Posted in: Avengers, Comics, Comics Publishers, Current News, Marvel Comics, X-Men | Tagged: captain krakoa, John Walker, nuke, uncanny avengers, William Burnside

So Who Is The New Captain Krakoa Anyway? (Spoilers)

The identity of the new Captain Krakoa remains a mystery after Uncanny Avengers #1. There are a few good theories though...

Published Thu, 17 Aug 2023 14:57:09 -0500

by Rich Johnston

Comments

The identity of the new Captain Krakoa – or Captain Orchis – remains a mystery after Uncanny Avengers #1. There are a few good theories about the person who took Cyclops' alter ego character and stole the Captain Krakoa uniform before launching a false-flag operation against the US government back on Free Comic Book Day and now caught up courtesy of the Hellfire Gala.

1. John Walker, US Agent

John Walker knows all about putting on another man's costume and taking his identity, as Captain America and then The Captain, before becoming the US Agent again. He's also a right-wing conservative religious figure, and the references to soldiers and God are noted.

Destiny predicted the "false Captain"… the false Captain America and the false Captain Krakoa? The thing is, John Walker is to launch the new Thunderbolts team in December, with Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, Bucky Barnes, Black Widow, Sharon Carter, White Widow, Red Guardian, U.S.Agent and Shang-Chi. So maybe that would be too soon to be rehabilitated?

But John Walker is someone who has earned his rank as US Agent. But he's not alone in that.

2. Hydra Supreme Commander Steve Rogers

Steve Rogers from the Secret Empire reality, a Hydra sleeper agent version of Captain America, was meant to have been melted down by Selene.

After burning him like this, could she have put him on ice? Because a) we never saw the final melting and b) Selene is an incredibly suspicious figure who manipulated events to get herself onto the Quiet Council, and her actions damaged Krakoa in the eyes of the public, on behalf of Orchis.

Might she have also been part of bringing back another old Captain America to be Captain Krakoa? He does want a fair fight, after all. How very noble of him. But those aren't the only two patriotic soldiers out there who might be up for this role.

3. Nuke

How about Nuke, Frank Simpson, best known for his buzzcut and American Flag tattooed on his face. A Captain America and Daredevil villain, it is later revealed in New X-Men that Nuke was involved in the Weapon Plus program, the supersoldier program that had also created Captain America and Wolverine, and went up against Cyclops then. He was last seen working for Madame Hydra.

4. William Burnside

The Captain America of the 1950s, Commie Smasher, created as an explanation for the reappearance of Captain America in the fifties, when the sixties would have him frozen since the war. He was later renamed The Grand Director as a villain and leader of a group of white supremacists (how woke of Jim Shooter). An intense student of American history, he was manipulated before killing himself in flames.

He was kept alive by Faustus and the Red Skull and used a puppet again, joins the terrorist group Watchdogs, becomes an insane crimefighting vigilante (aren't they all?). Eventually, he undergoes therapy and gained a new identity. That's the last we heard of him

So who is it to be, who takes on the name, the costume and blows up one entire plank of the US Government?

In Uncanny Avengers #1, we see this mysterious figure recruited by Doctor Statis and MODOK, and has no difficulty working for them. And kept in suspended animation, like so many Captain Americas have at one point or another.

… and is indeed motivated by thoughts of America.

And right from the beginning, it is recognised that this man needs a uniform.

But which one? Well the phrase "useful idiots" was first used post-Second World War for left-wingers being used by foreign Communist regimes, and is the kind of thing William Burnside might have said at the time.

But it would be equally fitting coming from the others.

Will that mask be coming off soon?

UNCANNY AVENGERS #1 (OF 5)
MARVEL COMICS
JUN230831
(W) Jonathan Hickman, Gerry Duggan (A/CA) Garron, Javier
The FALL OF X calls for the return of the Avengers' Unity Squad! Innocent people and world leaders are dead after simultaneous attacks on the U.S. and Krakoan governments, and that means one thing: It's time for a new squad of Avengers. False-flag attacks meant to whip up anti-mutant hysteria are unfolding, and hey, some of Steve Rogers' best friends are mutants. Your new unity squad is: Captain America, Rogue, Deadpool, Quicksilver, Psylocke and Monet. They must solve the mystery of who the new, murderous Captain Krakoa is – and stop his team of killers from igniting the fires of a new world war. PLUS: A bonus page written by Jonathan Hickman – WHO ARE THE G.O.D.S.? Rated T In Shops: Aug 16, 2023 SRP: $4.99

UNCANNY AVENGERS #2 (OF 5)
MARVEL COMICS
JUL230602
(W) Gerry Duggan (A/CA) Garron, Javier
At a time when mutant and human relations are in the toilet, the Uncanny Avengers have run smack into a new BROTHERHOOD OF EVIL MUTANTS, and, folks, lemme tell you – they came here to beat up Avengers and X-Men and chew gum, and they're all outta gum. Wake up, babe, a new romance hits that will make readers froth at the mouth. Plus, Ben Urich. Always the mark of a quality and important Marvel Comic. FOOM! Rated T In Shops: Sep 20, 2023 SRP: $3.99

UNCANNY AVENGERS #3 (OF 5)
MARVEL COMICS
AUG230757
(W) Gerry Duggan (A) Emilio Laiso (CA) Garron, Javier
The Unity Squad faces off against the Mutant Liberation Front. Blood will be spilled, and one will fall – TO THEIR DEATH! Plus, Captain America's been hit with grenades, bullets and bombs, but somebody lobs something at Captain America that we've never seen before. 'Nuff said! Rated T In Shops: Oct 25, 2023 SRP: $3.99