Just a few days after Marvel announced that it would be transforming Thor into a female later this year, the House of Ideas revealed last night that it is putting a new man under the mask of Captain America. During yesterday’s edition of “The Colbert Report,” Marvel COO Joe Quesada made the announcement that Sam Wilson, aka The Falcon, will become the new Captain America this October.
“It’s about time,” Marvel executive editor Tom Brevoort told The New York Daily News. “In 2014, this should be a thing that we shrug off, it shouldn't be seen as revolutionary, but it still feels exciting.”
Apparently The Falcon becomes the new Cap after the original, Steve Rogers, reverts back to being a 90-year-old man after his Super Soldier serum wears off.
“We have more of a global audience than ever,” Brevoort told the site.“And that just makes us more aware that we have more readers of different backgrounds who are hungry for characters who come from circumstances like their own. Our creators take that seriously.”
This news has been long-rumored, but it wasn’t until last night that it was finally confirmed. Those wondering who Sam Wilson is need look no further than the recent “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” film, where the character was played by Anthony Mackie.
This isn’t the first time that Steve Rogers has been replaced as Captain America. In recent years Marvel turned his former sidekick Bucky Barnes into a new version of Captain America after the original was believed to be dead. The change was only temporary (as this most likely will be), but it had an unmistakable impact on the character’s legacy.
The plan is for Wilson to take over the reins of Captain America in October in order to pave the way for a brand new “Captain America” ongoing comic book series in November, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The book will be written by Rick Remender with art by Carlos Pacheco.
This is all part of Marvel’s plan to introduce more diversity into its line of comics, which started back with the introduction of a female Captain Marvel a few years back. Whether or not The Falcon will still be wielding the shield in the long term is anybody’s guess. But for now, there's a new Captain America in town.
