Falcon Becoming Captain America In The Comics Was Very Different Than F&WS

The finale of Marvel's Falcon & The Winter Soldier saw Falcon officially becoming the next Captain America, though it was pretty different in the comics for a few reasons. For the most part, Sam Wilson was chosen to be the next Captain America in both universes for the same reason: His strong friendship with Steve Rogers and his consistent career as a genuine hero more than earned him the right to wield the shield in Rogers' mind. However, the circumstances surrounding the transition into this new role were respectively different, and there's an interesting distinction between the first impressions that were had, considering how both versions of Sam Wilson had very different audiences.

In the MCU, Sam Wilson had been struggling with taking on the shield, and he initially gave it up at the beginning of Falcon and the Winter Soldier. However, Sam determined over time to take the shield back in spite of its complicated legacy and what others might think. In this way, Sam's official debut as Captain America came at a point when Steve Rogers was already gone, and it was very public. The first time he was seen using the shield and wearing the stars and stripes came with him taking down the Flag-Smashers in New York, which was immediately followed by his touching down to crowds of reporters with flurries of questions. Furthermore, his challenge to the GRC representative to be better and his words speaking to the complexity of taking on his new identity essentially became a televised speech for all the world to see.

All in all, it makes sense for Sam's MCU debut as Captain America to go with this very public debut, as the MCU has always striven to carry grounded depictions and this series in particular spoke to some heavy real-world parallels. While that's not necessarily bad, it is quite different from how Falcon became Captain America in the comics in Captain America #25 from writer Rick Remender with artists Carlos Pacheco and Stuart Immonen. During that time in the Marvel Universe, Steve Rogers was still around, though he had lost the Super-Soldier Serum effects and had rapidly aged. As a result, Falcon was chosen by Steve to wield the shield in his stead. However, Sam's debut was within the walls of Avengers Mansion, and the audience seeing him as the new Captain America for the first time was simply the Avengers themselves: all friends and allies that had been gathered by Rogers to witness the momentous event, and no speech was given by Sam.

For the comics version of Sam Wilson, the perceptions of the greater public would come later, so it's interesting that Marvel Studios has decided to flip how it all went down in the comics. The MCU Falcon's debut as Cap was to the public first. With the exception of Bucky Barnes, it seems as though the rest of the Avengers got to know right along with the rest of the world.

Seeing Sam Wilson publicly defend his choice to become Captain America in light of the inevitable racially charged critiques and negativity is certainly a dynamic way to go for the MCU. However, there's something to be said for having that first impression in the comics just being with Sam's fellow heroes, friends, and allies he's fought alongside, creating a much more positive foundation the MCU Sam Wilson could have found confidence in before debuting his new role to the rest of the world and its complexities. In any case, it's going to be really interesting to see what the new Captain America does next in the MCU now that Falcon & The Winter Soldier has come to an end.