When Sam Wilson received the title of Captain America from his longtime friend Steve Rogers during “Marvel NOW!” relaunch in 2015, it was only a matter of time before it was both become the hawk again and get boosted at Plug in the MCU. Now that Captain America 4 is on the horizon, Marvel Comics would like to do what probably should have been done after-secret empire: rather than Sam becoming the Falcon again, he and Steve will both be Captain America.
In the next comic Captain America: Symbol of Truth by novelist Tochi Onyebuchi (Beasts Made of Night, Riot Baby) and comic book artist RB Silva (Powers of X), Sam will return to Cap’s mantle and be in the public eye once again. The public perception of Sam as Cap was part of Nick Spencer’s run with the character and Onyebuchi told Entertainment Weekly how he believed it was a well worth returning to. “There are so many characters that haven’t interacted with Sam as Captain America yet,” he explained, “dynamics that we haven’t seen…WWhat does it mean for the rest of the world to accept a Black Captain America?”
symbol of truth is an appropriate subtitle for the book, in which Sam investigates a conspiracy that naturally involves uncovering secrets about America that his government would rather he didn’t. As a fan of globetrotting spy thrillers, Onyebuchi couldn’t pass up the opportunity to put Sam in such a plot.. Since America has a dark political history, especially when it comes to their foreign policies, he wanted to explore how Sam and his teammate Joaquin Torres (the second Falcon) would navigate this world in a different way than Steve.
As Sam handles business across the country, Steve’s book will be firmly rooted in America. Captain America: Sentinel of Freedom by the writing duo Jackson Lanzing and Colin Kelley with the art of Hellion’ Carmen Carnero will explore how much things have changed in the decades since her chilly nap and subsequent return. As a member of the “Greatest Generation”, Kelly thought this could be used as a great starting point for Steve to explore “radical change” in America, especially in recent years. Ta-Nehisi Coates’ recent run also explored that, and Lanzing acknowledged that they wanted to continue that thread with co-star Bucky Barnes.
“There are a lot of introverted Steve has to do with his legacy and himself,” Lanzing said, adding that the book would be more of a story about Steve personally than Captain America, though he’ll still have the title. “What does Captain America mean to Steve? What do his friends need from him in particular? In our book, he’s really going to delve into what it means to be Steve Rogers.
Both books will come out of Captain America #0 written by all three writers and drawn by Mattia De Lulis, which Lanzing called a “conversation” between Steve and Sam about their shared duty as Captain America while battling with Arnim Zola. From there, both books will explore their respective men grappling with American heritage and their complicated feelings about it. “Cap can’t turn his back on America, nor can the Caps,” Kelley acknowledged. “They think the idea is good, the core is good and it’s worth fighting for. But both have to struggle with what that means.
Captain America #0 will be released on April 20, followed by Sam’s Symbol of Truth #1 in May, and the Steve-focused Sentinel of Liberty #1 in June.
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