Prime / Captain America #1: Review

Mar 1996
Len Strazewski, Norm Breyfogle

Story Name:

(No title given)

Review & Comments

Rating:
3 stars

Prime / Captain America #1 Review by (September 22, 2011)
Comments: PRIME was one of Malibu Comics’ flagship titles when the company started in 1993. Thirteen-year-old Kevin Green found he could secrete a sort of liquid flesh from his body, transforming him into a muscle-bound adult “Ultra” (Malibu’s term for superhero) called Prime; the catch is, as he lost energy, the Prime body would become unstable and dissolve. Marvel bought out Malibu, primarily to gain its digital coloring department, and proceeded to relaunch the titles and publish crossovers with Marvel’s big names, hence the title at hand. Eventually the Malibu titles were cancelled altogether.




 

Synopsis / Summary / Plot

Prime / Captain America #1 Synopsis by Peter Silvestro

In Washington DC, Captain America is on his way to a late-night meeting with the President. As he vaults the fence of the White House, he feels a sudden disorientation//as he lands on the other side he is confronted by armed Secret Service agents who do not recognize him. Dodging their fire and disabling their weapons, Cap makes it into the Oval Office, where a surprised President Clinton orders the ultra-hero Prime to defend him from this gaudily-clad intruder. Cap hustles the President to safety and then engages the humongous hero, the battle spilling through the window to the lawn outside (no idea where the Secret Service agents went). After a bit of discussion they realize they are heroes from different dimensions, one that seems vaguely familiar to Cap (see AVENGERS/ULTRAFORCE). Clinton orders them both to investigate rogue government projects at the Roswell Building. Arriving there they are attacked by an evil version of Prime who is backed up by a patriotic hero called Liberty….

Within the complex the sinister government operative Shoat watches via viewscreen. He recalls how he experimented with a probe to another dimension (Earth-616) and ended up entering a third reality where he met doubles of people from his own world. Locating a roguish version of Prime and a sleazy Bill Clinton who became a slick government lobbyist. Shoat persuaded them to come back with him to participate in a scheme to replace the President and the ultra-hero to gain control of the country….

The battle on the roof continues, with Liberty becoming increasingly uncertain that their opponents are bad guys. Prime, losing energy and his body starting to dissolve, seizes the unconscious Cap and flies away. As they near Kevin’s home, Cap awakens in the decaying Prime’s arms; seeing he is held by someone green and muscular, he thinks it is the Hulk and panics, lashing out and hurling both of them to the ground. Coming fully to his senses he wonders why the ground is covered in green goop and is even more amazed when a boy pops out of it. Kevin gives him the short version of his growing of Prime bodies and takes him in the house to meet his mother….

At the White House, Bad Bill is setting into the Oval Office and preparing to name Shoat Secretary of Ultra Affairs. Liberty bursts in demanding answers to some questions…including why President Clinton is bound and gagged. Shoat spins a tale of the government being infiltrated with evil doppelgangers (shades of Secret Invasion!) but the impatient Rogue Prime tries to shut him up with a slap. This only further convinces Liberty that something is wrong…and righting wrongs is why he allowed Shoat to transform him into an Ultra-Soldier (PRIME #10). But the smooth-talking Shoat persuades him that he must serve his country….

Later in the Oval Office the villains’ captive scientist, Dr. Finkel, warns them that the vibratory matrices are unstable and that the bad Prime and Bill need treatment to enable them to remain in the dimension. At this point Liberty arrives, bringing a young woman named Chelsea…who is confused by the leering appreciation Bill and Prime are giving her…. Suddenly Captain America and the real Prime crash through the window. The two Primes battle, while Cap tackles the still confused Liberty. When Bad Bill tries to escape Shoat stops him and they struggle, giving Liberty enough time to realize the true situation and krak their heads together. Prime defeats his evil twin and pulls the other Kevin out of the green goop. Cap frees the real President and he proves his identity to Chelsea and the Secret Service. The vibratory matrices collapse and Bad Bill and Rogue Prime are pulled back to their own dimension. Since Shoat is missing, they assume he was another evil duplicate and vanished with the others. The President offers Liberty a position in his administration as he has proved his heroism. As Cap starts to fade back to his own world, he expresses his admiration for the Ultras of this world. Meanwhile outside, Shoat, who managed to escape in the confusion, plots to claim he was imprisoned by an "evil Shoat" so he can destroy Prime….



Norm Breyfogle
Norm Breyfogle
Malibu
Norm Breyfogle (Cover Penciler)
Norm Breyfogle (Cover Inker)
? (Cover Colorist)


Characters

Listed in Alphabetical Order.

Captain America
Captain America

(Steve Rogers)
Hulk
Hulk

(Bruce Banner)

Plus: President Bill Clinton (Bill Clinton), Prime.

> Prime / Captain America: Book info and issue index

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