Why Sam Wilson Still Has To Earn The Shield In Captain America 4
Sam Wilson has already proven to audiences why he deserves the shield, but his on-screen journey to becoming Captain America is still just beginning.
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At the end of Avengers: Endgame, Steve Rogers passed the shield and the mantle of Captain America on to Sam Wilson, but does Sam still have to prove himself in Captain America 4? In a recent interview, Captain America 4 producer Nate Moore stated that the movie would put Sam through the wringer and make him earn the shield. In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Sam, played by Anthony Mackie, was a former soldier who piloted experimental mechanical wings, later using those wings to fight alongside Steve Rogers as Falcon on his path towards becoming an Avenger.
The Disney+ series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier followed Sam and fellow Captain America companion Bucky Barnes as they learned to work together without their mutual friend. Sam’s arc in the series was his journey towards accepting the mantle that Steve passed down to him, even though he wasn’t initially sure it was something he deserved, or that he even wanted. By the end of the series, armed with a new red, white, and blue wingsuit, Sam Wilson had fully accepted his role as Captain America with the understanding that he could be a different kind of Cap than Steve was. After Nate Moore’s interview, fans expressed concern that making Sam “earn the shield” in Captain America 4 could completely undermine the hero’s arc in the series.
While The Falcon and the Winter Soldier may have proved to Sam and to audiences that he is ready to take on the Captain America mantle, he still has a lot to prove in-universe. Sam definitely has more experience than Steve had when he first was chosen to take the super-soldier serum, having served for nearly a decade as an Avenger and fought in the final battle against Thanos in Avengers: Endgame. He also showed the inherent fairness and bravery that is associated with Captain America when he finally decided to pick up the shield in the series. However, Sam still has to face a public that might not be as quick to accept him as a replacement for Steve Rogers, even after John Walker’s unsuccessful turn with the shield.
Though the soundbite from the Nate Moore interview that went viral was about Sam earning the shield, it’s clear in the rest of the interview that Moore is confident in Marvel’s decision to make Sam the next Captain America. Sam is now a seasoned hero in the MCU, and the Disney+ series gave him the type of character development that will turn him into an interesting leading man. However, at the end of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Sam takes the shield and the mantle from John Walker, which sets up a potential conflict with the US government, who seems to want a Captain America who operates under their explicit control.
The problem Sam faces is less about his readiness and is more about what the world is ready to accept. Sam, unlike Steve Rogers, is just a regular man, not enhanced by the super-soldier serum. He is also taking the mantle at a time when the in-universe world has lost or lost confidence in many of its superheroes. Also, in “Truth”, episode 5 of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, the warning that Isaiah Bradley gave Sam that a black man would never be accepted as Captain America could become a harsh reality for the new Star-Spangled Man to contend with. After all, even some MCU fans weren’t happy with Marvel’s decision to pass the mantle on to Sam after Steve’s retirement.
Sam Wilson is a character that provides the MCU with the ability to tell stories that they otherwise might not touch. Though the wariness over the treatment of a black hero in a cinematic universe that hasn’t had many is understandable, it’s clear that Moore wants Captain America 4 to continue the arc set up by the Disney+ series. Phases 4 and 5 are gearing up to bring a lot of much-needed diversity to the MCU, and Sam’s turn as Captain America is sure to become an integral part of the MCU’s future.
Link Source : https://screenrant.com/captain-america-4-sam-wilson-shield-earn-reason/