Marvel sure is making crazy big changes!
This fall, comic giants, Marvel, will have Steve Rogers pass his star-spangled shield on to Sam Wilson, making Wilson, more commonly known as the Falcon, the first African-American Captain America. Following its overall drive for more diversity, this announcement comes a day after Marvel revealed plans to give the role of Thor to a woman this fall.
Wilson is set to take up the mantle of Captain America after Rogers has his super serum sucked out of his body, thereby losing his super-soldier abilities and ages into an old man. Wilson, who is one of Cap’s oldest friend and ally is the perfect candidate to carry on Rogers’ legacy — he was after all there to save Rogers’ life before the end of issue 21.
Created in 1969, Wilson is Marvel’s first African American superhero and is not the first character to replace Rogers as the iconic American hero. James “Bucky” Barnes aka the Winter Soldier is the first person of colour to officially hold the moniker.
“While Sam shares many of Steve’s beliefs in a general sense, he’s also a very different person with a very different background. He didn’t grow up in the 1930s, he’s a modern day man in touch with the problems of the 21st Century,” said series editor Tom Brevoort in an interview.
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Marvel, has however, explored with the idea of black super soldiers in the past. 2003’s limited series Truth: Red, White, and Black featured the attempts of World War II scientists recreating the original super soldier serum, tesing their formula on enlisted black soldiers, mirroring the infamous Tuskegee syphilis experiment.
The only survivor of the tests that gained superhuman strength, speed, and endurance was Isaiah Bradley who would have became a legend in the African-American community and be considered as the Black Captain America, but his identity and historical significance were not commonly known.
The new changes in characters sure are exciting and we can’t wait to find out what else Marvel has in-store for us.
Let us know what your thoughts are on this in the comments!
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