This February Josiah X, the son of Isaiah Bradley, Is Back in ‘Sam Wilson: Captain America’ #2

Next month, Sam Wilson takes flight again in SAM WILSON, CAPTAIN AMERICA, a new solo comic series by writers Evan Narcisse and Greg Pak, with art by Eder Messias. In this story, Sam faces off against the mysterious group Eaglestar and their head of security, Red Hulk. In issue #2, just as Sam uncovers Eaglestar’s real plans, another character enters the scene—Josiah X!

Josiah X, introduced in 2003’s THE CREW by Christopher Priest and Joe Bennett, is the son of former Captain America Isaiah Bradley. With super-soldier abilities inherited from his father, Josiah X has used his powers to protect his community and expose injustice in America.

Now, he’s back with a new purpose and a fresh look created by cover artist Taurin Clarke. What is Eaglestar up to that brought Josiah into the fight? And is he there to support Sam or follow his own goals?

“I’ve loved the character of Josiah X ever since he first appeared in THE CREW back in 2003,” Narcisse said.” As the son of Isaiah Bradley—cloned in secret experiments—he’s had a complicated legacy thrust upon him. His previous stories showed him struggling to figure out how to find purpose and protect the vulnerable in a world that’s all too ready to exploit him and others on society’s margins.

“When we meet him as the Shadow Soldier in SAM WILSON, CAPTAIN AMERICA, he’s a hero at the next stage of his evolution, someone who’s answered those existential questions with a new codename, new uniform, and specific outlook. He’s a great counterpoint to Sam, in that they’re trying to do the right thing with very different attitudes. We’re really excited to bring him back in a way that honors the past and hopefully opens up a promising future.“

“When I was approached to do the covers for SAM WILSON: CAPTAIN AMERICA, I saw a chance to update a few characters,” Clarke shared. “After getting the thumbs up to update Patriot’s hair from our amazing editors, the fans on social media immediately started asking about Josiah! I knew we had a huge task ahead of us, so I went in with notes from our co-writer Evan Narcisse, who also provided some great insights from the legendary Christopher Priest, and set out to create a design that reflects where Josiah is at mentally right now while staying true to his history.

“He’s currently operating in the shadows, but he’s still a byproduct of his time as America’s forgotten super soldier, so there’s elements of his old costume from The Crew integrated into what’s essentially a covert-ops suit. Pieces of his old chainmail are underneath his vest as additional bulletproof armor, and his old bandana is under his Kevlar mask as a reminder of who he is.”

Evan noted that Josiah should also wear the colors of Red, Gold, Black and Green just as proudly as he wore the Red, White and Blue, so we made sure to integrate that into his costume as well. I really hope what we’ve done resonates with fans.”

SAM WILSON, CAPTAIN AMERICA #3 (OF 5) is on sale March 19.

Have something to add? Let us know in the comments below!

Liked this article? Join the community on Reddit for the latest Marvel & DC news!