old Cap is gone. This story is all about Cap #2 (now, simply Captain America) and Cap #3 (aka Nuke aka angry bad guy aka Frank Simpson).
So
So after waking up bruised and battered and a wee bit pissed, Cap goes after Mr. Flagface, which, of course, is exactly what Nuke wanted. You see, he wants to teach Cap the error of his ways before he bleeds him. He wants Cap to “break” and see America as the evil, imperialist empire that Nuke believes it is. So he takes fun little torture-filled history lesson through some of America’s darker deeds.
I will leave it there and let you discover how it ends, but it is certainly worth picking up. The writing was excellent, the plot was well thought out and the art was terrific. I do want to give the writers some special kudos for avoiding one pitfall had the potential to be a real disaster (at least for me).
This story, when you boil it down to its essence, is really a classic confrontation between the soldier that “still believes” and the soldier who has been “irrevocably disillusioned” as a result of the things he has done for God and Country. In framing the contrast between Cap and Nuke, the writers initially have Cap looking A LOT like a Government stooge who blindly follows the “party line” in his unshakeable allegiance to America. Despite how much I really liked the rest of the story, this would have been a complete miss for me if they had stuck with that image of Cap.
Fortunately, and without spoiling the story, the writers were able to flesh out “who Cap is” in the climactic scene and I thought they did a terrific job with it. All my fears were put to rest and I became a fan of their version of Ultimate Cap. He is a compelling, nuanced character that I will be interested in reading more about in the future. Of course, I still love Cappy #1 too, but after over 30 years with him I am happy to see him get an update. 4.0 stars. Recommended!!
May 22, 2019
3.5 stars
"Peace and security don't come easy . . . and wars are never pretty, no matter the era. But we do what we can, for the greater good." -- Steve 'Captain America' Rogers, between punches to the villain
I guess the Ultimate Marvel imprint is sort of like DC's Earth One, where established characters are reimagined, updated, and/or tweaked - you'll recognize him or her, but something is just a little bit different. Here we have a story that, if it was a feature film, would be a 'Quentin Tarantino & Brian DePalma production.' Get ready for a dark, gritty, uber-violent, and profanity-laden Cap adventure.
During a U.S./U.K. secret mission into North Korea (related to that country's military attempting to duplicate the Super Solider formula) Cap encounters the hulking and very powerful Frank Simpson. Simpson - earlier given a similar formula, though it produced psychosis - was briefly put into action as 'Captain America' by the U.S. government during the Vietnam Conflict (as Steve Rogers was still hibernating in ice from his WWII days) before walking away in disgust and simply disappearing.
After being on the losing end of a severely knockdown, drag-out fight (the only type in this volume, actually - bloodshed and bone crunch galore) Cap pursues Simpson into the jungles of Cambodia. What happens right after Cap is captured involves copious amounts of implied and depicted physical and mental torture with also a fair amount of bloodshed. This is one extremely graphic rough-and-tumble tale involving pain, but it's done about as tastefully as possible given the subject matter.
"Peace and security don't come easy . . . and wars are never pretty, no matter the era. But we do what we can, for the greater good." -- Steve 'Captain America' Rogers, between punches to the villain
I guess the Ultimate Marvel imprint is sort of like DC's Earth One, where established characters are reimagined, updated, and/or tweaked - you'll recognize him or her, but something is just a little bit different. Here we have a story that, if it was a feature film, would be a 'Quentin Tarantino & Brian DePalma production.' Get ready for a dark, gritty, uber-violent, and profanity-laden Cap adventure.
During a U.S./U.K. secret mission into North Korea (related to that country's military attempting to duplicate the Super Solider formula) Cap encounters the hulking and very powerful Frank Simpson. Simpson - earlier given a similar formula, though it produced psychosis - was briefly put into action as 'Captain America' by the U.S. government during the Vietnam Conflict (as Steve Rogers was still hibernating in ice from his WWII days) before walking away in disgust and simply disappearing.
After being on the losing end of a severely knockdown, drag-out fight (the only type in this volume, actually - bloodshed and bone crunch galore) Cap pursues Simpson into the jungles of Cambodia. What happens right after Cap is captured involves copious amounts of implied and depicted physical and mental torture with also a fair amount of bloodshed. This is one extremely graphic rough-and-tumble tale involving pain, but it's done about as tastefully as possible given the subject matter.
September 17, 2018
What's interesting about this series is that Aaron took a concept a lot of ignorant, MCU only, Marvel fans misunderstand about Captain America.
Captain America fought in the last war Americans collectively agree we entered for the right reasons. Sure, some of it was still steeped in selfishness but it's largely believed that we stepped in because of the human rights violations. WWII is not Vietnam, a highly debated war. Captain America wasn't involved in this war and he was unfrozen at a time when there was a lot of public protest in this country.
Sure, you had some ignorant conservative writers writing him as a racist, xenophobic patriot. There's an arc in Theater of War I had to skip completely because it made me nauseous. But, what's important to remember about Captain America (and what a lot of people seem to misunderstand): Captain America doesn't stand for America as it is; he stands for what it could be. Steve sticks up for the little guy, for the downtrodden and the oppressed. The son of Irish immigrants that grew up in a poor neighborhood, he knows America isn't perfect. That's where people get lost.
616 Steve has a history of speaking out against the unjust policies of the government and even put up the stars and stripes and went as Nomad for a while there. Steve isn't a blind, government lapdog.
I preface this review with that so I can say: Ults Steve has quite a few decades less of history. We're essentially seeing his first days in the future and he, unlike 616, appears to believe in America blindly. He's every white military supporter with a pair of patriotic balls handing from the back of his pick up truck. He goes to church every week, expresses some views that skew just a little racist and he behaves how those ignorant of the comics believe him to behave. That's not quite a slight against Aaron but more a sign of just how different Ults is from 616.
In this comic, we get Steve coming into contact with a super soldier that realized he was being used by the US and turned against them. He was the perfect soldier but his viewpoint changed after seeing how corrupt the government was. In response, he used his blood to help empower the people he'd been sent to harm. He then tries to force Steve to come around to his point of view. It's a twisted arc, some of the methods he resorts to are just abhorrent, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't intrigued. It was an interesting concept and moderately frustrated that Steve appeared to shut it all out.
In the end, we see that Steve wasn't completely unaffected and there's that's almost... compelling(?) about this version of Steve. He's the most stubborn and the gruffest of all the Steves but he finds himself in situations that lay him lower than any other version I've seen in the films or other universes.
So, it's a very, very, tentative recommend. The execution wasn't perfect but this is a story I found very interesting.
Captain America fought in the last war Americans collectively agree we entered for the right reasons. Sure, some of it was still steeped in selfishness but it's largely believed that we stepped in because of the human rights violations. WWII is not Vietnam, a highly debated war. Captain America wasn't involved in this war and he was unfrozen at a time when there was a lot of public protest in this country.
Sure, you had some ignorant conservative writers writing him as a racist, xenophobic patriot. There's an arc in Theater of War I had to skip completely because it made me nauseous. But, what's important to remember about Captain America (and what a lot of people seem to misunderstand): Captain America doesn't stand for America as it is; he stands for what it could be. Steve sticks up for the little guy, for the downtrodden and the oppressed. The son of Irish immigrants that grew up in a poor neighborhood, he knows America isn't perfect. That's where people get lost.
616 Steve has a history of speaking out against the unjust policies of the government and even put up the stars and stripes and went as Nomad for a while there. Steve isn't a blind, government lapdog.
I preface this review with that so I can say: Ults Steve has quite a few decades less of history. We're essentially seeing his first days in the future and he, unlike 616, appears to believe in America blindly. He's every white military supporter with a pair of patriotic balls handing from the back of his pick up truck. He goes to church every week, expresses some views that skew just a little racist and he behaves how those ignorant of the comics believe him to behave. That's not quite a slight against Aaron but more a sign of just how different Ults is from 616.
In this comic, we get Steve coming into contact with a super soldier that realized he was being used by the US and turned against them. He was the perfect soldier but his viewpoint changed after seeing how corrupt the government was. In response, he used his blood to help empower the people he'd been sent to harm. He then tries to force Steve to come around to his point of view. It's a twisted arc, some of the methods he resorts to are just abhorrent, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't intrigued. It was an interesting concept and moderately frustrated that Steve appeared to shut it all out.
In the end, we see that Steve wasn't completely unaffected and there's that's almost... compelling(?) about this version of Steve. He's the most stubborn and the gruffest of all the Steves but he finds himself in situations that lay him lower than any other version I've seen in the films or other universes.
So, it's a very, very, tentative recommend. The execution wasn't perfect but this is a story I found very interesting.
December 28, 2016
Gritty, stark, and edgy, this is The Ultimate Universe Steve Rogers one step behind a disillusioned super-soldier of the 1970s.
July 3, 2011
Marvel’s Ultimate line of comics was a great idea. With their original titles showing their age and groaning under the weight of decades of stories, a reboot of some type was needed. But if you just blow up your existing continuity and start over like DC does every six months or so, then you anger the fan boys and ignore the legacy of the characters. Launching a second line that would reboot and update the biggest names in the Marvel universe would attract new fans who could just jump right in and allow needed updates to happen without losing the original history either.
So instead of radioactive spider, Peter Parker gets bitten by a genetically engineered spider. The Fantastic Four get their powers from an experiment in teleportation instead of being bombarded by cosmic rays while trying to beat the Soviets into space.
Where Marvel and the creators of these new titles got really clever is that they didn’t feel the need to just update old stories. They put new twists on things. For example, there’s still a Dark Phoenix storyline in the Ultimate X-Men books, but it’s both completely different yet oddly similar to the classic Uncanny X-Men storyline. The original Nick Fury is a one-eyed cigar chewing old white guy wearing a bodysuit with white gloves. The Ultimate Nick Fury is a one-eyed black guy in a leather trench coat modeled on Samuel L. Jackson. (And Jackson is now playing Nick Fury in the new Marvel movies.) So even if you know the Marvel stories, the Ultimate line is full of surprises.
One the best examples of how the Ultimate universe is kind of a funhouse mirror of the old Marvel universe is with Captain America. The original Cap is an icon, respected and revered by most of the other heroes, and he manages to be a symbol of the best of America that is bigger than politics and government. The Ultimate Captain America is still a legendary hero of World War II, but he’s also kind of a grumpy old bastard with right wing tendencies. (In the afterward of this this book, there’s a line that creator Mark Millar said that Ultimate Cap looks like Brad Pitt but smells like your grandpa.)
Another twist to the Captain America mythos is brought into this collection. In the original recipe Marvel books, the character known as Nuke was a patriotic but psychotic and drug addicted killer used with disastrous results by the US government. In Ultimate world, the character is Frank Simpson, a patriot who undergoes a form of the super-soldier treatment. He was sent to Vietnam were he killed thousands under orders, but then he became disgusted and pulled a Colonel Kurtz and then vanished for decades.
When Simpson starts trying to sell a super soldier serum based on his blood to North Korea, he clashes with Captain America, and Cap gets the shit kicked out of him. Later when Cap follows him back to a stronghold in southeast Asia, Simpson captures and tortures Cap while regaling him with the dark history of the US while Cap was frozen after World War II. Simpson believes that America is inherently corrupt and evil, and he desperately wants to break Captain America.
This was some great storytelling and a nice way to flesh out the Ultimate Cap as well as introducing a new version of one of my favorite villains.
So instead of radioactive spider, Peter Parker gets bitten by a genetically engineered spider. The Fantastic Four get their powers from an experiment in teleportation instead of being bombarded by cosmic rays while trying to beat the Soviets into space.
Where Marvel and the creators of these new titles got really clever is that they didn’t feel the need to just update old stories. They put new twists on things. For example, there’s still a Dark Phoenix storyline in the Ultimate X-Men books, but it’s both completely different yet oddly similar to the classic Uncanny X-Men storyline. The original Nick Fury is a one-eyed cigar chewing old white guy wearing a bodysuit with white gloves. The Ultimate Nick Fury is a one-eyed black guy in a leather trench coat modeled on Samuel L. Jackson. (And Jackson is now playing Nick Fury in the new Marvel movies.) So even if you know the Marvel stories, the Ultimate line is full of surprises.
One the best examples of how the Ultimate universe is kind of a funhouse mirror of the old Marvel universe is with Captain America. The original Cap is an icon, respected and revered by most of the other heroes, and he manages to be a symbol of the best of America that is bigger than politics and government. The Ultimate Captain America is still a legendary hero of World War II, but he’s also kind of a grumpy old bastard with right wing tendencies. (In the afterward of this this book, there’s a line that creator Mark Millar said that Ultimate Cap looks like Brad Pitt but smells like your grandpa.)
Another twist to the Captain America mythos is brought into this collection. In the original recipe Marvel books, the character known as Nuke was a patriotic but psychotic and drug addicted killer used with disastrous results by the US government. In Ultimate world, the character is Frank Simpson, a patriot who undergoes a form of the super-soldier treatment. He was sent to Vietnam were he killed thousands under orders, but then he became disgusted and pulled a Colonel Kurtz and then vanished for decades.
When Simpson starts trying to sell a super soldier serum based on his blood to North Korea, he clashes with Captain America, and Cap gets the shit kicked out of him. Later when Cap follows him back to a stronghold in southeast Asia, Simpson captures and tortures Cap while regaling him with the dark history of the US while Cap was frozen after World War II. Simpson believes that America is inherently corrupt and evil, and he desperately wants to break Captain America.
This was some great storytelling and a nice way to flesh out the Ultimate Cap as well as introducing a new version of one of my favorite villains.
May 24, 2018
Woah. That was intense.
You have the original Captain America of WWII and the copy Captain America of the Vietnam War!!!
But who is right? Cap WWII or Cap Viet? Are they being used? Who are they fighting for? Is it truly for the greater good of man kind?
You have the original Captain America of WWII and the copy Captain America of the Vietnam War!!!
But who is right? Cap WWII or Cap Viet? Are they being used? Who are they fighting for? Is it truly for the greater good of man kind?
July 10, 2020
Captain America meets his ultimate nemesis: the Captain America of the Vietnam War, we're talking the Ultimate version of Nuke! Rogers and Danvers get caught up in a Super-Soldier project conspiracy! 7 out of 12.
August 24, 2013
I'm new to the Marvel Universe, really. Or essentially so, anyway: I used to watch X-Men and Spiderman cartoons and so on, but I didn't grow up with the comics as my bread and butter. But my induction (back?) into the Marvel Universe was with Chris Evans' Steve Rogers, who I adore, so Ultimates Cap is really not my thing at all. Still, I recognise the sense in this depiction of him. He's not an idealistic version of a soldier who is barely touched by the war: he's a grizzled veteran, and a bit of a bastard -- which, in reality, a lot of people in the army are. I don't imagine idealism really lasts long in active combat for most people. I'm not so fond of how dumb the guy is.
The storyline itself is interesting, though I think the outcome is predictable: the love of America, the belief in a just cause, that's very much something I don't think can really be separated from the character of Steve Rogers. MCU Steve might say, "I don't want to kill anyone, I just don't like bullies," but I don't think even knowing all the shit about the USA's actions would stop him loving America and fighting for it -- even if that came in the form of opposing the current government.
Oh, and one final point: I love that Hawkeye and Cap are bros.
The storyline itself is interesting, though I think the outcome is predictable: the love of America, the belief in a just cause, that's very much something I don't think can really be separated from the character of Steve Rogers. MCU Steve might say, "I don't want to kill anyone, I just don't like bullies," but I don't think even knowing all the shit about the USA's actions would stop him loving America and fighting for it -- even if that came in the form of opposing the current government.
Oh, and one final point: I love that Hawkeye and Cap are bros.
April 23, 2013
Cap finds out that while he was frozen in ice for 50 years, a new super soldier was made, a new Captain America for the Vietnam era, and that this other Cap has gone crazy and become anti-American. While tracking him down to bring him in for the murder of American soldiers, Cap is caught by Vietnam Cap and the darker side of American military history is expounded on and the torture begins...
Jason Aaron takes on scribe duties in this book and I've enjoyed his work on the new Punisher Max series, Kingpin and Bullseye, and the darkness he brings to those books is definitely present here. Cap is drained of blood day by day and finds that the Vietnamese villagers that are being injected with his blood are becoming super soldiers themselves. The torture of Cap is quite shocking (literally in one instance - in a very sensitive place!), and while the viciousness is righteous given the brutality which America has conducted wars in the last 60 years, it still seems strange to see this in a Captain America book.
All to the good really to try new things with such a safe character, though what bothered me was the religious angle. I've never seen Cap as religious in any books so to see him doing things in God's name and reading from the Bible was disturbing, especially as I'd always thought he was agnostic/atheist.
The artwork is quite shabby and lets the book down. Cap doesn't look like Cap, he looks like an impersonator in some panels, and overall the shaggy inking doesn't lend itself well to crowd or action scenes which just look messy.
While I thought it was an interesting and contemporary take on a well known character, the artwork and ending let it down for me, though Aaron is savvy enough to throw some doubt into the mix. A decent book but there are better Captain America books out at the moment, particularly Mark Millar's New Avengers and Ed Brubaker's The Marvels Project if you're interested in the origins of Cap and Bucky. "Ultimate Captain America" is ultimately disappointing.
Jason Aaron takes on scribe duties in this book and I've enjoyed his work on the new Punisher Max series, Kingpin and Bullseye, and the darkness he brings to those books is definitely present here. Cap is drained of blood day by day and finds that the Vietnamese villagers that are being injected with his blood are becoming super soldiers themselves. The torture of Cap is quite shocking (literally in one instance - in a very sensitive place!), and while the viciousness is righteous given the brutality which America has conducted wars in the last 60 years, it still seems strange to see this in a Captain America book.
All to the good really to try new things with such a safe character, though what bothered me was the religious angle. I've never seen Cap as religious in any books so to see him doing things in God's name and reading from the Bible was disturbing, especially as I'd always thought he was agnostic/atheist.
The artwork is quite shabby and lets the book down. Cap doesn't look like Cap, he looks like an impersonator in some panels, and overall the shaggy inking doesn't lend itself well to crowd or action scenes which just look messy.
While I thought it was an interesting and contemporary take on a well known character, the artwork and ending let it down for me, though Aaron is savvy enough to throw some doubt into the mix. A decent book but there are better Captain America books out at the moment, particularly Mark Millar's New Avengers and Ed Brubaker's The Marvels Project if you're interested in the origins of Cap and Bucky. "Ultimate Captain America" is ultimately disappointing.
August 22, 2015
So, "Ultimate" Captain America is nationalistic and xenophobic, which is kind of what people unfamiliar with Captain America would probably expect anyway (being named "Captain America" and all.) Normal Captain America struggling with his ideals and what his country has become added a little depth to a superhero whose description otherwise amounts to "blast from the past who runs really fast and punches really hard." Turning him into an apologist for the atrocities America committed in the twenty-first century takes away his depth and makes you kind of hate his politics.
Okay, I can accept that since the Ultimate universe, when it works, works because of subtle tweaks in established backstories while still respecting them. The problem is that that character doesn't really need his own title, or if he has one it shouldn't glamorize and focus on his jingoism and small-mindedness.
Ultimate Comics Captain America vol 1 does exactly that, and it sucks. The story doesn't feel believable or relatable and it just sort of keeps in line with the more annoying theme constant in the Ultimate universe: bigotry.
If you're looking for a Captain America title I would recommend something by Ed Brubaker.
Okay, I can accept that since the Ultimate universe, when it works, works because of subtle tweaks in established backstories while still respecting them. The problem is that that character doesn't really need his own title, or if he has one it shouldn't glamorize and focus on his jingoism and small-mindedness.
Ultimate Comics Captain America vol 1 does exactly that, and it sucks. The story doesn't feel believable or relatable and it just sort of keeps in line with the more annoying theme constant in the Ultimate universe: bigotry.
If you're looking for a Captain America title I would recommend something by Ed Brubaker.
November 15, 2024
Ultimate Cap is kind of a jerk. This book does little to change that impression, but it was short, and had a point to make, and a couple of good fight scenes, so can’t complain too much.
February 18, 2022
Marvel's Ultimate Universe provided an opportunity to make some changes to familiar character personalities without upsetting the main continuity in the regular Marvel U.
Captain America/Steve Rogers as envisioned by Jason Aaron is much less empathetic and actually exhibits some disdain for others not sharing his beliefs, like the British commandos with him on his mission to Korea. Cap was actually insulting and condescending to them, not his usual behavior over in the Marvel U. He also utilizes guns and doesn't hesitate to kill.
What the Ultimate Cap and the Standard Cap share is common is their love for the United States of America and their profound faith in the righteousness of government. Contrast that with Frank Simpson/Captain America of the Vietnam War, whose mission to kill 1,000s of innocent civilians hardened his heart and disillusioned his belief in the United States.
So they meet in Korea where Simpson is attempting to sell a new super-soldier serum to North Korean forces. Simpson proves too strong for Cap and escapes, although the serum is kept out of the wrong hands. The trail leads Rogers to Vietnam, where he is promptly beaten down a second time and imprisioned, where Simpson attempts to worm his way into Cap's brain and teach him the TRUTH about America.
A very entertaining read, with plenty of graphic fights and engaging dialogue between the two moralizing Captain Americas.
Captain America/Steve Rogers as envisioned by Jason Aaron is much less empathetic and actually exhibits some disdain for others not sharing his beliefs, like the British commandos with him on his mission to Korea. Cap was actually insulting and condescending to them, not his usual behavior over in the Marvel U. He also utilizes guns and doesn't hesitate to kill.
What the Ultimate Cap and the Standard Cap share is common is their love for the United States of America and their profound faith in the righteousness of government. Contrast that with Frank Simpson/Captain America of the Vietnam War, whose mission to kill 1,000s of innocent civilians hardened his heart and disillusioned his belief in the United States.
So they meet in Korea where Simpson is attempting to sell a new super-soldier serum to North Korean forces. Simpson proves too strong for Cap and escapes, although the serum is kept out of the wrong hands. The trail leads Rogers to Vietnam, where he is promptly beaten down a second time and imprisioned, where Simpson attempts to worm his way into Cap's brain and teach him the TRUTH about America.
A very entertaining read, with plenty of graphic fights and engaging dialogue between the two moralizing Captain Americas.
August 19, 2024
Kinda falls into "we know the system is broken but we choose to uphold it anyways". The villain was interesting though.
February 19, 2025
Ultimate Captain America is definitely one of my guilty pleasure characters. If the Steve Rodgers of the mainstream comics and MCU films is a Boy Scout, Ultimate Cap is the quarterback of a Deep South high school football team — the type of good ol boy who’d deck you if you didn’t stand for the pledge but still wouldn’t swear in front of an old lady. If Cap is typically meant to be the embodiment of everything America wants to be, his ultimate form is everything America actually is.
Jason Aaron has an interesting way of writing the character, mixing Wolverine’s grumpiness with the type of self-righteousness you might expect from a Punisher who hasn’t quite accepted himself as a damned man yet. This mini-series’ short length plays to Aaron’s strengths, setting simple foundation on which to build a tightly-wound, emotionally effective story.
Jason Aaron has an interesting way of writing the character, mixing Wolverine’s grumpiness with the type of self-righteousness you might expect from a Punisher who hasn’t quite accepted himself as a damned man yet. This mini-series’ short length plays to Aaron’s strengths, setting simple foundation on which to build a tightly-wound, emotionally effective story.
July 14, 2012
Sencillamente: un asco. Resumamos el argumento: un Capitán América rebelde que peleó en Vietnam secuestra al clásico y le hace ver todas las barbaridades que el ejército estadounidense hizo en el mundo. El Capi clásico (mejor dicho, el Ultimate, que había aprendido a querer en cierto modo en Los Ultimates), le dice que ya sabía todo y aun así no se avergüenza de todos esos crímenes aberrantes cometidos por el ejército con el que él trabaja. Y después le dice que crea en Dios. Y otras hipocresías y lavadas de mano más. Aaaron, ¡seguí escribiendo acción vos!
February 14, 2021
A secret mission in North Korea reveals that a new version of the super soldier serum has been created. During the mission Steve Rogers battles another super soldier and discovers that he is none other than Frank Simpson, the man who operated as Captain America during the Vietnam War.
The Ultimate version of Steve Rogers is fiercely patriotic, wilfully obnoxious and strongly jingoistic in almost a caricature of how the world sees America and, to a certain extent, how it sees itself.
I was therefore really interested in the idea of a version of Captain America whose faith in the U.S. Government was shattered by the complex morality of the war in Vietnam, in a way that couldn't have happened with the more clear-cut morality of the war against the Nazis.
Frank Simpson here is a brilliant character (in the mainstream Marvel Universe he's the villain Nuke and even appeared in Netflix's Jessica Jones), who genuinely still loves America but is infuriated by the holier-than-thou myth propagated by its government and embodied in Steve Rogers.
The scenes where Simpson tries to bring Rogers to understanding of the lie he represents were some of this book's best scenes. This felt like a really strong and interesting deconstruction of what Captain America means as a symbol and how that symbol, and by extension America itself, means very different things to different generations.
Unfortunately in the latter half of the book it feels like Aaron chickened out a bit of the deep moral quandaries he introduced.
Simpson suddenly stops making very valid points and devolves into a cliched 'psychotic former operative', becoming a very obvious villain. Meanwhile Steve Rogers, who could have actually been somewhat reflective of the lessons Simpson represented, doubles down on his American patriotism and says that he's well aware of the shady stuff the US got up to in the Cold War but it's okay because everyone makes mistakes.
It's such a hideous brushing aside of the interesting points being made that I can't help but feel like Aaron was editorially reigned in and told to make the story more pro-American at the end.
Murica!
This book, which started so strongly and was doing a good job of tackling some pretty weighty real-world issues, is totally let down by its failure to have Cap learn anything or even really acknowledge that Simpson had a point at all. A really disappointing ending.
* More reviews here: https://fsfh-book-review2.webnode.com *
The Ultimate version of Steve Rogers is fiercely patriotic, wilfully obnoxious and strongly jingoistic in almost a caricature of how the world sees America and, to a certain extent, how it sees itself.
I was therefore really interested in the idea of a version of Captain America whose faith in the U.S. Government was shattered by the complex morality of the war in Vietnam, in a way that couldn't have happened with the more clear-cut morality of the war against the Nazis.
Frank Simpson here is a brilliant character (in the mainstream Marvel Universe he's the villain Nuke and even appeared in Netflix's Jessica Jones), who genuinely still loves America but is infuriated by the holier-than-thou myth propagated by its government and embodied in Steve Rogers.
The scenes where Simpson tries to bring Rogers to understanding of the lie he represents were some of this book's best scenes. This felt like a really strong and interesting deconstruction of what Captain America means as a symbol and how that symbol, and by extension America itself, means very different things to different generations.
Unfortunately in the latter half of the book it feels like Aaron chickened out a bit of the deep moral quandaries he introduced.
Simpson suddenly stops making very valid points and devolves into a cliched 'psychotic former operative', becoming a very obvious villain. Meanwhile Steve Rogers, who could have actually been somewhat reflective of the lessons Simpson represented, doubles down on his American patriotism and says that he's well aware of the shady stuff the US got up to in the Cold War but it's okay because everyone makes mistakes.
It's such a hideous brushing aside of the interesting points being made that I can't help but feel like Aaron was editorially reigned in and told to make the story more pro-American at the end.
Murica!
This book, which started so strongly and was doing a good job of tackling some pretty weighty real-world issues, is totally let down by its failure to have Cap learn anything or even really acknowledge that Simpson had a point at all. A really disappointing ending.
* More reviews here: https://fsfh-book-review2.webnode.com *
June 4, 2021
Not sure I really like it but did have a lot of merit. And fair balls to Aaron for writing it.
Not your usually chill cap in this book - not chill for ultimate Steve either.
Don’t think 616 cap would like like this one v much. A right wing nut, a brutal solider accepting America as it is and has been and doing evil in the name of God and the greater good. No escapism here!
He meets the defected super soldier and though he’s also a nut you can totes see why he defected like he did. The evil done in Vietnam by the Americans was just unspeakable. Official statement tolls 2,000,000 civilians and some 1,100,000 North Vietnamese and Viet Cong fighters. And they were invaded. And that’s not rolling
the about 400,000 Vietnamese that were killed by the toxic effects of Agent Orange.
Or the birth defects emerging in the next generation.
So, yeah, cap is not on the side of the angels here as Hawkeye also raise the question on. I’d say that’s Arron speaking through Hawkeye - he gets it, and that’s why he wrote cap like he did.
Not your usually chill cap in this book - not chill for ultimate Steve either.
Don’t think 616 cap would like like this one v much. A right wing nut, a brutal solider accepting America as it is and has been and doing evil in the name of God and the greater good. No escapism here!
He meets the defected super soldier and though he’s also a nut you can totes see why he defected like he did. The evil done in Vietnam by the Americans was just unspeakable. Official statement tolls 2,000,000 civilians and some 1,100,000 North Vietnamese and Viet Cong fighters. And they were invaded. And that’s not rolling
the about 400,000 Vietnamese that were killed by the toxic effects of Agent Orange.
Or the birth defects emerging in the next generation.
So, yeah, cap is not on the side of the angels here as Hawkeye also raise the question on. I’d say that’s Arron speaking through Hawkeye - he gets it, and that’s why he wrote cap like he did.
April 7, 2019
What it's about: In Marvel's "Ultimate" universe, when Steve Rogers was lost after WWII, the government tried to create a replacement. Frank Simpson became the Captain America of Vietnam, and it broke him. Now the original Captain America is back, and the two enter a deadly clash about what "America" truly is.
What I thought: Meh. I do not like the Ultimate version of Captain America. He's okay with being rude and mean, and he leans heavily on Christianity. These are not qualities I associate with Steve Rogers; I think of him as Marvel's version of Superman, the Big Blue Boyscout.
I know the Ultimate universe is a chance for Marvel to show their heavy hitters in a different, grittier light, and I can get behind that kind of story; but in this case, it just feels like a corruption of an ideal.
Why I rated it like I did: See above. I also felt like, story-wise, there wasn't much to it.
What I thought: Meh. I do not like the Ultimate version of Captain America. He's okay with being rude and mean, and he leans heavily on Christianity. These are not qualities I associate with Steve Rogers; I think of him as Marvel's version of Superman, the Big Blue Boyscout.
I know the Ultimate universe is a chance for Marvel to show their heavy hitters in a different, grittier light, and I can get behind that kind of story; but in this case, it just feels like a corruption of an ideal.
Why I rated it like I did: See above. I also felt like, story-wise, there wasn't much to it.
January 29, 2021
While the classic Captain America tales from the 1940s by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby are probably the definitive Cap stories, this one certainly surpasses anything else from the modern era that I've read. Faced with a psycho super-soldier disillusioned by the Vietnam War and a poster boy for the counter-culture version of America, Cap must wrestle with his faith in himself, his God, and his country. Frank Simpson (Nuke from Frank Miller's immortal Daredevil story, Born Again) is a formidable foe who challenges Cap not only physically but psychologically. The climax dares to go where most other contemporary comic books fear to tread, and proves why Ultimate Cap may be the finest, most admirable super hero in the industry today. Well-written and illustrated, and highly deserving of the prestige hardback format. An instant classic of its kind.
March 1, 2014
A very interesting twist on the 'Super Soldier' thread. It turns out that after Cap was lost during WWII, the project to create an ultimate soldier continued. Captain America meets one of them and the result is, well, violent. I don't want to be a spoiler so this is as far as my review will go. Do check this out!
October 13, 2015
For a comic book comprised of two men essentially beating the crap out of each other for four issues, this is a surprisingly entertaining read. Aaron is great at gritty, no frills storytelling, and doesn't disappoint, while the art is suitably bold & kinetic. A fun alternate take on Cap.
January 25, 2018
Picked this up on sale for $5. Was great bargain find. Cap is taken hostage by crazed super soldier even stronger than him. Gripping story, with just the right length (4 issues) Loved the clever references to miracles and faith.
December 10, 2017
Excellent story, excellent art. Graphic violence. Awesome final panel.
June 6, 2023
Just fucken brutal what else can I say
June 14, 2023
Very excellent version of Captain America that is closer to home than most want to admit. Frank Simpson, as the Vietnam Captain America, is exactly how I could see him. Great story and excellent art.
August 9, 2023
Captain America is in North Korea to kill their super soldier program when he runs into an American soldier who bears him into the ground. He wakes up in Paris which angers him, because we're going to run that one terrible joke into the ground. There he learns that the super soldier is a defector from the Vietnam War named Frank Simpson.
It was at this point that I became hopeful. Ultimate has an Imperialism problem. Steve Rogers is an imperialiatic xenophobic bully who is so convinced of his own righteousness that any means, including using children as a human shield are acceptable. Fury is a megalomaniac who will do anything to fit his agenda for American hegemony. Hawkeye is a psychopathic torturer. The defense has always been that it's satire but the framing always seems to me to be that I'm supposed to like these guys. And if you judge by reviews here, most people thought they were super cool.
So, I thought there could be something to this cap being confronted with the truth of American Imperialism. So Cap follows him to Cambodia where he finds a village. Cap is really mad that Simpson would hide behind children ignoring that living somewhere doesn't equatw hiding behind the people there, and three fact that a few weeks ago Cap used kindergartners as a human shield. The village turns out to be occupied with only super soldiers anyway, and he is captured by them. Frank them reads him about American Imperialism while torturing him. This goes on for days. We're occasionally read dry statistics about American atrocities.
There's a criticism in left wing circles that I personally think gets over blown that MCU villains are given left wing views and then depicted blowing up buildings or something to show that it's wrong. Kilmonger and Hels are common examples and, in my opinion, bad ones as the movie does actually try to grapple with their perspective. A better one is the Flag Smashers who want open borders and better treatment of refugees but are also bad actually. Our here, where the sole voice explaining US Imperialism is also a psychopath torturing cap brutally while saying it. It starts to feel like US propaganda.
Eventually Cap escapes and manages to beat Simpson up which he does while calmly explaining "Peace and security don't come easy, Simpson, and wars are never pretty, no matter the era. But we do what we can, for the greater good. Has America made its share of mistakes? Obviously." The thing with American exceptionalism is that everything great about American becomes evidence of it, and everything bad an aberration that it would be unfair to count. The founding documents have some great ideals and promises, which is of course because America is exceptional. The men who wrote them own slaves and the country had legal slavery for another hundred years? Product of their time. Not fair to judge them by it. This speach of the same thing. It's not easy doing the right thing and mistakes happen. The problem there is that Cap is assuming any of those were mistakes, and that all wars are fought for peace. Peace and security DON'T come easy, but claiming American wars are for either is naive at best.
The comic plays some final lip service to whether Simpson was right, but our noble hero is unshakeable and so should you be, dear reader. I'm u being unfair. Maybe. I think Aaron didn't set out to write US propaganda. I think he did it by accident.
It's funny how 616 captain america is accused of being this idealistic naive vision of American exceptionalism, but he does struggle with America as an institution. This is true of the 1610 universe in general; rarely does 616 marvel feel like as blatantly like military propaganda as this.
It was at this point that I became hopeful. Ultimate has an Imperialism problem. Steve Rogers is an imperialiatic xenophobic bully who is so convinced of his own righteousness that any means, including using children as a human shield are acceptable. Fury is a megalomaniac who will do anything to fit his agenda for American hegemony. Hawkeye is a psychopathic torturer. The defense has always been that it's satire but the framing always seems to me to be that I'm supposed to like these guys. And if you judge by reviews here, most people thought they were super cool.
So, I thought there could be something to this cap being confronted with the truth of American Imperialism. So Cap follows him to Cambodia where he finds a village. Cap is really mad that Simpson would hide behind children ignoring that living somewhere doesn't equatw hiding behind the people there, and three fact that a few weeks ago Cap used kindergartners as a human shield. The village turns out to be occupied with only super soldiers anyway, and he is captured by them. Frank them reads him about American Imperialism while torturing him. This goes on for days. We're occasionally read dry statistics about American atrocities.
There's a criticism in left wing circles that I personally think gets over blown that MCU villains are given left wing views and then depicted blowing up buildings or something to show that it's wrong. Kilmonger and Hels are common examples and, in my opinion, bad ones as the movie does actually try to grapple with their perspective. A better one is the Flag Smashers who want open borders and better treatment of refugees but are also bad actually. Our here, where the sole voice explaining US Imperialism is also a psychopath torturing cap brutally while saying it. It starts to feel like US propaganda.
Eventually Cap escapes and manages to beat Simpson up which he does while calmly explaining "Peace and security don't come easy, Simpson, and wars are never pretty, no matter the era. But we do what we can, for the greater good. Has America made its share of mistakes? Obviously." The thing with American exceptionalism is that everything great about American becomes evidence of it, and everything bad an aberration that it would be unfair to count. The founding documents have some great ideals and promises, which is of course because America is exceptional. The men who wrote them own slaves and the country had legal slavery for another hundred years? Product of their time. Not fair to judge them by it. This speach of the same thing. It's not easy doing the right thing and mistakes happen. The problem there is that Cap is assuming any of those were mistakes, and that all wars are fought for peace. Peace and security DON'T come easy, but claiming American wars are for either is naive at best.
The comic plays some final lip service to whether Simpson was right, but our noble hero is unshakeable and so should you be, dear reader. I'm u being unfair. Maybe. I think Aaron didn't set out to write US propaganda. I think he did it by accident.
It's funny how 616 captain america is accused of being this idealistic naive vision of American exceptionalism, but he does struggle with America as an institution. This is true of the 1610 universe in general; rarely does 616 marvel feel like as blatantly like military propaganda as this.
July 29, 2020
Ne znam kaj da mislim o ovome stripu. Prvo me živciralo što su uopće ubacivali Nukea iz Millerovog Born Againa u Ultimate univerzum, al zapravo mi je taj lik u ovom stripu ispao najsimpatičniji jer je osuđivao sve američke vojne intervencije po cijelom svijetu. Iskreno, navijao sam za njega. Ne znam je l' to i bila Aaronova poanta... Ne znam je l' poanta da je "pravi" Cap douchebag... Definitivno mi nije drag, pogotovo s onim čitanjem biblije na kraju. Srećom, strip se jako brzo pročita, i Garney je solidno nacrtao sve, a akciju pogotovo. Malo mu bježi ponekad faca od Capa, al to je valjda zbog brzine kojom je nacrtan album. Kolori su na mjestu. Kričavi, ali ništa strašno. Sad bih najradije čitao avanture Franka Simpsona, ne Stevea Rogersa.
December 19, 2021
Meet the Captain American of the Vietnam War
Jason Aaron has a great take on the Ultimate version of Cap. Intensely patriotic and despite being frozen in ice for decades, he's quick on the uptake.
Steve winds up combatting an updated version of himself, the Captain America of the Vietnam War. Meet Frank Simpson, better known as Nuke in the 616 universe. American flag tattooed on his face, Frank is as much a zealot as Steve is but Simpson is selling the super-soldier serum in his blood to the highest bidder.
Great action sequences by artist Ron Garney. This one is a pier six brawl with weapons.
Some surprises in this 4 issue series. It’s an action packed, fun read.
Jason Aaron has a great take on the Ultimate version of Cap. Intensely patriotic and despite being frozen in ice for decades, he's quick on the uptake.
Steve winds up combatting an updated version of himself, the Captain America of the Vietnam War. Meet Frank Simpson, better known as Nuke in the 616 universe. American flag tattooed on his face, Frank is as much a zealot as Steve is but Simpson is selling the super-soldier serum in his blood to the highest bidder.
Great action sequences by artist Ron Garney. This one is a pier six brawl with weapons.
Some surprises in this 4 issue series. It’s an action packed, fun read.
September 30, 2025
Read this review or all of my reviews on my site!
Well that’s a thing.
No matter the universe, Marvel seems chock full of Super Soldiers. Here’s one more.
Given the subject matter, it could have used a bit more nuance. A bit more time to breathe. Captain America represents what America could have/should have been. Vietnam is anything but.
Onward!
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