Civil War in Latveria!

*Cover of* ***“Captain America #7”*** (published February 18th, 2026) written by Chip Zdarksy, art by Delio Diaz and Frank Alpizar, with colors by Romulo Fajardo Jr.
Cover art by Valerio Schiti and Frank Martin

The Eastern European of Latveria is one of the most infamous locations in the Marvel Universe thanks in no small part to Victor Von Doom, who would go on to become its ruler and, most recently, the ruler of the entire world as well as its Sorcerer Supreme. While Doctor Doom has since vanished in the wake of the conclusion of One World After Doom, the specter of Doom looms heavily over the Earth and is most concentrated in his homeland. Chip Zdarsky's Captain America run has almost exclusively been focused on Latveria, with the first five issues detailing Cap’s first mission since being found by the Avengers in the ice many years ago. The previous issue caught us up to the present as Steve Rogers is asked to once more venture into a now Doom-less Latveria in the hopes of recovering weapons that could spell disaster for the entire world. There is also three distinct factions all vying for control and to fill the void left behind by Doom. But there’s a much more immediate problem waiting for Captain America there. A big red one.

Join me as I do a deep dive into issue #7 of Captain America!

Warning: The following article contains spoilers for “Captain America #7”.

Doom’s Shadow, Part 2

The Red Hulk stands in between Captain America and his S.H.I.E.L.D team.

Our issue picks up immediately where the previous ended, with Captain America staring down the Red Hulk. Steve Rogers regards the transformed Thunderbolt Ross as he explains he is not a soldier here in Latveria. He is certainly not one who is following the orders of Ross, like that fateful mission years ago, when Steve had just been freshly thawed out of the ice. Furthermore, he tells Ross that he is with S.H.I.E.L.D. and has a mandate to go into Latveria unobstructed. Unimpressed, Ross tells him that his mandate comes from weak back channels that seem to think that the name Fury means something. He ominously tells the Sentinel of Liberty that the United States of America is here to protect Latveria from Rogers, the bumbling of his team, and themselves.

Tensions rise and finally boil over as Charles, one of the new teammates of Cap, charges forward to literally zero effect. Ross easily dismisses him before stating he is all too happy to strangle this new iteration of S.H.I.E.L.D. in the crib. He wants to stop it before it grows too powerful and once again takes over the world. Cap tries to get things under control, but it is Nick Fury, Jr., who quickly gains control of the situation. He addresses Ross before he can further Hulk out.

Nick Fury, Jr. stands up to General Ross.

Fury tells Ross to stand down, which the infamous general does not take kindly to. But Fury elaborates, telling him that he has certainly been keeping his one good eye on him. He has been keeping tabs on Ross and the bosses of the general, and he reveals that he knows the mission of Ross is for observation only. He threatens to have his own army of Ross drop bombs on him should he set foot in Latveria. To this, Cap casually adds that he will call in the Avengers to do clean up should that not work. Fury takes his leave as the team moves to get back on track, but not before Ross warns Rogers that he is not going to let Cap step out of line even once. He also states he will not allow Latveria to become a threat to America again. Cap says nothing, but he lets Ross stew. He does not care if the general can rip apart the entire world. He is just a bully, and Captain America stops bullies.

Steve rallies the team together as they get back on track to find these superweapons. He puts the threat of the Red Hulk and the logistics of how to beat him out of his mind. They make a beeline for Doomstadt, and they head straight to Castle Doom. This is both the location of the head of the True Latveria faction and the most likely location to find a cache of dangerous weapons. The plan is to simply ask directly. They hope the faction is cooperative in giving S.H.I.E.L.D. unfettered access, lest America be the next visitor with bombs in tow.

Cap and the others arrive to see Alina of the Homeland Party making an impassioned plea to her fellow citizens.

The team quickly arrives at the town square, with Castle Doom looming just ahead as a crowd of onlookers surrounds Alina. She is the leader of the Homeland Party, which is the second of the three Latverian factions vying for control. Cap can mostly follow along with what Alina is shouting to the civilians. She claims that Salvation, the masked figure who leads the True Latveria faction, is just another version of Doom. She argues he has no desire to create free elections, especially since he has taken the symbol of the Latverian monarchy as his own and instituted martial law. Cap is explaining that the Homeland Party is pacifists when gunfire suddenly occurs two to three blocks east of their location.

We find out that the True Latveria faction is busy engaging the Latverian Liberators, who are the third of the three factions in the country. Civilians are caught in the middle of the gunfire. Cap quickly assesses the situation and orders his team to move. They take down shooters while prioritizing civilian safety. As Cap rushes to save a young woman with his shield, he draws gunfire toward himself. Charles hurls a knife at a sniper nearby and eliminates him.

Cap shouts for no casualties, but this does not seem to be a command the Red Widow is prone to follow. She quickly kills two more men and asks if Captain America forgot what war was like. A civilian gets clipped by gunfire as Captain America shouts and rushes in to protect him. A member of the Liberation shouts in Latverian that their country is for Latverians only. He fires at Captain America, only to be executed point-blank with a headshot. Salvation, the leader of the True Latveria faction, arrives on the scene. He asks that Cap and the others stand down, as he claims the Liberators were the aggressors here.

Cap’s former man on the inside of the Latverian resistance many years ago, Marius Wolf, has adopted the alias of Salvation to better serve and lead Latveria.

Cap balks at the ideas and is about to give Salvation a piece of his mind when the masked man reveals himself to be Marius Wolf. He is the freedom fighter contact that Cap met with years ago during his first trip to the kingdom that was once ruled by Doctor Doom. Wolf offers a disarming smile as he reminisces about fighting alongside one another. He gladly offers to personally escort the team to Castle Doom so they can do their job.

Upon arriving, Marius laments that the castle had already been picked clean, but Cap is not one to let Marius get off scot-free, given what he had both seen and heard. Marius attempts to reassure Steve that he is not the next Victor Von Doom in the waiting. He tells the super-soldier that he knows him better than that. He assures him that once the Liberators are dealt with, true democracy will be instituted in Latveria.

He explains that Latveria cannot afford to have terrorists intimidating voters. He admits that the mask he wears as Salvation offers a sense of ostentatiousness that the people are unfortunately used to. After all, he does not mind being the bad guy if it is what the people need. Steve is not convinced and pushes back, but Marius makes it perfectly clear that he is allowing S.H.I.E.L.D. to do their job. He knows it will allow Latveria to join the rest of the world, but he will not allow Steve to force his ways on his country.

A spirited discussion on why the team is really there in Latveria.

Marius dons his mask and takes his leave as Charles asks for a moment with Steve outside on the balcony. In what can only be described as a bold move, he actually suggests to Captain America, of all people, that perhaps Marius can have an accident of some kind. He believes this would make both Ross and Fury happy, and he describes the leader of the True Latveria party as Doom 2.0.

Steve emphatically shoots down the idea. Charles asks why, frustrated as someone who has been to places like this before in his own military career. He is tired of taking orders from tyrants-in-training. Steve rebuffs him with a reminder that he is in charge here. He states that should Charles lay a hand on Marius, he would be the first in line to testify at his trial.

The charged conversation comes to an end as Fury hails Cap on the comms to ask about the mission. Steve tells Fury that Marius was agreeable to searches, but he suspects that it is only because there is nothing there to find. Fury agrees and reveals he has intel on a possible warhead site. He forwards the details to Cap, telling him to focus on that for now. He warns Cap to be careful, should anyone protecting the potential weapons location realize they know about them.

Steve recalls spending time with the people during the height of WWII while he served overseas.

Feeling as if the mission is slipping away from them, Steve decides to take his leave as the team receives the coordinates of the potential weapons site. While the rest of them are intended to shine like beacons and make their presence very known, Steve takes a different approach. He removes his cowl and puts on his brown jacket, as he decides to remind himself what, and who, he is fighting for in Latveria. He walks among the people and recalls how he would do the same thing back during World War 2 while Europe was on fire.

It does not take him long before he encounters a young Latverian woman named Mirel, a humble shopkeeper who sells rugs and carpets. She is wary at first, but she warms up to Steve as he helps her close up shop. Eventually, she offers him dinner at home with her son. The two discuss the current state of affairs in Latveria, and Mirel expresses doubt that Latveria will ever truly be free or have legitimate elections. She accuses Marius of being behind the disappearance of the boyfriend of her sister.

Mirel goes as far as to say Salvation pretends to be Doom, but she finds that he is Doom. She reluctantly admits that a sharp knife is safer than a dull one. To her, Doom undoubtedly was the sharp knife. Steve asks if she would really prefer Doom after all that has happened. Mirel confirms as much, as she cites that he was a monster, but a monster who kept them safe. Steve asks if the Liberators are a better alternative than the True Latverians, but Mirel is not convinced that they are. She believes that some of them enjoy committing evil acts in the name of the greater good. Steve then asks about Alina and the Homeland Party, to which Mirel simply says she will be dead by the summer. She believes the non-violent approach of Alina is like violence to those with guns and knives.

Democracy is a fragile thing but that just makes it all the more worth defending.

With a greater sense of understanding the myriad Latverian politics and the lack of any real easy answers to go forward, Steve offers Mirel his own thoughts. He tells her that the people of Latveria need to stick together and choose democracy together. He explains that it is a restless fight. It must be defended and watched constantly, but ultimately, it is worth it. Mirel says she would like to believe it could work, but her son quickly and quietly warns her and Steve that someone is lurking in their backyard.

Not missing a beat, Steve quickly begins suiting up. He tells Mirel to take her son, Jacob, and close themselves in the boy's room. The transition from peaceful dinner guest to elite soldier is instantaneous. Steve knows that in a place like Latveria, a figure lurking in the shadows is rarely a friendly neighbor. He prepares to face whatever threat has followed him to this humble home.

Alina formerly introduces herself to Steve before dropping a huge revelation.

The issue wraps up as Steve stealthily heads outside. He realizes he should have known he would have been followed, as he in turn sneaks up on a man leering into the window of Mirel. He quickly grasps the man and demands that he tell him if there are others. Suddenly, a hooded woman leaps on his back to stop him. Cap quickly backs into the house to force the woman off him, as he turns his attention back to the man and swiftly takes him to the ground.

As Steve demands that the man talk, the woman asks that he calm down. She apologizes for following him here, but she informs him that were it any less dangerous, they would have approached him in daylight. The Avenger recognizes the woman as Alina and identifies her. She pulls down her hood to reveal her face and acknowledges that she is indeed her. Or, as she is known to very few, Alina Von Doom! The issue comes to a close as she pointedly asks Steve for his help to save Latveria.

The Ramifications of a World (and Latveria) Without Doom

Where to start?

The implications here are pretty crazy. Is she a sibling, cousin? Is this even the truth?

I have said this before, but I really do feel Captain America works best in stories that are part superhero action and part political thriller or espionage tales. It is even better if they echo reality. These stories need a sense of earnestness and heart that cements Steve Rogers as perhaps the most righteous man in the Marvel Universe. He achieves this without coming off as too preachy or like a soapbox sermon. It can be hard to hit these checkmarks, but Chip Zdarsky seems to be able to do it each month since he took on the responsibility for writing one of the oldest and greatest heroes of Marvel.

Part Two of "Doom’s Shadow" is a great example of what makes modern Captain America stories so good. We found out more than a few things in this issue. We discover that Red Hulk is maybe not as much in charge as he initially felt. Fury is every bit the spymaster playing all the angles, like his father, the original Nick Fury. We learned that Salvation is actually Marius Wolf. Most strikingly, we see that the average Latverian citizen apparently prefers the efficient, albeit monstrous, Doctor Doom over three warring factions who open fire in the middle of the street at one another.

Finally, we learned that the leader of the Homeland Party just so happens to share the surname of the last ruler of Latveria, as well as one of the greatest villains of Earth. Needless to say, I can see why only a few people are aware of that fact. This revelation adds a massive layer of complexity to an already volatile situation.

Captain America watches on in shock as Salvation executes a member of the Latverian Liberators at point blank range.

The plot in this installment is a slow burn that does not feel tedious or like a waste of the reader's time. Each of the three Latverian factions vying for control makes for compelling reading. The True Latveria party, led by Salvation, is allegedly trying to quell rebellion in the wake of the disappearance of Doom. However, the transition cannot be smooth and peaceful. For good and for ill, Latveria has become accustomed to heeding the commands of tyrants in masks.

The Latverian Liberators resist Salvation and the True Latveria party. They fight for the people, but they use methods that make them little more than terrorists, complete with civilian casualties. Finally, the Homeland Party is pacifistic to a fault, and the days of Alina are possibly numbered. Somehow, Steve is caught in the middle of these tinderboxes, and he is carrying a gasoline tank with him.

Cap manages to defend his team from the searing fist of the Red Hulk.

The brief encounter with the Red Hulk and the S.H.I.E.L.D. team of Steve was explosive and teased just how underpowered Cap is in comparison to Ross. A cynical person could point out that this was potentially a way to play off the MCU synergy of the Captain America of Sam Wilson fighting against the Red Hulk on the big screen last year. However, this felt natural and organic. It is something a lot of the MCU-driven synergy fails at. I am curious to see just how Cap handles Ross because we know something is going to go wrong in the best possible way to force these two to clash later.

The Salvation reveal made sense, even if I pitched Dave Colton as his identity. I believe we are going to see how years of fighting against Doom further radicalize Marius into becoming something almost worse. This brings me to my next point, in that I am relieved that Doctor Doom is appropriately viewed as a monster by his own people because, let us face it, he is. But as Mirel mentioned, Doom at least prevented violence from spilling out in the streets.

Captain America seems to be the only member of the team who is truly putting the civilians of Latveria before finding Doom’s alleged weapon cache.

But it is the commitment of Steve to civilians that really makes him shine here. Without hesitation, he puts them first during the firefight. He reprimands Charles for casually suggesting assassinating Marius instead of focusing on finding the hidden superweapons and protecting the people in the process. I think the writing referencing how Steve would build a rapport with the citizens of Europe during the war was a great touch. It really embraces the quieter, less flashy aspects of Captain America.

He cannot help people unless he understands them, and he makes the effort to do so. As I said above, it is earnest and full of heart. As we saw in the first five issues of the run of Zdarsky, Steve values innocent lives, American or otherwise. We can really tell that he is invested in the safety and prosperity of Latveria and its people. This makes him the perfect foil to Red Hulk, who sees Latveria as a threat to be neutralized.

The stellar writing of Zdarsky is joined by the art of Delio Diaz and Frank Alpizar, with Romulo Fajardo Jr. on colors. The aforementioned action is brought to life thanks to them. It is equal parts classic superhero fare and the grounded, gritty realism that you would see in an action thriller. The clash between Ross and Rogers was perfectly rendered and choreographed in a way to show us just how out of their depth the S.H.I.E.L.D. team is. And yet, Captain America is going to throw down regardless because that is what he does.

This is probably the best Red Hulk has ever looked, and I am including his infamous and iconic first appearance with Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuinness. Even when he is just standing there, he exudes power and menace. If the solicitations and covers of the Avengers Armageddon event are any indicator, I suspect we will be seeing much more of him in the future. While the art team more than delivers when it comes to the action, they must also be commended for the quieter, more character-driven moments of the story.

You can feel and see the sincerity of Steve as he speaks with Mirel, giving an impassioned plea for her not to give up on the idea of democracy working for Latveria. You can see his frustration when dealing with teammates who do not have the best interests of the civilians in mind. And you can see his resolve when he stares down a monster of a man who has thrown down with literal gods and the actual Hulk. Finally, I have to mention just how beautifully Latveria is drawn here. It looks and feels timeless, less like a generic Eastern European nation that was home to a megalomaniacal supervillain and more like a place that could actually exist. This makes the current events involving it all the more tragic.

Final Thoughts and Review

Marius claims to want to install democracy in Latveria, but is that really the case.

Chip Zdarsky is able to pull several impressive feats all at once here in issue #7 of Captain America. First, he is able to make the events of One World Under Doom matter. As is the nature of the beast, comic book events happen in regular intervals with ramifications that do not seem to last, despite the fact that they probably ought to. Not so here.

The fallout of Doom taking over the world is very much evident here, both on a global scale and within Latveria. Secondly, Zdarsky is able to lay the foundation for what is being hyped as the biggest and more transformative event in Marvel history since Civil War in the form of Armageddon. Details are still coming in, but we know that the event will involve the Origin Boxes from the Ultimate Universe, a new Avengers team being forged, and Captain America and Red Hulk being two key players.

And third, he is able to build off the last big crossover event and set up the future one while still focusing on the task at hand with this current story. He is not sacrificing the meat and potatoes of a good story in exchange for either. I’m invested in what’s happening to Latveria *now*.

Final Review: 9/10

Steve takes a moment to reflect before he refocusing his efforts on the most important factor in Latveria: its people.

Surrounded by soldiers of fortune, warring Latverian factions, and the machinations of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the United States Government, Steve Rogers reminds both himself and us who he is really fighting for in the pages of Captain America #7. Chip Zdarsky continues to deliver in a series that redefines modern Captain America stories without losing the timeless appeal of one of the oldest and greatest characters of Marvel.