We live in a day and age filled with comic book adaptations. Movies starring our favorite superheroes, villains, anti-heroes and pulpy characters seem to pop up every month, tv shows adapting cult classic independent books are released so fast you can barely keep up with it and every now and again they even try to adapt the books we love for the stage (to middling success). Yet the stories that inspire these films and shows often get overlooked. The books that breathe life and color into these – often inferior – adaptations are sometimes completely ignored when a major studio gets their claws into them, a trend that frustrates me endlessly. That’s why I’m starting this series, where we look at upcoming comic book adaptations and discuss the books that inspired them, so you know what to pick up next time you’re in your local comic book shop.

Today we’ll be looking at Captain America’s latest big-screen outing “Brave New World” and the books that inspired it as well as books that will supplement your Gamma radiated cravings after seeing the film. 

All-New Captain America

Sam Wilson’s first solo title as Captain America is immediately his best. This 6 issue mini-series written by Rick Remender with art by Stuart Immonen is exactly what you want from a book like this. It introduces you to this new era of Captain America with no-holds-barred action. Seriously, this thing opens right in the middle of the fight and just doesn’t let up the entire time, it’s really thrilling. Cap is sent on a mission against Hydra that sees him facing off against every pseudo-nazi Steve Rogers has ever faced. Having Sam stuck in this adventure that encompassess almost the entirety of Steve’s past is genius and a lot of fun, solidifying it as one of my favorite ways off relaunching a legacy character like this. 

Sam is put through the ringer here as he’s thrown into the modern-day version of a Kirby and Simon era story, including evil super-nazis trying to take over the world with a ridiculous scheme and colourful interior pages. It’s clear that Remender really went for it here to prove just how worthy Sam is of the shield as he beats down 80 years of Cap villains in 6 issues. But the story doesn’t just use its incredible action to convince the reader of Sam’s competency. It does much more.

The entire adventure plays alongside several flashbacks scenes that explore Sam’s past and instill the entire story with motivation as we realize more and more why Sam is supposed to be Cap. These flashback sequences aren’t just good to create that sense of morality that fuels Sam but it also gives readers a sense of Sam’s back story. Sam has a sort of convoluted past because of a retcon from a few decades ago but Remender uses this book to clean that up a little, making it easier to stomach as this new status quo for the character is ushered in. 

“All New Captain America” is a non-stop action book great for new readers and old readers alike.

Captain America: Sam Wilson

Remender’s Sam Wilson Mini is followed up by Nick Spencer’s run on the winged Avenger, another solid entry in this character’s new status quo. While I think Remender’s mini is the better of the two, this book feels much more akin to his Live-action counterpart. The book focuses on more grounded issues compared to the “sci-fi nazis try to sterilize the entire earth using inhumans” of our previous entry, often commentating on real world events and the rhetoric present in 2016’s America (and also 2025 America sadly). But by tackling said issues in a heightened way the book still manages to be fun and engaging instead of simply depressing. 

The book also features the origin of Joaquin Torres’ Falcon, who we will see more of in “Brave New World” after his Disney+ debut 4 years ago. I really like Joaquin as Falcon in the comics, he’s got a very fun, young, energy around him and the total ridiculousness of his origin story is something I mess with heavily. 

Also present in this book which may or may not tie into “Brave New World” is the Serpent Society, a group of snake-themed evil doers who were originally featured in this new film but reshoots and rewrites seem to have done away with them for the most part. It’s not entirely clear what happened to them but if you wanna make sure you’re not missing out on any snake related activity in the film, make sure to check out this book since they’re the big bad of the entire thing.

While this run is solid, it does tie into a bunch of other Marvel Universe stuff later on which might make it a bit of a tough read for those who aren’t fully engaged into that world-building yet. I recommend starting with the first 6 issues and seeing what you think before either continuing on or pivoting to one of the other books on this list!  

Thunderbolts Red

No, I didn’t confuse the next two MCU releases, I know we’re not talking about the “Thunderbolts*” yet. But the inclusion of Thaddeus Ross and The Leader in Brave New World make “Thunderbolts Red” (or Thunderbolts 2013) the perfect supplementary reading material as you prepare for the new MCU blockbuster. Especially Ross’ shines here, both in his role as a no-nonsense general and as the Red Hulk. Written by Daniel Way (and later Charles Soule), this run on the Thunderbolts is unlike any of the others sharing the name. While previous incarnations of the team focused on groups of (reformed) villains, this take on the character sees a group of anti-heroes coming together under the leadership of Ross to do the big scale stuff they can’t do alone.

Their first mission revolves all around Samuel Sterns AKA The Leader, who might not be exactly as smart as you expect him to be in this run (or the color you expect him to be for that matter), but he’s still as dastardly as you want him to be (especially in the later half of this run once other writers take over the book). The Leader doesn’t necessarily have the most iconic line-up of books under his belt, so finding a run that prominently features him the way this one does isn’t as easy as you might think.

This book is a ton of fun. Bloody, violent, action packed and filled with fun characters like Ghost Rider, Deadpool, Elektra and Punisher alongside the aforementioned Hulk characters. 

Honorable Mentions

There’s many more stories to get through as we prepare for Brave New World, but many of them might not be entirely relevant to the movie’s story. That’s why they’re in this little paragraph. I still recommend reading these stories, but if you don’t get through them before the film’s release it’s not going to affect your viewing experience. 

Red Hulk was created in 2008 by Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuinness in the aptly titled “HULK” book, an unstoppable tour de force of a comic. Loeb has undoubtedly written some beautifully emotional books before but his Hulk run sure as shit isn’t that. I wouldn’t even really call this book good yet it is still very entertaining. Each issue whizzes by you like a freight train and before you know it you’ll be 12 issues in and pondering what the fuck you’re even reading about. If you have a Marvel Unlimited subscription and a free afternoon I’d highly suggest cracking this open and turning your brain off. But if you don’t have any of these, maybe let the book lay to your wayside.

On the flipside I’d recommend reading Immortal Hulk, my personal favorite Hulk book ever written and one of the most solid runs the big two have had to offer readers in the last 20 years. Immortal Hulk, written by Al Ewing and drawn by Joe Bennett, is a body-horror thrill ride that introduces readers to a whole new mythology surrounding Bruce Banner. Sure, this isn’t focused on Captain America necessarily, neither is it too focused on Thaddeus Ross, but if we want a story that focuses all on Gamma then Immortal Hulk is the book to bat for. 

A book I’ll always recommend people read if they want to get into Captain America is “United States Of Captain America”, a story all about what it means to be Captain America, a concept I’m sure Sam will struggle with as well in Brave New World. The book features both Steve and Sam suiting up as the titular red-white-and-blue hero but it also includes a plethora of other Captain Americas, both old and new. It’s a fun cross-country adventure that celebrates the 80 year history of Cap perfectly and introduces you to a whole new cast of fun characters.

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Are you excited for “Brave New World”? And If so, will you be checking out any of these aforementioned books in preparation? Let us know in the comments and give us a follow if you’d like to read more!