Marvel's classic What If...? ongoing series from decades gone by consistently took the premise of changing one small or pivotal event in regular Marvel continuity to explore a different sort of ending or story. With this new What If event, Marvel abandons that premise, embracing instead an approach that's more than a little reminiscent of DC's now-defunct Elseworlds line. Instead of changing one turning point in a classic story, the context in which a character is crafted is altered altogether. It's fun seeing radically different interpretations of familiar characters, but what we're left with in the case of this Captain America story is an origin, with little room left for more. The artwork by a relative newcomer is capable, but it's a bit too loose as well.
A hacker who goes by the handle of "the Watcher" finds a way to peer into other realities, and he discovers one in which a gangly young soldier in the U.S. Army during the Civil War discovers that war and the people he admires aren't all they're cracked up to be. Branded a traitor for refusing to participate in wholesale slaughter and wounded, Rogers ends up in the care of Sam Wilson, a free black man who was raised by Native Americans to be a shaman. He needs to heal and empower the young idealist quickly, as Rogers's old platoon is tearing up the countryside looking for him.
DiGiandomento's artwork often reminds me of the styles of such artists as Scott (Thor: Blood Oath) Kolins and Duncan (Superman, JLA) Rouleau. He handles the characters well enough, but when action makes its way into the story, the visuals offer a bit of confusion. The historical nature of this fictional plot calls for a slightly more realistic style, I think, and the penciller's approach is one that's more exaggerated and sketchy in nature. The one visual element that plays to his strengths is the design for the White Skull. The artist's style grants him a truly monstrous appearance that has a real impact.
One of my favorite elements of the story was the coming together of different cultures. African American, aboriginal and European culture collide and converge when Steve encounters Sam, and Bedard's script makes that cultural harmony work despite the setting.
One of the problems with this story is that it really ends with the coming of Captain America. Most of the story revolves around an awkward Steve Rogers, and the reader is forced to wait a long time before the figure depicted on the cover makes an appearance. I'm surprised the origin wasn't boiled down to a two- or three-page flashback that preceded an all-out Captain America adventure in the past setting. 5/10
