Captain America's Brutal New Injury Proves He's Been Replaced as Marvel's Best Fighter

Captain America suffers a major blow as his brutal injury crowns a new ultimate tactical fighter in the Marvel Universe - one who also beat Cyclops.

Warning: contains major spoilers for Uncanny Avengers #1!Not only is Captain America a source of inspiration for heroes of all stripes, revered by everyone from Thor to the Punisher, he is also respected as one of the best tacticians in the world. As such, he rarely loses fights outright, let alone suffers long-lasting damage to his body and pride - but that is exactly how Uncanny Avengers #1 just played out. Captain America will be wearing his new injury as a badge of dishonor for months, having been beaten and replaced as Marvel's supreme tactician.

Facing down Captain Krakoa - an unknown opponent wearing the stolen suit of the protector of the mutant nation of Krakoa - Steve Rogers strikes hard and fast while reminding him that "Disguising yourself in the uniform of your enemy is a violation of the Geneva Conventions," evidently confident in his ability to put down his opponent quickly. Mere moments later, however, Rogers is humbled as Captain Krakoa seizes his iconic shield and effortlessly uses it to break his arm.

Not only is Steve beaten, but cover art for Javier Garron's upcoming Uncanny Avengers #4 sees him still wearing a metallic cast, confirming the injury will be long-lasting. The issue comes from Garron, Gerry Duggan, Morry Hollowell, and Travis Lanham.

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The Captain Krakoa suit was originally created by Forge - the technopathic mutant who can build anything he can imagine - in order to lend combat abilities to mutants whose gifts were not useful in battle. Originally used by Cyclops to keep his identity hidden after he was secretly revived from death, it was sealed up in the Treehouse, the X-Men’s base of operations in New York. Following the catastrophe at the Hellfire Gala that saw mutant heroes and citizens alike attacked and killed by the human supremacist group Orchis, the suit was stolen by a yet unknown thief, who promptly defeated Cyclops in combat in Free Comic Book Day 2023: Avengers/X-Men #1 (Gerry Duggan, Javier Garron). As he did so, he bitterly remarked, "The hubris of you mutants… You turn your back on me. You think me less than you, when, in fact, I’m more."

Captain America and Cyclops are the greatest tactical minds in the Marvel Universe, and yet both of them underestimated the new Captain Krakoa's power and skill. Krakoa taunts Steve by describing his attacks as "obvious and predictable," before adding injury to insult. Steve has bested much stronger opponents than himself before, including even the Hulk, because he uses his strategic mind to overcome their physical advantages. Against Captain Krakoa, however, his attempt for a quick knockout shows how badly he underestimated his foe. Captain Krakoa also seems to know exactly what buttons to press to make Steve forget himself, hinting he may be a former enemy of the Super Soldier.

However, what's most notable about this fight is the lasting nature of the injury. Captain America's new cast looks like Bucky's robotic arm as the Winder Soldier, really driving home the loss with a reference to his greatest failure. With Steve's advanced healing and many superhero contacts, it would make sense to heal his arm near instantly, or at least in a couple of issues. The fact that Steve will have a broken arm from now until issue 4's November release - and possibly beyond - makes it clear how significant Marvel considers this loss.

Having utterly humiliated the two greatest combat strategists in the Marvel Universe, Captain Krakoa has proven to be Marvel's new fighter to beat. Captain America's robotic sling might be able to compensate for his broken arm, but there is no quick fix for broken confidence, and it's clear his eventual rematch with Captain Krakoa will be one for the history books.

Uncanny Avengers #1 is available now from Marvel Comics.

Based in Japan, Tobias Waters has over a decade of experience as a writer and editor, and has been a fan of comics, video games, and anime for three times as long.When not gaming or writing, he can be found at the local sento public bath or seeking out new watermelon flavored ice cream.