Warning! This post contains SPOILERS for Captain America #1-6 (2025)
Marvel’s latest Captain America series feels like a greatest hits album for the MCU’s Steve Rogers. While firmly rooted in the official comics continuity of the Marvel Universe, Chip Zdarsky’s run echoes many of the same themes and concepts that made The Winter Soldier and Civil War two of the best MCU movies to date.
With only six issues released thus far, Marvel’s new series has been showing The First Avenger at his very best. Not only is this fresh Captain America run a solid entry point for new readers, but it’s also extremely appealing to those who are fans of the MCU’s Steve Rogers.
Why Marvel’s New Captain America Series Is The Perfect Launchpoint For New Readers (And MCU Fans)
In the first five issues of Captain America by Chip Zdarsky and Valerio Schiti, readers follow the week after Steve Rogers was thawed from the ice, but before he officially joins The Avengers and rejoins the US Army. Thanks to Marvel’s sliding timescale, Rogers was also unfrozen a few years after 9/11, immediately grounding the story in a more modern context (not unlike in the MCU).
Furthermore, we’re also introduced to David Colton, a soldier inspired by Rogers who receives similar enhancements during the Iraq War, becoming a new Captain America replacement during Rogers’ time on ice. Together, both Captains are sent by General Ross on a mission to save US diplomats held captive in Latveria and its new ruler, Doctor Doom.
After reading this first five-issue arc, it’s not hard to identify the fascinating parallels with the MCU’s Captain America movies, thanks to a strong focus on Rogers’ discomfort with hidden government agendas, a significant clash with General Ross, as well as some key shared themes: resisting compromised authorities, accountability, and the “high price of freedom”.
Additionally, the newly released Captain America #6 shifts the focus to the present, directly dealing with the fallout of Doctor Doom’s global takeover in the recent One World Under Doom crossover event. Not unlike in the MCU’s Captain America movies, Steve finds himself caught between competing institutions, international pressures, and new superhuman legislation backed by the United Nations.
In this new issue, Steve ultimately chooses to work with Nick Fury’s newly reformed SHIELD, now leaner and more mission-driven after its past collapse following a Hydra takeover (2017’s Secret Empire).
The echoes to both the MCU’s Winter Soldier and Civil War are unmistakable, reinforcing how this series is perfectly balancing more modern-day storytelling with the timeless ideals that have defined the core of Captain America since his debut in the 1940s.
Captain America’s New Series Is Just Getting Started
Looking ahead, this most recent issue is also teasing a clash between Steve Rogers’ Captain America and Ross’ Red Hulk. Naturally, this brings Sam Wilson’s Captain America to mind, having had his own Red Hulk showdown in the MCU with 2025’s Captain America: Brave New World.
With only six issues released so far, this new Captain America run feels incredibly accessible. It rewards longtime fans while welcoming new readers and/or MCU fans alike, proving that Steve Rogers’ stories have always thrived when they reflect the complexities of the real world alongside the heroic ideals he’s always fought for. Here’s hoping this new Captain America series gets a good, solid run.
Captain America #1-6 are now on sale from Marvel Comics.
- First Appearance
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Captain America Comics
- Alias
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Steve Rogers, John Walker, Sam Wilson
- Alliance
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Avengers, Invaders, S.H.I.E.L.D., U.S. Army
- Race
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Human
- Franchise
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Marvel