CMYK Reviews

I have to admit early on that I have very minimal knowledge or experience with the 2099 universe that Marvel used in the 90s. The big thing I know about it is the costumes are, well, extremely 90s, and it’s a vaguely cyberpunk setting.

This issue presents the scenario of Captain America unfreezing in the year 2099. This leads to the effective collapse of the democratic American experiment, leading to the country being ruled by a corporation and anyone with a genetic variability being detained if politically convenient. A collection of heroes aim to stop this, including Miguel O’Hara and a bunch of other people that exist.

It’s tough to get a whole story into a single issue, particularly when it’s an alternate reality like the What If…? series. This one doesn’t exactly land. The basis is fine, and as so often happens with middling What If…? issues, makes one wonder how it’d be as a miniseries.

But there’s just too much to be done in this few pages. Heroes of 2099 are introduced and killed while doing little in between. The uprising is launched by a holographic speech that is able to be seen thanks to <file not found>. And of course we need a splash page for the new, regrettable uniform. It is a 2099 title, after all.

Captain leads the fight, barely important heroes die, and it leads to a showdown between Captain and the CEO/President of the United States. To the surprise of no one, it’s revealed the big bad is Red Skull, who drops a monologue about how it’s easy to manipulate the populace with mass media and then gets his ass whipped. Hooray freedom.

The issue ends with the victorious Cap delivering a speech in front of the remaining government about how civic involvement is important and we can’t let corporations control us. I know writers who use subtext, and they’re all cowards.

In all fairness, it is interesting to read something this explicitly political in 2026 Marvel, even if it’s under the guise of not directly pointing at any one party or politician. But damn, it’d be nice for this to not feel like a speedrun through the bare bones of a story outline.

What If…?: Captain America #1
Writer: Marc Guggenheim
Artist: Ron Lim
Colors: Andrew Dalhouse
Marvel Comics