One of my favorite sketches from biracial comedy duo Key & Peele is entitled “Power Falcons”. In it, the five brightly colored kids-show heroes are strategizing their approach to defeating their antagonist, a Godzilla-like monster, when a member of the unit registers a complaint. Jordan Peele’s hero is dressed in green, piloting a green-colored fighter plane, and logically insists that he be addressed as Green Falcon. But the rest of them keep calling him Black Falcon because, well, he’s black.
The “Power Falcons” sketch aired about a decade ago, and it might’ve been long forgotten, dissolved into the pop culture ether, had it not been for a major plot turn in the Marvel Cinematic Universe that happened around that same time.
In the 2014 film Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Anthony Mackie is introduced as Sam Wilson, a.k.a. The Falcon, a sidekick buddy to Chris Evans’ lead role as Captain America. Five years later in 2019’s Avengers: Endgame, Evans’ character Steve Rogers hands the mythic shield to Wilson. Wilson’s transition into becoming the new Captain America was the subject of the 2021 Disney+ miniseries Falcon and the Winter Soldier, where Mackie’s Wilson teams up with Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes, the aforementioned Winter Soldier.
And wouldn’t you know it — one of the running jokes in that series is that, despite having earned the title of Captain America, people keep calling Sam Wilson “Black Falcon.”
(Coincidence? I think not.)
This is all necessary subtext for the most recent Marvel Studios tentpole film, Captain America: Brave New World. Though he’s been part of the MCU for a decade, it’s Mackie’s first feature film in a lead role. And unlike the Black Panther from the fictional African nation of Wakanda, Wilson’s Cap is supposed to be a hero for everybody. His blackness informs the character without defining it altogether; in Mackie’s capable hands, Sam Wilson is a believable, likable, and compelling figure. As one supporting character put it: “Steve gave the people something to believe in; you give them something to aspire to.”
As such, Brave New World is a very good movie. It falls short of the standard of greatness set by The Winter Soldier (widely regarded as one of the best Marvel films ever), but it gets close. The banter is not quite as sharp and the action sequences aren’t quite as mesmerizing, but the overall whole is still greater than the sum of its parts. This time around, Wilson has his own sidekick in Joaquin Torres (Danny Ramirez) who serves as the new Falcon. Together they investigate a conspiracy involving the U.S. President (Harrison Ford) and his attempt to pass a peace treaty. The film also features Shira Haas as presidential security advisor Ruth Bat-Seraph, the incomparable Giancarlo Esposito as the enigmatic hitman Sidewinder, Tim Blake Nelson as the scientist Samuel Sterns (who last appeared way back in 2008’s The Incredible Hulk), and veteran actor Carl Lumbly as Isaiah Bradley, a forgotten former hero who first appeared in Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
From a plot standpoint, Brave New World suffers under the weight of its inevitable comparisons, not only to The Winter Soldier and other Marvel films but also to other conspiracy thrillers involving the U.S. presidency like All the President’s Men and The Manchurian Candidate. Various plot points are fairly easy to predict, and the emergence of a new antagonist in the third act is somewhat telegraphed, not only by early plot cues but by promotional trailers and posters. Also, it felt wrong for an actor of Esposito’s caliber to be given so little to do, but I’m sure he’ll return at some point. This is part of what makes creating a Marvel film so difficult; it must stand well on its own but also refer to and hint toward larger story elements in other Marvel movies. Thus, alongside director Julius Onah and writers Malcolm Spellman, Dalan Musson, and Rob Edwards, credit also goes to MCU head Kevin Feige, who helped steer the film through various script rewrites and reshoots. The end result is neither bloated nor rushed; its story beats are meaningful without being hokey. There’s enough spectacle to keep the kids entertained and enough gravitas to keep the adults engrossed.
Brave New World works primarily because of the tension between Wilson and his two elders, the aforementioned Bradley and Ford’s president Thaddeus Ross. (Mild spoilers ahead.) The inciting incident takes place after Ross invites Wilson to come to the White House, and Wilson insists on bringing Bradley with him. Both men are mentors for Wilson, yet they both also make choices that create tension between all three of them. Bradley is reluctant to go back to the White House, because of his decades spent locked up from a government experiment gone awry. But he goes anyway. Meanwhile, Ross attempts to recruit Wilson to help restart the Avengers project, a risky gambit considering his contempt for the previous iteration of The Avengers.
All of this weighs on Wilson as he carries the mantle of a role model, not only for the millions who revere him as a symbol of freedom and justice but for Torres, the young Falcon under his wing. Caught between dual allegiances, Wilson’s dilemma is emblematic of the broader tension he feels between his loyalty to the American government—and the ideals it supposedly stands for —and to a Black community that’s been historically traumatized by that same government. It’s a continuation of the idea of “double consciousness,” described by Ralph Ellison in his 1952 novel The Invisible Man, which itself was an echo of W.E.B. Du Bois’ The Souls of Black Folk in 1903. In the MCU, that mistreatment is represented by Isaiah Bradley, whose fictional botched experimentation with the superhero serum recalls the real-life Tuskegee experiments. Carl Lumbly plays Bradley with the stoic dignity of a man denied justice for far too long.
However, special recognition also goes to Harrison Ford as President Ross. His portrayal contains layers. You can see the ornery streak of rancher Jacob Dutton in the Yellowstone prequel 1923, as well as the gentleness and relatable affability of his therapist character in the AppleTV+ series Shrinking. Ford plays Ross as a man with the best intentions, but whose past misdeeds have created habitual shortcuts that slant his judgment toward political expediency, moral relativity, and eventually, abject cruelty. Ross’ attempts at brokering peace can be interpreted as a repudiation of his previous hawkish foreign policy. Nevertheless, they are compromised by his commitment to win at all costs.
And this is a lesson that followers of Jesus can learn from the film. Captain America: Brave New World may not be a direct allegory to our current presidency, but its title is a commentary on our American political moment. Whether it’s Peter lashing out in Matthew 26, or Sarai and Abram using Hagar as a surrogate in Genesis 16, the Bible shows us over and over that the ends do not justify the means. Doing the wrong thing for the right reason is still the wrong thing. On the contrary, being brave in this new era requires us not only to admit when we’ve been wrong but to proceed carefully even when we’re convinced that we’re right. As Abraham Lincoln famously said, our chief concern should not be making sure that God is on our side, but that we are on God’s. And if we’re unsure which is which, we should gravitate toward leaders who show the fruit of the Spirit as identified in Galatians 5, leaders who are good, joyful, patient, gentle, faithful, and who show self-control.
So be like Sam Wilson. Don’t be afraid of being the most authentic version of who God created you to be. And while you’re at it, don’t be afraid of a few overly critical reviews. The latest Captain America movie is a good time; it also happens to have come at the right time.
Because we all need a reminder that you don’t need a super serum or mechanical wings to be brave.
