Ultimate Captain America # 1 January 2011 is the first issue of a four-part limited series written by Jason Aaron and illustrated by Ron Garney. Set in Marvel’s Ultimate Universe (Earth-1610), it explores a gritty, hard-hitting confrontation between Steve Rogers and a darker legacy of the Super-Soldier project.
The story introduces Frank Simpson, the "Captain America of the Vietnam War".
- The Mission: Steve Rogers travels to North Korea to investigate rumors of a rogue super-soldier program. There, he discovers that someone has been supplying super-soldier blood to hostile regimes.
- The Rivalry: Steve encounters Frank Simpson, a man who was given the Super-Soldier Serum while Rogers was frozen in ice. Simpson has since become a disillusioned, cynical rogue with an American flag tattooed on his face.
- The Conflict: Simpson brutally defeats Rogers in their first meeting, mocking him as a "pawn" for the American government. He views Steve's version of patriotism as deluded and aims to force him to "see the light" about the reality of U.S. interventionism.
- Creative Team: Jason Aaron (Writer) and Ron Garney (Artist).
- Characters: Steve Rogers, Frank Simpson (Ultimate Nuke), and Carol Danvers.
- Themes: The series contrasts Rogers' unwavering patriotism with the cynicism and atrocities born from later attempts to recreate the super-soldier formula.