For 73 years, Steve Rogers has been protecting America and leading the Avengers. That’s come to an end (for now) in Captain America #21. With Steve’s Captaining days having come to an end, he needs a replacement to take up the shield. To do so, Marvel has called in one of his sidekicks, Sam Wilson, The Falcon, to take over as Captain America.

The announcement of the new Captain America was made by Marvel’s Chief Creative Officer, Joe Quesada, on a recent episode of The Colbert Report. The late night host, who is soon taking over for David Letterman on The Late Show, is a known geek with an affinity for Star Wars, comics (as evidenced by the Captain America shield on the wall of his set) and America so making the announcement there is only appropriate.

In the recent Captain America #21, Steve Rogers has the Super-Serum sucked from his blood by The Iron Nail. As a result, Steve ages 65 years instantly and becomes your normal 90-year-old man in blue pajamas. Forced into retirement, the Captain handpicks Sam Wilson, The Falcon, as his replacement.

Sam Wilson won’t be the second Captain America, though he would be in what I’d call the current Marvel continuity. Going back to 1941, a number of other characters have donned the suit as Captain America. Wilson won’t even be the first black Captain America. That honour goes to Isaiah Bradley who was a member of the Super Soldier program and donned the famous suit in 2003.

That leave The Falcon’s wings empty for the moment. However, Colbert had a suggestion for who should take up the cause for America:

The announcement of Sam Wilson as Captain America wasn’t the only recasting of a tentpole Marvel superhero nor was the visit to The Colbert Report the only announcement made on TV by Marvel execs. They visited The View to announce that a yet unnamed woman would be taking over as Thor come this October.

Source: The Colbert Report