Sam Wilson’s Captain America Can’t Escape Steve Rogers’ Shadow

Sam Wilson may be the new Captain America, so why does Marvel keep giving him the leftovers of Steve Rogers’ stories?

Warning: SPOILERS for Captain America: Symbol of Truth #7

In current Marvel continuity, there are two people with the name Captain America – but Marvel only seems interested in telling the story of one over the other. Sam Wilson shares the mantle with Steve Rogers, but recently the pair have separated into their own individual series. Captain America: Symbol of Truth #7 showcases the problem of forcing Wilson into the Captain America role without giving him his own villains – or supporting characters.

While Steve Rogers investigates a worldwide conspiracy theory in his own book, Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty, Sam Wilson has just finished his own adventure in Wakanda. The White Wolf, the Black Panther’s white adopted brother, wishes to destabilize Wakanda – and while his efforts ended in failure, Sam Wilson has unwittingly nearly dragged Wakanda into war with the US thanks to a misunderstanding. In his new storyline, Wilson is tasked with protecting the newly-elected Prime Minster of Mohanda – but this ends in tragedy when the Prime Minster is assassinated and Joaquin, the new Falcon, is severely injured.

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In Captain America: Symbol of Truth #7, written by Tochi Onyebuchi with art by IG Guara, Sam Wilson is introduced to a new ally: Nomad, better known as Ian, a creation of Armin Zola and Captain America’s adopted son. More specifically, he’s Steve Rogers’ adopted son and has very little to do with Sam from a narrative standpoint. Although Nomad has considerable skills in combat and is now a substitute for the out-of-commission Falcon, he’s still a relic of Steve Rogers’ old story, not Sam’s.

Sam Wilson Is Weighed Down By Steve Rogers’ Legacy

Sam Wilson does have his own set of supporting characters and supervillains, but unfortunately they’re characterized by Steve’s own roster. For example, Sam has a Falcon because Steve also had a Falcon, and now Sam Wilson is stuck with Nomad. Unfortunately, whenever Sam Wilson goes at it alone, he’s often saddled with Wakanda-based stories, if for no other reason than Sam is black and writers assume he would fit into a Wakanda narrative; in reality, Sam is an American and ought to spend more time with domestic affairs rather than foreign-based stories.

The globe-trotting adventures suit Captain America well, but Sam has one advantage over Steve: he was not frozen in time and has seen all the good and bad things America has to offer. It should be Sam who deals with threats on American shores and Steve who tackles foreign policy, not the other way around. The new Captain America must spend more time in his home country, but alas, Marvel sees fit to tack on Steve Rogers’ stories to Sam Wilson, to both men’s detriment.

Next: Sam Wilson’s Military Status Makes Him A Peculiar Captain America