New Captain America Is Black, But More Importantly He’s A Fan Favorite

About time! Falcon, Steve Rogers’s long-time sidekick, will finally inherit the patriotic pajamas as Marvel’s new Captain America. Sam Wilson (the winged heroes real name) has been a fixture in the Marvel universe for nearly 40 years, aiding not only Cap, but the rest of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes in their never ending quest to fight villainy. He’s definitely one of the coolest B-side heroes, but he’s never really been given a chance to shine. A fact that makes this marketing push by Marvel so much cooler.

Although, let’s not give the House of Ideas too much praise. Some of these “I’m such a good person because I talk about racism/sexism/any-ism online!” folks laud Marvel’s latest diversity attempts as genuine good will. No. That’s just not true. Marvel is a corporation, and like every other corporation, they desire money. Transforming Captain America into a Black superhero concerns itself with expanding their brand, not expanding the love. The same can be said for yesterday’s announcement regarding the new female Thor.

But even if they’re motivated by money, their efforts have resulted in some pretty cool stuff. How long will these changes last? Probably not that long, especially with the release of Avengers: Age of Ultron in 2015. I expect the entire Marvel roster to return to vintage form by that flick’s debut. Marvel certainly wouldn’t want to confuse casual fans with concurrent White and Black Captain Americas. The same can be said for male and female Thor. However short this dalliance with diversity may be (and even though a lot of it is motivated by ‘shock’ value) I know I’m gonna love it. Wilson is a classic hero and I can’t wait to read him in his very own book. Thor, the lady version, should be equally impressive, especially with the current artwork.

Looks like you’re out of work, Steve.