The Falcon and the Winter Soldier: A New Captain America

When The Falcon and the Winter Soldier premiered on March 19th, 2021, fans across the globe were anticipating an action-packed comedy featuring two of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s most iconic characters. What fans may not have been expecting was a subplot that highlights a more prominent issue in today’s society: racism towards African-Americans on a daily basis.

Marvel fans did not wait long to see the first tease of this subplot. In the premiere episode, Sam Wilson (Falcon) gives up the shield which Captain America gave to him at the end of Avengers Endgame. In the episode, he states “It feels like it belongs to someone else,”. Wilson ends up giving the shield to a museum display but is shocked at the end of the pilot when the United States government presents the shield to a new Captain America. Anthony Mackie, the actor playing Wilson, elaborated on those words in press materials from Marvel. “Sam considers the shield a representation of the country that we live in,” Mackie said. “There’s a lot of trepidation as far as how does a Black man represent a country that does not represent him?” 

Episode 2 continues to highlight the theme of racism in the United States with the introduction of Isiah Bradley. In the mythology of the series, there is a serum that can imbue some soldiers with super strength and powers. Bradley, who is Black, was one of those soldiers during World War II and the Korean War. He was a super-soldier and hero like Rogers, but he was not treated like one by the government and his story is mainly unknown. Bucky, having known of Bradley’s story, never told anyone in an effort to keep Bradley’s life away from the media. This creates a dispute between Sam and Bucky, which is quickly interjected by the police. The officers, who are yet to recognize Sam Wilson as Falcon, question his presence in the neighborhood and ask Bucky if he is bothering him. This specific scene highlights a prominent part of racism in America: police brutality. If the officers did not recognize Sam as a superhero, they would have harassed him and potentially even arrested him. “They erased my story, erased my history. But they been doing that for 500 years,” Bradley says. ”Pledge allegiance to that, my brother. They will never let a Black man be Captain America. And even if they did, no self respecting Black man would want to be.” This is a powerful statement by Bradley towards the end of episode 2, which sets up room for redemption in Bradley’s story arc and the prevalence of racism as well.

Spiderman’s entrance in Civil War, Thor’s entrance in Infinity War, and almost every entrance by the iconic Robert Downey Jr. These scenes are perhaps the most memorable of Marvel’s many projects. Yet the entrance of Sam Wilson in the finale of The Falcon and The Winter Soldier rivals all other entrances. In the fight against the Flag Smashers, the main antagonists of the series, Bucky is in desperate need of backup. Similar to Steve Rogers, Sam throws the shield at the enemy and catches it through the window glass. His new suit, covered in red, white, and blue, is the focal point of this scene. As he walks to the next room, a man asks him who he is and he responds, “Captain America”. This is where the scene truly becomes iconic. Wilson now holds the title of Captain America and is fully embracing the position, despite all doubters and racist deterrents. 

One of the final scenes in The Falcon and The Winter Soldier does a flawless job at wrapping up the mini-series. Isaiah Bradley, the aforementioned super-soldier, receives his own museum section. This is presented to him by Sam Wilson, who thanks him for all of his sacrifices and promises that his actions will never go unnoticed. While this is an emotional scene for the characters involved, it is even more impactful for our society. The show emphasizes the need to promote racial equality and call out injustice, all while utilizing fun characters and a humorous script. A true win-win scenario.