Writer J. Michael Straczynski is returning to Marvel Comics to take on Captain America in an upcoming relaunched ongoing series alongside artist Jesús Saiz, starting this fall.
Straczynski is well known to Marvel fans for his Spider-Man run which culminated in the controversial story Spider-Man: One More Day that ended Peter Parker's marriage to Mary Jane Watson, as well as his run on Thor which restored the mythos of Asgard to Marvel Comics.
Now, Straczynski is poised to turn his formative eye on Steve Rogers in a story that goes back to Captain America's roots.
"Decades ago, Steve Rogers changed the world forever. Now powerful and insidious forces are assembling to ensure he never does it again," reads Marvel's official description of Straczynski and Saiz's new Captain America title. "Past, present and future collide as the man out of time reckons with an existential threat determined to set the world on a darker path at any cost…"
In an interview with i09 who broke the news, Straczynski laid out his plans to delve into Steve Rogers' life before he became Captain America, in which he'll confront the growing American Bund, an real world organization of American Nazi sympathizers that formed before WWII.
"We are going to put young Steve right into the middle of that real-life vortex, where despite terrible odds he will make a crucial difference at an even more crucial moment," Straczynski explains. "For a young Peter Parker, the murder of his uncle Ben was a transformational event putting him on the path to becoming Spider-Man. This story will be equally transformational, putting a young Steve Rogers on the path to being the hero he eventually becomes."
Strazcynski's return to Marvel will also include an upcoming six-issue event story that has yet to be announced. Could this be the much-teased Thanos vs. Thor story that's been in the works for some time? Straczynski did contribute to the recent Thanos: Death Notes one-shot, so it's not impossible.
Captain America #1 goes on sale September 20 with a cover by Saiz, seen above.
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