On Feb. 14, 2025, Captain America: Brave New World was released to the public. It is the fourth movie released following the storyline of Captain America; formerly played by Chris Evans. This time around Anthony Mackie, who previously played the Falcon, went from flying to throwing the shield as the new Captain America. Throughout the last three movies that were played by Chris Evans, elements from the previous films were carried over, including references to other MCU movies beyond just the Captain America films, referencing movies like the Avengers. This time the very same elements were captured in the movie, with references regarding Chris Evans, Steve Rogers.
When the first three Captain America films were first released, audiences watched Steve Rogers become the first successful super soldier, fighting against HYDRA, struggling with his place in the modern world after being asleep for around 67 years and ultimately stand against corruption within S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Avengers. Marvel enthusiasts were very pleased with the films and the overall character arc of Captain America. However, in Avengers: Endgame, we saw Steve Rogers essentially retire from his role as Captain America and return to the past to live the life that he lost 67 years ago, leaving the role and passing on the mantle of Captain America to Sam Wilson (Falcon).
In The Falcon and the Winter Soldier series, Sam Wilson struggles to accept the role of Captain America. He is unable to accept the responsibility and gives up the shield, donating it to the U.S government and allowing them to choose who would be the new Captain America. The government chooses John Walker, a highly decorated soldier and a government operative, to take on the role, but he becomes overwhelmed by the power that was entrusted to him and becomes power hungry. He first began to try and live up to the title, but soon realized he could not match the legacy that Steve Rogers left behind. The pressure he faced combined with his arrogance and frustration caused him to become reckless, taking a Super Soldier Serum, from a team called the Flag Smashers. A breaking point for him came after the death of his best friend, Lemar Hoskins, who is killed by the Flag Smashers, leading him to brutally kill a member, tarnishing the Captain America image. His outbreak led to global outrage and his removal as Captain America.
Sam Wilson throughout all of this realizes that the government gave power to the wrong person. Making him and the Winter Soldier, Bucky Barnes, team up and stop the Flag Smashers and John Walker. At the end of the series, Sam decides to fully embrace the role of Captain America that was left to him.
Captain America: Brave New World is the first time we see Sam Wilson fully embracing the role of Captain America in a solo film. After the internal struggles we saw in the series, he is finally embracing and deciding to take on Captain America without having the lingering doubts he had at the beginning of the series.
The movie begins by showing the first five months into President Thaddeus Ross’s administration, while Sam Wilson and Joaquin Torres, who became the new Falcon, are on a mission to Oaxaca, Mexico. The purpose of the mission is to stop the Serpent Society, a rogue special ops team led by Sidewinder, who were engaged in the sale of illicit classified items. They successfully retrieved the stolen items, while Sidewinder, the leader of the Serpent Society, eludes capture. Torres is shown to be extremely eager and enthusiastic about working alongside Wilson, though Wilson seems hesitant to allow Torres to be involved in high-risk missions because of their lack of superhuman abilities.
Wilson and Torres subsequently decide to receive training under Isaiah Bradley, a super soldier who endured past governmental experiments. They received an invitation to the White House summit where President Ross proposed reforming the Avengers, essentially making a new superhero squad. During the summit, Ross reveals the discovery of a rare metal that was found on “Celestial Island,” formed from the emergence of the Celestial Tiamut in the Indian Ocean, called adamantium. The stolen items were refined adamantium samples from a Japanese mining operation. Ross wanted to establish a treaty to regulate the amount of the metal that was mined, as to prevent an arms race. During his address, Bradley, as well as other individuals, were triggered by a song titled “Mr. Blue,” by the Fleetwoods, to attempt the assassination of Ross and other dignitaries. Once Bradley and the other assailants were subdued, they denied any recollection of the incident, but since they attacked POTUS they were put in prison.
Eager to free Bradley, Wilson begins an investigation that causes him to be ambushed by Sidewinder but is able to capture him. During this, Torres is able to trace a call from Sidewinder’s phone to a covert facility in West Virginia, Camp Echo One. Ross begins to attempt and save the international treaty but tensions begin to escalate because of Japan accusing the U.S of stealing adamantium and orchestrating the attack in the White House. The true orchestrator is later revealed as biologist Dr. Samuel Sterns. Stern uses technology and the “Mr. Blue” song to manipulate the minds that were previously imprisoned by Ross.
Though Wilson was embracing his new role he continued to have doubts on his abilities to fulfill expectation, especially because he was not a super soldier as Rogers was. Eventually, Sam asks Bradley if he should have taken the Super Soldier Serum to enhance his abilities, showing the uncertainty that he continues to have within himself.
Wilson, Torres and Ruth Bat-Seraph (Ross’s head of security) confront Sterns, but ultimately he escapes, leaving a trail of mind controlled soldiers. The group discovers that Ross had been consuming gamma-infused pills that were developed by Sterns to manage a heart condition, inadvertently leading to his transformation to becoming the Red Hulk when faced with his huge amounts of stress. In the course of a distressed moment because of the conflict occurring with Japan, Ross has an outbreak at Wilson, reminding him that he is not Steve Rogers, and will never be.
Later we see Ross’ transformation into the Red Hulk in a public altercation at the White House. This happens after Wilson tries to calm Ross by reminding him of memories with his daughter Betty and their shared experience, like taking a walk along cherry blossom trees. Shortly after the battle between Wilson and Ross, Ross reverts to his human form, exhausted as well as remorseful.
The reminder from Ross, as well as from others in previous films, allowed Wilson’s self-doubt to become extremely prevalent. However, ultimately Sam Wilson’s version of Captain America is overly hated.
Of course, it will not be the same Steve Rogers story, their backgrounds are evidently different beginning with the fact that Wilson is not even a super soldier. This restraints on his capabilities in combat, since he can not bounce back as quickly. Sam Wilson’s decision to take on the role of Captain America demonstrates his commitment to the ideals of having the shield–the courage to fight for what is right, the strength to protect the weak, and the heart to lead. Despite acknowledging that he might not be able to live up to Steve Rogers legacy, Sam chooses to step up and protect the country, proving that his dedication to serving America makes him worthy enough of a Captain in his own right.
