Marvel reveals next Captain America will be black
A new superhero is stepping into the Captain America suit.
During an interview on "The Colbert Report" Wednesday, Marvel Chief Creative Officer Joe Quesada revealed that the Falcon, a.k.a. Sam Wilson, will be replacing Steve Rogers as the next Captain America in an all-new comic book series.
Colbert was quick to point out that Wilson is African-American.
"This new guy is black, doesn't that make him Captain African America?," Colbert jokingly asked, to which Quesada replied that he doesn't see colors.
"If you don't see colors, how do you do comic books?" Colbert retorted.
The team behind the new incarnation of Captain America, set to officially make his debut this fall, say that a lot of changes are in store for the character.
"I've been having a lot of fun writing Sam," series co-writer Rick Remender revealed on Marvel.com. "It's a completely different attitude. The fact that he's not a soldier shifts things up a bit. Sam's not going to be Steve. Steve can be very rigid. That can be kind of joyless at times, whereas Sam is absolutely not that."
Editor Tom Brevoort added, "For most of his professional life, Sam has worked as a social worker, so he's seen the worst of urban society up close, and how crime, poverty, lack of social structure and opportunity can affect the community. So he's got perhaps a greater focus on the plight of the common man, and perhaps a greater empathy for the underprivileged than maybe even Steve himself."
The Captain America switch-up marks the latest of several big changes in the comic book world in recent days.
On Tuesday, Marvel also revealed that Thor will soon become a woman. Earlier in the week, Archie Comics announced that its namesake would be shot to death while protecting a gay friend.
Tell us: How do you feel about all the recent comic book shake-ups?
