Ever since writer Ta-Nehisi Coates concluded his Captain America run over a year ago, there’s been a notable lack of a Captain America ongoing series. All that changes this Spring. Courtesy of an EW Exclusive, as Marvel announced a Captain America #0 one-shot which will launch two new Cap ongoing series starring Steve Rogers and Sam Wilson.
In May, Sam Wilson dons the Cap mantle once more in Captain America: Symbol of Truth, written by Tochi Onyebuchi with art by R.B. Silva. Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty, arriving the next month, will focus on original Cap Steve Rogers and will be written by Collin Kelly and Jackson Lanzing with art by Carmen Carnero.
The Captain America #0 one-shot in April, which leads into both new ongoing series, will be co-written by Kelly, Lanzing, and Onyebuchi with art by Mattia De Iulis. The one-shot will sport separate Steve Rogers and Sam Wilson covers illustrated by Alex Ross as well as a wraparound variant cover by Mark Brooks.
Lanzing teased what’s to come in the Captain America #0 one-shot including the return of villain Arnim Zola.
“What’s interesting about Captain America #0 is that, unlike a lot of zero issues, we’re not gonna spend a lot of time building the plot for both books or teasing out a bunch of amazing stuff. The issue #1’s are gonna do that. Issue #0 is effectively a conversation between Steve and Sam about what it means for both of them to be Captain America simultaneously. But that conversation isn’t had in a room sitting down over beers, that conversation is had while flying/holding onto the side of a massive rocket heading into the sky to obliterate all of mankind because Arnim Zola is back and he’s got a bad plan.”
In yet another instance of corporate synergy with Sam Wilson, played by Anthony Mackie, now officially taking on the Captain America mantle in the MCU at the end of the Falcon and Winter Soldier Disney+ series, it doesn’t come as a total surprise to see the comics follow suit. Onyebuchi explained how this differs from the first time Sam took up the shield almost a decade ago, and what to expect in the Symbol of Truth series.
“We have basically only touched the surface of his interaction with the Marvel Universe. There are so many characters that have yet to interact with Sam as Captain America, dynamics we haven’t yet seen. It feels like the world is my oyster. It’s been really cool exploring that with Sam, but also with Joaquín Torres, who is the Falcon in this book.
We’ve seen Sam Wilson deal with the legacy of Captain America and race in very inward terms with regards to America: What does it mean for America to accept a Black Captain America?” One of the things I’m teasing in my book is, what does it mean for the rest of the world to accept a Black Captain America? That’s another part of the equation. If Captain America is in many ways a mimesis of America, with all the good and bad pathologies, what does that mean for the way in which America interacts with the rest of the world?
I’m a huge fan of action thrillers that involve foreign locals and all of that stuff. One of the things that Sam has to do is he has to get to the bottom of a conspiracy. He has to figure out what the truth of the matter is, he has to figure out what’s really going on. When so much of American foreign policy historically has been founded on operating in the shadows, manipulating federal employees or members of another government into enacting regime change for the benefit of various corporate interests, what is it going to look like when Sam runs up against the people who would wish to manipulate him for their own ends in terms of furthering ‘America’s interests’ abroad? What does it mean to be the ‘Symbol of Truth’ in that context?”
Kelly meanwhile revealed what’s to come for Steve Rogers in the Sentinel of Liberty series:
“Steve is a member of the Greatest Generation. That’s so important, especially now, because he’s seen so much of the 20th century and he’s really able to weigh it. With our story, what we really wanted to start looking at was, how has America changed? What does it mean to be a patriot now? Because it means something very different, even in the last two or three years. We’ve seen a radical shift in our country and, especially for a lot of young people, a real fury and disappointment at what our country has started to do to itself. Cap can’t turn his back on America, neither of the Caps can, because the idea is good. The core is good and worth fighting for, but both need to wrestle with what that means in the year of our Lord 2022.
I think Steve has learned through the Coates run that there’s a lot of inward-looking he has to do in terms of his legacy and himself. Maybe he’s become too much Captain America and not enough Steve Rogers. In our book, he is going to be really looking at what it means to be Steve Rogers. We’ll see what it means when he finds a threat that truly needs his version of Captain America, and what he has to step up to become that. What does Captain America mean to Steve beyond being the leader of the Avengers and answering to the government? Since he feels he’s handed that off. So what is Steve building? What is he organizing? What do his friends need from him specifically? What does Bucky need from him?”
Look for Captain America #0 to arrive in stores on April 20, 2022.
Looking forward to Captain America #0. Hope I can “get out” to score myself a copy!!!
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