UPDATE: Here’s Stephen Colbert Announcing The New Captain America
Despite having pledged allegiance to Hydra on one of his recent episodes, Marvel saw fit to reveal the newest person to fill the role of Captain America via The Colbert Report. First we get word of a Lady Thor on The View and now we get a brand new Captain America. Always be selling that paper, Marvel.
Speculation was pretty much spot on regarding the identity of the new Captain America: Sam Wilson A.K.A. The Falcon. From The Hollywood Reporter:
Wilson, created by Stan Lee and Gene Colan, first appeared in 1969’s Captain America #117 and was—somewhat depressingly, given the date—the first African-American super hero in mainstream comics (The Black Panther, who had debuted in Fantastic Four years earlier, was African, coming from the fictional country of Wakanda). By 1971, he was upgraded to co-star status when the series was retitled Captain America and the Falcon, a change that lasted until 1978 when Steve Rogers went solo once more…
Wilson will take on the role of Captain America in October’s Captain America #25, written by Rick Remender with art by Carlos Pacheco. In doing so, he will become the seventh character to use the name in Marvel continuity, as well as the second of Captain America’s former sidekicks to take the identity on in the last decade.
I’m sure there will be much debate and discussion to have about this decision tomorrow. For me, it’s a fine idea because The Falcon deserves a bit of the spotlight and he’s always been a character in search of a true break.
He isn’t the first to try to fill the shoes of Captain America though, and certainly not the first African-American to don the costume. His name value is much higher though and it should be an interesting change of pace for one of the better books in the Marvel slate.
(Via Marvel / The Hollywood Reporter)