I'm using this to build the character quite a bit. And things get worse when his mother is gunned down by a mugger not long after his father's death. His father is killed trying to stop a fight. He preaches about his American dream of tolerance and standing up against oppression, and these concepts that Sam can't buy into because he's not necessarily apathetic, as much as he is a jaded teenager. People come from miles around to listen to his sermon. But he's got a father who's a minister and, in the Marvel Universe, one of the most prominent popular ministers in Harlem. Sam's story reflects that era, in that he was a kid who was disenfranchised and dealing with racism. He grew up when I grew up, and he grew up at a time that was increasingly more violent from the late '80s into the mid-'90s. RR: One of the reasons I was drawn to writing him, and one of the reasons I wanted to do this, is if you look at Marvel history where he would land right now, that would make him Generation X.Ī variant cover of All New Captain America No. How does this affect his empathy and his heroism? I treat all my characters just as God does - they all get to suffer the same wrath.ĪAS: Unlike Steve Rogers, Wilson comes from a place where he witnesses an imperfect America that can be ugly and racist. I have a responsibility to present Sam and the character that he is in a way that makes him feel three-dimensional - that means all of his positive attributes as well as his negative attributes - and to allow myself to tell a big, super-exciting story with him in it that doesn't approach him or what happens to him in a different way I would any other character. And you could talk yourself out of making bold decisions out of that fear. There's an instinct to be fearful as a white man writing an African-American character in such a prominent position. Rick Remender: In terms of avoiding tokenism, and treating characters like characters, I stomp around the Marvel Universe and I kill and maim and damage and I twist the characters, and I put them through hell whether they be man or woman, black or white - they all get to experience the same cruel hand of my writer's pen. How important is it to you to avoid writing Sam as a "perfect" Captain America? I talked to Remender about what we can expect from Wilson's Captain America, what Marvel's diversity means for readers, and how Wilson's race affects his heroism.Īlex Abad-Santos: Back in the '70s, we saw comic books try to include women and nonwhite characters, but it sometimes felt like prescriptivism or tokenism - resulting in hollow characters who felt more like PSAs than actual heroes. Wilson isn't perfect, and his story - a hero exposed to racism and violence - couldn't be more different from his predecessor's. Wilson becoming a character that's as iconic as Captain America is Marvel's biggest move toward inclusion. And Marvel Studios has followed suit, with Captain Marvel and Black Panther movies coming in a few years. Superhero teams like the Ultimates and the Mighty Avengers are featuring more women and nonwhite heroes. Marvel, one of the company's best selling comics, is a Muslim, Pakistani-American teenage girl. Over the past few years, more and more people have been able to see themselves in Marvel's heroes. It's important to feel like you live in a culture where you are a part of it, and that you can see yourself in your heroes. Remender is one of the comic book industry's biggest names, and has worked on titles like X-Men, Uncanny X-Force, and Punisher. "You're starting to see characters who can reflect other parts of our culture," Rick Remender, the writer of the series, told me. In November, Sam Wilson, the African-American hero known as Falcon, was chosen to take on the title of Captain America in his own comic book. And for a long period of time, "the best of us" were straight white guys. Superheroes are meant to represent the best of us.
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