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| Image Credit: Marvel Studios |
The latest trailer for Captain America: Brave New World was released recently and many are satisfied. There is a very cool, spy-story atmosphere, and a lot of action. Red Hulk emerges from Harrison Ford leaving fiery debris in his place, Sam (Anthony Mackie) throws his shield through several flying missiles on Tiamut's body and the red, white, and blue wings look cooler and more captivating than ever. Then there is a scene that is perfectly seasoned with the right amount of "Marvel spice" in which Sam crashes down from the sky, perfectly executing a superhero landing, says "Wait", and a gust of wind follows him from top to bottom comes to blow away his enemies. Action and sympathy, are all perfectly balanced, in the best Marvel recipe.
What question does the trailer leave us?
Let's go back. We know that Sam Wilson was introduced in Captain America: The Winter Soldier and at the time he didn’t have any powers, but he was capable of performing expert-level hand-to-hand combat feats, including fighting the Winter Soldier. It was very believable when Bucky defeated him without much effort.
Fast forward to Ant-Man where Sam fights Scott, and he doesn’t do anything out of the ordinary. Ant-Man wins the fight. Then, in Captain America: Civil War, he still doesn’t do anything that a very well-trained human in a comic book universe couldn’t do. In Infinity War, his storyline is a bit forced when he fights the Chitauri and he does as well as Steve Rogers and Black Panther, but it’s still quite believable as he doesn’t do any damage to Thanos. In his final cinematic appearance in Endgame, his screen time is short, but still believable. Finally, in the Disney+ series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Sam appears in his most realistic form yet, aside from being able to throw his shield with nearly as much force as Steve Rogers.
How does Sam Wilson perform superheroic acts without superpowers?
Sam is a normal person. Yes, he is an expert in hand-to-hand combat and has an advanced wingsuit to assist him. He has fought alongside Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, and other Marvel heroes, but he does not have the super soldier serum in his veins, he has “normal” armor, and he is not a god. There are several scenes in the trailer where Sam realistically should have died or been permanently injured. The first is the superhero landing scene described above. The second is when Sam throws his shield through the rockets. It’s a classic Captain America move, but how does Sam, without powers, throw a shield through rocket missiles launched from a moving jet
When he gets hit directly by a missile moments later while holding his shield, his wings are wrapped in front of him and his jets are providing propulsion. In the official poster, Sam is using his shield to block a punch from Red Hulk. This doesn’t seem like a plausible scenario. We know the shield has energy dispersal and force capabilities, but in Civil War, Steve was hit directly in the shield by a grenade and sent it flying. We imagine Red Hulk could hit with much more force than a grenade explodes.
There are three possible explanations for Sam Wilson’s strength
The first and most likely explanation is that we’re dealing with a suspension of disbelief because this is a comic book movie. Honestly, that shouldn’t be a problem. After all, there are a lot of fantastic licenses that these types of movies take for granted.
The second explanation is that Sam took the super soldier serum. This is unlikely since part of his arc is “not being Steve Rogers.” Everyone loves to remind him that he’s not the Cap they knew. If Sam were to take the super soldier serum, it would be a step backward in his journey to prove he is Captain America. The third option is more intriguing but equally unlikely. Perhaps Sam’s new suit and wings were made from one of Marvel’s most familiar metals. Maybe he got some assistance from Wakanda and there’s vibranium in his suit. Maybe it’s even laced with adamantium, which would be the first time the metal has appeared in the main MCU timeline.
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