Marvel continued its media blitz ahead of the San Diego Comic-Con last night by having Joe Quesada on The Colbert Report to talk about the latest change with the iconic character of Captain America. It was announced that the role is shifting from Steve Rogers, who is going through aging issues in the ongoing series, to that of Sam Wilson, The Falcon, in the pages of All-New Captain America #1. This will be handled in by series writer Rick Remender (Captain America, Uncanny Avengers) and series artist Stuart Immonen (All-New X-Men).
Addressing how Sam Wilson will follow in the footsteps of his predecessor, Steve Rogers, Remender says, “Sam wants to lead by example. To help people see their own selfishness and to turn it around. To build better communities, to never forget the little guy.” Remender continues, “Sam follows his heart and his belief in what the American dream means and how it belongs to everyone.”
Executive Editor Tom Brevoort says, “Steve’s spirit is as willing as ever, but his body is no longer up to the task of being Captain America. So he’ll employ his skills as the new Cap’s remote strategic advisor, running Cap’s missions from his headquarters in Avengers Mansion and providing Sam with technical support and field information from a distance. He’ll also tutor Sam in how to throw the shield, a skill that’s deceptively difficult for the new Cap to master. So Steve will continue to be a vital part of the series moving ahead.”
“While Sam shares many of Steve’s beliefs in a general sense, he’s also a very different person with a very different background,” adds editor Tom Brevoort, “He didn’t grow up in the 1930s, he’s a modern day man in touch with the problems of the 21st Century. For most of his professional life, Sam has worked as a social worker, so he’s seen the worst of urban society up close, and how crime, poverty, lack of social structure and opportunity can affect the community. So he’s got perhaps a greater focus on the plight of the common man, and perhaps a greater empathy for the underprivileged than maybe even Steve himself. He’s also not a military man, so he’s more apt to be instinctively skeptical of any situation that calls for just following orders. Sam, like Steve, will be led by his personal morality and beliefs as to what is right and what is wrong—and where his beliefs may differ in their shading from those of the previous Cap are where the interesting stories will be found.”
