I’d like to talk about one of the best things that Marvel ever added to the Captain America mythos. It’s called TRUTH: Red, White, & Black and it is wonderful.
Pitched by Joe Quesada, written by Robert Morales (who knows his Cap) with art by Kyle Baker (Eisner winner eight times to say the least) this is the story of the original Supersoldier Serum experiments, in a tale meant to parallel the Tuskegee experiments.
A group of black soldiers are given version of the Super Soldier serum, resulting in death and all kinds of ugly consequences until only one man is left alive: Isaiah Bradley. (He is the grandfather of Eli Bradley, one of the most boss characters on the Young Avengers.)
It is a fucking amazing story, one that uses real historical truths that were hidden for a long time, and incorporates (necessarily) a TON of black men into the Marvel universe starting in 1942.
It’s really hard to find a hard copy of this – hey, marvel, now is the perfect time to re-issue, don’t you think? A nice trade paperback? – but I write this now because in the push to #DiversifyAgentCarter here is the PERFECT character to incorporate into that universe.
Peggy would be horrified to learn of the experimentation pre-Steve, I think, and Isaiah Bradley is a wonderful character to bring in to show what happened. Hell, if Gabe Jones isn’t Tripp’s grandfather – what about Isaiah Bradley? Working with the Commandos quietly after Cap died. Tripp being Eli Bradley’s cousin. This could be SO GOOD.
USE THIS AS A LEAD IN TO A YOUNG AVENGERS SHOW, Y/Y? With Eli as the lead.