Marvel’s America Chavez is back in a new ongoing series coming later this year, and we had the chance to talk to writer Kalinda Vazquez all about it. The new series is titled America Chavez: Made in the USA and is set to dive into Chavez’ origins as well as the origins of her impressive power set. That said, it will also serve to spotlight Chavez as a character and her internal struggles with identity, both from the point of view of a LatinX hero living in modern-day America and as someone who wasn’t born on Earth. Those themes are what led to Vazquez taking a closer look and exploring the character’s origin story in the new series, and you can even get an exclusive sneak peek at the art (which includes a certain Kate Bishop) from the series below.
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“Speaking as a Latina woman, I was thrilled when America Chavez was introduced to the Marvel universe,” Vazquez said. “Growing up, I loved comics, but you didn’t see too many LatinX heroes back then, and I think it’s wonderful that a younger LatinX generation will be able to see themselves reflected in pages of Marvel comics. Specifically in America – a powerful, heroic and noble figure. Beyond her ethnic identity, America is a character who I think has even more potential beyond what we’ve already seen. She has a complicated relationship with her identity, because she is not of this earth and in many ways, she’s had the experience of an outsider. These are really rich themes to explore – and it’s particularly this notion of America as an outsider that drew me to dig into her origin and work with the amazing team of Marvel editors to go even deeper into her past than has ever been done before.”
America Chavez is Marvel’s first Latin-American LGBTQ superhero to lead her own series, and while she’s a rather recent addition to the Marvel mythos she’s developed a substantial following quite quickly. Tackling a popular character comes with its own kind of pressure and challenges, but Vazquez couldn’t be more honored and thrilled to get to tell America’s story.
“It is a tremendous honor to be a part of the continuation of America’s story, and I feel a great responsibility to do right by her character because of what she means to so many people in various communities,” Vazquez said. “Luckily, there’s been so much great groundwork done by the writers and artists who came before me, that I feel like I’ve had an immense well to draw from.”
“Part of what I really enjoy about writing America’s character is her unyielding spunk and sassiness,” Vazquez said. “She’s never one to back down from a tough situation and she always brings a glimmer of humor to her adventures, no matter how dire things might seem. I do think one challenge in writing America is how tremendously powerful she is on a superhero level – and while everyone loves a character who’s invincible (because who wouldn’t want to be invincible??), I also think what makes characters relatable is being able to get a glimpse of their weaknesses and vulnerabilities. This is an area of America’s character that I hope to tease out more in the upcoming series.”
With America being a newer hero, she doesn’t have the extended Rogues’ gallery like some other Marvel heroes. That said, that will be changing thanks to Made in the USA.
“Oh there will definitely be some new villains for America to face both during this series and after! It’s a true privilege to be able to work Sana Amanat and editor Annalise Bisa as well as artist Carlos Gomez to expand America’s mythology and deepen her ‘villain bench’,” Vazquez said.
“My hope is that after this series, new readers and loyal fans alike will have a better understanding of what makes America tick, and how she came to be the superhero that we all know and love,” Vazquez said. And America herself will also come to terms with some difficult moments from her past.”
America Chavez: Made in the USA will hit later this summer.
Are you excited for the new series? Let us know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @MattAguilarCB for all things comics!
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Image Credit: Marvel Comics
