Some fans were a little taken aback when Rick Remender made his "Marvel NOW!" Captain America series a sci-fi story of sorts after Ed Brubaker's grounded and gritty run, but it appears as if the writer will be taking Steve Rogers back to basics starting in this September's issue #11. Joining him is artist Carlos Pacheco - John Romita Jr. must be busy with Kick-Ass 3 - and together, they will bring back 'Nuke' and introduce new elements to this corner of the Marvel Universe, including the Weapon Minus Program, Doctor Mind Bubble, the Iron Nail. Read on below for further details...
On What Made Carlos Pacheco The Right Choice To Pencil This Arc:
"I'm a big fan of Carlos' work going back to his work on books like "Starjammers" and "Avengers Forever." He has a very crisp and clean style and is very versatile. He's a great fit, because when we come back to Earth in this next arc, I want there to be this crisp and clean aesthetic. Editor Tom Brevoort and I spent a lot of time looking at the work of a lot of artists and decided on Carlos to get the book back to a classic Captain America feel. Issue #11 will be sort of a brand-new day for "Captain America." Plus, Carlos is an amazing storyteller with a dynamic style. We've got a lot of exciting stuff coming up in this arc, including the Weapon Minus Program, Doctor Mind Bubble, the Iron Nail, and in the center of it all is Nuke. I think when people see what Carlos has been doing, they'll be blown away. I know I have been."
On Why He Decided To Bring Back 'Nuke':
"Tom Brevoort and I worked hard to find a new angle for Nuke. He is sort of a Captain America of a different era who was abused and his mind was shattered. So he's still a soldier and a patriot, but he's absolutely lost the plot. His mind is so fried and he's been through so many experiments and taken so many of these drugs that give him all of his strength. He's almost like a Captain America from the Iran-Contra era; a time when the government was doing things that they maybe shouldn't have been. He was a victim of that. I like playing with the patriot who is misguided, but at the same time truly believes that the mission he is on is a sound one. In Nuke's case, the mission that he's on is to win all of the wars that it seems that America lost or walked away from in disgrace. Of course, there's something deeper to that, and we're going to find out who's pulling the strings on Nuke and what's going on in the background. The first stage, though, is that Nuke is out there and he is reigniting long-dormant conflicts in the name of the United States, which doesn't go over well and draws in Captain America."
On How This Arc Differs From The Sci-Fi "Dimension Z" Story:
"This is classic "Captain America." The country and our standing in the world is at risk. There is a fellow super soldier out there doing some terrible things. He's completely misguided, but he isn't necessarily evil. Then, we've got a new villain in the Iron Nail, who will be revealed. We've got a new assassin in Doctor Mind Bubble, who will also be revealed. We'll also see a lot of other familiar faces from Cap's past, and we'll see Cap dealing with the ramifications of Dimension Z, which are many. It's almost like a "Bourne Identity"-style story involving a rogue agent that needs to be taken down. Nuke is the Bourne character and Cap is the guy coming after him to take him down. Tonally, it's going to be similar to that as well. I did a crazy, sci-fi epic and now I'm going to take things back to ground-level and focus in on a classic Captain America story."