After some days of speculation, Ta-Nehisi Coates disclosed that he will be writing Marvel’s Captain America. Coates made the announcement through an essay, “Why I’m Writing Captain America,” published at his literary home The Atlantic. Within the piece, the award-winning author explained why he wanted to explore the words of a superhero that many feel is the “unblinking mascot for American nationalism.”

Coates who is known for his critique of Whiteness went on to state: “Captain America, the embodiment of a kind of Lincolnesque optimism, poses a direct question for me: Why would anyone believe in The Dream? What is exciting here is not some didactic act of putting my words in Captain America’s head, but attempting to put Captain America’s words in my head. What is exciting is the possibility of exploration, of avoiding the repetition of a voice I’ve tired of.”

He also touched upon the superhero’s relatability to today’s culture of protesting the powers that be. “But, perhaps haunted by his own roots in powerlessness, he is a dissident just as likely to be feuding with his superiors in civilian and military governance as he is to be fighting with the supervillain Red Skull. Conspirators against him rank all the way up to the White House, causing Rogers to, at one point, reject the very title of Captain America,” Coates pointed out.

The bestselling author previously wrote within the Black Panther family for Marvel in 2016. His version of the comic turned into spin-offs including World of Wakanda and Black Panther and the Crew.

Captain America No.1 written by Ta-Nehisi Coates will be available on Independence Day. Leinil Yu will illustrate the series and Alex Ross will create the covers. “Both Leinil and Alex are legends. Even if you don’t consider yourself a comics-head, you should check out their work to see what the best of the form has to offer,” said Coates.

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Ta-Nehisi Coates