Captain America #6 will send Steve Rogers and Nick Fury Jr's new SHIELD into the "powder keg" of a war-torn Latveria where they'll have to "reckon with the ghost of Doom" as well as the rampaging Red Hulk

Writer Chip Zdarsky and artist Valerio Schiti's ongoing Captain America title is about to enter its second arc, and, following the flashback of the pair's first story, Cap's next adventure will return to the present day as he is joined by a new, lean and mean incarnation of SHIELD organized by Nick Fury Jr.

Newsarama caught up with Zdarsky before the new story kicks off in January's Captain America #6, digging into exactly what Cap and SHIELD are getting themselves into. Along the way, we've got some brand new, uncolored interior pages from the issue by Schiti.

The opening arc of Zdarsky and Schiti's Captain America took readers back to Steve Rogers' early days in the modern Marvel Universe, not long after having been unfrozen by the nascent Avengers, in which Cap ventured into Latveria for his first encounter with the despotic Doctor Doom.

Now, Cap will have to bring that experience to his new mission. He must help guide Nick Fury Jr's new incarnation of SHIELD in its intervention in the power vacuum left in Latveria by Doom's apparent death at the end of One World Under Doom, in which the despotic ruler actually managed to temporarily conquer the world.

"Nick Fury Jr. is starting small. The downfall of SHIELD was its size, its massive reach, and Fury knows that now," Zdarsky tells Newsarama. "So his new team is laser-focused, soldiers of fortune who won't let anything get in the way of their mission. Cap has the experience of Latveria from our first arc, plus the moral clarity that Fury needs to make sure his team succeeds."

What they're up against won't be easy though, as they'll have to deal not only with "warring factions" and "a weapon that could change everything," but Nick Fury Jr. and SHIELD will also have their hands full with none other than the Red Hulk, who is "pacing like a wild dog waiting to be let off his leash" after being held prisoner by Doctor Doom.

"He's going into a country that's been under the rule of a tyrant for far too long, but that same tyrant has kept his people safe," Zdarsky tells Newsarama. "Latveria is a powder keg with wolves at the door and Cap has to reckon with the ghost of Doom every step of the way."

Captain America #6 goes on sale January 21. For more, check out our picks for the best Captain America comics of all time.