Marvel's Continuing Examination of Race from Black Panther to The Falcon
SPOILER ALERT FOR EPISODES 1-2 OF FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER!!!
Only two episodes into the six-episode miniseries Falcon and the Winter Soldier, the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is continuing its exploration of race. Marvel’s commentary on racism begins with Black Panther. By presenting Wakanda, Marvel asks what Africa could have been had Europeans not colonized it. This brings into question how a nation like Wakanda could have existed and let colonization continue. At root, this is a contemplation of isolationism vs. military interventionism. A cursory analysis of widespread military intervention reveal that Kilmonger’s plan of military world domination was doomed. However, the story has a subtext that is much more personal for Black people. By juxtaposing the revolutionary Kilmonger against the more moderate T’Challa, we see the dramatization of an argument that has rippled through Black politics since the first African nation was colonized. Is the answer to oppression a similar military response, or is it attempting to integrate and lead by the demonstration of love?
Kilmonger had legitimate grievances against a world order that colonized a whole continent and enslaved Africans, but his hatred resulted in him turning into the thing he despised. On the other hand, T’Challa rejected the isolationism of his forefathers and Kilmonger’s militance. Instead, he sought a middle ground of peaceful integration.
In the personage of Sam Wilson, The Falcon is exploring what “peaceful integration” might mean for someone who isn’t a king ruling safely in his own powerful nation. Racism simply cannot bind King T’Challa the way it does Sam. The show finds Sam Wilson contemplating his role as the handpicked successor of Captain America. When Steve Rogers (The original Captain America) hands Sam his shield, Sam says it feels like it belongs to someone else. Early in episode one he decides to give Captain America’s shield back to the military. Some may take this as a naivete on Sam’s part, but it can actually be read as reticence to take up the “Star Spangled Man” mantle as a Black man. The issue seems to be whether Sam is ready to represent America as a Black man, but it is just as much about whether America ready to have a Black man as its representative. Some may point to President Obama as an answer, but given that his two terms as president were answered with the most racially divisive president in perhaps the past 50 years, the issue is still relevant.
Reality aside, the issue is not settled in the MCU either. In episode one, Sam tries to save his family’s financial prospects by getting a loan from a bank. He notes that most of the Avengers get by on good will, because there is no pay in being a superhero. The bank teller turns him down for the loan. As observers we are left to mull the possibility that if it were Steve Rogers the bank teller would have found some way to approve the loan. It appears there are limits to goodwill for superheroes…if you are Black. In episode two Bucky Barnes aka The Winter Soldier takes Sam to see an old man. It turns out this old man is Isaiah Bradley, a Black man who was given the Super Soldier Serum and served as a version of Captain America in the Korean War. Unlike Steve Rogers “Black Cap” was not celebrated for his efforts, he was locked up for 30 years and never spoken of again. Even Steve Rogers didn’t know about Isaiah Bradley. Once again, we are left to consider the diverging plights of two similarly talented men whose only real difference is skin color.
Both the Black Panther movie and the Falcon series expose a through line of racial unrest that exists just below the surface of the MCU. Black Panther dealt with race in the context of colonialism and white supremacy. The Falcon puts racism under as much of a microscope as we can expect within the limits of the MCU. With the first two episodes, Marvel has set up an interesting foundation based on the question of whether Sam will take up the mantle of Captain America.
As a White man, Steve was free to believe in the dreams and ideals of America fully. He didn’t contemplate racism in any serious way. As a Black man, Sam can’t help but understand that the dreams and ideals of America are rarely, if ever met by reality. For Steve, being Captain America was an enhancement of his true self. For Sam it’s a leap of faith. Some may watch the show and think that Sam is struggling with his own worthiness to take up the mantle. But the real question is whether America is worthy of Sam’s dedication.
Kilmonger reviewed White hegemony and wanted to overthrow it with Black hegemony. T’Challa proposed to partner with countries like America and teach them the power of diversity and inclusion. Sam must reconcile the dreams of freedom and equality, with the legacy of racism and segregation. It is fitting that Sam must now contend with the erasure of the first Black Captain America. He would not have been fit to carry the shield, if he didn’t fully understand what it meant for him as a Black person. If Sam does finally become Captain America, he and the shield will serve as a sobering symbol of dualism. The shield represents America’s enduring might. Sam will represent America’s dogged attempt at reconciling its terrible racial history with freedom and equality. As Captain America, Steve Rogers defended the American Dream. Sam will defend the American Experiment.