WARNING: The following contains spoilers for The Falcon and the Winter Soldier finale, "One World, One People," now streaming on Disney+.
The first season of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier concluded with the introduction of Sam Wilson’s new Captain America suit, and as with the Scarlet Witch’s outfit in WandaVision, it proved worth the wait. Sam’s is a perfect blend of his old identity and the new, a sign that he is both indisputably Captain America and a yet a new kind of Captain different from his predecessor, Steve Rogers.
As one of the staples of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Captain America – and his costume – has undergone a number of variations over the years, from the deliberately hokey cloth outfit of World War II right up until the season finale of Falcon and Winter Soldier. That’s par for the course for such franchises, with little changes in the outfits differentiating one movie from the next. But the changes in Captain America’s outfit, along with who’s wearing it, speak volumes about the characters' in-world status while wearing them. Here’s a countdown of the worst to the best.
10. Steve Rogers’ USO Suit
“Worst” is a bit of a misnomer here, since the awkward look of Cap’s chintziest outfits was 100 percent deliberate. That’s certainly the case with the original Captain America suit from Captain America: The First Avenger, which Steve wore on his tour with the USO. It is, quite literally, a costume: sewn from cloth and created solely for the kind of pulp theatricality that played well at the time. Its silliness aptly reflects Rogers’ frustration at his USO work, and the feeling that his great powers are being wasted. More subtly, it’s a loving nod to the character’s origins, allowing First Avenger director Joe Johnston to honor the character’s roots while still telling the story he wanted to tell.
9. John Walker’s Captain America Suit
As with Rogers’ USO suit, the dreadful cut of John Walker’s outfit is entirely by design, aptly conveying Walker’s status as a pretender to the shield and hinting subtly at his US Agent outfit from the comics. The “A” features a pair of wings made to resemble a star, and the rest of the outfit downplays the whites in favor of a muted blend of red and dark blue: superficially stylish, but utterly corporate. It presumably carries some protective abilities of a mundane nature, but stresses PR appeal over actual heroics. It’s a 21st century echo of Rogers’ USO outfit, and designed to age just as poorly.
8. Rogers’ Endgame Tech Suit
All of the Avengers wore modified versions of Ant-Man’s suit during their journey back in time for Avengers: Endgame. Technically speaking, that doesn’t make it a Captain America uniform. It was intended to facilitate the in-world explanation for how time travel works (the Ant-Man tech is a necessity), and stresses the unity of the team with a single look and color. Though handsome, and vaguely on-brand with the white and red, it’s all but indistinguishable from the rest of the Avengers. The nanotech composition allowed Rogers and his teammates to revert to their traditional outfits, which in Cap’s case, meant his era-appropriate Avengers uniform in order to blend in. As generic as it is, it’s also the last uniform the audience sees Steve in as Captain America, just before he takes his final journey back to the past.
7. Rogers’ Jury-Rigged World War II Suit
In the middle of The First Avenger, Rogers didn't have much in the way of options when he chose to abandon the publicity tour and save Bucky from HYDRA. He borrowed a helmet from one of his back-up dancers – with an “A” in the middle intended to be part of a “USA” trio – and muted the blues of his costume with a pair of khaki pants and combat boots. A heavy leather jacket provided some further measure of protection, topped by an old-fashioned, non-vibranium shield that he used in his stage appearances. It’s unquestionably the most “realistic” of Cap’s MCU outfits, while subtly suggesting the ways his classic look might develop organically in-world.
6. Rogers’ Stealth Suit
For Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Rogers adopted a utilitarian uniform of dark blue, almost black. It was almost reminiscent of the US Agent costume, with just a single stylized star on the chest to stand out. He also eschewed the helmet for most of the film’s running time, wearing it in conjunction with the suit only in the opening assault on Batroc’s pirates. It represented the most extreme variation of the design (at least for Rogers), with an emphasis on stealthy movement and avoiding detection. Thematically, it reflected Steve’s different function under SHIELD; his casting it away midway through the film symbolically rejected SHIELD’s corruption and returned him to his “pure” roots. He adopted it again at the beginning of Endgame, when the decimated team went after Thanos.
5. Rogers’ World War II Suit
The first "official" Captain America uniform combined the classic look with the more rugged combat gear of the film's period setting, featuring canvas straps and an old-fashioned utility belt. The helmet was bulletproof and the uniform flame resistant, helping to protect Steve from harm. The design was officially designated the “Strategic Scientific Reserve Field Uniform,” which Steve wore throughout the war as well as his infamous hibernation in ice. At some point before The Winter Soldier, it was sent to the Smithsonian, where Rogers “stole” it to use at the end of the movie.
4. Rogers’ Age of Ultron Suit
Avengers: Age of Ultron put Steve in his second official Avengers’ uniform, which he wore in some form or another for two additional films. That makes it both the most-used Cap uniform as far as screen time goes, and the uniform that undergoes the most changes while remaining identifiably itself. It’s more overtly technological – designed by Tony Stark in the years between the first and second Avengers movies – and contains a few extra features like electromagnets to help him retrieve his shield. It underwent a few cosmetic changes in Captain America: Civil War, then reemerged in Infinity War after his years on the run: dirtier, darker and with the star and other insignia removed.
3. Rogers’ Avengers Suit
Steve’s “first” Avengers suit was developed by SHIELD and given to him shortly after his emergence from the ice. According to Agent Coulson, it was created with the original look in mind: a nostalgic throwback to a more heroic age, augmented with cutting edge protective features and a sleek design. It served as the basis for all of Steve’s subsequent Avengers suits, and appeared in his humorous motivational videos from the Spider-Man movies. He also wore it when he went back in time in Endgame, to better blend in with the timeline, and used it to fight himself on the walkway in Stark Tower.
2. Sam Wilson’s Captain America Suit
Sam’s new suit is something entirely new – Wakandan by design, sharp as a firecracker and containing an elegant amalgamation of Cap’s outfits and Sam’s previous Falcon suit. It breaks fundamentally from what Rogers wore, giving Sam his own identity, and yet it is a clear marker of Captain America’s legacy. The Wakanda connection gives it all manner of special abilities, as well as careful links to the show's themes of representation and identity. It honors Rogers without standing in his shadow. Within minutes of its unveiling, social media exploded, so it’s safe to say that the MCU has a big hit in its new Captain.
1. Rogers’ Endgame Suit
The first and second ranking on this list are meaningless, and indeed choosing between them almost defeats the purpose of Sam’s new outfit. Age proceeds a half-step before beauty, but otherwise, the differences mean nothing. Rogers wore his final official Captain America suit through the bulk of Endgame, presumably designed sometime after the Snap and containing unspecified technical components on top of previous incarnations. Most notably, the “chain mail” on the upper chest had been exposed, an overt homage to the classic comic book designs of Jack Kirby. The mail was also a subtle visual nod to Asgard and Mjolnir, the signature reveal in a movie packed to the gills with them.
Directed by Kari Skogland, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier stars Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Emily VanCamp, Wyatt Russell, Noah Mills, Carl Lumbly and Daniel Brühl. The entire first season is available to stream on Disney+.