Essential Captain America #1
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeThis massive black-and-white volume collects the earliest adventures of the star-spangled Avenger, reprinting Captain America Comics #1-20 from the 1940s along with the first issues of the post-war revival. It showcases the original wartime stories by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, where Cap and his sidekick Bucky battled Nazis and a rogues' gallery of costumed villains. As part of Marvel's Essential line, it presents these Golden Age tales in a budget-friendly, phonebook-sized format with restored artwork.
In this landmark issue, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby deliver a gripping return to the roots of Captain America, set during a routine training exercise at Avengers Mansion. When Nick Fury appears with urgent intel on the mysterious organization known as "THEM," their conversation is interrupted by a sudden attack from a deadly chemical android—only to reveal a hidden network of androids growing in a secret hydroponic lab, driven by a sinister goal. The cover by John Romita, Jack Kirby, Al Milgrom, and Syd Shores captures the tension perfectly, while the story’s blend of Cold War paranoia and early superhero teamwork makes this a must-read for any fan of the original era.
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While Cap is in the middle of a training exercise involving flying "shock rollers", he's surprised to see Nick Fury turn up looking for info on a secret organization known only as "THEM". As they talk, a strange flying craft lands outside Avengers Mansion, and a large, deadly "chemical android" attacks. In a remote lab, hooded members of "THEM" observe by remote camera, while watching over a "battalion" of androids growing like plants in a glass-enclosed hydroponic garden, due to experiments with D.N.A. One of the techs says "The Imperator" wants SHIELD destroyed. Cap & Fury barely manage to stop the android, which reverts back to its basic elements once it's mission is a failure. Fury tells Cap it's SHIELD's job, and to stay out of it. But he gives Cap a SHIELD "Priority A-1" badge to make getting in touch easier in the future.
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).
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