Here’s everything we love about the new Captain America

Avengers: Endgame gave us a lot of new beginnings, and it has us thinking about the new Captain America and all the reasons we love him.

Warning: Hey, we’re officially waist deep in post-Endgame chaos, so this article contains spoilers for Avengers: Endgame.

Disarray is the only way to describe the MCU fandom after Avengers: Endgame. Creating the largest gap between fans since the still ongoing Captain America: Civil War fandom fights, there are a lot of divergent opinions regarding Steve Rogers’ ending scene. Instead, we’re purposely ignoring and focusing on the good in Steve’s final Endgame moments. You know: Everything we love about the new Captain America, i.e. Sam Wilson.

Passing the shield to Sam Wilson won’t make us forget that he was one of the two characters who turned to dust. Avengers: Infinity War might be an outdated topic of discussion, but we’re still not over it — particularly not the fact that Sam didn’t even have any last words before the snappening struck. But moving on to more important things: Sam Wilson is back and he’s Captain America now, so let’s revel in some of the things we love about the new on-screen Captain America (who is proficient with the shield in the comics).

1. He knows what he’s doing

Sam Wilson has refined his fighting skills well before old man Steve bequeathed the Captain America title to him. He’s been a member of the Avengers and living in the Avengers complex since sometime after Winter Soldier. We can assume he’s only become a stronger version of himself from being an Avenger and living at the team’s abode. Adding a vibranium-based shield to his array of skills and tech will only bolster his kick-butt skills. Beware, villains.

2. He understands that being Captain America is able the struggle

Superheroes struggle but they don’t quit after they struggle. Especially for Captain America, rising from the struggle and failure is part of the gig. Sam knows that from a civilian standpoint, there’s empowerment in watching a hero push themselves despite the odds — it inspires all of us to do the same, even if we don’t have superpowers or big, fancy, hero gadgets.

3. He’s beyond ready for the commitment and responsibility

Apart from his training as a soldier and an Avenger, Sam has always run towards danger, as long as there’s a vague promise of saving someone of course. He’s committed to helping others. Whether it means committing crimes to help Steve’s bestie (who he hated at the time), or fighting an overgrown grape, Sam is there and ready for the fight.

4. He genuinely cares about people

Before he got any mechanical wings or his shield, Sam has always been deeply concerned for everyone’s wellbeing (well, save for villains, of course). Just in Captain America: The Winter Soldier alone, Sam tried to convince Steve to go to group therapy to cope with his PTSD and overall mental health.

Sam might not be a hyper-powerful empath like Mantis, but his compassionate intuition lends to his heroism. That’s part of the many reasons he connects with so many people in the comics and in the not-so-distant future of the MCU.

5. He puts his friends first

Tracking down Bucky while he was still being controlled by HYDRA wasn’t an easy task, and Sam knew that Steve needed help. Prioritizing his friends before any of SHIELD’s plans, Sam helped his friend find Bucky and counteract his mind-controlled state. With his new shield and complementary updated suit (probably), we know he’ll put the best interest of the Avengers before anyone else.

6. He’s not afraid to challenge other heroes

Canonically Sam has always sided with his morals. Like any expansive multiverse full of heroes, villains, and everyone in between, sometimes Sam doesn’t agree with certain heroic organizations. However, he isn’t passive about conflicting ideas, and he even quit SHIELD in the comics because of it. (Honestly, we don’t blame him.)

7. He fights against racism

As a Black superhero, there’s an inherent vindication seeing him take down and apprehend racist villains, racist syndicates, and succeeding as a hero in spite of anti-Black civilians (who obviously represent the racist side of the comic fandom). Seeing as racism is unfortunately still prevalent, especially in the US, Sam can extend a lot of necessary discourse in the MCU.

Plus, we just kind of want to see Sam punch a bunch of racists and celebrate the success of his on-screen run as Captain America. After reading his comic history as Falcon and Captain America (and both simultaneously), we’re ready for a Sam-centric trilogy because his story is far from the end of the line.

Helming the Captain America moniker, Sam’s future in the MCU can give us a better picture of his backstory along with his impending character development. Seeing as Sam Wilson has some interesting archenemies (we’re partial to Rage) during his run as Falcon and Captain America, Sam’s heroic future will give us more layers to Captain America mythos well beyond HYDRA and patriotism.

With the Falcon and Winter Solider series on its way, there’s still some ambiguity on what direction the show might take (particularly since the title of the show includes his now-former alias). Regardless of what stories it includes and when it actually takes place, we’re just happy to see Sam Wilson as Captain America.

We’re basically proud nerdy moms and we’re ready to watch Sam Wilson soar into his on-screen role as Captain America. Also, we’ll gladly defend him against the bigoted side of the fandom because we know Sam would do the same for us.

How excited are you for the new Captain America? Share your thoughts with us in the comments!