Warning: SPOILERS for Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty #7
Marvel's Captain America is known for his infallible will, his leadership of the Avengers and his nigh-indestructible shield - but the legendary weapon's origins have finally been changed by Marvel after many years. Captain America's shield is one of the most famous symbols in comics; Steve Rogers can use it to protect himself against almost any other weapon, including Thor's hammer Mjolnir. But Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty #7 retcons the shield's origins - and reveals it wasn't made by an American as previously stated.
Captain America Comics #1, released in March 1941 (almost a full year before the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7th) depicted Captain America's first shield, a rectangular design made of simple steel. His more famous circular shield debuted later and would eventually become as iconic as the character himself. Avengers #66 eventually revealed the creator of the shield: Dr. Myron MacLain, an American metallurgist who accidentally created an ultra-strong variant of vibranium. Unfortunately, MacLain fell asleep during the creation of the shield and the secret to the construction was lost to history, despite his attempts to recreate the experiment.
In Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty #7, written by Jackson Lanzing & Collin Kelly with art by Carmen Carnero, Captain America assembles his own group of Avengers - including Nick Fury, Black Widow, Hawkeye and Sharon Carter - to tell the truth about the "Outer Circle", a century-old conspiracy theory. The symbol of the Outer Circle is three concentric circles with a star in the center: the exact design patterned on Captain America's famous shield. Doctor Daniel Agboje, a Wakandan, crafted the real shield and sent a message by etching the pattern on the metal. "MacLain took the credit, but the shield was never his work," explains Steve to the group. "Claimed he fell asleep and a miracle happened."
An American Took Credit for A Wakandan's Shield Design
MacLain was a key aspect of Captain America's origin since 1969, and a change after 50 years of Marvel history is bound to ruffle the feathers of longtime fans. The fact that an American symbol was created by a non-American is sure to be a controversial one, but retcons are a fundamental aspect of comics (see the many instances in the Original Sin event, or Captain America's own Winter Soldier book in 2005, which retconned Bucky's infamous death). In this instance, the origin of the shield may have changed, but the superhero himself has not; this is a fairly innocuous changed compared to others in Captain America's life.
That being said, the design on the shield is no longer Captain America's, but a shadowy conspiracy organization that controls most of the world. The Outer Circle still has plans for Captain America, and Bucky Barnes may even start a world war after joining the group himself. The changes to the shield's origin may be drastic, but Captain America is still the same man, practically unchanged since 1941.