

Kitted out with Iron Man’s tech (those Redwing drones can laser off locks, scan faces, attack baddies and more) as well as his old Falcon wings, the new Cap even makes for a better Top Trumps card. CREDIT: Marvel StudiosĪnd that’s not all. The MCU might take most of its inspiration from decades-old comics, but having a Black Captain America on screen means something much more important now than it ever did in print – and it marks a welcome new reshuffle for Phase Four.Ĭap is back, but not as you know him. “Every time I pick this thing up, I know there are millions of people out there who are going to hate me for it.” In five minutes, new Cap does much more than old Cap ever did – stopping to acknowledge the fact that he’s politicising every fight he wins, as well as standing as an important symbol for America’s problem with racism. “I’m a Black man carrying the Stars and Stripes,” he tells a crowd, really speaking to the most fragile parts of the fanbase. The irony isn’t lost on anyone, and the finale of The Falcon and The Winter Soldier spends more time justifying Sam’s decision to serve than it does actually showing him in action. By episode six, Sam is fully decked out in red, white and blue, saving a couple of cops from a crashing helicopter. In episode two, we see Sam arrested during a stop and search.
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Smartly though, Disney decided to make him turn it down – instead building an entire six-episode series around the weight and responsibility of wearing the flag, especially for a Black man. With old Cap now retired, the shield was passed to Sam Wilson (aka Falcon) at the end of Avengers: Endgame. Coming as he does from an era of Marvel comics when patriotism was considered far less problematic, Captain America’s partially defrosted politics have always felt slightly at odds with the modern world – something Marvel have barely touched upon until The Falcon And The Winter Soldier.Ĭhris Evans as Captain America in the MCU.

If the MCU were set in the UK instead of the States, comics character ‘ Captain Britain‘ would be Nigel Farage’s wet dream – a Tommy Robinson-esque action figure who punches injustice with the righteous fist of God and Country. Wrapped in a Stars and Stripes onesie, Captain America was always a walking political statement. Read more: The Falcon and the Winter Soldier finale recap: O captain! Our new captain!.So, why did he always look like the least interesting person on screen? Part of the problem might have been the flag. Far from being the worst Avenger (*cough Hawkeye cough*), he comes with an amazing backstory, a big emotional drive and a cool-looking shield/frisbee to use in battle. Without Iron Man’s humour, Hulk’s heft and Thor’s… humour and heft, Cap was a frontman constantly upstaged by the rest of his band. Captain America has always had a bit of a problem.
