Marvel Studios recently showed more than a first look at the upcoming Captain America: New World Order. This movie won’t just be the fourth Marvel Cinematic Universe Captain America film but also the first with Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson as Captain America. It’s a big boost for the new version of the character, but it might have worked better in someone else’s hands.
If anyone should have replaced Steve Rogers as Captain America, it should have been his best friend, Bucky Barnes. Sure, he may have been corrupted into a Winter Soldier along the way, but that provides him with the perfect reason to pick up the slack. Unfortunately, Falcon is a much more boring replacement.
Captain America Reborn Comics Provided the Perfect Model
In the comics, Captain America died after the Civil war storyline, having been assassinated while trying to end the conflict. And his old friend Bucky Barnes, who became the murderous Winter Soldier and kept under the control of many villains, succeeded Steve as Captain America. Freeing himself from this and wanting to redeem himself and honor his friend, Bucky knew there had to be another Captain America. Taking up the shield and donning a new costume, the former Winter Soldier became the new Sentinel of Liberty.
After Steve returned, he resumed the name Captain America, although Falcon briefly replaced him at one point. This was during a somewhat controversial time in Marvel Comics, when the main heroes were all replaced by former sidekicks or other characters. The Sam Wilson: Captain America the comics weren’t bad, but they didn’t live up to Ed Brubaker’s Captain America comics with Bucky as the hero. These comics were thematically much stronger, as they dealt with a broken man honoring his deceased friend while redeeming his own soul. Sadly, that won’t be the case in the MCU, with Falcon being given the shield instead of Bucky.
Sam Wilson Becoming Captain America in the MCU Always Feels Forced
Sam made his debut in the second MCU Captain America film, The Winter Soldier. He would fight alongside Steve in his suite, Civil war, but their relationship never felt particularly strong. Even in the midst of his brainwashing, Steve still felt closer to Bucky, going to great lengths to save him. Sure, Steve and Falcon were close comrades, but Steve was no closer to him than Agent 13, Black Widow, or even someone like Hawkeye.
So Steve giving the shield to anyone other than Bucky doesn’t make sense, especially with the depth of his friendship with Sam. Winter Soldier’s redemption as the new Captain America would have been written on the big screen. There is no such arc as Captain America for Falcon, and the one given to him in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier was as obvious as possible.
Unfortunately, it looks like Bucky will stick around as the Winter Soldier, being relegated to training in the Love at first sight instead of being its own leader. It remains to be seen how that gamble will pay off, with the man most thematically deserving of Cap’s shield not wielding it in the MCU. Given the themes of The Falcon and the Winter Soldierit’s obvious that Sam has become the new Captain America, but that doesn’t make it any less of a missed opportunity.
