The changes are coming thick and fast in the Marvel Universe right now - it's like a cabinet reshuffle, except with characters who want to save the world instead of destroying it - as the announcement that Thor was to become a woman later in the year was followed by a promise of similar changes for Captain America. Steve Rogers has been going through some interesting developments during Jonathan Hickman's run on Avengers; namely, being drained of the super soldier serum that made him into a hero in the first place - as well as keeping him spry for almost a century. That means somebody else needs to step up to the plate and take up the Cap mantle. With his erstwhile sidekick Bucky Barnes, aka The Winter Soldier, tied up in a new role that is seemingly going to spin out of Original Sin, that leaves only one real candidate: Sam Wilson, better known as the Falcon. Wilson has been Steve's right hand man for yonks, and recently got introduced to a whole new generation of fans thanks to Anthony Mackie's portrayal in the second Captain America movie. Marvel head honcho Joe Quesada appeared on US comedy show The Colbert Report last night to unveil the All-New Captain America, as the series beginning in October will be called, starring Wilson. The new Cap will combine the aerial abilities he had as The Falcon with some sweet new shield-slinging skills, with his costume also being a neat blend of his two superhero personas. The new title will be written by Rick Remender with art by Stuart Immonen, the former sounding excited to write about a Captain America who "shares many of Steves beliefs in a general sense" but is "also a very different person with a very different background", according to editor Tom Brevoort. It's another good push for diversity amongst Marvel's notoriously whitebread cast of characters, alongside the announcement of a female Thor and other recent developments like Kamala Khan, the teenage Muslim Ms Marvel. We've seen a black Captain America before - in the horribly depressing but brilliant Truth: Red, White & Black - but this is the first time the hero will actually be a black man as a going concern. Which we think is pretty cool.
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
