New Captain America will be black

[Homicidal_Squirrel]

If Captain America is to stop being Steve Rodgers, then the new guy might as well be black as not. However...

Very true. It could be anyone. I don't know, but it's possible that they just figured Falcon would be the guy Rogers would trust with the Captain America title. He just happens to be black.

This does seem to be a somewhat odd move - to a certain extent the comics and the movies now feed back into one another, which means that Marvel should really be seeking to keep the character identities in sync - Captain America should be Steve Rodgers (and should look pretty much like Chris Evans), it needs to be Tony Stark in the Iron Man suit, and so on.

Unless...



We do know that Chris Evans is under contract for 'only' three more movies (Cap 3 and Avengers 2 and 3). And, unlike in the comic universe, he's not immortal and unaging. So, if Marvel want to continue their movie universe indefinitely and avoid reboots, they'll need some sort of succession plan - either new actors take over as Steve Rodgers, Tony Stark, et al or (perhaps better) they retire the original superhero and bring in a successor.

So perhaps this is them starting down that road - use the comics as a test-bed for a new Cap (and Thor), and if it gains traction then they can make the same change in the movie universe. And if it doesn't work out, they can do something else instead.

I think you have far more faith in the creativity of movie writers than I do. I doubt they'll get that creative. In fact, even if they did make Captain America black or Thor a woman in the movies, I think they'd still do a terrible re-boot while doing it.

 

[was]

Maybe there just aren't as many female artist or writers in the comic industry, or even interested in writing or drawing comics.

While there are undoubtedly far more male artists out there, a trip to any comic convention wil convince you that there are plenty of talented female artists out there hungry for an opportunity. I've only been to three in my life, but I was impressed by the quality of their work. Unfortunately, most work for the independent companies. The big two don't seem to present female artists many opportunities.

 

[Kramodlog]

I feel compelled to bring up the Mighty Throg.

Why do you hate Mighthor?

 

[Homicidal_Squirrel]

While there are undoubtedly far more male artists out there, a trip to any comic convention wil convince you that there are plenty of talented female artists out there hungry for an opportunity. I've only been to three in my life, but I was impressed by the quality of their work. Unfortunately, most work for the independent companies. The big two don't seem to present female artists many opportunities.

I completely agree with you. In fact, I'd go a bit further and say that the big comic companies are partially responsible for the lack of female writers and artists. Comics weren't really geared towards attracting a female audience - at least not the super hero comics. Really, how many female characters have their own line? Wonder Woman? Who else would the general public know?

 

[Homicidal_Squirrel]

Why do you hate Mighthor?

Because Calron is racist.

 

[Kramodlog]

Seems legit.

 

[Homicidal_Squirrel]

Truth... it hurts. Ask ZB... after he finishes cleaning the toilets on the 5th floor.

 

[Kramodlog]

5th!? Since when did he get a promotion?

 

[was]

I wonder if the new female Thor character will be similar to Brunnhilde.
http://www.comicvine.com/valkyrie/4005-6809/

 

[Henry]

I understand why they do these transitions for a while, but re-designing an established character still makes me uneasy on a meta-level.

It's one thing to re-cast due to age or fitness for a movie part, but if Marvel decided to cast the new Spectrum/Captain Marvel in an Avengers movie as a caucasian lesbian because they wanted to take the character in a new direction, i'd be as annoyed by it. Let the character speak and stand on its own merits, not just riding on the cachet of an existing name. I didn't like Bucky Barnes becoming cap in the 70's, nomad in the 80's, nor freaking Thunder Frog in the whenevers (I gave up on comics in the 90s) and it doesn't strike me as the correct move now either.

(And for the pedantic, yes I know Monica Rambeau was using Captain Marvel when there were other Captain Marvels - I was glad to hear she changed the name to something of her own, too.)