Captain America's Avengers: Endgame Ending Looks Even Better Now

Despite Steve Rogers’ Captain America being entirely absent from the MCU’s Multiverse Saga, this new phase has vastly improved his ending in Avengers: Endgame in retrospect. Steve Rogers’ MCU arc was a huge part of what makes the Infinity Saga so acclaimed, culminating perfectly with his retirement at the end of Avengers: Endgame. After being tasked with returning the Infinity Stones to their rightful places in the timeline, Steve Rogers resolved to return to the 1940s and spend his life with Peggy Carter, returning to the spot where he was sent back to bequeath his shield to Sam Wilson.

Since then, Sam Wilson’s MCU arc has seen him struggle to accept the Captain America mantle. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier delved into this struggle, with Sam’s reticence leading to the wrong Captain America successor, John Walker. Sam would eventually come to terms with Steve’s decision, embracing his new role in time for Captain America: Brave New World. While Sam’s adoption of the Captain America mantle has also stoked a measure of controversy in the real world, it was here that Steve Rogers’ decision was fully vindicated.

Captain America: Brave New World Further Proves Steve Rogers Was Right In Avengers: Endgame

Sam Wilson Definitively Proves He Is The Right Captain America

While Captain America: Brave New World received mixed reviews, Sam Wilson wasn’t the target of viewers’ ire. His mastery of the shield and his Wakandan-made wings facilitated some of the best action sequences of the MCU, showing him to be capable of some incredible athletic feats despite his lack of super soldier serum. His decision to refrain from taking any version of the serum was one of the movie’s primary motifs, highlighted by his final confrontation with Thunderbolt Ross’s Red Hulk. It was in this fight that Sam Wilson proved once and for all that Steve Rogers’ decision was unᴀssailable.

This would be exactly how Steve Rogers would have tackled the fight, despite him being empowered by the super soldier serum, confirming that Sam was the worthiest successor.

Steve Rogers’ decision to bequeath Sam Wilson with the Captain America mantle was rooted in his moral code. Most starkly demonstrated in Captain America: Civil War, Sam Wilson shares all the traits with Steve Rogers that truly define the Captain America mantle. His final bout with Red Hulk at the end of Captain America: Brave New World proved that might and strategy were woefully insufficient, causing Sam to deploy his true superpower: empathy. This would be exactly how Steve Rogers would have tackled the fight, despite him being empowered by the super soldier serum, confirming that Sam was the worthiest successor.

Sam Wilson Was Always The Right Choice For The New Captain America

Sam Wilson’s Moral Code Mirrors Steve Rogers

Steve Rogers repeatedly proved that the moniker was more than the nation after which it is named, rallying against authority wherever he deemed the ideals of America to be undermined. Throughout his MCU appearances, Sam Wilson has proved capable of the same, even treating President Ross’s instruction to form a new team of Avengers with trepidation over a feared clash in approaches to any given situation. Ultimately, the “right thing to do” is at the forefront of both Sam and Steve’s minds, regardless of its legality.

Sam Wilson is additionally devoid of the ego that proved John Walker to be so unfit for the role of Captain America. It was only when faced with the sheer destructive force of Red Hulk that Sam Wilson ultimately resolved to reform the Avengers, deeming them once more necessary for the greater good instead of being motivated by his own need to carry the torch. He has additionally proved to be capable of leading the team, as shown by his touching relationship with Joaquin Torres’ Falcon. Now, this leadership is finally primed to be highlighted in Avengers: Doomsday.

What’s Sam Wilson’s Captain America Future?

Sam Wilson Will Return In Avengers: Doomsday

Anthony Mackie was among the many names confirmed to be starring in Avengers: Doomsday. This is hardly surprising, given he was last seen discussing the formation of the тιтular team with Falcon at the end of Captain America: Brave New World. The Thunderbolts* post-credits scene doubled down on this eventuality as the New Avengers discussed Sam Wilson litigating against their use of the Avengers name, suggesting that his team had been formed around the same time.

The Avengers: Doomsday release date was recently delayed from May 1 to December 18, 2026.

A prevailing ᴀssumption is that Sam Wilson should also reappear in Avengers: Secret Wars. Nevertheless, short of any story details, it’s no safe bet that Sam, nor any Avenger, for that matter, will survive the events of Avengers: Doomsday. Should he meet his end as Doctor Doom forges his way to creating Battleworld in Avengers: Secret Wars, it is additionally unclear whether the Captain America mantle will survive, short of an entirely new character taking the mantle on in the MCU’s next saga.