The Blerd Blog

Why Sam Wilson Deserves the Mantle

When Steve Rogers handed Sam Wilson the shield, it was a recognition of what Sam was – committed to courage, conviction, and justice. But to some, this was always going to be a controversial decision. To me, however, this was not some case of just trying to achieve “diversity”, or to score points with the African-American community. Sam Wilson, in comic book lore, embodies many of the same character traits as Steve, making his choice to give him the shield make complete sense.

Origins and Comics Legacy

First of all, Sam has been Steve’s partner for many years, both in comics and real-world publication history. They first met in Captain America #117, originally introduced by writer Stan Lee and artists Gene Colan. Thinking about this historically, (and according to legend), this comic was released in 1969, and Colan was advocating for more African-American leading heroes, as many of the current cast at the time were in supporting roles. Stan agreed, which led to this story.

In the story in question, Cap was looking into an island known as Exiles Island. Sam was there, training with his iconic bird: Redwing. (Fun fact: Sam is actually telepathic with birds in the comics, and Redwing is an actual bird, not tech like in the MCU!). This island has actually been taken over by Nazis and other evildoers, and so Steve asks Sam for his help in dealing with the issue. Sam agrees, and the two save the day, becoming crime-fighting partners in the process.

If you want proof that Sam was at least meant to be perceived as a leading man, then the fact that they changed the title of the book to Captain America and the Falcon should hopefully help – haha. Sam embodied similar traits we love in Steve – selflessness, honor, wisdom, courage, etc, and so you can see why they would become such great friends.

The Saga of Sam Wilson: Case Study

In light of this, I want to talk about a recent book I read, and which I recommend to you as a sort of character study on Sam Wilson (and if you want to get into comics about him after watching Captain America: Brave New World), which is Captain America: The Saga of Sam Wilson. (Available now on Amazon or your local comic book store, not sponsored, just a place where you can pick it up…)

This book contains Sam’s first bout as Captain America, and it’s story structure helps highlight the reason he fully deserves the mantle of Cap. Each issue of the book has a flashback to some point in time, whether in Sam’s life or centering around him, while in the present Sam has to contend with many of Cap’s rogue gallery: Zemo, Crossbones, Viper, Armadillo, Batroc, and more, all working on a new Hydra scheme. The first few issues remind you of Sam’s backstory, and how that shaped his outlook on life.

Sam grew up with a minister as a father, and that’s actually the same for my life! He lost both his parents to tragedy at a young age, and was forced to grow up early to take care of his siblings. In his narration in the first issue, Sam speaks about how his father’s teachings have shaped him, and how he is now dedicated to being someone who gives people hope and belief in a better future, and fighting for those who can’t fight for themselves. Who else has this core belief – Steve Rogers! You can see their similarity in their core character traits!

Throughout the book, Sam keeps getting more and more worn down by supervillain fights, but never gives up. He pushes himself further, because he knows there are people counting on him. In Issue #5, there is a very important flashback, where an older man is sitting with his son, discussing the news about Sam becoming Cap. The older man doesn’t believe this is anything more than a diversity hire essentially, while his son says Sam has fought in many battles just like Steve, and he has many of the traits needed to be Cap! It’s almost reflecting what the readers would think.

MCU Storytelling and Heroism

We can also see this in his MCU story. Sam lost faith in himself in Captain America: Brave New World, and when he thinks about why Steve would give him this mantle, when he’s feeling overwhelmed by Joaquin’s near death experience and the responsibility of potentially restarting the Avengers. Bucky says “Steve gave them something to believe in, but you give them something to aspire to… He gave it to you, because you’re you.” Sam Wilson is what Steve was for a modern generation, and especially without superpowers, he gives us someone to believe we can be like.

We as people can be heroes, powers or not, and it begins by asking if we’re going to look out for others, and for those who are being mistreated. Are we going to push for justice, even when it seems hard? All of this is why Sam Wilson deserves the mantle – because he is a man who pursues justice and compassion, no matter how hard it gets, and looks out for people. Just like his partner Steve.

What do you think? Let me know in the comments, and if you enjoyed this. Would you like more recs on Sam Wilson stories, or anything else? Have a good one guys, and I’ll see you next time!