Sam’s search for the source of the attacks leads him on an infiltration mission in Wakanda. Meanwhile, Joaquín is captured by the minions of the White Wolf. Captain America: Symbol of Truth #4 has all the setup in the world, but the issue’s pacing means it feels a bit lackluster.
SPOILERS AHEAD for Captain America: Symbol of Truth #4!
The issue opens as Hunter sends Crossbones to infiltrate Wakanda before cutting to Sam arriving under falsified credentials. Writer Tochi Onyebuchi has been setting up this conflict between the two forces for a while, but here it’s the subtext that shines in this juxtaposition. Sam doesn’t really want to be here, and he’s a frequent ally of T’Challa’s (in fact, it was T’Challa who personally provided Sam with one of his high-tech flight suits when Sam was Falcon). Sam also doesn’t quite agree with Americans running to Wakanda, even though he understands the motive.
Conversely, Hunter is the exiled Prince of Wakanda, leader of the Wakandan Secret Police before T’Challa disbanded them, and yet here he is planning an attack on the nation that raised him using the Americans seeking refuge. It’s this dichotomy of interpersonal relationships flowing opposite of national interests that gives this story verisimilitude, and it will be interesting to see just how many layers of that dichotomy Onyebuchi and artist R.B. Silva choose to explore.
On the other side of the world, Joaquín Torres is in the process of being rescued by his cousin, Luísa. Readers are treated to glimpses of his past in brief flashbacks, but then the action takes over. Zé Carlos handles the artwork in the sections focusing on Falcon, and the synergy between their art and Silva’s is absurd and one of the highlights of this book. The lines are clean and expressive across the issue, and the characters have well defined looks to them that make them feel like real people.
The action, too, helps with these transitions: one page ends with Captain America decking Crossbones while the next page begins with a panel of similar composition with Falcon taking out one of the guards at the facility he is escaping. Color artist Jesus Aburtov is doing amazing work here, in particular the dilapidated shadows across Sam’s face when he confronts Crossbones on the Wakandan border standout.
What hurts the issue then, is the execution of the beginning and end. Sam begins the issue just having crossed into Wakanda. By issue’s end he is still at the border. Even though things happen this issue, especially on Joaquín’s side of the story, the lack of change in location really makes Captain America: Symbol of Truth #4 feel stagnant.
Still, it’s a relatively minor problem when the creative team is executing so strongly. Captain America: Symbol of Truth continues to be a fascinating read. The synergy between Tochi Onyebuchi, R.B. Silva, Zé Carlos, Jesus Aburtov, and Joe Caramagna allow for subtext in the story to shine through, making the book enjoyable on multiple levels.
(Side note: Whoever came up with the idea that Sam wears a jersey that has the number that matches the issue number, kudos to you! And if that’s just a coincidence that Sam wore #3 last issue and #4 this issue, take it and run with it, please!)
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