Sam Wilson has a long history at Marvel. One of the best miniseries I ever read was The Falcon miniseries from the early 1980s, where Sam (who at the time was established to be a mutant, now retconned away) battled Electro and a Sentinel(!). Trust me, you haven’t lived until you’ve seen The Falcon and Redwing battle a titanic Sentinel. Those four issues expanded Sam’s character and overflowed with action.
Sam Wilson: Captain America #1, written by Greg Pak and Evan Narcisse with art by Eder Messias, Valentine De Landro and Fer Sifuentes-Sujo, feels much the same, kicking off with Sam (in full Captain America gear) doing battle in Harlem with a host of vampires left over from the Blood Hunt event. It shows why Sam’s the perfect choice to carry on the Captain America name, as he uses a devastating combo of flight, his prowess with his shield and his ability to communicate with birds to render quick work of the horde.
You know Steve Rogers? That other guy with the shield? He makes an appearance here as well and it’s fun watching he and Sam fight back-to-back again.
I love the camaraderie here between Sam and Steve. They have one of the longest friendships in the Marvel Universe and it’s always great seeing them hang out together. And hang out they do, as they attend a cookout in celebration of Isaiah Bradley ‘s birthday. Isaiah was the first person the super-soldier formula was tested on and was treated horrendously by the pre-Civil Rights era government, which during World War II loved sending Black people into combat. But once those Black soldiers returned, they were segregated and treated as wretchedly as ever.
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There are a lot of legendary Black heroes at the cookout – including Storm, Misty Knight, War Machine, and Photon – and it really shows how far they’ve come since the mid 20th Century. Seeing all of these heroes congregate around Isaiah to wish him a happy birthday was pretty damn touching, especially with his grandson Eli (aka Patriot) there beside him.
There’s a great contrast between the three generations of heroes (Sam, Eli and Isaiah), each representing the optimism and ideology of Captain America and fighting for what’s right, even though the country has always been rife with injustice.
Sam’s cousin Billie also attends the cookout, and she is so funny! She alternates between being starstruck over the legion of heroes around her and pestering Sam to check into a new charitable venture. She’s my favorite supporting character in the book and I have a feeling that she’ll be transformed into a superhero herself one day. She’s too great of a character to just live on the sidelines.
Artists Eder Messias and Valentine De Landro’s work is dynamic, with the characters always appearing to be in motion. It’s like watching a film where the camera swoops and swings around the characters, making the world feel like things are always coming at you fast. Fer Sifuentes-Sujo’s colors add vibrancy to all the panels, especially in the opening fight scene.
Dennis Harmon, “the richest man in the Southwest”, is introduced here. He’s like Lex Luthor, but younger and smarmier with some interesting allies and a love of Wakandan technology. He and his band of goons will be a great nemesis for Sam throughout the miniseries, because Dennis represents the opposite of everything Sam holds dear. It’ll be interesting seeing how Sam fares against all the Wakandan gizmos Dennis will be throwing at him. If the action stays as furious and kinetic as this issue’s intro, we’re in for a fantastic ride.
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