Captain America, Vol. 2: Promised Land

Captain America (2017)

by Mark Waid

The year is 2314, and the grandson of Steve Rogers lives in the utopian America of which his ancestor dreamed. The legacy of Captain America has been realized - but something sinister lies beneath the surface! A family quest leads Jack Rogers into the bowels of the Earth, far from the idyllic surface - and a meeting with the descendant of another notable Marvel hero! It's a very special look into the tomorrow of Captain America!

COLLECTING: CAPTAIN AMERICA 701-704

Genres: Comics, Marvel, Graphic Novels, Superheroes, Comic Book, Fiction, Graphic Novels Comics

112 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2018

About the author

Mark Waid is an American comic book writer widely known for shaping modern superhero storytelling through influential runs on major characters at both DC Comics and Marvel Comics. Raised in Alabama, he developed an early fascination with comic books, particularly classic stories featuring the Legion of Super-Heroes, whose imaginative scope and sense of legacy would later inform his own writing. He first entered the comics industry during the mid 1980s as an editor and writer for the fan magazine Amazing Heroes, before publishing his first professional comic story in Action Comics. Soon afterward he joined DC Comics as an editor, contributing to numerous titles and helping shape projects across the company. After leaving editorial work to focus on writing, Waid gained widespread recognition with his long run on The Flash, where he expanded the mythology of the character and co-created the youthful speedster Impulse. His reputation grew further with the celebrated graphic novel Kingdom Come, created with artist Alex Ross, which imagined a future DC Universe shaped by generational conflict among superheroes. Over the years he has written many prominent series, including Captain America, Fantastic Four, Daredevil, and Superman: Birthright, bringing a balance of optimism, character depth, and respect for comic book history to each project. Waid has also collaborated with notable artists and writers on major ensemble titles such as Justice League and Avengers, while contributing ideas that helped clarify complex continuity within shared superhero universes. Beyond mainstream superhero work, he has supported creator owned projects and experimental publishing models, including the acclaimed series Irredeemable and Incorruptible, which explored moral ambiguity within the superhero genre. He later took on editorial leadership roles at Boom Studios, guiding creative direction while continuing to write extensively. In subsequent years he expanded his involvement in publishing and digital storytelling, helping launch online comics initiatives and advocating for new distribution methods for creators. His work has earned numerous industry awards, including Eisner and Harvey honors, reflecting both critical acclaim and enduring popularity among readers. Throughout his career Waid has remained a passionate student of comic book history, drawing on decades of storytelling tradition while continually encouraging innovation within the medium. His influence extends across generations of readers and creators, and his stories continue to shape the evolving language of superhero comics around the world today through enduring characters imaginative narratives and thoughtful reinventions of familiar myths within popular culture and modern graphic storytelling traditions.

Reviews

[Scott]

"Your people - your nation - are mine, Captain. Trapped forever within the unending hell inside my Cosmic Cube!" -- villainous Red Skull, coincidentally tapping into my feelings for this volume

Captain America, Vol. 2: Promised Land? More like Empty Promises! Although this volume opens with an always-welcome WWII-set action sequence featuring Cap and Bucky versus the Nazis, things quickly go downhill into tedium when the narrative switches to focus on a distant relative of our title character trying to save his ailing young son. (Ah yes, the overused and often-distasteful 'child in peril' trope rears its head.). Captain America unfortunately then only has a few other quick scenes that merely function to make a reader wish he was the actual headliner here instead of a guy who is illustrated to resemble a suburban dentist or accountant. (Sigh). Give us more of Cap teaming with Nick Fury or the 60's-era Avengers and less of the uninteresting familial drama. The only saving grace was Leonardo Romero's artwork, which was reminiscent of the late Darwyn Cooke's style.

[Chad]

This is not even much of a Captain America story. It's more of an alternate future Marvel story about one of Steve Rogers descendents 500 years from now. Interspersed are a bunch of unrelated Captain America interludes throughout his history. They aren't even full stories, just little snippets of random adventures. The future story wasn't necessarily bad. I just had a hard time even caring what happened. Waid's little run on Cap just feels like filler as Marvel sets up the next creative team to take over after the Secret Empire debacle.

Mark Waid's had an uneven time at Marvel the last few years. If he's not teaming up with Chris Samnee, the stories tend to not be very good. It's disappointing. It used to be a given that if Waid's name was on it, I'd dig it.

[James DeSantis]

This was really odd to be the next volume in Captain America since it really has nothing to do with captain america.

It's all about the future line of Steve Rogers. With mix match of political undertones, what the American dream really is, and how to overcome it. It's not a bad idea, but feels odd to be a captain america mainstream comic. Should have been a side comic. Also, the ending begins to drag and by the end I was just happy to finish. This run started off decent enough but Waid should have just done a mini-series instead. A 2.5 out of 5.

[Chelsea 🏳️‍🌈]

I didn't love this.

For one thing, it had nothing to do with Captain America. Even the tribute to his image was bare bones, at best. This was really weird because, while Waid certainly isn't the first to write an arc that has nothing to do with the title character (unfortunately, it's a trend in Marvel comics right now), this was the first where I felt like the writer didn't really want to do it? It read a bit like Waid was told he had to fill 4 issues and he didn't have any ideas. He couldn't mess with Cap too much because Coates' series was coming along. So, he improvised, made up a character and tried to form a future oriented story around that. It read like it was very, very unplanned. Which is unfortunate. With time and care, it could have turned into an interesting story.

Anyway, this wasn't a Captain America book. It didn't feel like one and it wasn't all that engaging to read. Those 2 stars are for Alan Davis and Samnee because I love their work.

[Travis Duke]

I didn't read the previous volume oops, mainly because i didn't know about it. Anyways this futuristic Cap story starts off so cool, I loved the premise and the characters. 2314 and he meet Jack Rogers the descendant of Steve, he is a historian who is trying to save his sick son. The future has some interesting plots with the Kree, super serum, and historians, all are interesting. However the story jumped the shark when Cap's arch nemesis comes into view and sort of adds one too many elements for me. The ending also felt phoned in and a little too convenient plus Jack Rogers is a wimp... sorry he is with all his groveling. The art was pretty good I liked the retro look and colors. I guess I should find the previous volume now.

[Chris Lemmerman]

In the far flung future (again), the descendants of Steve Rogers contend with a Kree invasion and the resurrection of one of Captain America's greatest enemies. But there's a darker plot at work as well, and with his son's life in the balance, historian Jack Rogers will need to call on his lineage to save both him, and the entire world.

This arc, and Mark Waid's Captain America in general, is weird. Both this and the previous arc told a story set in the future (what I'm beginning to call the Valiant approach), and it's a peculiar way to structure a run. It does feel as if Waid was just filling in until the new creative team could take over, which kind of cheapens things. That said, I did enjoy this arc, probably more than the previous one.

There's a lot of showing instead of telling, with the beginning and end of this four issue arc feeling very similar to Secret Empire in that we get to see the effect of actions and not the actions themselves apart from a few panels here and there. The heart of the story is well crafted, and the final issue is especially worthy of a punch to the air, but there's definitely a feeling that things are being rushed. The idea of Steve Rogers himself being the inspiration behind the story also comes very late in the game, so this could almost be any random character rather than Steve's descendant.

The art's pretty gorgeous though. Leonardo Romero is probably the closest you can get to Chris Samnee without getting Chris Samnee, while the first three issues of the story have some guest art from none other than Adam Hughes, JG Jones, Howard Chaykin, Rod Reis, and Alan Davis, which is a great selection of artists - it's just a shame that they pencil flashbacks that aren't particularly relevant to the main plot.

Promised Land is the stronger of the two Waid arcs, but this doesn't feel very Captain America-y. It wants to be, but only seems to remember it when it's convenient instead of using it as the driving force of the story. Despite the lovely art and the good idea at its core, this volume is not one of Waid's stronger efforts.

[Kay]

I really liked this! (Apparently, I'm the only one!)

The art was beautiful (except for the actual Cap flashbacks, which were mostly fugly and could have been left out of the story entirely), and the story was good. Yes, this wasn't really a Captain America book, but I didn't mind. Maybe because I read this so belatedly? Because I know these two Waid books are just fillers to the next run? I dunno.

Anyway, I thought the (future) world building was really well done. The art was so pretty, and I thought the writing was really good too. Jack Rogers is a good character who looks up to Captain America but is a lot more human, and I enjoyed that.
This story also had a lot of tropes I generally like: The good guy on the run, the good guy a little weak and desperate so he pairs with the bad guy, working with one enemy against a greater enemy is always a good one, and finally, the last-minute save when all seems lost.

3.5

[Guilherme Smee]

Confesso que me decepcionei um pouco quando li o primeiro volume desta coleção do Capitão América por Mark Waid e "Chris Samnee". Não estava nem aos pés do Demolidor dos dois. Passaram a explorar um futuro esquisitaço naquele arco. Bem, neste arco também eles também desenvolvem um futuro. Cabe ao competente brasileiro Leonardo Romero cobrir os furos de Samnee. Este é um dos primeiros trabalhos mais extensos de Romero publicados no Brasil. Mas dessa vez, o tiro acerta mais que erra. Os conceitos usados por Waid e sua intenção de mostrar os historiadores, como é o descendente do Capitão América, Jack Rogers, como uma categoria de cidadãos privilegiados por terem acesso ao passado (SIM!) e investigá-lo (SIM!) são deveras interessantes. Ao mesmo tempo, Jack precisa salva r seu filho Steve de uma doença implantada pelos krees na população americana. Mas antes ele precisa se apossar do Cubo Cósmico e deter o Caveira Vermelha ao mesmo tempo. Esse quadrinho sim, é uma bela homenagem às 700 edições do Capitão América cujo número 700 foi publicado no volume anterior. Ainda assim a fase dos dois no Capitão América fica aquém de sua fase no Demolidor.

[Rolando Marono]

Waid descarta lo que había construido en su tomo anterior y nos da una historia del futuro del universo Marvel, o de algún futuro de Marvel.
Me decepcionó un poco que llevara la historia al futuro porque anula un poco todo. Esta historia es completamente omitible y quizá deberías de hacerlo.
También me decepcionó la ausencia de Samnee en las ilustraciones. El trabajo de ilustrar lo retoma Romero y emula bastante bien el estilo de Samnee, no se siente tan diferente en cuánto a los tipos de trazo pero Samnee también es muy bueno y original en el viñetaje, la manera en la que acomoda sus viñetas y cómo ilustra algunos poderes o habilidades de los personajes, enriquece completamente lo que se está narrando. Romero no logra ese alcance con su arte. También hay algunos artistas invitados que ilustran flashbacks del Capitán América, el arte de esos flashbacks es muy retro pero funciona bien.
La historia nos narra la vida de los descendientes del Cap América, al menos de dos, Jack y Steve, padre e hijo. Jack es un historiador, no es un héroe y definitivamente no tiene aspiraciones heroicas. Pero quiere proteger a su hijo, y cuando su hijo enferma por la aplicación obligatoria del suero de súper soldado (¿Qué no se había perdido? Pero ya llegaremos a ese punto) deshace todo el gobierno del mundo para rescatarlo.
Hay muchos problemas en esta trama. El primero es la aplicación obligatoria del suero. Pero esto lo solucionan con un flashback de la segunda guerra mundial donde vemos a Bucky y al Cap tener una muestra del suero y guardarla para la posteridad. No creo que este futuro sea mucho de lo que el Cap haya envisionado, pero Waid se avienta una narración en primera persona utilizando a Jack como protagonista en donde habla del sueño americano expandido finalmente a todo el universo gracias a eso.
Pero su hijo está enfermo gracias a eso.
Y Jack descubre una conspiración por parte del gobierno que lo lleva a aliarse con Red Skull. Las interacciones entre Red Skull y Jack son las más interesantes del tomo. Tenemos un crecimiento interesante en el personaje de Jack por definitivamente no es un héroe. Condenar a la humanidad para salvar a tu hijo, no es exactamente la decisión de un héroe. Pero Jack lo entiende y eso lo hace un poco interesante.
El final es confuso y no me queda muy claro exactamente que pasa con Jack y con Red Skull.
Al leer los dos tomos de Waid del Capitán América, me da la impresión que Waid no quería escribir esta serie y que no había un plan para largo plazo. Sólo tenían que cubrir dos tomos de la historia en lo que Ta-Nehisi Coates acababa de publicar su libro y podía escribir la nueva historia larga y pertinente del personaje. Creo que ambos tomos son completamente saltables.

[Quentin Wallace]

2.5 Stars

This wasn't very well received, and I'm afraid to say I see why. It's a story set in the future and Captain America really only appears in flashbacks. There's a convoluted plot involving the super soldier serum and the Kree, some cosmic cube hijinks with the Red Skull, and other assorted shenanigans. The art was fine, although several artists worked on the series so there was some inconsistency. I still feel as though this story was ill-timed as the aftermath of Secret Empire doesn't seem the time to tell stand alone semi-alternate universe stories that don't address current continuity.

[Kris Ritchie]

Eh, didn't really grab me

[Emily]

Well, that was a thing that I read.

[Alexandre]

Acho q é a pior história do Mark Waid que eu já li.

[Kyle Dinges]

Man, absolutely nothing Mark Waid has been doing at Marvel since the end of his Daredevil run has been appealing to me. The Black Widow series with Samnee was solid. Other than that, his Champions, Avengers, SHIELD, Antman/Wasp, and this Captain America series have all left me disinterested, at best.

This volume of Cap is worse than the last, which isn't great considering the last volume was a muddled time travel story that never landed. In this volume we have more fun with time by going far into the future. Turns out we've gone so far into the future, Captain America isn't even in the story! That kind of "tell a superhero story without the superhero" is a ploy that sometimes work, but here just renders the story utterly boring.

The art here is good, though a step down from the first volume due to Samnee's absence. I'd really recommend skipping this one, even for Cap fans. Here's to hoping Waid can get his mojo back soon!

[K]

This is one of those stories that just sort of sucker punches you in the gut in the best way. Like, for me, this is what comics are about.

I love that we're dropped into this setting, and we're hundreds of years into the future, and there's this Utopian society, but there's something sinister hiding.

But here's what gets me:
We think that Jack is going to go ahead and resurrect Captain America, he's going to bring Steve back and save the world, and Steve will be blasted AGAIN into the future, set out of time, but this time with a family and a new version of the world to save.

And instead, Jack brings back the Red Skull. And he manages to manipulate Skull into fighting the Kree to save Earth. And in spite of the fact Jack has no powers, no faith in himself, and just hope for his son -he succeeds in saving the world not because of himself. Not because of his heritage really, but because he gets people to join with him.
No one person is unimportant, and as Jack says 'united we stand' and as such, they save themselves. The focus isn't on the war, the focus isn't on the action or the battles, or the epic panels of hand to hand combat it's about a father who loves his son and will do anything to save him.
And that it takes all of us to save ourselves.

As someone who isn't a historian, but has a pretty good grasp of history, it's sad to say I don't think this comic will ever not be socially relevant. I think that we will always have struggles, and always be convinced it's someone else's problem, or that this 'other' is who we're against, or someone doesn't deserve something ... but really, it's always about all of us.

United we stand. Divided we fall.

[Scott Lee]

Waid actually tells wonderful story here that deals powerfully with all the greatest themes of Captain America, unfortunately it belongs in a stand alone or the Marvel equivalent of a DC Elseworlds title as it completely divorces itself from the connected MU where it could have any impact whatsoever that feels lasting and real to ongoing/long term readers.

That said, as a stand alone story it was fantastic. It isn't really a Captain America story per se, but it certainly hits all the right notes and involves Cap. Waid is far more inventive than his reputation as a staid traditionalist gives him credit for, and he demonstrates that here, pulling all kinds of threads that could mesh with/grow from our present to tell a plausible future story that deals with all the elements he uses so well when writing Captain America. The art is steady and consistent, and story is complete, ambitious beyond its four issue scope, but told by a master in such a way that it fits into the space provided masterfully working in both scene and summary so that we always have enough info, but we never drift off into unnecessary writing/story that bogs down the pace or leaves other portions of the plot feeling cramped. If it were a mini-series it would be a five. My frustration with two stories in a row that essentially function that way is that it's not what I'm looking for in a mainstream book that is supposed to be the character's one and only ongoing in the main MU.

[Kevin]

I really enjoyed the first volume of this run, but this was a disappointment. For one, it’s a $15 dollar trade and it’s only four issues. C’mon Marvel. Second, while the story itself is interesting enough, it’s told almost entirely through captions. Once Red Skull returns, the rest of the story feels super rushed. One minute he’s taking over Earth and fighting the Skrulls, and then a few pages later Cap’s descendent defeats him. This arc could’ve easily been six issues. It was an interesting concept, and I would’ve liked to spend more time in this alternate future and feel the stakes of Skull’s reign more.

It also sucks that Waid’s run on Cap was so short because Marvel rebooted...again. I think Coates is writing the character now? It’s just too much to keep up with. I now read way more creator-owned titles than books from the big two, and I enjoy them more. DC still intrigues me and has plenty of great ongoing titles, but it’s becoming too much to follow Marvel on the comics side of things.

[Adam Fisher]

3.5 Stars.
After last Volume's "grassroots campaign to restore Captain America as a hero", I expected this title to continue along the same path. It didn't... and I'm glad for it. This entire Volume takes place years in the future, where peace has been made with the Kree, and the governments have used the super soldier serum to cure disease and increase how long people can live. We meet Jack Rogers, descendant of Steve, who is on a mission to help find the cure for his sick son. When he uncovers a plot that will change how the entire world will see their government, will his new fugitive status prevent him from getting to his son in time? And don't forget about the appearance of Cap's Shield, the Cosmic Cube AND Red Skull!
Overall, nice Volume-contained story about how the spirit of Captain America will live on far into the future.... but we already knew that.
Recommend. It's a quick read.

[Anne]

Hmmm. The art in this was beautiful. As a story by itself it was interesting. As a Captain America comic, I'm not so sure. This felt like a much bigger story, one that should have been stretched across much more than four issues. It might have been better for it. I liked the idea of Captain America's descendants continuing the story, but since this was a Captain America comic, I would've liked to have seen more involvement by Captain America himself. Or one of them, at least. The other problem I have is that this very much feels like filler. All of these issues felt like they could have been placed anywhere in the timeline. Which would have been fine except this came immediately after Secret Empire which left Steve's story in a very bad place. To continue without mentioning the results of Secret Empire at all doesn't really work and makes this feel like what I suspect it is, a series of issues treading water until the real follow up to Secret Empire could come out.

[Alex E]

In the future, the legacy of Steve Rogers has literally shaped the world.

Mark Waid is a great writer. I think he's one of the best modern day writers. And usually, his cap stuff is really good. But his kind of feels like a side story that got stretched to 4 issues for some reason.

It has to do with Cap's ancestor, who has a son in the hospital, and who needs access to the original super soldier serum's details (gathered from Steve Rogers) to try and heal his boy. Unfortunately the government denies him and he finds out it's due to a much more nefarious plan than usual. This one involves a Kree attack, the Red Skull returning, and man trying to be his best against insurmountable odds. And while that all sounds exciting - it kind of feels like a filler type story.

I think the highlight of the book for me personally was the art. I'm not familiar with Leonardo Romero, but he has a great style that is reminiscent of more golden age"y" type art. Ill be looking out for his work in the future.

Overall - this was OK but like I said, just kind of a side story.

[RND]

Another alternate-future story! Back to back, no less! Still... this is my first time seeing Leonardo Romero's art, and what a find. Nice and clean, sort of a hybrid between Chris Samnee and Javier Pulido/Marcos Martin. An interesting experiment, in that Steve Rogers does not appear in the story at all except in flashback, it examines the legacy of Rogers. A little too jingoistic at times, sometimes overwrought with the dialogue (or narration), but entertaining and enjoyable.

[Brent]

Waid does Cap so well. For about twenty-five years, off and on. In this, it's another Waid future version of the hero. Looking back in flashback to Cap's career, different artists do great interpretive vignettes. And lead artist Romero rocks.
Red Skull gets short shrift here, but it's ok, the story is large.
Bought first two issues (first half of story) from my local comics shop, then just swamped. It all makes more sense in this volume.
Highly recommended.

[Sean]

I like Mark Waid but this was not a good read. We're taken into the far future where Steve Rogers' descendants now live in a world that has conquered war and lives in peace with the Kree. Obviously that doesn't last. While there was one interesting step, this book seemed like filler. This was more of a what if? annual than a story ending Cap's current run. Most the art was by Leonardo Romero and it was too cartoony for the story. Overall, this was bland and formulaic.

[Sirbriang2]

I like Mark Waid, and I like it when he writes Captain America. But this is the second consecutive story arc that takes place in the future, and this one doesn’t even bother to star Captain America! It’s not a bad story at its core, but I didn’t care about the future characters much. It felt underwhelming, especially following the last TPB, which explored some of the same themes, but better.

[Nicole Westen]

The story in and of itself was fine, but I'm just annoyed that we're doing more of 'oh this isn't technically about the character because we are upteen million years in the future and everyone is dead!' I'm tolerating it in Thor because we get to see Thor's daughters, and I like their characters, but it is annoying for me.

[John]

Feels more like an "Elsworld" or What If than an actual arc by Waid. These two stories were kind of a palette cleanser/break until Ta-Nehisi Coates took over, whose arc is as political (if not more so) than Nick Spencers.

But the art is pretty stellar; and it's another good example of the "legacy" of the character.

[wbforeman]

I think people are being a little too hard on this book. I think this is a fun futuristic tale with some really fun twists, and turns the reveal of who is in the ice cube is a lot of fun. This book also has some great art in it. Adam Hughes, doing interior art is always a happy surprise. And again, Mark Waid knows how to write a good story.

[Garrett]

Straight up speculative sci-fi by Mark Waid with Captain America in it, but only as a root structure and an inspiration. Lots of good future themes here and beautiful artwork that serves as scene changes when appropriate. A slim volume, so a fun afternoon's read.

[B]

Interesting, although I wonder if it could have been done in one long issue.

The main character has a real resemblance to Dr. Faustus, who shows up in one of the first flashbacks, but it's a red herring. Some interesting spins. I wonder if there was more to be told.

[Joshua Williams]

I said it before and I’ll say it again, secret empire was good and you can’t convince me otherwise. This is such a meh run by someone who’s normally so good (I just read his few years on hulk which was amazing) so it’s sad to see such a weak run on cap.