U.S. Agent #1 - Marvel Comics

U.S. AGENT No. 1, August 2001

For those bibliophiles able to forgive John Walker looking somewhat like a light-sabre wielding Judge Dredd clone rather than his original, disconcerting dark mirror image of Captain America, Issue One of “U.S. Agent” probably proved a rather enjoyable read in May 2001. Indeed, it is arguably hard to imagine a more pulse-pounding opening than that which Jerry Ordway provides this comic’s 23,720 strong audience, as the super-human “top cop” single-handedly takes on an entire Hydra base hidden amidst “the Northern Italian countryside” in an effort to detain the wanted terrorist known as Machete.

Happily however, this twenty-two page periodical’s narrative doesn’t just focus upon the titular character’s ability to endlessly bash heads or bruise bodies, and additionally features a plot twist which sees the deeply troubled crime-fighter face treachery within the federal government’s very own Superhuman Tactical Activities Response Squad (S.T.A.R.S.). This traitor’s identity isn’t revealed until close to the end of the book, following the disclosure that they cold-bloodedly gunned down Fernando Lopez, and resultantly leaves its readers with an excellent cliff-hanger as to whether U.S. Agent will realise he’s being played for a fool by the turncoat before it’s too late; “Make it happen, or he’s gone -- History -- Poof!”

Ordway’s ability to flesh out a number of this publication’s supporting cast within such a short space of time is also rather commendable, courtesy of some brief insights into Walker’s fractious relationships with his fellow S.T.A.R.S. members. John seems to be much impressed with Val Cooper’s ability to recruit the very best personnel to support his missions. But seems far less impressed with Senator Warkovsky’s decision to recruit his old Boot Camp rival Kali Vries to the organisation, or the back-chat of his team’s elderly computer wizard, who appears perfectly willing to voice his opinions as to the anti-hero’s “old girlfriend” behind his back.

Equally as entertaining as this comic’s script is the Inkpot Award-winner's artwork, which does a really nice job of depicting the sheer insanity of U.S. Agent attempting to penetrate a massively-fortified Hydra installation with nothing more than guts and some state-of-the-art technology. The American artist nails the sheer viciousness of an intense battle tightly bound within the confines of a corridor, yet does admittedly seem to pencil a distinctly stiff-looking Walker during some of this book’s more sedentary, dialogue-driven scenes.

Writer/Penciler: Jerry Ordway, Inker: Karl Kesel, and Letterer: John Workman