Captain America: Man Out of Time

Captain America: Man Out of Time #1-5

by Mark Waid, Jorge Molina (Illustrator), Jack Kirby (Artist)

Collects Captain Man Out of Time #1-5 & Avengers (1963) #4. In the waning days of World War II, Steve Rogers - Captain America - seemingly sacrifices his life to save his nation. But decades later, he finds himself revived, thrust into a strange new America he barely recognizes. As he meets the heroes his legend inspired, Cap comes to understand what his sacrifice has meant. But it doesn't change one His partner and friend, Bucky, is dead - and Cap may have the means to return to the past and save him. For the sake of the timestream, the Avengers must do everything in their power to stop him!

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Marvel, Superheroes, Graphic Novels Comics, Fiction, Comic Book

151 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 14, 2011

About the author

Mark Waid (born March 21, 1962 in Hueytown, Alabama) is an American comic book writer. He is best known for his eight-year run as writer of the DC Comics' title The Flash, as well as his scripting of the limited series Kingdom Come and Superman: Birthright, and his work on Marvel Comics' Captain America.

Reviews

[Jeff · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Marvel cinematic universe kind of underplayed the transition and culture shock of Captain America as a result of being a human popsicle for decades.





What if, indeed?

So in the comic books, the Avengers found him.



And he’s a real dreamboat to boot, right Wasp? With dreamy blue eyes that you could just drown in!

To female Goodreaders, no disrespect intended, but those sort of comments, and there were plenty of them in these books back then, were prevalent in the sixties. Ugh.

When Stan Lee first thawed him out in the early “60’s, it was all about “where’s Bucky, poor Bucky?”



Cap then proceeded to brood about five cent loaves of bread and kicking Hitler in the ass for a couple of years of continuity.



Hey, Cap, maybe the Scarlet Witch can give you one of her patented creepy massages.



And don’t get me started on the creepy, teenaged-boy thing.

Note to Rick Jones : Never interrupt Cap when he’s reading Death in Venice.

Mark Waid wanted to re-write the whole Sleeping Cappy storyline and have him revived in the new millennium. Replace Kennedy and the Beatles with Freddie Prinze Jr. and internet porn.

This Cap is less broody and more on the smug side. Or is that just the goofy-assed artwork?



Keep name dropping FDR! That and a nickel will get you funny looks, howls of derisive laughter and, well, a nickel.

Still there’s plenty of flashbacking, if you dig that sort of thing.



Waid re-writes the old Avengers issue (also included here) featuring the dude from Mars.



Keep it up, Cap! There’s a polar bear somewhere that needs dinner.

Cap interacts with the Avengers…



…and pays tribute to fallen comrades…



(If you can’t read the caption, Thor is saying: Verily remove thy head from thy star-spangled ass and let us revel. Do you like goats, Captain? I say, a pair of goats, a cask of mead and my fat friend Volstagg will snap you out of thy cranky mood. Or something.)

…and goes all sad.



Bottom Line Waid plays up the period of adjustment fairly well. The time travel story involving Kang stretched the limits of my patience, probably because I’d throat punch Kang if I could get me one of those fangled time travel machines. For Captain America fans.



Bucky! *sigh*

[Sam Quixote · Rating 3 out of 5]

After being frozen during the closing days of WW2, Captain America/Steve Rogers was originally defrosted in the early ‘60s; in Captain America: Man Out of Time, Mark Waid and Jorge Molina reimagine his origin, defrosting Cap in the 21st century - with mixed results.

The whole thing feels ironically anachronistic given that the setting is roughly the Obama presidency (no exact year is specified and we never clearly see the President though Obama’s on the cover) but it’s like Silver Age Marvel with people still believing Iron Man is Tony Stark’s bodyguard. It’s a very awkward fit.

And if it is set around 2010, why’s Cap listening to Radiohead’s 2000 album Kid A on a CD player to make it seem like he’s embracing contemporary culture - shouldn’t he be listening to Florence and the Machine/Bruno Mars/any more recent record on his Smartphone to better symbolise this instead? Feels like Waid/Molina are stuck in the past like Cap!

It’s not the most exciting read but it’s got the feels as Cap catches up on the last 60+ years’ achievements and tragedies, as well as coming to terms that everyone he knew is either very old or dead. I liked the character General Jacob Simon as a nod to Cap’s real world creators, Joe Simon and Jack Kirby (Kirby’s real name was Jacob Kurtzberg). Jorge Molina’s art was fine and the 1940s wartime sequence was good too.

Otherwise, Captain America: Man Out of Time is an ok-ish retread of Cap’s origin with some moving moments that ultimately nobody really needed to see an updated version of.

[Mike (the Paladin) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay...3.5.

First let me be straight about this. I'm 60 years old and Cap is the Hero I carry around from my youth. HE WAS MY FAVORITE HERO. Bar none, I was a Cap fan and still am.

Thus I'm not usually a huge fan of the "retellings" or "reimaginings" of the classic stories. I suppose they are inevitable as new generations come along and want to identify with the heroes but still...we of the earlier generations are still here and the stories are still part of us.

Aside from that the art here is sort of hit and miss. Nice "production" and printing values but the drawings of Cap and the other characters is a bit uneven. Maybe just me of course.

On the whole not a bad book. It's (as I said) a reimagining of the demise of Bucky and suspended animation of Cap (of course that's been changed to as it was rewritten to have Bucky survive, be frozen also and become a Soviet agent). It tells the story with updated differences of the Avengers discovery of Cap and his intro to the present (1963 originally now 2011). So as I said not a bad story but for me probably the best part was the reprint of Avengers #4 in the back (I remember the original book of course) and the telling of the story as Jack Kirby and Stan Lee told it then.

[Chelsea 🏳️‍🌈 · Rating 5 out of 5]

So, this was truly wonderful!

Essentially a retelling of how Cap ended up part of the Avengers. Having read Avengers (1964) pretty recently, I noticed some small differences but nothing too crucial. Interestingly, Waid chose to update everything and put them in 2011? 2010? Rick has a laptop and people had cellphones so it's certainly not 1964, lol. Anyway, the story still works.

Steve is such a doll here. If there's one writer I know understands who Cap is at his core, it's Mark Waid. He has consistently stripped Cap down to the basics: He fights oppression. That's who Captain America is. That's who Steve Rogers is. He hates bigotry, bullies and fascism. Sounds pretty easy to understand right? Unfortunately, Marvel lost that for a while there (i.e: Hydra Cap).

This story starts with a scene with Bucky and Cap in the barracks with a battallion before being shipped off to chase Zemo. Cap ends up in the future and we get that classic meeting scene again. I must say, the colors, shading and lines for everyone in this book are just gorgeous.

Cap ends up in a hospital where he's pleasantly surprised to see a woman of color is a doctor there. He leaves in a daze, believing himself to be in a vivid dream. He meets Rick who needs his help rescuing the Avengers. Then we get a truly wonderful series of Tony Stark taking him for a night on the town. He takes Steve to a Radiohead concert ("Head Radio, you said?") and then through some historical museums and sights. It's so sweet and reminds me of when Marvel liked to write these two as friends instead of making them fight to sell comics (sigh).

The series goes through the typical dramatics but what's crucial to this conclusion for me is Steve's choice. One of the most tragic things about Captain America is that he was trapped in 1964. He couldn't go back to his time if he wanted to. Because of that, everyone he's ever known is lost to him (until they're inevitably brought back) and Cap has to grieve and lead the team all at once. It even lead to him working non stop to ignore that fact.

Here, we get Cap being sent back in time and he makes a conscious choice to return to the future. It was Cap's decision because he will always be a soldier.

I love Steve Rogers. He's one of my all time favorite characters and this series gets at the heart of who he is as a character.

It's tempting to want to live in the past. It's familiar. It's comfortable. But it's where fossils come from.

[Lily · Rating 4 out of 5]

In which I read my first Marvel title and Steve Rogers gives me feelings.

[Dimitris Papastergiou · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's set right when the Avengers find Steve Rogers on ice (Avengers #4) and we get a look at what happened in the first couple of days when he woke up from that "coma" when he was frozen back in WWII, they explain to him what happened since then and Steve in disbelief, thinks he's dreaming, after that, he wants to go back to the 40s, to bring Bucky back and to be with Peggy.

In terms of continuity it retcons lots of stuff, like the Cap who was going against communists, and whatnot, Tony telling Steve he wasn't the only Cap around after he "died" and lots of nice bits filling out gaps etc. and it's basically set between Avengers #4 and throughout Avengers #8 where Kang first appears. If you'd like to know when to read this, I'd say after Avengers #8.

A nice read with a confused Steve trying to cope with it all, a bit of too american for my taste, but I was reading about Captain America so that's expected.

[Anna]

the ultimate collection of Cap making derp faces

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

In all fairness, this was my first time reading Captain America. I selected this graphic novel so that I could get a feel for the character by reading his origin story. Overall this graphic novel is not bad, but there is one thing that really bothers me.

Captain America awakens in the modern age, and you see how people interact with him. The general reaction is "who is this guy in a red, white, and blue custom"?

Yet there is a part where Tony Stark takes Captain America to a museum, and shows him the "Captain America showcase". While Cap was frozen, the government placed other people into the outfit to keep the Captain America ideology alive. So this tells me that people should be familiar with "who" Captain America is? Yet when he is walking around, no one says, "Geez that looks like Captain America"?

I did very much enjoy how they showed Captain America coming to terms with his situation and trying to adjust. Overall I would say it is an o.k. place for you to start with Captain America, but I'm sure there are better versions of his origin story. But it does accomplish its mission. At the end, I do feel like I have a better understanding of who the Captain America character is.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

This includes the older story it's a retelling of; I liked the updated version loads more than the original. Good characterisation of Steve Rogers/Captain America.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

this was my first Captain America comic and I really liked it! hope they have more in the library ☺️

[Himanshu Karmacharya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Captain America is revived nearly half a century later, after being buried in ice in suspended animation. The book mostly deals with Cap's struggle in adapting to the modern world and how he comes in terms with it.

This book is a good entry point for newcomers and a definite recommendation for long term fans.

[Adam Graham · Rating 2 out of 5]

Former Captain America writer Mark Waid retells the story of Captain America freezing in time, only more in line with the movies, he imagines Cap awakening in the 21st Century rather than the 1960s.

The book has some good stuff in it to be sure. Cap would have a fair amount of serious culture shock and Waid captures that in a way that was better than the movies.

Waid made the decision to make this book a character piece and have nearly all of the action and supervillain fighting occurring off panel. The biggest villain to play any role is Kang the Conqueror.

Issue 1 is essentially a very long conversation between Captain America and Bucky about what they'll do after the war. It's a somewhat tedious issue and it leads into Issue 2 where Captain America is discovered in the late 1990s and early 21st century.

I should add that the artist preserved one of the silliest inconsistencies in Avengers #4 where Cap originally joined the Silver Age (also included in this volume.) In Avengers #4, in the scene in which Bucky dies and Cap plunges into the Ocean they're dressed in Army Khakis. However, Captain America wakes up in his uniform with his shield. Kirby got away with it because there was about a page flashback of Cap and Bucky. It doesn't work out as well in this one since he spends an entire issue in Khakis so the fact that we next see him as Captain America looks really inconsistent.

Issue 2 focuses on the culture shock at the future and Waid does his best work here though at times this goes over the top where Captain America almost seems Tick-like. It is however realistic to imagine him somewhat awestruck and thrown off balance.

The rest of the book is somewhat downhill. In Issue 3, he's ready to go home using time travel and pledges to save Bucky and live as a hobo as not to interfere with space time. Tony Stark gives a great speech on how the 21st Century is great and how much better things are than in the 1940s which is good because President Obama says Cap can't travel in time due to the uknown risk.

In Issue 4, we get (to quote Green Arrow from Kingdom Come), the Democratic response to Tony Stark's optomism from dying retired general Jacob Simon ( a play on Cap creators Jack Kirby and Joe Simon) who complains that Martin Luther King was shot and no pitchers actually bat for themselves anymore. I'm not certain which angered the general more or why he hasn't heard of the National League in which pitchers do bat for themselves.

I won't write too much about the rest other than to say, it was most underwhelming and unsatisfying. Captain America: Man Out of Time delves into the issue of which is better: now or the 1940s and how Cap views whether the world has gotten better and doesn't really answer the question in a satisfactory way. It's an angst driven story without enough fuel to lift off and in many ways it betrays the Captain America character.

Sure, I could see Captain America feeling homesick for the 1940s but being willing to use time travel to re-insert himself into the timeline and having to be told not to is a stretch. Cap is often whiny and brooding in this book which is just not the Cap we know.

To be fair, those things were a small part of Cap's character into the Silver Age but he would throw himself into helping others and fighting evil. By de-emphasizing action, Waid gave us a far more one dimensional portrayal.

And the idea of whether things were better in the 1940s or worse has little to do with who Captain America is. The point of Captain America has never been that things were better in the 1940s. Rather, Cap embodied the best of that generation and a part of that era that we lost. That gets lost in the debate that's set up in this story.

This is the first Mark Waid story I've read where the art is the best part of the book. Overall, disappointing.

[Krista · Rating 3 out of 5]

There were parts of this graphic novel I liked; others not so much. I'm not big into the Fantastic Four, so the fact that Dr. Richards was the one to bail all the Avengers out - hm. Not a fan. I've read a few different versions of Bucky's death/Cap's freezing and unfreezing, and this one (I think) made Bucky look like more of the hero than Cap. The battle with Kang and the Avengers was way too short for my taste, too, and seemed to be solved almost too easily.

However, this story DID capture well the complete and utter culture shock that Steve went through upon his waking in the "modern day". I really liked the parts where he spent time with his former C.O., as well as the Smithsonian visit with Tony. The dialogue throughout was very true to character - not lame or cliche; Tony was serious and also smart-ass-y, Thor was dramatic and the voice of reason when Cap needed it, etc. Without ruining the ending for anyone, I'll just say it reminded me of what Wolverine resolves at the end of his (cinematic) Japan adventure - seemingly what any person who lives an extended lifetime resolves. There is peace, and self-acceptance, even after all the battles won and lost; even after losing the ones you care about. Also, Steve using a portable CD player = adorbs.

A nice one-off, but honestly, not one of my favorites.

[Lex · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really had no expectations going into this. I thought, even if it's bad I'll probably still enjoy it because it's Captain America. I did enjoy it. I didn't think it was bad at all, and I don't think that's just because I love Captain America so much, but it very well could be. Also, I haven't read a lot of Cap comic books, so. Take my opinion with a grain of salt. Nice story, though, good art. Tony being Tony. I have no complaints.

[victoria.p · Rating 4 out of 5]

Huh. I thought I'd added this when I read it.

Mostly it's full of "Oh, Steve." The part where he realizes he can't go back and save Bucky because it would change the timestream breaks my heart. Sad Cap is sad! *sadhair*

[Jesse A · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well done.

[Doctorjimmy · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

Διάβασε όλο το review εδώ

Ο κόσμος τον θεωρεί τρελό, ο ίδιος αδυνατεί να συλλάβει όλες τις αλλαγές (από τις διακλαδώσεις του εγκλήματος μέχρι την ύπαρξη εξωγήινων) ενώ δέχεται αντικρουόμενες απόψεις σχετικά με το αν είναι καλύτερη ή όχι η κατάσταση τώρα απ’ότι στα 40’s: ο Tony Stark μιλάει με περηφάνια για το παρόν, ενώ ο λοχαγός του Jacob Simon κριτικάρει το τώρα μέσα από τους φακούς της νοσταλγίας. Ένα γρήγορο ταξίδι στο παρελθόν από τον Kang, όμως, είναι αρκετό για να πείσει τον Rogers πως δεν υπάρχει λόγος να μένει κολλημένος στο τότε και πως πρέπει να βαδίσει στο μέλλον με θάρρος, αφού «για έναν καλό στρατιώτη δεν υπάρχει η έννοια της αχαρτογράφητης περιοχής». Και τίποτα δεν θα μπορούσε να κλείσει αυτήν την εύρεση θάρρους καλύτερα από την πρώτη ακρόαση του Kid A.

Κρίμα που όλη αυτή η όμορφη ανάπτυξη του χαρακτήρα του πλαισιώνεται από μια εντελώς αδιάφορη πλοκή, αφού ο Kang δεν είναι τίποτα περισσότερο από ένας κοινότυπος διαγαλαξιακός τύραννος και χρησιμεύει απλά ως όχημα για να υπάρχει μια υποτυπώδης δομή στην ιστορία: τουλάχιστον ο Waid δεν ασχολείται και πολύ με την πάρτη του. Το μόνο σίγουρο είναι πως με έναν πιο ενδιαφέρον αντίπαλο η ιστορία θα είχε απογειωθεί.

Πρόσθεσε σε αυτό το άνισο artwork (μερικά εξαιρετικά πλάνα, αλλά γενικά τίποτα το ιδιαίτερο και με αρκετές περίεργες φάτσες) και έχεις μια ιστορία που θα ικανοποιήσει νέους και παλιούς αναγνώστες, αλλά μάλλον θα αγαπηθεί μόνο από σκληροπυρηνικούς λάτρεις του Cap. Πού ξέρεις, μπορεί αφού διαβάσεις το Man Out Of Time να γίνεις και εσύ.

[haven ⋄ f (hiatus) · Rating 4 out of 5]

one of the only media with captain america that actually approaches his trauma in a realistic way. some panels were drawn great, others not so much. overall interesting and fun premise

[Heather Ness-Maddox · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wish it was longer. This could have been a 6 episode mini series actually, the opportunity for character development/discovery is there.

[mxd · Rating 5 out of 5]

This always makes for a good re-read. My favourite part, as ever, is the importance of Steve and Bucky's friendship: the fact that Steve is willing to live like a 'hobo' if it means saving Bucky, offering his resignation to the President so he can go back to his own time, and those hallucinations at the beginning where he's clinging to the hope that everything is a dream and Bucky is alive. The other part that I *love* is how Steve reacts to a post civil rights movement society, and how he takes that back with him to the past where he wants to pass that hope onto people who don't know what the future holds, Steve ultimately ending up frustrated by being back in his somewhat limited world. Also, I love that despite whatever happens, Steve's attitude is to not mope, and to not dwell on the past, but to listen to some Radiohead and move on with life. Oh, Steeb. ~sigh~

[Sookie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A generous 3 stars cause I am biased.

What could be more appropriate for Captain America to be inducted to 21st century by getting shot in the chest by a woman who he saves from getting killed by random hooligans? Irony at its best. Modern world in a nutshell.

Steve Rogers catches up with 21st century in a very muted way. He is visibly happy to be treated by a doctor, a black woman, is disappointed with his favorite base ball team moving to other side of the country, is unable to come to terms with the fact that his country lost a war, confused with various kind of crimes, drug addiction and the way the world has been broken, dented and reshaped itself into a place that is too different, too far and too. Its just too.

A reflection piece of Steve Rogers, a new origin and quite lame story for him to jump back to. Bucky Barnes of the '40s is the best feature in this retelling.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

First time reading Capt. America. I enjoyed it. Not as good as dark and moody Batman, but still enjoyed it.

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 5 out of 5]

After being disappointed by Waid's 1995 work, I was really surprised by this one, which did a great job of both examining Captain America as a man out of time and showing why he'd choose our own.

[Relstuart · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent retelling of how Cap was frozen and thawed. Both art and writing up to the task. Some humor, action, and some character development.

[J.M. Giovine · Rating 4 out of 5]

A touching story about Captain America trying to adapt to the modern world. Taking place between 1945, and his awakening 50 years after his inn-animate sleep, Mark Waid explores the impact that being revived in a different time might have on one of the biggest icons of a specific time period. Giving the “fish out of the water” take on the character of Cap, while also placing the story in between the original Avengers’ issues after he was unfrozen in #4, there is plenty of comedic value to this mini-series, but also, sufficient heartfelt emotional resonance and strength for out protagonist, having him suffer the struggle of needing to return to his proper time in order to save Bucky, but also facing the reality that the present– while surreal in its futuristic advance– still needs him, and what he represents, specially after the appearance of the deadly Kang The Conqueror. Waid is an ideal option for the “revitalization” treatment for any story, and while Captain America proved to be one of the best titles of the 2000s by the hand of Ed Brubaker, and Steve Epting, Waid’s take on the mythical Star spangled man goes back to a simpler, rather innocent but more humane depiction of the series. Cap’s struggle of being from a different time, in such chaotic and advance present, is a truly attractive idea for a character like him, mostly after setting the series during the original Avengers series from 1963, even if this comic seems to retcon the years in which that series took place, going from the 60s to the late 2000s. Now, regarding Jorge Molina’s artwork, it’s alright, more serviceable than outstanding or memorable. Is the kind of art that is meant for simpler, more mundane stories, but for something like this I expected the same guy who made the covers could’ve done the interiors, which is Bryan Hitch, and being honest, if that would’ve been the case the series could’ve been way better in terms of mixing the quality of the writing with the artistic one. Again, nothing against Molina, he is fine, and it was nice seeing how he adapted the original Avengers’ designs with his style, but this should’ve been illustrated by someone better, other than that, the story was engaging, heartwarming, and on point with the message of “respect the past, embrace the future” which sort of mixed well with the long anticipated comeback of the original Cap after his death at the end of Civil War.

[ThisGuyReads · Rating 2 out of 5]

As somebody who's a big Waid and Cap fan, I was looking forward to reading Captain America: Man Out of Time. However, I found the story disappointing given how often it's talked up.

For starters, the art wasn't my favorite. Although some of the action was cool, a lot of the characters -- especially Steve Rogers -- are drawn with goofy faces that takes me out of the story a bit.

Speaking of the story, this comic is mostly about how America has changed for better and worse throughout the decades and how Steve Rogers struggles in dealing with these issues, as well as with suddenly being transported decades into the future. The execution of these ideas fell a bit flat for me though. The first issue was pretty dull all things considered, and the writing afterwards got to be ridiculous pretty quickly, and not in a good way. It also felt a bit rushed given all the ideas and character development Waid tried packing into a mere 5 issues. On top of that, this Steve Rogers seems to have some kind of weirdly goofy vibe about him. I always imagined the tone of a story such as this to be a bit more serious and somber than it was, although this still obviously had it's sad moments. Lastly, there are some parts of this comic that glorify certain aspects of American history and culture a bit too much, even if the comic does try to include some pushback to these ideas. It made Cap feel like a propaganda tool again. Like come on man, Obama was not that cool.

There are some funny moments in this though, both intended and unintended. Among my favorites is the image of Captain America learning about phone sex (among other things) and being distraught saying "this is what I fought for", which is ridiculous and hilarious. Another is Cap turning into a Radiohead fan and listening to Kid A while narrating how there will always be a better tomorrow to fight for is also pretty funny.

[Navya · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mark Waid introduces Captain America to the 21st century. Capsicle is discovered by the Avengers (current line-up: Iron Man, Thor, Giant Man and the Wasp) and the rest of the story follows as he adjusts to his loss and to the new millennium. This story-line calls back to the original Captain America 'discovery' issue (also included in the collection) in many ways, but introduces many new things that impress.

Waid makes a good choice in focusing on Steve Rogers with the villain of the week, fights and other Avengers becoming only an interesting background here. Many scenes and plot points are very well-crafted, as Captain America comes to terms with the new world and his own role in it.

I think fans coming from the MCU (like me) who felt that Steve Rogers' Adjustment to the New Millennium was glossed over will particularly like this story-line. A lot of details are put in, from the funny to the heartfelt. Steve Rogers also gets to play a more active and decisive role in choosing his world, so to speak, which. Well. Let's say it is a idea that is not quite explore in the cinematic universe.

What needed work, in my opinion, was the artwork. The utilized style often lent a comical or exaggerated note to the work, even in places where the story required more subtlety. Not bad enough to be truly terrible, but enough that it affected my overall reading experience.

Overall, a solid one.

[Natalia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maybe it's on me for picking up a limited run, but this story really just felt like a prologue. An empty prologue, at that. I felt no narrative weight surrounding Steve's desperation to get back to the past and the turning point to him being content staying in the future (hm- is that a spoiler when being in the future is Cap's whole deal?) felt unsatisfying. I think it could've been helpful to see some more of Steve in the past, and linger more on his readjustments to the future.

Also "There'll always be something to fight for. And I'll always be a soldier." Is a very weird way to end things in my opinion. We're just acknowledging Steve doesn't know how to function without a fight and treating that as a happy ending? It's not necessarily that I disagree with that character-wise or even narrative-wise (I mean, a retired superhero who isn't fighting anything isn't much fun to read about), it's that it just felt like a random conclusion that wasn't explored properly. Plant the question of "Who is Captain America without a fight?" in issue one, drop it for the next three issues, then give a lacklustre answer to it at the end of issue five? Again, maybe that isn't fair considering the limitations of a short comic format, but it just left me unsatisfied.

I know I've done nothing but complain about it, but it was still pretty good read! Honestly, I just had very high expectations for it that weren't quite met. It was still interesting and a nice introduction to the Captain America comics for me.

[Alessandro · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Captain America: Man Out of Time" by Mark Waid and Jorge Molina is one of those rare comics that grabs you from the very first page and never lets go. It’s not just a superhero story; it’s the story of a man torn out of his time, forced to awaken in a world that has moved on without him.
Mark Waid captures Captain America at his most human — the icon of icons, the embodiment of freedom and the American dream, yet also a man haunted by grief, disoriented by an era he doesn’t recognize, and painfully aware of his own vulnerabilities. Steve Rogers is shown not only as a legend, but as someone who struggles to reconcile the weight of the past with the demands of the present.
Jorge Molina’s artwork brings Waid’s script to life with dynamism and emotional power. Every panel feels alive, echoing both the grandeur of the hero and the fragility of the man behind the shield.
This is one of the most compelling modern Captain America stories — heartfelt, poignant, and unforgettable. It proves once again why Mark Waid is one of the finest writers of the medium, and why Captain America remains such an enduring and essential character. A must-read for any comics fan.

[Topher Marsh · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story arc takes a big leaps, especially in the gap between issues #2 and #3. This five issue arc should have been written across twelve issues in order to provide a clearer story. The story starts out strongly with an establishing scene prior to the iconic death of Bucky Barnes just before Cap drops off to what we know now as Cap's suspended animation. However, the book falls apart at that point. Waid jumps from one scene to the next without any connection or transitions. The book is a jumble of loosely connected scenes with little context or transition. There is a short appearance by Kang with little context or payoff. Waid's scenes which provide summary of changes in America from mid-20th century to early 21st century are poignant, but the surrounding weak storyline undercuts any possible emotional payoff. Jorge Molina art is good, but it can't save the disjointed storyline. Like Captain America, this story needs a do-over.