NEW ERA FOR CAPT. AMERICA
Marvel introduces 1st Black shield holder
America is ready for a new Captain America — but is he?
Marvel’s new series “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier” explores whether superhero Sam Wilson will take over the Captain America role vacated in the 2019 movie “Avengers: Endgame.”
“The entire series ... is a real examination of, ‘What is it for a Black man to pick up that shield?’ It’s got a lot of baggage with it,” director Kari Skogland told the Daily News. “It’s representative of a very sort of white history. So, for a Black man to pick up that shield, what does it mean to him, to his community? Will he accept it?”
Throughout the Marvel movies, Captain America has been a symbol of goodness, with his red-white-and-blue shield and upstanding morals. The position was initially filled by the character Steve Rogers, who was then an American soldier during World War II. The role was played by Chris Evans in the “Avengers” movies.
Sam, played by Anthony Mackie, was Steve’s choice to take over the Captain America mantle.
“The notion of a shield and the notion of a hero that went with that shield ... is that relevant in today’s society?” Skogland said. “We also sort of examine, ‘What is a hero?’ At the time that Steve picked that up, a hero was very much a warrior or a soldier. That was sort of the paradigm, and it was born of the war. It came out of the war. That all made sense. It was anti-fascist territory . ... The hero of today is more of a first responder.”
The inner turmoil faced by Sam, known by the hero alias
Falcon for his high-flying suit, is only one of the captivating story lines woven into the new series, which releases its first episode on Disney+ on Friday. The show’s other central character, Bucky Barnes, was introduced to audiences in 2014 s “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” as a brainwashed mercenary controlled by a villainous organization.
Bucky, played by Sebastian Stan, has since reclaimed control of his mind and fought alongside the Avengers, but “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier” picks up with him still grappling with his wicked past. “We don’t know that he’s fully healed, but certainly he’s trying,” Skogland said. “So he’s gonna have to own up. He has to face what he’s done and deal with the guilt. ... He has to explore and examine how it is going to be for him to move forward. Where does he sit in the world? Where does he fit? Does he have a value?”
“The Falcon and the Winter Soldier” is the second series in the interconnecting Marvel Cinematic Universe, following the wildly popular “WandaVision,” which debuted earlier this year.
The new show provides the most in-depth examination yet of Sam and Bucky, who have long been members of the Avengers ensemble.
“We get to spend a lot more time with the characters than we would in a movie,” Skogland said.
“We really get to know them differently and intimately, so we’re able to go not only for the fun, wild ride of it and the adventure of it, but we’re also going to see some heartfelt, very dramatic moments with them as well.”
The series brings Sam and Bucky together amid their personal journeys.
“While Sam’s busy trying to figure out if he fits and what his future is going to look like, so is Bucky,” Skogland said. “While they’re not friends really, they’re going to have to decide whether they can be friends.”