Captain America Is Getting a New Costume (But It Makes a Major Change to Steve Rogers)

Marvel’s new Captain America series is making some surprising changes to Steve Rogers, starting with his iconic costume. Writer Chip Zdarsky (Daredevil) is teaming with artist Valerio Schiti (Avengers, G.O.D.S.) on a new volume of Captain America. It’s opening arc will take readers back to when Steve Rogers first emerged from the ice but before he joined the Avengers. While a showdown with Doctor Doom is also teased, Marvel also unveiled Captain America character designs, giving us our first glimpse at a new costume Cap will wear that trades in his red-white-and-blue garbs for something much darker.

The Captain America suit designs are by Valerio Schiti, and feature Steve Rogers in his familiar star-spangled costume. However, there is a second design that Marvel dubs a stealth uniform, which more than likely is when he leads a new team of Howling Commandos. Cap’s stealth suit has a black and grey helmet with matching top, pants, and boots. The helmet keeps a version of the American “A” above the eyes, and the top of the costume has a black star with red outline instead of the white star found on the American flag. Eagle wings can also be seen on the sides of the helmet.

A stealth costume alludes to Captain America leading the new team of Howling Commandos on stealth missions. As of now we don’t know if these missions take place in the past or the present, though it’s unlikely a suit of that design would have been utilized so many years ago. However, one of Cap’s first missions after re-enlisting in the U.S. Army involves infiltrating Latveria, leading to his previously untold first encounter with Doctor Doom. This could also be where a stealth suit comes in handy.

Captain America’s stealth costume is reminiscent of the same style costume Chris Evans wore in Captain America: The Winter Soldier when Cap was working for S.H.I.E.L.D. Of course, that costume comes directly from the comics, when Cap was named the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. and was also serving as leader of the Secret Avengers.

“I’ve been a massive Captain America fan for decades. I loved writing the grizzled, older Cap in Avengers: Twilight, so getting to write the actual CAPTAIN AMERICA title feels like a dream!” Zdarsky shared. “We’re exploring Cap’s early days in the modern era with a twist that I think is going to really surprise readers! I’m pretty excited to get this out there in the world, especially with Valerio and Frank’s amazing art!

“I’ve been approaching this title the way I approached my run on Daredevil, really trying to get in Cap’s head with a grounded, human look at who he is in this new world. Steve Rogers is the best of us, and I want that to come through on every page.”

“Captain America is one of my all-time favorites,” Schiti added. “I’m reuniting with Chip Zdarsky and Frank Martin after the amazing experience of Marvel 2-In-One, and I’m working on a story that strikes the perfect balance between heart, action and entertainment! But the thing that is most exciting and unexpected is that I found myself thinking more and more about Steve Rogers, instead of just Captain America.

“Chip’s script is so clever and compelling that I’m sure readers will be dragged with us inside Steve’s heart and soul. He’s a man that became the living embodiment of truth, justice and freedom. He fought a war against Nazism, ‘died’ in that war, and came back to life to do his duty and fight again. That’s a lot of pressure, and if you do the math, he’s only in this late twenties in the era we’re exploring!”

Captain America #1 by Chip Zdarsky, Valerio Schiti, and Frank Martin goes on sale July 2nd, just in time for the 4th of July. Let us know your thoughts on the series and Cap’s stealth suit in the comments below!