A new teaser for “Avengers: Doomsday” just dropped, and I have some thoughts.
After announcing that Chris Evans was set to return as Steve Rogers, the original Captain America, discourse surrounding the passing of the torch in “Avengers: Endgame” was reignited. The movie notoriously ended with Steve choosing to stay back in time to live the rest of his life with his long-lost love, Peggy Carter.
Many people were surprised by this move, as much of Steve’s arc before had centered around his need to adapt to his new life as a man out of time. But it was time for the character to move on, regardless of how it was done. And Steve made an important choice after this; he passed the shield to Sam Wilson, known at the time as the Falcon.
The decision to have a Black Captain America unfortunately came with a misplaced, yet predictable, amount of controversy. All of this was, in my opinion, beautifully addressed in the limited series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, released a year later on Disney+.
The series detailed Sam’s struggles with accepting the legacy Steve left behind, ending with his eventual understanding of his role as Captain America. In the series finale, he finally dons the stars and stripes, declaring: “I’m still here. No super serum. No blonde hair or blue eyes. The only power I have is that I believe we can do better.”
The series addressed all of his character’s nuances with care, and it truly felt like a step in the right direction.
This is why I’m so disappointed to see the trailers for “Avengers: Doomsday” completely going back on all of this progress.
With Steve being slated to return, there’s been a resurgence of questions about what will happen to the Captain America title now. They even poke fun at this in a recent teaser, with Scott Lang (Ant-Man) accidentally calling Steve “Cap” in front of Sam. (X has declared war on Scott Lang because of this. I’m living for it.)
Frankly, readers, this all has me pretty incensed.
It just feels a little disrespectful to have Sam go through so much to feel like he deserved the shield, only to then make a joke out of him now that he has.
Another big problem I have with this is how it leaves Anthony Mackie, the actor who plays Sam, in such a tough spot. After taking on the role, he was already subject to racist hate campaigns from dissatisfied Captain America fans. Now, he’s stuck clarifying in interview after interview that, yes, Sam is still Captain America. Why put him through that?
Sure, Steve’s ending wasn’t received well (I didn’t like it either!), but it’s done. Going back now to rectify it feels embarrassing, and it’s a cheap step backward from the progress “Endgame” established.
My question is: what is the story they’re trying to tell? I will still hold out hope for a meaningful arc, but it seems insulting to everything Sam has been through to now poke fun at the fact that, to some people, Captain America will never look like him. Newsflash, he is Captain America!
It’d be remiss not to mention that the contrast in writing for Sam across the MCU is night and day, and that is a recurring problem for Marvel! When writing “Dr. Strange: Multiverse of Madness,” the writers admitted to not watching Wandavision, which would’ve greatly informed their characterization of Wanda Maximoff.
It’s very clear that the writers of “Doomsday” had little to no interest in engaging with TFATWS or “Captain America: Brave New World.” If they had, they would have heard Isaiah Bradley (a Black veteran revealed to be a test subject for the super soldier serum) tell Sam: “They were worried my story might get out. So, they erased me. My history. But they’ve been doing that for five hundred years. Pledge allegiance to that, my brother. They will never let a Black man be Captain America. And even if they did, no self-respecting Black man would ever wanna be.”
Will I be watching “Avengers: Doomsday”? Most likely, even if only because my little brother insists. But I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for how Sam is treated.
I’ll especially be hoping for one thing: for everyone’s sake, I hope Isaiah Bradley isn’t proven right.