Bring Out Your Dead!

I'm sure just about everyone has seen this already, but there's a new Captain America headed our way. You might remember it wasn't that long ago that Captain America "died" and now he's back. In a bright shiny costume. Hmmm, that's not strong enough. In a bright seizure inducing costume. Or is he back?

It's not "The" Captain America that's returning, it's "A" Captain America. Big distinction. It's another guy wearing the suit. Which means he has a limited life expectancy in him until the real guy returns (which I still say will be right before the Captain America movie debuts).

Why do I think it's a different guy? Well, they basically tell you in the press release. Here's a couple of highlights from the press release about it (emphasis added by me):

So not only will someone other than Steve Rogers step into the Cap costume come January, they'll be armed with both a gun and a knife to go along with Cap's classic shield.

and

... it does have the advantage that this isn't Steve Rogers, so what might seem right or wrong for his Captain America won't necessarily hold true in the same way for our new guy."

The <airquotes>big</airquotes> controvesy is that the new Cap is carrying a gun which has some people riled up. But let's be serious, as anyone that's seen the Comic Book Guy on the Simpsons knows it doesn't take a lot to rile up the comic book community. And people seem to forget that back in the forties Cap was fighting the Nazis using machine guns, so it's not like he's never carried a piece before. That's more of an artifact the present day incarnation of the hero (but one that has since become an attribute of the character). This isn't the first time they've had someone else running around in the Cap suit, and it probably won't be the last. In my mind the worst thing about him carrying a piece is all the "he's going to put a cap in your @$$" jokes. Personally I can't say I'm a fan of the triangle like design on the chest and back. I liked the wrap around it used to be better, but that's just me.

Since he's carrying a gun (and a knife) and has that little star on his shoulder, it's more than likely the new Captain America is actually the Winter Soldier. Who is Cap's original partner Bucky, who despite what everyone has believed for the past 40+ years, didn't die back in WW II (it's way more complicated than I can explain here, read the Wiki page if you're really interested). You know, there was a time a while back that Bucky was considered to be one of the few comic book characters that everyone believed would stay dead.