Comic Vine News

30 Comments

SDCC 2014 Interview: Al Ewing on CAPTAIN AMERICA AND THE MIGHTY AVENGERS

There's a new Captain America coming and he'll be leading the Mighty Avengers.

You've likely seen the news that there's going to be a new Captain America. Sam Willson, aka the Falcon, will step up to take on the mantle of Captain America now that Steve Rogers is no longer able to.

Al Ewing has been writing MIGHTY AVENGERS but with Sam becoming Captain America, he'll be fighting evil alongside the Might Avengers. We got the opportunity to ask Al some questions to find out how the new Cap will operate and what we can expect in this series.

No Caption Provided

COMIC VINE: How closely will this book align with ALL-NEW CAPTAIN AMERICA?

AL EWING: I'll be very keen not to contradict anything, and I'll keep a weather eye out so I can make sure people don't feel that Sam's a totally different person in CA&MA than he is in ANCA. But I don't think there'll be any big crossovers planned... well, aside from the BIG crossovers, obviously. The first three issues are going to be tying into AXIS, for example.

CV: Is becoming Captain America an easy transition for Sam or is that something we'll see more in ALL-NEW?

AE: Not so easy. Captain America is not an easy gig - it's a position with massive social power and even more social responsibility. Not to mention that there are people in the Marvel Universe who won't be able to accept Sam in that role. I imagine both books will be examining how he deals with the pressures and challenges of wielding the shield.

CV: Where will their base of operations be? Will they have one?

AE: They're still in the Gem Theater, which has now been almost completely overhauled so it can serve as their base - there are meeting rooms, the hotline is set up there and there's a portal to Blue Marvel's undersea base so people can go to train and deal with international threats. Maybe one of these days we'll do a cutaway diagram - there's a certain freedom in having it as an amorphous space, though.

CV: Sounds like Luke and Jessica will be on the team. Any hints on who else will be on the team? Will it be the MIGHTY AVENGERS cast?

AE: Pretty much! At this point, there's kind of a 'field team' and 'support staff' division - I'm definitely considering making that more official - and the support staff includes ordinary folk like Dave, Ruby, and Isabella the brick-throwing old lady. Originally from Spain. Whether the 'support' team really count as Mighty Avengers depends on how inclusive you feel - personally, I think one of the big draws of the book is that feeling that anyone can be a Mighty Avenger, including you or me.

CV: What can you tell us about the Cortex Corporation?

AE: CORTEX is the mysterious corporate organization me and Kieron Gillen came up with for IRON MAN: FATAL FRONTIER - I've been getting the most out of it since then, although disgraced ex-Regional Director and clone Anderson Sixty did turn up in the main Iron Man series. They've been investing in various bits of business in the Mighty Avengers' world - most notably old Luke Cage enemy Gideon Mace, the man who murdered the White Tiger's parents. But now they're after the Mighty Avengers themselves - why? You'll have to read the book to find out.

CV: Does Spider-Man stand a chance re-joining the team?

AE: He does! A pretty big chance, in fact. You'll be seeing him in issue #1, but I won't spoil the hows, whys and wherefores of how he ends up fighting on the Mighty Avengers' side.

CAPTAIN AMERICA AND MIGHTY AVENGERS will be in stores in November 2014. Check it out to see what's next for Sam Wilson.