Hmm. Entertaining but unnecessary. At least for me.
I should know better at this point, but I've read a LOT of origin stories for the Marvel U, so seeing another one, even from a crackerjack creative team, isn't enough to thrill me. There are a lot of great elements in Ed Brubaker's flashback story; I've never seen Angel as a POV character, the original Torch is always cool, and I love seeing Namor be a jerk. That said, I've seen all the Cap stuff and the early Torch/Namor fights too many times to be overwhelmed by it.
While I may have been left cold by the elements of the story featuring Cap, Torch, and Namor, I LOVED the portions with some of the lesser known characters. The Angel is a neat, likeable "normal" guy trying to be a hero. The Destroyer is fascinating, I had no idea he is a super-soldier created in a concentration camp. How has this guy not been featured in more comics? Brubaker's story rocks when it is dealing with all the surrounding scientific and military characters. Professor Erskine and his many assistants, John Steele, Nick Fury; all these grounded elements work extremely well in this re-telling. (I don't remember John Steele at all, is he an old character? I like him, I just don't recognize him.)
Steve Epting's art is fantastic. His Torch looks like he's surrounded by liquid flame. Namor really comes off as a villain, thanks to Epting's unflinching look at all the damage and destruction Namor brings down on New York City.
Overall, the book is well done and a solid story, I just felt like too much of it was already familiar to me. If you've been reading Marvel for a long time or read Marvels, this will rehash a lot of material.
Fair
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