Falcon & Winter Soldier to Introduce New Shield-Bearing Character

While Marvel Studios prepares The Falcon and the Winter Soldier for its release on Disney+ later this year, Marvel Comics is unveiling a new team-up comic starring the popular duo. Written by Derek Landy and illustrated by Federico Vicentini, Falcon & Winter Soldier #1 arrives on February 26th, and the book is bringing with it an all-new shield-bearing character to give the two former Captain Americas a dangerous challenge.

The new Falcon & Winter Soldier series will introduce a brand new character that goes by the name of The Natural. The Natural is a skilled fighter and Captain America super fan that has now become a vigilante. While his intentions may have been admirable at the beginning of his journey, The Natural will now pose a threat to both Sam and Bucky, requiring them to work together once again.

Take a look below at the first artwork depicting The Natural.

“In combat, no matter how good you are, there will always be someone better than you,” said Landy. “Someone who’s stronger, or quicker, orwho’s trained that little bit more. Even someone who’s luckier. That’s where the Natural came from — that fear in a fighter’s mind that, maybe, their next opponent will be the one to outclass them.”

“He wants to be Captain America, his idol, his hero, but he does that from the wrong side of the barricade, unaware of his mistakes,” added Vicentini. “Bucky and Sam will have to do their best to show him what it really means to be Captain America. For his costume I tried to keep some details from Cap’s old one (the boots, for example), but I also added something new, like the black logo on his chest and mask, to point out the dark traits of his behavior.”

“The Natural is a Captain America super-fan who learned all the wrong things from Steve Rogers’ legacy and has gone down a pretty dark path as a result–though he certainly doesn’t see it that way,” explained Marvel associate editor Alanna Smith. “Bucky and Sam are both integral parts of that legacy, so they’re really going to wrestle with how on earth to deal with this very cheerful and very violent guy who’s being seduced by Hydra.”

What do you think of this new Marvel character? Let us know in the comments!