NEW YORK – Captain America is rising from the grave.
The Marvel Comics superhero returns for the five-part series "Captain America Reborn," beginning July 1.
But Marvel won't disclose how he rises from the dead. Executive Editor Tom Brevoort teases that the character has been "on a Vonnegut-esque metaphysical journey," including some soul-searching about his place in the world.
"He hasn't just been lying in a cold grave for these many months," Brevoort says. "While he seems to be dead, his mind and his spirit" are active elsewhere.
Captain America, the superhero alter ego of Steve Rogers, was apparently shot and killed two years ago on the steps of a courthouse in lower Manhattan. He was buried at Arlington National Cemetery.
Rogers' sidekick Bucky Barnes took his place, continuing the series. Brevoort says Barnes will embark on a quest to revive Rogers after tracking down what really happened to him.
"There's definitely a question that must arise, which is `Can there be more than one Captain America?'" says Brevoort. "And if not, even if there can't, what does this mean for Bucky? Where does he fit in the world now?"
According to Brevoort, some Bucky fans are none too pleased.
"Right this second, it's kind of a split," he says. "When Steve was first killed, there was great outcry. But then as Bucky has taken over as Cap, and has sort of struggled to fill those big shoes, a lot of our readers have really taken to him as a character."
He says Marvel planned to bring back Rogers in one shape or form and, given the general mood of the country, the timing seemed right to resurrect one of the comic book empire's most patriotic icons.
"It feels like there's a desire for hopefulness," he says. "A desire for heroes and for somebody to show us that we can be our better selves, and to help pull us all up by our bootstraps and get out of the situations that we find ourselves in."
