During tonight’s Captain America 75th Anniversary Special on ABC, it was announced Steve Rogers would be returning to the Marvel Comics comic books featuring a new costume and shield in the “Standoff” event.
Marvel.com also announced the news with the new series by Nick Spencer and Jesus Saiz.
Details include:
When the villainous Iron Nail removed the Super-Soldier Serum from his body, Steve Rogers aged into an old man, putting him on the sidelines and passing his shield to the former Falcon, Sam Wilson. But following the events of the upcoming Standoff event, Rogers will once again fight on the frontlines as Captain America, with a new shield, a new mission, and a brand new comic, Captain America: Steve Rogers.
Without spoiling too much of Standoff at this early date, something happens that restore Steve to full vigor, which will obviously greatly impact his own mission and his standing within the Marvel Universe. The biggest part of that? He’s Captain America once again.
The country is as divided as it’s ever been, and Steve is one of a kind; he’s a unifying figure, someone we can all look up to, [and] someone we can all put our faith in. It’s no secret the Marvel Universe is about to enter a period of serious conflict with Civil War II looming on the horizon, and as such, it feels like the perfect moment to bring Steve back into fighting shape.
Cap’s redesign has actually been created by the magnificent Daniel Acuña, and it truly is an incredible design. It’s very modern, and at the same time perfectly identifiable as Captain America at first glance. It has all the classic elements you’d expect to find in the character’s suit, but updated in a very clever way.
And the greatest part [is] the shield, indeed! Its shape is similar to the original shield Cap had back in the 1940’s, the pointy one, but this one has two main innovations: its tip can deploy an “energy blade” so Cap can cut into things, and the shield can be divided in two, so Steve can use both halves, one with each arm. Both modifications will help us see a completely different set of moves for Captain America, moves that we [have] never seen Steve use before, in terms of hand-to-hand combat.
It’s also revealed Falcon will still be Captain America:
It means we’ll have two Captain Americas. When Steve handed the shield to Sam, it didn’t come with any caveats. It’s his. Steve respects and admires what his old partner is doing, and wants him to carry on. There are enough problems out there, and enough bad guys, to keep both of them busy. They’ll have very different missions; Sam will continue fighting the battles no one else will go near, while Steve is faced with a resurgent threat from his past: Hydra is back, and stronger than ever.
