Sam Wilson has been fighting alongside Steve Rogers for decades in the comics and since his introduction in the MCU. He’s a hero in his own right, he was an obvious choice to take on the mantle of Captain America when Steve decided to retire. Those are big boots to fill, but Sam stepped up, both in the comics and soon, in the Disney+ series, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
The traits that make Captain America the hero fans know, and love are core, not only to the mask and the shield, but the men that wear the cowl. Sam’s core as a good man and a strong defender of the truth makes him a great Captain America, maybe even surpassing his predecessor.
10 Sam Will Stand Up To Fascists Without Hesitation
Sam is a man that routinely listens and helps those around him work through issues and talk out their thoughts. That does not extend to the bad guys. While Steve routinely lets his rogues monologue about their evil ideologies, Sam tends to cut to the chase and start the fight before they get too far into their rhetoric.
Sam is willing to listen and help any of the other heroes around him, but in his own words, if a fascist or neo-Nazi wants to chat, they can “shut the hell up.”
9 Sam Is A Supportive Friend And Always Has Time For His Loved Ones
Steve Rogers has a lot going on when it comes to the people around him, so it can be tough for him to punch Nazis and be a good, available supporter for those closest to him. But Sam Wilson manages to do both. During the Death of Captain America arc, Sam was the one that helped both Bucky and Sharon Carter work through their grief and get them back on their feet.
As Captain America, Sam’s support of his teammates as he led the Avengers was tested regularly but he stayed strong in the face of it, not just as a hero, but as a supportive teammate and friend.
8 Sam Has Numerous Impressive Abilities At His Disposal That Will Aid Him In This New Role
While Sam does not have the super soldier serum backing up his abilities, but in the comics, he does have his wings and his ability to tap into local birds for intel and tracking. In the MCU, his use of drone, and the multitasking that involves, means that Sam has a better idea of the big picture in a fight than Steve does.
While he’s not enhanced in that way, Sam is still strong and fast enough to deal with non-powered bad guys easily, and he’s got the perspective to deal with the bigger threats in creative ways.
7 Sam Will Not Step Down From His Role, Even In The Face Of Criticism
Steve has stepped down as Captain America several times in his career for several different reasons, but he usually comes back within short order, whether that’s due to a return to status quo or for story reasons. Sam and Bucky are both aware of this, and when Steve was de-aged, prior to the Secret Empire event, they assumed he would take the shield back. They were right.
The first volume of Captain America: Sam Wilson is titled "Not My Captain America", showing that in universe opinions of him are not that different than in the real world. Sam however, despite public pressure to give up the shield—both in the 616 and, seemingly in Falcon and the Winter Soldier on Disney+--sticks with it, doing the job that needs to be done, despite the lack of faith in him.
6 Sam Isn't Afraid To Tease His Friends When Needed
Steve routinely treats his friends and fellow Avengers with kid gloves when things don’t go quite their way. Sam, on the other hand, shows faith in those around him, and in their ability to deal. He won’t stop teasing or poking fun at someone because something bad happens, and he will be there to help pick them up when they need it.
His interactions with Bucky in particular show this best. When Bucky took the mantle of Captain America in Ed Brubaker's run, Sam supported him, but never stopped teasing him about it, even telling him that, because he wouldn't play poker for American dollars, that he'd be a horrible Captain America. The new series on Disney+ will likely dive more into this relationship and show how Sam's support comes with some sarcasm.
5 Having Redwing At His Disposal Is An Unparalleled Asset
While the MCU version is decidedly less opinionated, in the comics, Redwing works as an extra conscious to Sam. A second, and often very different perspective—a bird’s eye view, quite literally—can make the difference in a fight, or in the PR around a fight.
Redwing’s insight has helped Steve in the past, but with Sam, it’s a direct line, and that makes Sam a far more effective hero, with or without the shield.
4 His Fearlessness Will Keep Him From Hesitating Under Pressure
Steve has a faster healing and reflexes than most, but Sam is facing off against cosmic level threats at times with nothing but a set of wings. In the MCU, he’s got high level military training, putting him more in line with the traditional idea of Captain America, and in the comics, he’s been trained by Steve himself.
Both Steve and Sam punch above their weight class on a regular basis, but when Steve talks about sacrificing his life for the cause, he does it with a sped-up healing factor. Sam does it knowing the risk is far greater for him. He also jumps off of roofs on a regular basis, and that's pretty fearless.
3 Being Outside The System Allows Him To See The Big Picture
Sam has far fewer ties to the Avengers and SHIELD, giving him a different perspective and arguably a clearer sense of what’s going on than Steve usually has. Over his years as Captain America, Steve has been tied into the politics and machinations around him, and those experiences can skew his perception.
Sam tends to see things a little clearer, especially when it comes to working with SHIELD. During his time as Cap, SHIELD was not an ally to him, and he wasn’t surprised by this the way Steve tends to be when SHIELD turns on him.
2 He Maintains A Connection To His Community
Back in the 70s, during the Captain America and the Falcon run in the comics, Sam routinely put some hard questions to Steve about the civil rights movement and the place of Black Americans, and Black heroes in their world. He’s been shown as a mentor and community leader as Falcon and putting him in the role of Captain America only amplifies that ability to reach out.
Sam’s run as Cap showed what saving the world while Black meant, with traditional allies, press, and villains alike questioning his ability and right to be there in his world. He stood up and showed himself to be above those criticisms and did the job.
1 He Is A Deeply Empathetic Individual
The MCU shows Sam Wilson as a counselor, and those skills make him far more capable of dealing with the fallout of being Captain America and de-escalate situations that Steve Rogers would escalate just by being involved. Sam’s empathy for heroes and regular people motivates him in his work.
That quality makes him the right man to symbolize what America should be, and to be an effective team leader. Those traits are key to being a great Captain America, and Sam Wilson fits the role perfectly.