The next Captain America is black, says Marvel Comics

A black character will soon strap on the star-emblazoned shield and stepinto the red, white and blue uniform of Captain America in thepages of Marvel Comics.

The character of Captain America first appeared in 1941, asa super soldier fighting the Nazis. He was revived by Marvel inthe 1960s and became an icon among Marvel's lineup of heroes.

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The change in characters was announced on thepublisher'sofficial websiteon Wednesday.It is built around the retirementof Captain America's original alter ego, Steve Rogers, who findshe has lost the extraordinary strength and agility he had oncegained from injections of performance-enhancing "super soldierserum."

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Rogers will hand the Captain America persona to his muchyounger friend and cohort, the character Sam Wilson, already acomic book star in his own right as the true identity behind thewinged superhero known as Falcon.

A three-page explanation of the transformation was postedunder the headline: "It's time for an all-new Captain America."

It was authored by Marvel writer-artist Rick Remender and editorTom Brevoort, part of the creative team involved in thepublisher's re-launch of several of its popular heroes.

The Captain America update also was unveiled by MarvelComics' chief creative officer, Joe Quesada, during a Wednesdaynight TV appearance on Comedy Central's The Colbert Report.

It came one day after Marvel's announcement that anotherfounding member of its Avengers superhero team, thehammer-wielding Norse god Thor, would be reintroduced as awoman.

For now, the changes in both characters - Thor and CaptainAmerica - will be limited to the pages of Marvel comic books.Chris Hemsworth will continue to play a male Thor, and ChrisEvans a white Captain America, in Marvel's feature films.

When Sam Wilson suits up as Captain America this fall, thecharacter will undergo more than a mere racial transformation.

Wilson will don a modified version of the familiar CaptainAmerica costume and keep Cap's trademark circular shield,according to Remender and Brevoort. But he will retain a keyvestige of his old Falcon persona - retractable wings that givehim the power of flight.

As for the old Cap, Steve Rogers will stick around to serveas a strategic advisor to his successor, Marvel said.