Posted in: Recent Updates | Tagged: black, bryan hitch, captain america, ed brubaker, Lying In The Gutters, mark waid, Marvel Comics, Marvel Studios, will smith

UPDATED: The Return of Captain America… Probably

Published Tue, 02 Jun 2009 05:50:48 -0500

by Rich Johnston

Last updated Wed, 03 Jun 2009 05:05:33 -0500

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So what are the plot secrets behind Ed Brubaker's CAPTAIN AMERICA #600 and REBORN #1? Why are Marvel so sure they'll get major international publicity about to the extent that they won't release any solicitation information until the coverage is received? And why is #600 being released two days early to match up with said coverage?

There's certainly a lot of theories.

1) That Will Smith will be announced as playing Captain America and Reborn will see a black character taking the role (possibly with an appearance by Barack Obama). Well any aspect of this would certainly get the publicity.

2) That the appearance of the Heroes Reborn Bucky in Captain America 600 will see a return to the Heroes Reborn world and characters, as portrayed by Jim Lee and Rob Liefeld. But who outside certain comic book readers would care? This feels a massive red herring.

3) The return of Steve Rogers. This has always been the most likely of scenarios, and its the one I've been hearing about most from my contacts and the one I'd put my BleedingCool dollars on. But why are Marvel so sure that it will get a lot of public attention? What do they have up their sleeve? Obama in this one as well?

Remember this isn't just Marvel's usual promotional tactics. They truly believe that there is something about Reborn #1 and Captain America #600 that is equivalent to Civil War #2, Amazing Spider-Man #583 and Captain America #25. They just can't tell anyone what yet.

For these events, Marvel has usually paired with a major American newspaper, giving them an exclusive story in return for decent placement. Looks like they're doing the same for Monday 15th June.

Whichever bet you place ladies and gentlemen, just remember. America wins!

UPDATE: As The Sword Is Drawn mentions in the comments, it could well be a mixture. That the actor playing Captain America will be announced (whoever it is) and that the new returning Steve Rogers will be drawn to resemble him. Got to say, I like that theory.

UPDATE AGAIN: Ed Brubaker adds his own comment below saying "Cap 600 is NOT subtitled "Girl Without a World." Other than that, I can say nothing."

That does kind of confirm the red herringness of the whole Heroes Reborn aspect. Thank goodness.

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