Marvel's newest Captain America will be debuting this September in United States of Captain America #4, but you don't have to wait until then to get your first impressions: meet Ari Agbayani, a Filipino-American college student.
Ari Agbayani is the fourth in a string of rural Captain Americas that are taking up the name to be a hero in their local community. For Agbayani, it's the campus of the private university she attends. She's called into action when she learns a friend of hers is being abused by a wealthy legacy student that the authorities won't prosecute.
"Like the other Caps, Ari has a strong sense of justice and admires the ideals Captain America embodies," writer Alyssa Wong says in the announcement. "But the Captain America she's inspired by isn't Steve Rogers - it's Bucky Barnes. Someone who hates bullies as much as Steve does, but is willing to use sneakier, shadier tactics to deal with them.
"Ari's a vigilante, and she knows that you can't always win by playing by the rules. Bucky's influence is reflected in her costume, designed by the incredible Jodi Nishijima."
Check out Nishijima's designs for Ari Agbayani here:
Ari's inspiration Bucky served as Captain America from 2007 to 2011, filling in during the time that Steve Rogers was believed dead.
Ari is the fourth in a line of new 'local' Captain Americas that will debut in each issue of the five-issue United States of Captain America series. The others are:
- Aaron Fischer, an LGBTQ+ teen who protects unhoused, runaway teens on America's Railways (to debut in United States of Captain America #1)
- Nichelle Wright of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, who works "day and night to bring change into a world where she feels defeated." (United States of Captain America #2)
- Joe Gomez, the Captain America of the Kickapoo Tribe, is a construction worker by day (United States of Captain America #3)
- Jeremy Merrick, an active Captain in the US Air Force, is a government agent for NORAD (United States of Captain America #5)
While Ari's debut will be in a back-up story to United States of Captain America #4, Bucky and the other major Caps - Steve Rogers, Sam Wilson, and John Walker - will continue in the serialized lead story that has them hunting down the Captain America shield, which was stolen. Iron Man writer Christopher Cantwell and artist Dale Eaglesham are writing United States of Captain America's lead story.
And in this issue, they'll be facing a group of villains that Marvel says are from Cap's past - but it doesn't say who they are. One of them is featured in Gerald Parel's United States of Captain America #4 cover here, looking awfully similar to Image Comics' Super Patriot (created by Erik Larsen).
United States of Captain America #4 (of 5) goes on sale on September 22.
Ari Agbayani is one of many people inspired by Captain America, and you could be as well. Read the best Captain America stories of all time.
