Captain America: Symbol of Truth #2 Review

Written by: Tochi Onyebuchi
Art by: R.B. Silva
Colors by: Jesus Aburtov
Letters by: VC’s Joe Caramagna
Cover art by: R.B. Silva, Jesus Aburtov
Cover price: $3.99
Release date: June 29, 2022

Captain America: Symbol of Truth #2 sens Sam Wilson/Captain America and Falcon on separate investigations to find out who is trying to acquire Super-Soldier Serum components and what any of this has to do with a train full of illegal immigrants.

Was It Good?

Captain America: Symbol of Truth #2 is not a comic you enjoy. It’s a comic you figure out. As one of the (several) antagonists points out, Onyebuchi is spreading out a lot of “bread crumbs” to lead readers down a mysterious path. Is the trail worth the trek? Not yet.

The high point in this issue is the art team’s delivery. The character designs look great, the action is intense, and Aburtov’s color work is outstanding. Regardless of how much (or little) you enjoy the story, this is a gorgeous issue.

The down point of this issue is the abundance of bread crumbs that make no logical sense or only connect through unexplained leaps in logic. Sam is here, there, and everywhere tracking down the source of the Super-Soldier Serum elements, the elements that weren’t on the train pointed out by Misty Knight’s tip and as far as Sam knows never existed. How and why is Sam chasing down the buyer for an illegal formula element that, as far as Sam knows, never existed? Who is he chasing? The only lead he received came from Misty, so why doesn’t he start with her instead of suddenly heading over to Latveria?

The conflict in this story centers around the stakes, namely that there are none. All Sam knows for sure is that something is off, but instead of questioning the illegal immigrants about how or why they were on that train, questioning the generic mercenaries who attacked the train and questioning Misty for giving him what turned out to be a false tip, he flies to the other side of the globe and starts kicking hornet’s nests in Dr. Doom’s backyard.

Back in the States, Joaquin spends an inordinate amount of time expressing concern and mistrust for his sister as one of the innocent folks on the train. However, after a week in treatment, he doesn’t question her about how she got on the train or what she was doing with that group. Joaquin, just like Sam, is investigating a mystery but doesn’t engage in the most basic detecting activities. He stands around and looks at everyone with suspicion except for the one person who has answers – his sister.

Oy! It’s unclear where Oyebuchi is going with this story, but the execution is a mess.

Bits and Pieces

Captain America: Symbol of Truth #2 lays out a complex and deepening mystery, but Sam and Joaquin do everything but ask basic, common sense questions. It’s hard to tell if Oyebuchi is writing sam and Joquin as bumbling detectives or if he doesn’t understand the basic mechanics of an investigation. Either way, this story has fantastic art covering for a bumbling, stumbling story.