Marvel has announced a Filipina-American hero — inspired by Captain America – being featured in the upcoming Captain America series. Ari Agbayani will be the new hero making her debut in the fourth installment of “The United States of Captain America” series – that highlights a “diverse cast of new heroes, the communities they are part of and the unique challenges they face.”
Half-Filipina writer Alyssa Wong– who was also tapped to write the origin story of Wave — and artist Jodi Nishijima both created the character of Ari Agbayani, which comes on the heels of the creation of water-manipulating Filipina hero Wave and Filipina character Sea Hunter in 2019.
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The United States of Captain America series, which is launching this month, highlights the star-spangled Avenger’s 80th anniversary and features Steve Rogers joining past Captain Americas like Bucky Barnes, Sam Wilson, and John Walker “on a cross-country trip to find his stolen shield.”
While the series will feature Ari Agbayani as one of the four “local” Captain Americas that they encounter, she will be portraying the role of a scholar in a small private university who is pursuing justice against the abuse of her best friend.
Creating Ari Agbayani’s origin and being tapped to write about the character felt “special” to Wong as someone who grew up in a Filipino-American community.
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“When editor Alanna Smith approached me about creating a new, local Captain America for this series, I immediately knew I wanted to write a Filipino-American girl,” said Wong
Ari Agbayani will have to deal with underlying conflicts such as her best friend’s abuser’s influence in the university, Wong said, adding that inspired by Bucky Barnes, Ari Agbayani will use “sneakier, shadier tactics” to deal with bullies on campus.
Co-creator Jodi Nishijima has designed Ari Agbayani’s costumes to reflect Bucky Barnes’ influence and features her in “youthful” clothes that she and her friends would wear.
