Nextwave consistently features extreme violence and comedy, and simultaneously satirizes and celebrates Marvel's superhero comics.

Each issue began with a humorous FAQ, in which questions were answered with enthusiastic marketing copy that veers into the strange or disturbing.

Using the Shockwave Rider as a mobile base of operations (the vehicle is larger on the inside than out, much like the TARDIS of Doctor Who), Nextwave is able to rapidly mount missions in widely separated locations including central Illinois, Wyoming, North Dakota, and Nevada.

[7] The run of the series was written by Warren Ellis, drawn by Stuart Immonen and colored by Dave McCaig.

Warren Ellis (on his website) stated in October 2006 that he had initially planned to write the series for twelve issues, then pass it off to another writer.

According to Ellis, this was at least partly because monthly sales could not justify keeping artist Stuart Immonen on the project at his then current pay rate.

Issue #11 contains a series of splash pages that Warren Ellis and Stuart Immonen devised so that in order to get the full impact of the scene, a reader might have to purchase six copies.

A theme song was created by series editor Nick Lowe and his brother Matt, by their band Thunder Thighs.

In keeping with the off-beat humor of his book, Ellis added: "It is good to know that the young people of today are ready and waiting for me to form a Church".

[19] However, recent issues of Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe, as well as Civil War: Battle Damage Report,[16] consistently place Nextwave's activities in mainstream continuity.

The Captain gained his powers from "the Heartstar of the space between the galaxies",[20] also referred to as the "Messianic Siddhe-complex", which was bestowed upon him by a pair of small, green, altruistic extraterrestrials named Spa-Fon and Squa-Tront[21] in order to make Brooklyn a better place.

As the Captain was incredibly drunk at the time, it is unknown if he remembers this event exactly, as he immediately attacked both aliens, believing them to be gold-bearing leprechauns.

The Captain continues to use his codename in the Nextwave group while the other members have dropped them; according to Aaron Stack, this is due to an inability to remember his real name.

Similar to the rest of Nextwave, the Captain dresses in civilian clothes—sneakers, camouflage pants, a trenchcoat, and a white T-shirt with a black star which resembles the Heartstar—despite becoming a superhero "for the mask", as he stated in issue #1.

[22] The Captain resurfaces in the 2016 Civil War II storyline, reduced to possible homelessness and whiling away his time in New York City's dive bars.

He is spurred back into action when Nova's battle with the forces of Mole Monster causes his beer to spill, an innocuous occurrence that the Captain interprets as an epiphany-inducing "metaphor for something".