It's been a long time coming, but Sam Wilson is finally taking the lead role in a Marvel movie — as Captain America. If you need a refresher on the Star Spangled Man's history before seeing "Captain America: Brave New World," our recap stretches from the 1940s to the present day.
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00:00It's been a long time coming, but Sam Wilson has finally taken the lead role in a Marvel movie,
00:04as Captain America. If you need a refresher on the star-spangled man's history before seeing
00:09Captain America Brave New World, our recap stretches from the 1940s to the present day.
00:13You want me? Come and get me!
00:17The legacy of Captain America dates back to World War II, when the U.S. Army took a bold
00:21step in their efforts to defeat the Nazis and their research division, HYDRA. Using a serum
00:25created by Dr. Abraham Erskine and technology designed by Howard Stark, the top-secret agency
00:30known as the Strategic Scientific Reserve, or SSR, developed Project Rebirth with the aim of
00:36creating the perfect soldier. After some deliberation, they selected a scrawny yet brave
00:40young man named Steve Rogers to become their Captain America. After successfully undergoing
00:44the super-soldier procedure, Rogers led an elite unit known as the Howling Commandos on missions
00:49to sabotage HYDRA and their leader Red Skull. Unfortunately, he was unable to save his best
00:53friend Bucky Barnes when he seemingly fell to his death during one of them.
00:56After locating the enemy's base, he managed to board HYDRA leader Red Skull's bomber and defeat
01:01him, turning the tide of the war in favor of the Allies. He wasn't able to escape before the ship
01:05crashed into the Arctic Ocean. For a long time, it was believed that Captain America had been
01:09killed in action. No one else took up the mantle in that time. Nearly 70 years later, Steve was
01:14discovered in the wreckage of the plane, defrosted, and approached by Nick Fury with an offer to join
01:18the Avengers. After teaming up with some of Earth's other mightiest heroes to defeat the
01:22trickster god Loki, he found himself employed by S.H.I.E.L.D., the present-day version of the S.S.R.
01:27It was during his time here that Rogers met a man who would go on to become one of his greatest
01:30friends and allies, former Air Force pararescueman Sam Wilson. During his time as an airman, Sam,
01:36callsign Falcon, used an experimental wingsuit device to carry out missions in Afghanistan.
01:41After losing his wingman Riley in the line of duty, he resigned from combat and took a job
01:45at the VA helping veterans overcome their PTSD in Washington, D.C. One morning, Sam was out for a
01:50jog when he found himself being repeatedly passed by an American hero.
01:55Don't say it. Don't you say it.
01:56I left.
01:57Come on!
02:01Bonding over their shared military experiences, the two quickly established a rapport.
02:05And when Steve and Natasha Romanoff realized that HYDRA had infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D.,
02:09it was Sam that they came to for help. He happily agreed to help out the heroes,
02:12putting on the wingsuit once again. Together, they took on the Winter Soldier, who, of course,
02:17ended up being a brainwashed Bucky. They managed to stop him, but not before Bucky
02:20tore one of his wings off. When Rogers woke up in the hospital following his battle with HYDRA
02:25forces, Sam was the first person he saw. With the evil organization in disarray,
02:29they turned their attention toward finding Bucky and set him on the path of redemption.
02:32It wasn't long before Rogers was called to help the Avengers, though,
02:35leaving Sam to locate the Winter Soldier solo.
02:38After the Avengers successfully captured HYDRA leader Baron Strucker, obtained the Mind Stone,
02:42and freed Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch, they held a party in their tower to celebrate.
02:46Sam managed to secure a spot on the guest list, giving him the chance to rub elbows
02:50with Tony Stark and the rest of the team. At this point, he wasn't totally sold on
02:54the idea of becoming an Avenger himself.
02:57"'Avenging' is your world. Your world is crazy."
03:02That all changed when Ultron nearly triggered a global extinction event during the Battle of
03:06Sokovia. With a new set of wings and an eager attitude, Falcon joined the Avengers alongside
03:10War Machine, Vision, and Scarlet Witch. Sam went on to play an important role in the Avengers.
03:15When Thaddeus Ross' Sokovia Accord split the team in two,
03:18Sam stayed loyal to Cap even though it earned him an honorable discharge from the armed forces.
03:22With Steve Rogers' help, he confronted Bucky in Bucharest and tried to protect him after he was
03:27framed for the assassination of King T'Chaka. Sam ended up being put behind bars for doing so,
03:32but that's nothing a good old-fashioned prison break can't fix.
03:35When Thanos sent his army to retrieve Earth's Infinity Stones, everything changed. Despite
03:40the best efforts of the Avengers and the Wakandan army, the Mad Titan was able to
03:43erase half of all life from existence with a snap of his fingers. Sadly, Sam was one of the
03:48unlucky 50 percent. But five years later, the remaining Avengers were able to recover the
03:52stones and blip back their allies just in time to defeat Thanos in the rematch.
03:57Following the Battle of Earth, Steve felt that he had earned his retirement. After returning
04:01the stones to their original places, he decided to return to the 40s and grow old with his love,
04:05Peggy Carter. At Stark's funeral, an elderly Rogers met Sam on a bench, bestowing the famous
04:11vibranium shield upon him, as well as the title of Captain America.
04:15I'll do my best.
04:22This wire is yours.
04:23Unfortunately, there were a few growing pains before Sam could truly embody the role.
04:28Six months after being given the shield, Sam decided to donate it to the U.S. government.
04:31But instead of putting it in the Smithsonian like he thought they would, the Department of Defense
04:35gave it to soldier John Walker and declared him the new Captain America instead. Sam and
04:40the recently deprogrammed Bucky were both shocked at the announcement, which was made in response to
04:44the rise of a group of super-soldier terrorists called the Flag Smashers. It wasn't long before
04:49Walker proved to the world that he wasn't worthy. After he beat a Flag Smasher to death in front of
04:53a filming crowd, Sam and Bucky demanded that he give up the shield. When he refused, the pair
04:58fought him for it. And even though the Falcon suit became damaged in the struggle once again,
05:02Sam still managed to break Walker's arm and take it. Thankfully, Sam didn't have to stay
05:06grounded for long, as he received a new and improved outfit from his allies in Wakanda.
05:10Decked out in red, white, and blue, he managed to stop a Flag Smasher attack on a political
05:15conference, showing the world that he always was the true heir to the Captain America mantle.
05:20That's where Sam Wilson's story picks up in Captain America Brave New World,
05:23but the government conspiracy at the heart of the movie goes far beyond its title character.
05:27Another important player is Isaiah Bradley, whose attempt to assassinate the president
05:31of the United States escalates into massive conflict. During the MCU's version of the
05:35Korean War, the U.S. government injected Black men with experimental versions of the
05:39super-soldier serum without their knowledge or consent. Bradley's was the only successful test,
05:44giving him abilities similar to Steve Rogers'. After Bradley failed his assignment to kill the
05:48Winter Soldier behind enemy lines, the government worried that public knowledge of a Black super
05:53soldier would cause unrest in a largely segregated America. They locked their problem away,
05:57imprisoning Bradley for decades and further experimenting on him until a nurse helped him
06:01escape in the 80s. When Sam met Isaiah, the forgotten super soldier had already been living
06:06as a free man in Baltimore for decades. But naturally, his past had left him bitter and
06:10mistrusting of America and its symbols.
06:12They will never let a Black man be Captain America.
06:19Bradley seemed to change his tune after Sam stopped the Flag Smashers,
06:22and was finally recognized by his country with his own statue in the Smithsonian's
06:26Captain America exhibit. Brave New World features Bradley at the White House,
06:30but his visit ends with a bang when something compels him to take a shot at President Ross.
06:34It's been a long road to the White House for Thaddeus Thunderbolt Ross. After returning
06:39home from the war in Vietnam, he made his way up the military ladder until he achieved the
06:42rank of three-star general. Following the September 11th terrorist attacks,
06:46Ross was put in charge of recreating Project Rebirth and making more super soldiers.
06:51That plan went horribly wrong, but things turned around after Tony Stark approached
06:54him with an unusual proposal.
06:57What if I told you we were putting a team together?
07:00Who's we?
07:05After suffering a heart attack, Ross retired from military duty and turned his attention
07:09to the world of politics. It wasn't long before he was serving as the Secretary of State under
07:13President Matthew Ellis. After the Avengers' battle with Ultron in Sokovia and a botched
07:18operation in Lagos, the United Nations sought to limit their reach, and naturally, Ross was
07:23massively in favor. He presented the Avengers with the Sokovia Accords, which Steve and Sam
07:27opposed despite Tony Stark's support. Ross sought to arrest Captain America and Falcon even after
07:32Thanos launched his invasion, but failed to do so before turning into dust post-snap.
07:38Ross may have been away for five years, but he still managed to secure the presidency
07:42soon after the blip. By the time Captain America, Brave New World rolls around,
07:46Ross is the Commander-in-Chief, and although he still has a bone to pick with Sam, he's open to
07:50the idea of putting the former Falcon on the government payroll. He's also played by Harrison
07:54Ford rather than William Hurt, the latter of whom died in 2022. President Ross has more than just
08:00political power in Brave New World. Despite his history of attempting to limit superhuman
08:04influence, Ross hulks out during his speech to the press.
08:10Since when were they red?
08:13That's a good question. And while we don't know all the details of his transformation,
08:17Ross has a history of messing with gamma rays and serums. Back when he was attempting to
08:21revitalize the super-soldier program, the General enlisted the help of his daughter's
08:25scientist boyfriend, Bruce Banner, telling him that he was trying to make troops resistant to
08:29radiation. Unfortunately for Ross, things went sideways after Banner performed a test on himself
08:34and accidentally became the Incredible Hulk. After Banner went on the run, Ross became consumed by
08:39the need to take him into custody. He tracked him across continents and gave the super serum
08:43to another subject, Emil Blonsky, who eventually mutated so severely that they started calling him
08:48Abomination. When Abomination also lost control and started destroying Harlem,
08:52only Hulk could stop him. So in return, Ross allowed him to escape the city safely.
08:57Also returning in Brave New World is Dr. Samuel Stearns, who helped Banner in his search for an
09:01antidote. He performed a successful test on Banner before Blonsky stormed in and demanded Stearns
09:06inject him with Hulk blood. When Stearns was attacked by the newly mutated Abomination,
09:10he got a drop of Banner's blood and a cut on his forehead, increasing his intelligence far
09:14beyond normal human capability. Now known as the Leader, Stearns is probably pulling more
09:19than a few strings in his first MCU appearance in 17 years.
09:23Just because Sam Wilson is Captain America now, it doesn't mean that there's no longer a Falcon.
09:28Enter Lieutenant Joaquin Torres. After Sam returned in the blip, along with billions of
09:32others, he teamed up with Torres to take on terrorism worldwide. In his first on-screen
09:37appearance, Joaquin provided intelligence and ground support to Sam's stop the plane hijacking
09:41over Tunisia. He also provided his friend with important information about the Flag Smashers,
09:46and earned his wings after John Walker was stripped of the Captain America name.
09:49Even though he doesn't have superpowers, Joaquin is a skilled fighter with a knack for investigation.
09:54Sometimes, there's nothing to do until there's something to do.
09:57That's bizarrely wise.
10:00Well, I'm a bizarrely wise man, Sam.
10:02Yeah, all right.
10:03In Brave New World, Torres finally takes to the skies. With a massive conspiracy
10:07taking place, he's the only person that Captain America can actually trust. Right?
10:12It's easy to forget, but Earth-616 actually has a giant cosmic entity emerging from the
10:17Indian Ocean. In Eternals, a celestial Arishem revealed to Cersei that he had
10:21planted a special seed on Earth that was about to blossom into another celestial called Tiamat.
10:25The only issue with this happening was that it would completely destroy the planet and
10:29everyone on it. Unwilling to watch the planet they had called home for centuries be destroyed,
10:33Eternals Cersei, Macari, Fastos, Druig, and Thena decided to rebel against their creator.
10:39Cersei managed to turn Tiamat into marble and prevent Earth's destruction,
10:43but not before it managed to partially rise from the water.
10:46But what does this have to do with Captain America?
10:48It's easy to miss in the trailer, but Brave New World features plenty of action taking
10:52place around the massive hand and head of Tiamat. Considering the political nature of the movie's
10:57plot, it's likely that the land and resources on the dead celestial's corpse are being sought
11:01after by many nations. Publications like Forbes have predicted that Tiamat is actually made of
11:06adamantium, the metal that makes up Wolverine's claws. But whether or not Brave New World helps
11:11introduce the X-Men into the MCU, the stage is set for major conflict — or even all-out war.