Greetings True Believers, last month Marvel announced the companion series for the upcoming event, Secret Empire, called Secret Empire: Brave New World. They also announced that, in said series, a new Patriot would debut, but they did not mention who was behind the mask. Nor did they mention anything about him, beyond his hero identity and what he looks like in costume. This has left many fans, including myself, wondering who he could be. I am here today give my thoughts on who he could be. Let’s start with the one I believe the least.
Sam Wilson
Yes, that’s right. I’ve heard a few places now say that the new Patriot could be him. Their biggest clue to this possibly, and the reason why I think there is a chance it is could happen, is that Sam can be seen in Secret Empire related covers without the shield. However, in my mind, there are two things that make be believe this isn’t the case. One, I don’t think Sam is done being Captain America. I just think he’s taking a brake from it to deal with the mental trauma of Captain Hydra and/or to maybe take care of some more sensitive matters that don’t need to be tied back to Captain America. Many heroes have been known to do this, including Steve Rogers. Two, Patriot doesn’t have wings. Sam always has his wings, whether it’s as Captain America, Falcon or the yet unnamed codename of his character on the previously mentioned covers. I do think that maybe Patriot is someone related to Sam.
Gideon Wilson
For those that don’t know, Sam Wilson has a brother. Gideon Wilson who grew up with Sam. Gideon followed in their father’s footsteps and became a minister. That is until Gideon’s son died of AIDS. Gideon blamed the Hulk and joined the Gamma Force in an effort to seek revenge. Gideon was given similar powers to those of Doc Sampson.
He soon realized the errors of his ways and quit. He wasn’t seen again until the All New, All Different era. In that time, he seems to have lost his powers and when back to being a minister. I think it would be cool if it were revealed that he still has his powers yet chose to not use them. Now, with his brother in need of help, he could take up the mantle of a former hero to help put his powers to good use. I don’t know if it will happen, but I think it would be cool to see. He isn’t the only established character related to a more popular Marvel character that I think could be Patriot.
Josiah Bradley
Josiah is an obscure, complex character with a backstory too complicated to explain in one paragraph. Long story short, he is the son of Isaiah Bradley, the original Captain America, and uncle to Eli Bradley, former Young Avenger and last person to carry the mantel of Patriot. Josiah use to fight crime, as the hero Josiah X, in a group know as The Crew, but they haven’t been seen in years. I think it could be cool to see him come out of the shadows. I think he deserves more time in the spotlight. This could be the way. He already is a patriotic hero with powers similar to those of Steve Rogers. It would also fall in line with Marvel’s recent effort to promote diversity. In case you didn’t know. Josiah is a Muslim man. He even served as a Muslim minister for a while. Also, it might be nice to see the roles reversed and have uncle be inspired by his nephew.
New Relative of a Hero
I would like to see Gideon or Josiah become the new Patriot, and I do think it is a possibility. I think there is a greater chance that if Patriot is related to an established hero, he would be a character we never knew about until now. This isn’t a foreign concept for Marvel. One of it’s more recent heroes, Unstoppable Wasp, turned out to be the secret daughter of Hank Pym. Patriot could be either a relative we just never saw before now or maybe a secret relative coming out of the woodwork. Here are some ideas I had if either were the case.
Firstly, the Bradley family has a lot of mentioned but never seen members. He could be one of them. Next, James Rhodes died in Civil War II. The Rhodes family is very small now. Might be nice if the new patriot is either a secret brother James never knew about or the unnamed father of Lila Rhodes, James’ niece. Lastly, Misty Knight is a long time Marvel character and ally to Sam Wilson’s Captain America, but not much is know about her family. I could easily see them reveal that he is her secret brother or a brother she just never mentioned. Anything is possible with this new Patriot, he could even be a…
Completely Original Character
By this I mean, someone we have never seen or heard about until, who isn’t related to an established character. A lot of Marvel’s recent new heroes with older mantles have been introduced this way, people like Kamala Khan (Ms. Marvel), Robbie Reyes (Ghost Rider) and to some extent Lunella Lafayette (Moon Girl). If this is the case, two ideas I came up for this are as followed. I think it would be cool if the new Patriot was simply a NAVY Seal who felt he had to do more for his country in this time of peril. Alternatively, I think could also be cool if he had an origins that mimicked Steve Rogers’. They could have it so that he is a scrawny, spirited guy from New York who signed up for a new incarnation of the Super Soldier Program. A program brought back to fight the threat of old Super Soldier that has now gone rogue.
No matter the case, I am excited to see who this new Patriot is. What about you? What did you think of my picks? Who do you the new Patriot is? What other forgotten mantles would you like to see make a comeback? Let us know in the comments below.