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Captain America Omnibus
Captain America by Ta-Nehisi Coates Omnibus
Acclaimed BLACK PANTHER scribe Ta-Nehisi Coates takes on the Sentinel of Liberty! For more than seventy years, Captain America has stood in stalwart defense of his country. But in the aftermath of Hydra's brief takeover of the nation, Cap is a figure of controversy - carrying a tarnished shield - and a new enemy is rising! As Steve Rogers takes on the manipulative Power Elite, will he end up as Captain of Nothing? Or does the living legend still have some allies in his corner? Framed for a crime he didn't commit, Steve is forced underground - but he's about to come out fighting! However, even as Captain America returns, so too does his greatest enemy. Can Steve marshal his forces in time to face the reborn Red Skull? Collecting CAPTAIN AMERICA (2018) #1-30 and material from FREE COMIC BOOK DAY 2018 (AVENGERS/CAPTAIN AMERICA).
696 pages, Hardcover
First published July 25, 2023
2 people are currently reading
61 people want to read
About the author
Ta-Nehisi Coates
283 books17.4k followersTa-Nehisi Coates is the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Between the World and Me, a finalist for the National Book Award. A MacArthur "Genius Grant" fellow, Coates has received the National Magazine Award, the Hillman Prize for Opinion and Analysis Journalism, and the George Polk Award for his Atlantic cover story "The Case for Reparations." He lives in New York with his wife and son.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
November 19, 2023
I maybe liked this more than Coates' BP run just because I like Captain America more, not sure. I wasn't a fan of this. The ending arc felt really weak.
September 23, 2025
At the start, and at times at the end, this feels like a lightweight, but still insightful Coates critique yarn. But in the vast middle I question if Coates even wrote those issues. Leinil Yu’s art is amazing, but Adam Kubert is in a weird spot right now, and the rest of the art is just fine, basic.
April 3, 2024
The graphic quality is high but the script is dull and confusing at times.
Ta-Nehisi overated.
Ta-Nehisi overated.
March 4, 2025
What happens when the American people lose faith in Captain America, and more importantly, what he stands for? What happens when fascist demagogues (Hydra) offer struggling people a sense of order in the chaos? Or when they co-opt his identity , symbols and name to further their agenda, creating deep mistrust from the people. And what does the title of "Captain America" really even mean? Is Steve Rogers really Captain of Nothing? Given his career as a political/cultural writer (and his more than admirable run on Black Panther) these are questions I half-expected Ta-Nehisi Coates to pose with his run on Cap anyway. But was it entirely satisfying? In large parts absolutely…
There are no simple answers to those questions, and he doesn't necessarily have any. But he does pose them, and Steve Rogers as a narrative vessel, must wrangle with them.
Many people don't care about the truth, or about what's right. People only want what's easy. This is the core theme of my favourite Cap stories. He understands and respects the political tone of this character, the propagandist history, and the righteous ideals behind it. In times of uncertainty, people entrench themselves in absolutism, because it's easy. But certainty is the enemy of unity.
Alan Moore may think of this character as a fascist propaganda machine, and in certain iterations he certainly has been... But that's one for the hipster intellectuals to debate. Cap, when written well, isn't pushing any nationlist agenda, in fact, he's just as likely to be a dissident rebel pushing back against military and government superiors as he is to be punching Red Skull in the face. He's simply anti-bullies. And he knows that his symbol is larger than Steve, the man. Coates taps into this, while bringing that to the fore in a very timely and urgent way. Although he loses himself in this wandering exploration and in a fairly rehashed plot at times (Hero gets framed for something and hangs up the suit etc). He adopts a more nuanced, thoughtful approach to situations than just relying on bam-smash-punch-bad-guy-in-face.
"The Dream" of America is a recurring motif here. What exactly are its contents, and just how infected has it gotten? Steve might now represent something that is warped, or worse, buried. But not lost...
Coates' plotting isn't always smooth, he's still getting used to writing in the medium and the dialogue can be a little didactic. He also sometimes loses sight of his central character, not really knowing what to do with him as he utilises a lofty ensemble cast of - albeit interesting - characters.
But, this is far better than 95% of the schlock published at Marvel and DC these days. What Coates accomplishes here, is to plant himself firmly alongside Ed Brubaker in the upper echelons of political writers of Captain America.
This is a relevant run that offers a glimmer of hope in tumultuous times. Which is exactly the history these kinds of comics are built on.
There are no simple answers to those questions, and he doesn't necessarily have any. But he does pose them, and Steve Rogers as a narrative vessel, must wrangle with them.
Many people don't care about the truth, or about what's right. People only want what's easy. This is the core theme of my favourite Cap stories. He understands and respects the political tone of this character, the propagandist history, and the righteous ideals behind it. In times of uncertainty, people entrench themselves in absolutism, because it's easy. But certainty is the enemy of unity.
Alan Moore may think of this character as a fascist propaganda machine, and in certain iterations he certainly has been... But that's one for the hipster intellectuals to debate. Cap, when written well, isn't pushing any nationlist agenda, in fact, he's just as likely to be a dissident rebel pushing back against military and government superiors as he is to be punching Red Skull in the face. He's simply anti-bullies. And he knows that his symbol is larger than Steve, the man. Coates taps into this, while bringing that to the fore in a very timely and urgent way. Although he loses himself in this wandering exploration and in a fairly rehashed plot at times (Hero gets framed for something and hangs up the suit etc). He adopts a more nuanced, thoughtful approach to situations than just relying on bam-smash-punch-bad-guy-in-face.
"The Dream" of America is a recurring motif here. What exactly are its contents, and just how infected has it gotten? Steve might now represent something that is warped, or worse, buried. But not lost...
Coates' plotting isn't always smooth, he's still getting used to writing in the medium and the dialogue can be a little didactic. He also sometimes loses sight of his central character, not really knowing what to do with him as he utilises a lofty ensemble cast of - albeit interesting - characters.
But, this is far better than 95% of the schlock published at Marvel and DC these days. What Coates accomplishes here, is to plant himself firmly alongside Ed Brubaker in the upper echelons of political writers of Captain America.
This is a relevant run that offers a glimmer of hope in tumultuous times. Which is exactly the history these kinds of comics are built on.
October 14, 2023
Disclaimer: I'm not a Captain America fan. I read this for Selene. I loved the way this story serves as political commentary, and the way Selene's targeting of fascist Hydra supporters places Captain America in an ethical dilemma; it was very well written until it came to the part where Selene is defeated. You expect me to believe that a centuries old vampiric mutant is dumb enough not to realize she's losing so much energy that she simply can't fight anymore? Just from chasing someone down? Unbelievable, and fails to do justice to Selene as a character. Not to mention there appears to have been a lack of communication between departments at Marvel, because Selene is apparently arrested here and delivered to Krakoa but then she appears on Krakoa in House/Powers of X like nothing happened. Which is why in my version of the story Selene used her magic to create an illusion for C. America to arrest, and then she escaped. That's how the story works out in my head at least.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 5, 2026
30 years from now a bunch of English majors might collectively be yelling, "what do you mean Ta-Nehisi Coates wrote comic books?!" but he did and a lot of them were pretty good. His Captain America run isn't as strong as his Black Panther stuff but it also feels like after a interesting political take on the character you can often feel Marvel's corporate influence on the title especially in the middle issues. The backup story on issue 25 "The Promise" was the strongest thing in the series and making the Red Skull a right wing men's influencer was a really fun touch that felt new and in line with the characters awful history.
December 10, 2023
An interesting take on the question "What does Captain America mean today?" (and by extension, "What does 'America' mean today?"). It stumbles unavoidably because there are no easy answers to that question, or rather, no permanent ones, and this leaves the conclusion a little unsatisfying, if more realistic. Still, if you're looking for Cap story featuring many of his classic villains (although alas, no Batroc ze Leapair), and grappling with the collision of Cap's ideals and modern America, you could do a lot worse.
April 10, 2023
This is so well done. It's a great follow up to Secret Empire, and the perfect Cap storyline for the present time. Coates does such a great job exploring Cap and themes/characters surrounding the character and his legacy. Plenty of great action, suspense, and payoff blended with a nuanced narrative.
September 9, 2023
It’s a five-star from Coates, a socially aware political thriller that is a worthy continuation of the Brubaker tone and rich is continuity.
The drawback is that after an incredible start with Yu and Kubert, we get a succession of less-than-adequate fill in artists that defuses what could have been a defining run.
The drawback is that after an incredible start with Yu and Kubert, we get a succession of less-than-adequate fill in artists that defuses what could have been a defining run.
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January 30, 2025“We have, all of us, forgotten something.”
A good’n!
A good’n!
October 16, 2025
I think Coates is a very smart fellow, his works are very interesting think pieces and he tries to transpose that depth to his comic book works. Black Panther had a lot of ideas, some time too much, and you can see Coates straining at the balance of wordiness vs. visual art. Coates does a better job with the balance here in Cap, and doesn't overstuff this one with ideas. In fact, it's a lot more focused, and by picking up threads, it almost feels like a bit of a sequel to Brubaker's famous Captain America run (which I hold in high regard at least until Captain America Reborn). Coates run here in opposite fashion of Black Panther feels like it stutters the longer it goes on and is wrapped up a bit to quickly. Still a decent enough run.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews