New Captain America Will Be African-American

He’s red, white and blue–and black.

Captain America’s mantle will be taken over by his long-time ally, the Falcon, the high-flying African-American hero from Harlem, Marvel Comics announced late Wednesday.

“It’s about time,” says Marvel executive editor Tom Brevoort of the change. “In 2014, this should be a thing that we shrug off, it shouldn’t be seen as revolutionary, but it still feels exciting.”

Brevoort says the Falcon becomes the new Captain America at the behest of the original, Steve Rogers, who has been turned into a 90-year-old man in the most recent storyline, so fans don’t have to worry that the publisher is killing off its resident star-spangled hero again.

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The change will take place in the first issue of a new comic series, “All-New Captain America,” set to launch in November.

There’ll be plenty for his fellow Avengers to talk about at their headquarters: The announcement comes a day after Marvel took to “The View” to reveal that the new Thor would be a woman.

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