Steve Rogers finally has a brother again in Marvel continuity, as Captain America faces a reborn Grant Rogers. However, there’ll be no sibling love for the Sentinel of Liberty, as Grant is now not just a villain but the fighter who broke his arm, humiliating Cap in battle like few before him.
In a preview of Uncanny Avengers #5, the new Captain Krakoa stands unmasked as the former Hydra Supreme – an identical ‘brother’ of Steve Rogers who was created when history was rewritten using a Cosmic Cube, making it so that Captain America was a traitor working for Hydra during WWII. Previously believed dead, this version of Steve Rogers has returned as an ally of the anti-mutant group Orchis, and in this issue he takes a new name.
The name ‘Grant Rogers’ has a bizarre history in Captain America comics, but also helps to mark out the former Hydra Supreme as his own person – the brother Steve Rogers wishes he never had. Uncanny Avengers #5 comes from Gerry Duggan, Javier Garrón, Morry Hollowell and Travis Lanham.
Captain Hydra Is Now Grant Rogers
Captain America’s ‘Brother’ Fully Returns With a New Name
Originally the alternate identity of X-Men’s Cyclops, Captain Krakoa uses super-powered armor built by the mutant inventor Forge. An agent of Orchis, he’s been performing false flag attacks to turn the world against the X-Men. When Captain America and the Avengers’ Unity Squad confronted him, the new ‘Captain Krakoa’ took hold of Steve’s shield and broke his arm, easily besting Steve on both a tactical and pure strength level. Now, it turns out that becoming Captain Krakoa was Grant’s idea, and that he’s using his alliance with Orchis to carve out his own identity in a world that thinks of him as a ‘false’ Steve Rogers.
Captain America’s ‘Brother’ Draws on Some Bizarre History
Captain Hydra Is Merging with Steve Rogers’ False Memories
Steve Rogers’ family history is a weird story, including a brother who never existed. In Steve Gerber and Sal Buscema’s Captain America #222, Marvel retconned Captain America by introducing a brother – Mike Rogers – who died at Pearl Harbor. This added complications to Cap’s timeline and complicated the motives that drove his origin, leading Marvel to quickly reverse the idea in Captain America #247, by Roger Stern and John Byrne.
In that story, it turned out that Captain America had been given false memories in case he was ever captured, and never actually had a brother. The memories came from a diplomat with two sons – Mike and Grant – which was also used to explain inconsistencies with Steve Rogers’ middle name. He ended the story declaring that he had never had a brother, and his middle name had never actually been ‘Grant.’
Now, that declaration is coming back to bite him, as Grant Rogers finally exists in a new form – the man who out-fought and outplanned him. The man now known as Grant Rogers has been a dangling plot thread for a while now, especially since his big Secret Empire storyline was controversial among fans. Reinventing him with a new name and codename is a smart move, as it leans into the idea that he’s his own person – more of a brother than an equally valid ‘version’ of Steve Rogers. After many confusing retcons and rewrites, Captain America finally has a brother in Marvel canon – one he’s currently fighting tooth and nail to lock away forever.
Uncanny Avengers #5 (2023) | |
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Uncanny Avengers #5 is coming December 20 from Marvel Comics.
