We are going to take a look back at what led Sam Wilson into the MCU (not to be confused with the Marvel Comic Universe aka the original Earth 616) to become Captain America.
CAPTAIN AMERICA: The WINTER SOLDIER (2014)
It begins with the MCU’s game changing 9th film Captain America: The Winter Soldier released in theaters on April 4, 2014.
Sam’s introduction to the MCU and Steve Rogers started with a peaceful and playful jog around Washington D.C.
Every few minutes Sam would hear the words “ON YOUR LEFT” as Rogers would run laps around Wilson multiple times over leaving Sam fatigued trying to catch up.
The two would begin bonding over their experiences in the military followed by Sam’s recommendation of Marvin Gaye’s timeless classic “Trouble Man” to get Steve up to date on what he has missed (Something Baron Zemo would co-sign on down the line).
This connection would lead the two to working together to stop Hydra from taking over S.H.I.E.L.D. And terminating their enemies on a worldwide scale.
Sam would reveal that his Para-rescue missions included him operating a special winged suit that gives him the ability to fly like a falcon but faster.
Together (along with Black Widow, Nick Fury, Mariah Hill, and Sharon Carter) they stopped Hydra and the Winter Soldier which changed the dynamic of S.H.I.E.L.D. (and the MCU) forever.
AVENGERS: AGE of ULTRON (released on May 1, 2015)
Although they were minor appearances, they planted the seeds for Wilson to become the new star-spangled Avenger for the next saga in the MCU.
One of the first appearances was in AVENGERS: Age of Ultron which took place after the events of Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
Sam’s bond with Steve Rogers led him to get to know the rest of the team as they engage in a nighttime gathering courtesy of Tony Stark.
Wilson was not yet a member of the team, yet which means he didn’t hang around for any “Avengers level events” which means he wasn’t around to help defeat Ultron.
It was after the battle at Sokovia that Rogers and the rest of the Avengers decided to recruit him along with Vision and Wanda Maximoff.
ANT-MAN (Released on June 29, 2015)
Taking place after the events of Age of Ultron we see Scott Lang on the path to stop Darren Cross (who would later become M.O.D.O.K.) who was the former protégée of Hank Pym.
To do that he would have to acquire Pym particles from the newly built Avengers headquarters. Scott (being the master thief that he was) decided to take on the heist with the misconception that it was abandoned.
Unbeknownst to him, Hank and Hope the building was anything but abandoned.
This led to the appearance of Falcon himself who was able to detect him even in his miniature form.
This led to a very entertaining battle between the two which led to Scott being able to get the best of him and retrieve the Pym particles needed.
This was something Sam didn’t want people to ever know. But they did.
CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR (2016)
We saw a divided front between The Avengers as the government wants to register and superheroes under the Sokovia Accords (NOTE: In the Marvel Comic Universe it is known as the Superhero Registration Act).
This led to a contrast between two political philosophies and perspectives led by both Steve Rogers and Tony Stark.
Stark advocated that they sign the accords while Steve questioned its moral and ethical implications.
This led to a split between Earth’s mightiest heroes with Sam aligning himself with Rogers.
Consequently, their decision led to them (along with Ant-Man, Hawkeye, Wanda Maximoff) becoming U.S. Fugitives for going against the accords.
During the division Bucky was suspected of assassinating King T’Chaka which led to his son T’Challa taking the throne prematurely.
The results led to Sam sacrificing himself in a battle against their rivaling teammates to allow them to find the true culprit behind the assassination which turned out to be Baron Zemo.
Baron not only causes a divide to the Avengers he also revealed that Bucky (under the influence of Hydra) assassinated Tony’s parents.
This led to a climactic battle that left Tony defeated at the hands of Cap and Bucky.
Meanwhile, T’Challa stopped Zemo who tried to remove himself from taking accountability.
At the end Steve, Sam and the others were still fugitive who are on the run from the government, and they continued to do so for two years leading into the biggest challenge of their lives.
AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR (April 27, 2018):
Two years after Sam, Steve Rogers, Black Widow, and Wanda Maximoff became U.S. Fugitives for going against the Sokovia Accords, the team decides to come back and help Secretary of Defense “Thunderbolt” Ross to stop the threat of Thanos and the Black Order while risking being court martial.
They reunite with James Rhodes who gives them the intel on Thanos’s plan to retrieve the soul stone that Vision owns.
The group heads to Wakanda where they hope to be protected from Thanos and destroy the Soul Stone without killing Vision.
Unfortunately, the plan failed as Thanos’s forces were overwhelming the united forces of the Avenger and T’Challla’s Wakanda army thanks mostly to the Mad Titan who recovered all but one Infinity Stone making him practically a god.
The battle led Thanos to destroy everyone on his path to acquire the Soul Gem from Vision.
In one snap of a finger half of the Avengers including Sam (along with the Guardians of the Galaxy), Doctor Strange, and half of the universe disappeared from existence.
It was the first and only film in the 11-year story of the Infinity Saga where the villain won at the end.
AVENGERS: ENDGAME (April 26, 2019):
5 years later after Thanos snapped half of the universe into oblivion, Steve (Captain America), Tony (Iron-Man), Natasha (Black Widow), Rocket Racoon, Captain Marvel, Okoye, Nebula, Bruce (Hulk), Clint (Hawkeye), and Thor were alive to preserve what is left of Earth and the Universe.
Any hope of reviving their friends, family, and the other half of the universe was diminished when they discovered Thanos destroyed the gems to ensure that no one would reverse the effects of his destruction. Even at the risk of damaging the left side of his body.
This led to Thor taking Thanos’s advice to go for the head killing the Mad Titan out of frustration and revenge.
Thankfully the team had another plan thanks to Scott Lang who was last seen stuck in the QUANTUMVERSE and was finally free (this of course was after a rat clicked on the button of the portal that was in the van he, Hank, and Janet used to travel to that dimension).
Scott produced an idea for the team to time travel (or a “time heist”) to retrieve the stones needed to bring everyone back.
Through a few time trials and errors, the team succeeded without Thanos (from another timeline) and the Black Order trying to stop them and take the Infinity stones from the Avengers.
During an epic encounter, Steve Rogers fought hard in a one-on-one battle against Thanos (while using both his vibranium shield and Thor’s hammer “Mjölnir”), which still resulted in him being overwhelmed by the might of the Mad Titan.
When all seemed lost Steve heard a familiar voice on his communicator followed by even more familiar words.
“Cap, it’s Sam. Can you hear me? ON YOUR LEFT.”
Steve turns around to see what Deadpool would describe as Doctor Strange’s “Marvel Sparkle Circle.” (NOTE: It’s an inter-dimensional portal) where Sam aka Falcon and every hero along with hundreds of warriors come to the aid of the Avengers to defeat Thanos and the Black Order for the last time.
With the Avengers defeating Thanos thanks to the sacrifice of Tony Stark who snapped Thanos and his forces into nothingness which also took his own life in the process, the world was brought back into its natural order.
With Tony and Natasha (who sacrificed herself so Clint could retrieve the Soul gem) now gone, and no major threat appearing, a new era has begun. One that will bring in new heroes while others will achieve another level of heroism.
One of which was Sam who was given the Shield by an elderly Steve Rogers after he time traveled back in time to return the Infinity Stones to their right timeline.
Steve and Bucky planned for Sam to take over as the new Captain America while Steve decided to retire (and spend his life with Peggy Carter). They realized that Sam was more than capable of taking the Shield (despite not realizing the magnitude of “someone like Sam” carrying the “Stars and Stripes”). Will Sam do the honor of becoming the new “Star Spangled Avenger” for the new era?
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