Steve Rogers’ Captain America is getting a mystic upgrade, as Doctor Strange enhances his unbreakable shield with new magical might. The change is coming in early 2024, as Captain America battles one of his most powerful villains of all time – the demonic Emissary.
In Marvel’s solicit information for Captain America #6, Marvel confirms that – when Cap’s strength isn’t enough to beat the Emissary – Doctor Strange will upgrade his Proto-Adamantium shield. The cover by Taurin Clarke shows the shield merged with the Sorcerer Supreme’s Eye of Agamotto.
Captain America #6 (2024) | |
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| Release Date: | February 7, 2024 |
| Writer: | J. Michael Straczynski |
| Artists: | Lan Medina, Matt Hollingsworth (Colorist) |
| Cover Artist: | Taurin Clarke |
CAPTAIN AMERICA VS. THE EMISSARY! It’s a fight to the death as Captain America races to take down the Emissary before he destroys a peace rally – and Cap himself. But when physical might proves futile against the supernatural, will an assist from Doctor Strange be enough to turn the tide? | |
In the recent Captain America #3, Steve called on Doctor Strange for help with the mysterious new ‘Shadow Equations’ plaguing his life. It seems this team-up will continue, as Steve Rogers takes on a different kind of enemy – an eldritch god who seeks to meddle with human history.
Captain America Combines His Shield with the Eye of Agamotto
Against the Emissary, Steve Rogers Needs Magic
Recently, the terrorist group Advanced Idea Mechanics came under new management, as industrialist Travis Lane recruited former members for a daring new project. Lane had volunteered to become the new host for the demonic god Asmoday, aka the Undying One. Asmoday stayed with Lane while this organization was built, but it later abandoned him, transitioning to the body of his new recruit Henry Cavenaugh – a former serial killer now working as Asmoday’s assassin. Cavenaugh has been given advanced armor and enhanced using science based on the Super-Soldier serum and the Hulk’s gamma radiation, while also drawing on Asmoday’s occult knowledge.
Cavenaugh – now known as the Emissary – is a deadly killer skilled with bladed weapons, while also possessing enhanced strength and stamina. In emergency situations, he’s also able to awaken Asmoday’s powers, which can burn people alive. The Emissary is knowledgeable in various spells, including the ability to turn a room into a spirit cage so that his victims are forever trapped as ghosts, prolonging their suffering.
This list of capabilities is a huge problem for Captain America, whose shield is traditionally vulnerable to magic. Of the beings who have dented or broken his shield, most have been magically enhanced – indeed, most often they’ve been infused with divine energy from ancient gods like Asmoday. It may be that without the Eye of Agamotto, the Emissary could even be capable of destroying Steve Rogers’ shield.
Captain America Is Officially a ‘Change Agent’
Steve Rogers Is More Connected to Magic Than He Knows
AIM’s larger project – now taken over by scientist Arianna Walters – is a mix of science and occultism. Asmoday has revealed that throughout time, certain influential people known as Change Agents appear, helping to move humanity forward – examples given include Martin Luther King, JFK, and the Dalai Lama. Asmoday doesn’t want that, and has set the Emissary the task of killing off a string of Change Agents and using ancient magic to stop others taking their place. To this end, AIM has developed the Shadow Equations – mystic code language which allows them to predict upcoming events and target those who are on a path to making the world a better place.
Thanks to Doctor Strange helping to figure out the Shadow Equations used in the Emissary’s latest murder, Captain America is already onto the villain. However, it’s not a one-sided hunt. Steve Rogers is a former Change Agent from his WWII days and is simultaneously one of Asmoday’s main targets. So while Captain America won’t let Asmoday ruin the world without a fight, he’s badly out-muscled by the Emissary, who is already on his trail. The two clash at the end of Captain America #3, but it’s clear their first fight won’t be their last, and that Cap will once again battle the Emissary when he attacks a peace rally.
Captain America & Doctor Strange Have a Weird Connection
The Two Have Been Fused Multiple Times Before
Unlike in the MCU, Doctor Strange’s Eye of Agamotto doesn’t contain an Infinity Stone in the comics. Instead, it’s the literal transformed eye of an ancient sorcerer, which allows the user to dispel illusions and see the truth in a variety of different ways. The Eye of Agamotto can also weaken evil beings and project a force field, which could give Captain America the edge he needs to fight the Emissary. Of course, fighting the Emissary is only half the battle – Captain America will also need to shield the surviving Change Agents, which makes his iconic red, white and blue weapon perfect for the job, especially if force fields are added to its capabilities.
It’s rare that Captain America faces outright magic, so he’ll need every advantage he can get against the Emissary. However, despite this hole in Steve Rogers’ knowledge, he has a surprising history of being merged with the Sorcerer Supreme. Both the Infinity Wars event and Captain America: Who Won’t Wield The Shield? fuse Steve Rogers and Stephen Strange into one person, creating the Soldier Supreme and Doctor America respectively. It seems there’s just something about Captain America that merges perfectly with Doctor Strange’s magic – likely the way in which he symbolizes larger ideas, opening the door to magic. Hopefully, that synchronicity will help Steve wield his enhanced shield.
The current volume of Captain America is also deeply concerned with Steve’s past, showing him working against the German-American Bund in flashback sequences. One of the Eye of Agamotto’s truth-seeking abilities is the power to peer back through time, opening up the possibility that Steve will somehow be able to use his own history as a Change Agent to fight the Emissary. Fans will only find out the full truth when Captain America #6 hits stores, merging two of Marvel’s most iconic superhero artifacts into one.
Captain America #6 is coming February 7.
