Sam Wilson To Become Captain America Again, Series Will Take Identity Politics Global
Marvel Comics announced that Sam Wilson will once again become Captain America after he relinquished the title back to Steve Rogers following the events of Hydra Empire.
In Generations: Sam Wilson: Captain America & Steve Rogers: Captain America #1, Wilson stepped down as Captain America and returned the shield to Captain America.
After returning the shield, he also penned a letter to him that states, “Dear Steve, When you handed me this shield, you said you had a mission for me. Now, I’ve got one for you. You’re going to overcome this. I know you have your doubts. You wonder if you can earn back their trust. Inspire them again. And I’m telling you, you will. You’re going to be the hero they need. The one they’ve always hoped for. I’d bet my life on it.”
Wilson will be back in the role as Captain America beginning with Captain America #0 written by Colin Kelly, Jackson Lanzing, and Tochi Onyebuchi with art by Mattia De Iulis in April. From there, Marvel will launch two different series, one featuring Sam Wilson, and the other featuring Steve Rogers.
The one featuring Wilson is titled Captain America: Symbol of Truth written by Tochi Onyebuchi with art by R.B. Silva. It debuts in May.
The one featuring Steve Rogers will be titled Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty and will be written by Colin Kelly and Jackson Lanzing with art by Carmen Carnero. It debuts in June.
However, as noted above, both of these new series will follow Captain America #0 where Wilson returns to the role of Captain America.
Speaking with Entertainment Weekly (EW), Lanzing detailed that this zero issue is more of what you have come to expect from Marvel Comics; two people talking with each other.
He said, “What’s interesting about Captain America #0 is that, unlike a lot of zero issues, we’re not gonna spend a lot of time building the plot for both books or teasing out a bunch of amazing stuff.”
“The issue #1’s are gonna do that. Issue #0 is effectively a conversation between Steve and Sam about what it means for both of them to be Captain America simultaneously,” he said.
However, unlike most Marvel Comics where these discussions take place in coffee shops, this conversation will take place on a rocket. Lanzing explains, “But that conversation isn’t had in a room sitting down over beers, that conversation is had while flying/holding onto the side of a massive rocket heading into the sky to obliterate all of mankind because Arnim Zola is back and he’s got a bad plan.”
As for Sam Wilson: Symbol of Truth, Entertainment Weekly reveals that Wilson “will be the public-facing Captain America: The one people think of as holding that title.”
Onyebuchi would also provide some details about the series stating, “We have basically only touched the surface of his interaction with the Marvel Universe. There are so many characters that have yet to interact with Sam as Captain America, dynamics we haven’t yet seen. It feels like the world is my oyster.”
He went on to reveal that Joaquin Torres the newly introduced Falcon would appear in the series, “It’s been really cool exploring that with Sam, but also with Joaquín Torres, who is the Falcon in this book.”
As for the plot, Onyebuchi revealed it’s about identity politics, “We’ve seen Sam Wilson deal with the legacy of Captain America and race in very inward terms with regards to America: What does it mean for America to accept a Black Captain America? One of the things I’m teasing in my book is, what does it mean for the rest of the world to accept a Black Captain America? That’s another part of the equation.”
He added, “If Captain America is in many ways a mimesis of America, with all the good and bad pathologies, what does that mean for the way in which America interacts with the rest of the world?”
“I’m a huge fan of action thrillers that involve foreign locals and all of that stuff. One of the things that Sam has to do is he has to get to the bottom of a conspiracy. He has to figure out what the truth of the matter is, he has to figure out what’s really going on,” the comic book writer continued.
He elaborated, “When so much of American foreign policy historically has been founded on operating in the shadows, manipulating federal employees or members of another government into enacting regime change for the benefit of various corporate interests, what is it going to look like when Sam runs up against the people who would wish to manipulate him for their own ends in terms of furthering ‘America’s interests’ abroad? What does it mean to be the ‘Symbol of Truth’ in that context?”
Lanzing justified the plot by referencing Steve’s decisions during the Reagan administration, “Steve went through a whole process during Nixon and Reagan where he kind of learned how the sausage was made.”
He added, “Sam’s gonna be coming into that forewarned and forearmed. I’m amazed by the idea that he really can’t put down the shield the way that Steve could. It’s really important that he not. So then, what does it mean for him to stand there with that and be like, ‘okay, I’m gonna hold the shield, but I’m also gonna deal with this?”
As for Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty, Kelly details the series will see Captain America questioning what it means to be a patriot.
He said, “Steve is a member of the Greatest Generation. That’s so important, especially now, because he’s seen so much of the 20th century and he’s really able to weigh it. With our story, what we really wanted to start looking at was, how has America changed? What does it mean to be a patriot now?”
“Because it means something very different, even in the last two or three years. We’ve seen a radical shift in our country and, especially for a lot of young people, a real fury and disappointment at what our country has started to do to itself,” he explained.
Kelly concluded, “Cap can’t turn his back on America, neither of the Caps can, because the idea is good. The core is good and worth fighting for, but both need to wrestle with what that means in the year of our Lord 2022.”
Lanzing would further add, “I think Steve has learned through the Coates run that there’s a lot of inward-looking he has to do in terms of his legacy and himself. Maybe he’s become too much Captain America and not enough Steve Rogers.”
“In our book, he is going to be really looking at what it means to be Steve Rogers. We’ll see what it means when he finds a threat that truly needs his version of Captain America, and what he has to step up to become that,” Lanzing stated.
He concluded, “What does Captain America mean to Steve beyond being the leader of the Avengers and answering to the government? Since he feels he’s handed that off. So what is Steve building? What is he organizing? What do his friends need from him specifically? What does Bucky need from him?”
What do you make of these new Captain America series?
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