Today’s FCBD Avengers/X-Men special has finally revealed the new Captain Krakoa, and he’s more than just the bad guy that the solicitations have hinted at. We have some guesses and we decided to break it down before the full debut of the new Uncanny Avengers in August!
So from the special, here’s what we know. Captain Krakoa is white male human. He has a muscular build, a US military style haircut, and given several of the feats we see him commit in the story, he’s likely enhanced in some way. He’s a fighter trained enough to defeat Cyclops in hand-to-hand combat, and has at least some training in handling military-grade explosives. He’s also spouting some very far-right fascist rhetoric about human supremacy. So who does that lead us to?
Guardian (James MacDonald Hudson)
My initial guess when the series was revealed, particularly given his alliance with Orchis last year, but there’s not a lot in the story we see that would support this. While he is a skilled fighter with some training, he’s a government agent, not a soldier. The philosophical rhetoric spewed also is very unlike Mac, and he’s been announced as a cast member in the upcoming Alpha Flight. Making him a protagonist there and an antagonist elsewhere is possible, but a lot to juggle and a huge shift in his personality between the two.
Verdict: Possibly our man but unlikely.
The Punisher (Frank Castle)
As far as the physical abilities here, Frank is a great fit. He’s a character that I could see beat the hell out of Cyclops, and has the military weapons training to handle the explosives we see later in the issue. That’s where the suspicion ends though. Frank has never been a racist towards mutants, or edged even close to the sort of fascist rhetoric seen on the page here. Add that to the fact that he’s never sported a haircut quite like this, and CK is primarily wearing white not black (Frank’s color of choice) before donning the suit, he’s not our guy.
Verdict: Nope.
Nuke (Frank Simpson)
Whenever we see ultra-violent super soldiers in the Marvel Universe, Nuke should immediately come to mind. Frank Simpson is a very good fit physically for the figure we see in the Treehouse. He also may have the fighting skills to beat Cyclops in hand-to-hand, though that might be a little bit of a stretch. Where this one doesn’t fit is his dialogue. Frank is often driven by performance enhancing drugs and talks about them constantly, which aren’t even hinted at here. Additionally, he’s never spouted the sort of hate-filled philosophies that come out of our shadowy figure’s mouth.
Verdict: Could be, but not the best fit.
Nomad (Jack Munroe)
Jack Munroe is dead and this would be a weird way to revive him. Of course, he does have close ties to Captain America, which would create dramatic tension for the series, and he does have the fighting skills to match. His version of the super-soldier serum has also made him mentally unstable more than once- including a mind-controlled stint as the murderous Scourge- which would make him easy to manipulate by Orchis into the “human supremacist” we see on the page. The only detail that doesn’t work is his hair color/cut. And of course, that he’s dead.
Verdict: A safe bet if he were alive.
USAgent (John Walker)
If I were a betting man, this is where I’d put my money. Walker has long been a right-wing borderline fascist, and during the events of Devil’s Reign, he crossed that line as the leader of the Thunderbolts. He even came directly into conflict with the X-Men in the franchise’s tie-in mini series, and threatened to bring the Treehouse to the ground. The X-Men outright embarrassed him in that encounter, which would easily drive him into the mindset we see here. Add his white wardrobe, his watch face that looks very similar to the shields he’s slung as USAgent, and that white crewcut, and I would be frankly surprised if it’s anyone else. Walker is almost definitely our man.
Verdict: This is our guy.
Tony Thornley is a geek dad, blogger, Spider-Man and Superman aficionado, X-Men guru, autism daddy, amateur novelist, and all around awesome guy. He’s also very humble.
