Captain America: Marvel to unveil bronze statue to commemorate hero's 75th anniversary

Captain America celebrates his 75th anniversary this year, having first appeared in comic books way back in 1941, and to commemorate the milestone, Marvel is planning to unveil a 13-foot-tall bronze statue of the superhero. The monument will be shown first at San Diego Comic-Con later this month before taking up permanent residence in Brooklyn's Prospect Park.

USA Today was the first to share a sketch of the design for the one-tonne statue, which will see Cap holding his vibranium-adamantium shield aloft. Inscribed below him will be the words: "I'm just a kid from Brooklyn" [a quote from film Captain America: The First Avenger] along with the year he first appeared and 'Hometown Pride'.

Speaking of the design, senior VP of Marvel licensing Paul Gitter explained why Cap was chosen for this honour: 'For the past 75 years, Captain America has inspired generations of fans serving as the ultimate global icon for freedom, strength and doing the right thing,' he said.

The statue's pose 'symbolically showcases the impressive strength of Captain America and his stoic form,' he added, while his shield represents 'his heroism, indestructible power and determination'.

First designed as a patriotic symbol by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, Captain America was hugely popular during World War II and thanks to the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Chris Evans's portrayal has won modern audiences' hearts too. He's one of the franchise's most flagship figures – and makes them a hell of a lot of money with his latest cinematic instalment racking up over $1bn (£771m) at the box-office. So Marvel certainly has plenty of reasons to celebrate.

Avengers fans who haven't got tickets to this year's Comic-Con or don't live in Brooklyn need not fret either, as Comicave Studios will also sell a limited-edition line of 750 12-inch bronze replicas and 100 made-to-order 35-inch pewter ones, should you want one for yourself. Be sure to keep an eye on Marvel's Twitter for updates on availability.

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