Captain America #3 Review

Written by: J. Michael Straczynski
Art by: Jesús Saiz, Lan Medina
Colors by: Matt Hollingsworth
Letters by: VC’s Joe Caramagna
Cover art by: Jesús Saiz (cover A)
Cover price: $4.99
Release date: November 29, 2023

Captain America #3 follows young Steve Rogers as his paths cross with Nazis and Gangsters with conflicting interests, while Captain America is brought into a bizarre murder investigation for a killer who made Cap his next target.

Is Captain America #3 Good?

Captain America #3 has a good story that’s well-executed, but it’s too slow. J. Michael Straczynski lays out a solid foundation describing events affecting Steve in the past, tying those events to a new challenge in the present, but there’s a lot of time wasted on speeches and history lessons that add little to the plot.

When we last left Steve Rogers, we learned how young Steve Rogers increasingly gained the respect of the eclectic group of people in his neighborhood with his heart, courage, and work ethic. In the present, AIM recruits witnessed how the new coding project pushed anyone who read the complete code to commit suicide.

Now (technically, then), young Steve continues to speak out at Nazi rallies, catching the attention of real-life gangster Meyer Lansky, who enlists Steve to find out what big project the Nazis are planning. Meanwhile, Cap is summoned by Misty Knight and Doctor Strange to a murder scene with mystical residue and a suggestion that Cap is the killer’s next target.

Doctor Strange does and doesn’t appear in this issue. The good doctor enlists the help of a “gadget” to interact with others from a distance in a way he can’t when in astral projection form. It’s creepy, weird, and somewhat amusing. I hope Marvel makes the “gadget” a regular part of Strange’s lore.

What’s great about Captain America #3? Now that we have a clearer idea of where Straczynski is headed with the plot, the concept is original, the villain is unique, and the outcome is unpredictable. I’m interested to see where the story goes and if Straczynski can focus enough to keep it moving.

What’s not so great about Captain America #3? Look, it’s 2023. We all know Hitler’s Nazis were bad guys. It’s part of the History Books in every school that still teaches History. Therefore, we don’t need page after page after page after page explaining why Nazis are bad and why Steve has no tolerance for their ideology. Yes, Straczynski is setting up parallels between the past and the present in Steve’s mind, but the flashbacks dominate the series with a lot of extraneous scenes that don’t keep the story moving. At $4.99 per issue, the pacing and urgency have got to be better than this.

How’s the art? The art is fine for an issue with characters doing a lot of standing around and talking. Admittedly, Suiz’s hyper-feathered shading is unusual, and therefore, not everyone’s cup of tea, but the characters look fine, and Asmoday’s brief demonic appearance looks great.

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 #3 is a thoroughly crafted issue that sets the stage for you Steve’s experience with Nazis in the past and the parallels to a murder mystery in the future. Unfortunately, this issue has too many extraneous scenes explaining why the Nazis are bad, which drags the pacing to a crawl.