Rumor debunking has become almost as big a traffic getter as coming up with actual rumors for a lot of websites. These days, as soon as someone comes up with an interesting story, the internet’s hungry, bloated bloggers immediately hit their keyboards looking for ways to disprove it and get credit for it. AICN has won the Will Smith is Captain America rumor debunking lottery, and posted a story decrying the casting rumor reported by MTV earlier today.

So to recap, actor Derek Luke told MTV that he’d heard Will Smith was being offered the part of Captain America. AICN called up all their buddies at Marvel, who told them Derek Luke doesn’t know what he’s talking about, and that Marvel never offered him the part or even at any point considered him for it.

Now that the rumor is out there though, what are the chances that they might consider him now? It’s happened before. Besides, something about it seems right. Black president, black symbol of America wartime propaganda (that’s Captain America). It’s hip, it’s current, it’s vaguely but not overtly political. Why not do it?