The_Silversword
Explorer
Yeah, i was kinda making a joke, nevermind.
In other news, a female Thor isnt reallly new either...
New Captain America will be black
Yeah, i was kinda making a joke, nevermind.
In other news, a female Thor isnt reallly new either...
Well, many of the old characters still do so, which is part of why they are still around and popular after decades. Once you have a good stock of characters you don't *need* to add more. And the comic had characters go through a pretty solid selection process for what folks really wanted.
I understand why Steve Rogers, in the situation described above, would offer the title of Captain America to his good friend Sam Wilson, who was his partner and fellow Avengers for years. That part makes perfect sense.
What I don't get is why Sam - who has spent his superhero career airborne as the Falcon - would decide that it would be a good move to stop flying, remain on foot, and throw a shield around without the benefit of Steve's super soldier serum (and decades of training). I could see Sam Wilson giving his Falcon costume a red-white-and-blue color scheme and the new Captain America flying through the air, playing to Sam's strengths as a superhero. I don't really see the advantages of him dressing up in Cap's old uniform and being a relative sucky "old school" Captain America who can't handle the shield at Steve's level of proficiency.
There's even some precedent with Marvel's versions of Captain Marvel (not the "Shazam!" guy). While the original (and some subsequent) Captain Marvels were Kree-based, for a while there we had a black lady whose costume and powers were nothing like the original Captain Marvel's: she could turn herself into all sorts of types of energy. She didn't try casting herself into the original Captain Marvel mold and wear his old uniform and try to mimic his powers; she used her own abilities to her best advantage, and only the name was the same between the two. I would think having the Falcon do something similar would make a bit more sense.
Hopefully there's more to this story than what we've heard thus far. I guess we'll find out this fall.
Johnathan
What I don't get is why Sam - who has spent his superhero career airborne as the Falcon - would decide that it would be a good move to stop flying, remain on foot, and throw a shield around without the benefit of Steve's super soldier serum (and decades of training). I could see Sam Wilson giving his Falcon costume a red-white-and-blue color scheme and the new Captain America flying through the air, playing to Sam's strengths as a superhero. I don't really see the advantages of him dressing up in Cap's old uniform and being a relative sucky "old school" Captain America who can't handle the shield at Steve's level of proficiency.
There's even some precedent with Marvel's versions of Captain Marvel (not the "Shazam!" guy). While the original (and some subsequent) Captain Marvels were Kree-based, for a while there we had a black lady whose costume and powers were nothing like the original Captain Marvel's: she could turn herself into all sorts of types of energy. She didn't try casting herself into the original Captain Marvel mold and wear his old uniform and try to mimic his powers; she used her own abilities to her best advantage, and only the name was the same between the two. I would think having the Falcon do something similar would make a bit more sense.
Hopefully there's more to this story than what we've heard thus far. I guess we'll find out this fall.
Johnathan
Why be Cap at all? Why not become "American Eagle"?
Because "American Eagle" is the hero name of James Strongbow, a Native American hero who was active in a recent Captain America focused storyline "Fear Itself".
As to why be Cap at all? Simple - America is bigger than one man. Part of the very point of the hero is that he steps up when someone has to. If there's nobody willing to step up as Captain America, what does that say?
Fair enough!
Sometimes, if there's nobody properly trained to do the job, you don't fill the position. No knock on Falcon, but as pointed out, he has a very different skillset.
On the other hand, Falcon's been knocking around with Cap since 1969. While comic book years are hazy, they've worked together a long, long time. The idea that Falcon's's picked up a few things isn't far fetched. He won't be as good as Steve Rogers, but then *nobody* can be as good at it as Rogers, kind of by definition.
And, in a meta-notion, Falcon/Sam Wilson was mainstream comic's first African American superhero*. If someone has to pick up the mantle for a while, having it be Falcon seems only fitting.
*Black Panther technically predates Falcon, but is a citizen of the fictional African nation of Wakanda - he's not an African American.
Homicidal_Squirrel
Adventurer
Well, they are keeping Steve Rogers as a kind of a mentor for Falcon while Falcon plays the role of Captain America. I think it will be an interesting take on the character. It's not your regular Captain America, but that's why it'll be interesting.
