Captain America may be turning 75, but he isn’t showing any signs of slowing down or going away. In honor of Cap’s 75th anniversary, Marvel Games has created never-before-seen versions of the First Avenger across its portfolio of mobile and PC game titles.
The games will introduce seven new versions of Cap, including one where Agent Peggy Carter takes on the mantle as the star-spangled superhero, and another in which Peggy’s daughter Sharon takes up the energy-absorbing shield to defend the weak. Other iterations include a hero in an Iron Man-inspired war suit, a Spanish-American War freedom fighter, an American Knight dealing with the Second Dark Age, and a modern-day Cap.
The makers of seven current Marvel-related games which already feature Captain America are behind the “re-imagining” of the superhero. “They all jumped at the opportunity. They all got it,” Marvel Games Creative Director Bill Rosemann tells EW. “They were all really excited about that, and they realized this opportunity would not only allow them to tip the shield for Captain America’s 75th anniversary, but also allow them to show players how each of their games are very unique and special.”
Marvel Puzzle Quest places Peggy Carter in the Super Soldier Program instead of Steve, allowing players to utilize her top-notch combat training and the strength of Captain America.
“They’ve had Captain America in their games, for most of the games, for over a year. So they’ve really lived with Cap, day-in, day-out. They really understand him; they understand what makes the man under the mask tick. What was fun was that a couple of our partners used that opportunity to make a female Cap. They really understood the woman under the mask,” Rosemann says of Puzzle Quest. “They had the idea of, what if Steve Rogers was actually assassinated at the moment he was going to receive the super-soldier serum? And what if Peggy Carter instead took a step forward, and she joins the Super-Soldier Program in his place? And now Peggy Carter that people will know from the Agent Carter TV show, she becomes Captain America.”
“In Marvel Publishing, we’ve seen Bucky Barnes – the Winter Soldier – take up the shield for Steve Rogers. Currently, Sam Wilson – Falcon – has taken the shield and he’s become Captain America,” he continues. So I think now seeing Peggy Carter putting her own spin and what it means to be Captain America, I think it’s a very inspiring, visual story.”
Marvel Future Fight will introduce fans to Sharon Rogers — highly trained in martial arts, espionage, and battling evil tyrants — as the daughter of Steve and Peggy Carter.
“They asked the question, what if Steve Rogers was not frozen in ice at the end of WWII? And what if Steve married Peggy Carter? And what if they then had a daughter? And what if their daughter, Sharon Rogers, picked up the shield and not only had the training of Captain America, but also had the espionage skills taught to her by her mother Peggy?” Rosemann explains. “So in this world, the daughter of Captain America and Peggy Carter — Sharon Rogers — she becomes her world’s Captain America.”
Marvel: Avengers Alliance introduces fans to the American Knight, a ray of hope in the Second Dark Age who was born from the aftermath of the Atomic Age and Second World War. Marvel Avengers Alliance 2 takes players back to 1901 and the Spanish-American War with Jeremiah Rogers, a Teddy Roosevelt Rough Rider, as he fights in an alternate timeline.
Marvel Contest of Champions will see Steve Rogers in an alternate universe where Iron Man did not survive their war, and the First Avenger takes on the mantle of “Civil War” through the addition of Stark’s ARC technology combined with the Cap’s classic uniform.
Marvel Heroes 2016 places Cap in the present day, allowing him to go through the Super Soldier Program with the aid of today’s modern technology.
And the final title, Marvel Avengers Academy, lets players assume the classic Steve Rogers/Captain America look as he completes Avengers Academy training to take on the villains they all know and hate.
“We worked work with [the game makers] and shaped them, just to make sure that Cap – even though each version is surprising and new and unique and different – was still very much authentically Captain America,” Rosemann says. “We wanted to make sure that when everyone would look at each character, they could say, ‘Huh, that’s a different version of Captain America, but you know what, that’s Cap.’”
All seven games will be released between June 30 and July 4.
“What’s so engaging about [them is that] you’re playing the game, you’re controlling the actions of Captain America, and it’s such wish fulfillment,” he says. “It’s really fun to read about Cap, it’s really fun to watch him on screen. But the opportunity to be Cap and throw his shield and leap into battle, that’s a lot of fun.”
Part of that reading Rosemann is talking about includes the recently launched comic book, Steve Rogers: Captain America. Also to celebrate Cap’s diamond anniversary, ABC honored the iconic character with the Marvel’s Captain America: 75 Heroic Years special in January. And fans can also look forward to a product line of new collectible Cap designs.
“Part of Marvel’s main message [is] aspiration, inspiration, and diversity. The Marvel universe has always been based on the world around us and we’ve always had a message of ‘everyone can be a hero.’ Doesn’t matter what your background is, everyone – every race, gender, sexual orientation,” he says. “America is a melting pot, and it takes people from all around the world to come to America, throughout its history, and make it great. And everyone has to do their part, and this shows that when the call is given, the brave will step forward. These versions of Captain America are going to get the job done.”
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