Marvel Announces Avengers NOW!, Confirms Major Changes for Captain America, Thor and Iron Man

Called Avengers NOW!, the initiative will see Iron Man, Captain America and Thor radically altered and give each of the three a new #1. It will also feature a renewed focus on Deathlok and the Winter Soldier, with more than ten new titles in the planning stages.

We already knew about the female Thor — and tonight on The Colbert Report, we learned that Sam Wilson, better known as The Falcon, will take over the identity of Captain America.

The third major title announcement made tonight — and the one nobody had an idea of — is Superior Iron Man #1, which EW says “sends Tony Stark to San Francisco with a new outfit and a new perspective on life.”

“The Genius Bar costume is there for a reason,” Marvel editor-in-chief Axel Alonso said of the new suit seen above. “The newly-transformed Superior Iron Man has very ambitious plans for the city that some of its residents embrace, but not all.”

Alonso added, “Like the Superior Spider-Man, Superior Iron Man is a character that’s hard to root for.” The series is written by Tom Taylor and drawn by Yildiray Cinar.

Writer Rick Remender will be joined by artist Stuart Immonen for All-New Captain America #1, featuring Wilson in the title role. Alonso told EW that the title is “very much a jumping-on point [for people] who both like the Captain America and really enjoyed the second Captain America movie,” which featured Mackie as Falcon — the character’s first big-screen appearance.

“For reasons that will be revealed in Original Sin, Thor won’t be able to pick up the hammer,” Alonso said of Thor. “Someone has to pick up the hammer. And someone does. And they become Thor.”

While the image above certainly suggests that Angela — many people’s odds-on favorite — won’t be the one to wield Mjolnir, Alonso also said her identity won’t be revealed immediately.

“There are several women in Thor’s life, and one of them is going to be the new Thor. You aren’t going to find out who it is for some time. This is a slowly unfolding mystery.”

Avengers NOW! kicks off in October. Expect more details next week at Comic Con International: San Diego.