S.H.I.E.L.D. Returns In January’s ‘Captain America’ #6
by Tony Thornley
S.H.I.E.L.D., Marvel Comics’ venerable super-spy organization, has been part of some of the publisher’s biggest stories. They’ve been missing since the end of 2017’s Secret Empire, but next year, they return in a big way in Captain America from Chip Zdarsky, Valerio Schiti, and guest artists Delio Diaz & Frank Alpizar.
As the fallout of Doctor Doom’s takeover of Earth continues, Steve Rogers finds himself battling a threat to Latveria’s stability as the nation finds itself on the brink of civil war. But Steve soon finds himself fighting a violent incursion by the Red Hulk, and challenged by a new incarnation of S.H.I.E.L.D.. It seems everyone wants a piece of Latveria, no matter the cost.
“Ever since S.H.I.E.L.D. disbanded almost 10 years ago, the idea of bringing it back has come up at every creative retreat we’ve had. We’ve been working on the return of S.H.I.E.L.D. for a long time, and especially so over the past few months since our most recent creative retreat,” shared Marvel editor-in-chief C.B. Cebulski. “After digging more into this Captain America story with Chip, Valerio, and our teams, it became clear that this was the right story and right time to do so. And with this year being the 60th anniversary since S.H.I.E.L.D.’s debut, we thought it was even more fitting to make this happen.”
Initially, January’s Captain America #6 was announced as a story arc uniting a group of international supersoldiers. It appears that story has changed, as, instead, the publisher revealed this new story Friday.
Zdarsky did acknowledge the change in the press release: “When we first announced plans for the second arc of this Cap run, I had a different idea in mind for the team supporting Steve. But when the possibility of a new S.H.I.E.L.D. came along, we just hit the ground running,” Zdarsky said. “S.H.I.E.L.D. is Marvel. It’s human ingenuity and fortitude, keeping the world safe. Bringing them back with a new mandate and scope has been incredibly fun. They’re starting small, but they, and Fury, have big plans.
“The world’s a dangerous place. Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D. weren’t there to stop Doom, but maybe they can stop what’s coming next…” Zdarsky teased.
Interestingly, Red Widow remains from that initial team of international heroes.
Check out a teaser for the story, Schiti’s covers for Captain America #6 & 7, and his design sheets for these new S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, and watch for Captain America #6 in January from Marvel Comics.
