Marvel announces that the next Captain America will be black.
The change in the character's characteristics was revealed Wednesday on the publisher's website and was conceived after the retirement of Captain America's original alter ego, Steve Rogers, who discovers he has lost the extraordinary strength and agility he gained from an injection of a "super-soldier serum."
By Steve Gorman
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) The next character to wield the starred shield and wear the red, white, and blue uniform of Captain America in the pages of Marvel comics will be a black person.
Captain America first appeared in 1941 as a super-powered soldier fighting the Nazis. Marvel resurrected him in the 1960s, and he eventually became an icon among the company's comic book heroes.
The change in the character's characteristics was revealed Wednesday on the publisher's website and was conceived after the retirement of Captain America's original alter ego, Steve Rogers, who discovers he has lost the extraordinary strength and agility he gained from an injection of a "super-soldier serum."
Rogers will pass on the Captain America persona to his much younger friend and fellow soldier Sam Wilson, who is already a character in his own comic book series as the true identity of the winged superhero Falcon.
A three-page explanation of the transformation was published under the headline: "It's time for a whole new Captain America." The change was authored by writer and artist Rick Remender and editor Tom Brevoort, both members of the creative team involved in relaunching several of Marvel's most popular heroes.
The Captain America update was also revealed by the publisher's creative director, Joe Quesada, during an appearance on the TV show "The Colbert Report" on Sunday night.
The news came a day after Marvel announced that the Norse god Thor, another of its characters who has been part of the Justice League since its creation, would now be a woman.
For now, the changes to the two characters --Thor and Captain America-- will be limited to the pages of Marvel comic books. Chris Hemsworth will continue to play a male Thor, and Chris Evans a white Captain America, in the superhero film adaptations.
When Sam Wilson dons the Captain America uniform later this semester, the character will undergo more than just a change in skin color.
Wilson will pave the way for a modified version of Captain America's famous uniform, although he will retain the characteristic circular shield with a star in the middle, according to Remender and Brevoort. But the character will retain one of the main features of his previous persona as Falcon -- the retractable wings that allow him to fly.
Former Captain America, Steve Rogers, will continue as a strategic advisor to his successor, Marvel said.
(Reporting by Steve Gorman)