Captain America: Symbol of Truth #3 Review

Written by: Tochi Onyebuchi
Art by: R.B. Silva, Zé Carlos
Colors by: Jesus Aburtov
Letters by: VC’s Joe Caramagna
Cover art by: R.B. Silva, Jesus Aburtov
Cover price: $3.99
Release date: July 27, 2022

Captain America: Symbol of Truth #3 spirals deeper into the political intrigue at a global scale when Sam Wilson must confront Doctor Doom in Latveria, and the current rulers of Wakanda, to stop a terrorist organization smuggling Vibranium across national borders.

Is It Good?

Captain America: Symbol of Truth #3 is impossible to wrap your brain around because there are too many leaps in logic for this issue to make any sense. You can feel Onyebuchi is trying to get multiple messages across about national sovereignty, the seedier side of illegal immigration, bureaucratic red tape, and more, but the execution is so flimsy that the dots only connect when a character says they connect, and you just sorta have to take everybody’s word for whatever point is being made at the time.

When last we left Sam Wilson he was arrested by Latverian forces for carrying out a military mission in their country illegally. Now, brought before Dr. Doom for judgment, Sam is forced to explain his actions. Doom displays an uncharacteristic amount of mercy by setting Sam free with just a warning. Right off, Doom is not acting himself, and the whole point of bringing Sam to Latveria in the first place is rendered moot.

Next, we walk through a series of scenes where Sam tries to work through official channels in his government, the Wakandan Embassy, and even a prison contact to find out where and how Vibranuium is smuggled out of Wakanda. Where this series of events doesn’t quite gel is in how, up to this point, we’ve not seen any Vibranium, don’t know anyone has smuggled any Vibraniumn, and don’t know any crime has been committed other than a group of mercenaries attacked a train coming from Mexico. Sam carries out the last three issues of attacks, missions, border incursions, and more based on nothing more than a rumor. In any other scenario, he should be grounded.

Eventually, in the very last panel, we see there truly is an illegal Vibranium store at a hidden base, but the quantity is too massive to believe considering how closely Wakanda monitors its stock. Things happen because Onyebuchi’s script says it’s supposed to happen, but there’s very little setup, the dots that lead Sam from A to B don’t connect, and the heavy-handed messaging deflates the drama.

On the plus side, the art’s very good. There’s nothing to dislike about Silva’s and Carlos’s renderings, and Aburtov’s coloring provides plenty of pop.

About The Reviewer: Gabriel Hernandez is the Publisher & EIC of ComicalOpinions.com, a comics review site dedicated to indie, small, and mid-sized publishers.

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Bits and Pieces

Captain America: Symbol of Truth #3 is a nonsensical series of random events where Sam Wilson investigates a Vibranium smuggling operation with no evidence and little more to go on than third-hand rumors. This issue is the opposite of a smart mystery where nothing is set up and none of the dots connect until the script tells you they connect. At least the art is visually solid.