The ‘Captain America: Brave New World’ Cameo And The Film’s Sam Wilson Problem

NOTE: This piece contains spoilers for Captain America: Brave New World.

Cameos, particularly in comic book films, are meant to be fun easter eggs for in-the-know fans. (They are the Leonard DiCaprio meme from Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood.) They aren’t necessarily meant to inspire deep thought about a main character’s journey. And yet, the cameo in Captain America: Brave New World does inspire such thoughts. Even further, it makes you debate if the film succeeded or failed in its mission to tell Sam Wilson’s first solo big-screen story.

So, about the cameo. It’s a strange one when you think about the character and their importance to Sam. If you go in completely blind, having not seen a trailer or read anything about who or what is or isn’t the film, you would probably assume they were part of the main cast. Alas, they aren’t, and when they show up, the film structures it like a delight-spurring surprise. The camera slowly tilts from Sam (Anthony Mackie) to reveal who’s standing by his side at Walter Reed Medical Center in Washington, D.C.

Bucky’s brief appearance is a nice surprise, albeit counterintuitive. We last saw him and Sam hanging out in Louisiana after stopping the Flag Smashers in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. (Yes, Sam invited Bucky to the cookout.) Given he doesn’t show up until Brave New World’s third act, Bucky was clearly busy. (During an interview with Variety last month, Stan denied appearing in the film, as is MCU custom.) So, what is the former Winter Soldier up to? It turns out he was busy on the campaign trail, as he reveals that he is running for Congress. (I imagine campaign photo ops and Avenging make for serious scheduling conflicts.)

So, Mr. Barnes is going to Washington, just in time for his next appearance in May’s Thunderbolts*.

Sam and Bucky’s reunion is one of the film’s best moments, grounded in years of bickering, friendship, fights, and Mackie and Stan’s palpable chemistry. It’s also designed to make MCU lovers whoop and cheer in their seats. (If the slow tilt doesn’t do it, Sam and Bucky hugging will.) However, that moment’s strength also highlights the film’s weaknesses, particularly regarding Sam. Bucky’s arrival demonstrates how little the film has to do with Sam as a character. It leaves him as a passive participant rather than a driving force.

Brave New World’s primary driving force is Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross (Harrison Ford, taking over for the late William Hurt), the newly-elected President of the United States. Ross starts the film by seeking Sam and Joaquin Torres’s (Danny Ramirez) help retrieving stolen adamantium, central to a multi-national treaty centered around Celestial Island. (Celestial Island is the remains of Tiamut, the Celestial buried inside Earth and nearly born during Eternals.) After that successful mission, Ross invites Sam to the White House and asks him to re-establish the Avengers. After that meeting, Isaiah Bradley (Carl Lumbly) almost assassinates Ross. Suspecting foul play, Sam goes off the grid with Joaquin to find the real culprit and clear his friend’s name.

The real culprit is Samuel Sterns (Tim Blake Nelson), a longtime enemy of Ross’s who first appeared in 2008’s The Incredible Hulk. Sam and Joaquin discover that Sterns has been plotting Ross’s humiliation and destruction for years, using Isaiah and others as patsies in his intrigue. On top of driving the plot, Ross also drives the emotional narrative, with the film showcasing his desire to change his volatile ways and hopefully reconcile with his daughter, Betty (Liv Tyler). Meanwhile, Sam uses his vibranium suit and wings, combat ability, and compassion to resolve Sterns and Ross’s years-long cold war. He often feels like a side player in the film, following the pieces Sterns laid out for him to pick up. By the time Sam and Joaquin take flight over Celestial Island, you wonder if this is Sam’s film or two backdoor sequels rolled into one.

Bucky’s appearance codifies the feeling. He visits Sam in the hospital, where Joaquin is recovering after nearly dying during the Celestial Island mission. With Bucky by his side, Sam finally voices his fears that he isn’t living up to Steve Rogers’s example. His refusal to take the super soldier serum in The Falcon and the Winter Soldieris a significant part of that fear. Bucky reminds him that Steve didn’t pick him because of his physicality but because of who he was. “You give people something to aspire to,” he says. Their conversation immediately shifts the film’s energy. Within seconds, Sam reclaims the narrative, the film focusing on his development rather than the muddled geopolitics and grudges.

Evident in that shift is how little narrative space exists for Sam’s fears of inadequacy. He fights a lot in Brave New World, with some exciting sequences showcasing his acrobatic fighting technique. He gets hurt frequently, which bears more physical consequences than it does Barnes or Rogers. Despite that fact, Sam keeps on ticking after his fights with Sidewinder (Giancarlo Esposito), his goons, and Sterns’ men, with mere bandages for his trouble. We rarely explore the physical and emotional ramifications leading Sam to question his fitness for the shield. For much of the film, he appears relatively settled as Captain America. That isn’t to say doubts can’t emerge later, especially after the trauma of Joaquin’s near-death. However, having Sam convey those doubts earlier would’ve grounded the character in a tangible character development arc, especially if the plot connections were weak.

Of course, Sam needs someone with whom to share these doubts. One could argue his vulnerability with Bucky is meant to demonstrate that and show their hard-forged closeness. It’s a lovely sentiment, but it raises questions about Sam’s circle of trust. He and Joaquin have a great rapport, and Mackie and Ramirez have great chemistry. But how deep does that rapport go if we don’t see Sam confide in him? Isaiah appears to play some role in Sam’s training, but how far does that go? Does his past with the U.S. government have any influence on Sam outside of their friendship? With Joaquin and Isaiah incapacitated, does Sam have no one else? If Sam and Bucky are as close as they seem in that scene why does Bucky only appear in a catastrophic crisis? What about a text or a phone call?

Taking it further, why wouldn’t Bucky be a key factor in Brave New World? The plot involves the government, and Bucky is either part of, or about to be part of, the government. It feels like a no-brainer to have Bucky involved, especially since he is Sam’s closest friend and confidant. Sam notes early in the film that he has someone in the White House to keep an eye on Ross. That someone is Leila Taylor (Xosha Roquemore), but why couldn’t it have been Bucky? (Side note: Roquemore deserved a richer role.) Perhaps Bucky could’ve used his political connections to aid in Sam and Joaquin’s investigations. (Let’s put a pin in that for a second, though.)

To complicate matters, what if Bucky sided with Ross and believed Isaiah was a threat? What if his experiences with mind control and allegiance to the U.S. Constitution set him and Sam at odds? Isaiah and Bucky also had a difficult past from his Winter Soldier days, touched upon in the miniseries, that could also factor into his decision-making. Perhaps that is a bridge too far. Still, whether through political intrigue or action set pieces, Bucky’s involvement could’ve given Sam more profound emotional stakes grounded in his character’s history. Even in a limited capacity, Bucky could’ve helped Sam address the existential questions undergirding his current character arc in the MCU. How does a regular man lead a team of superheroes against complex, even cosmic, threats to humanity? I’d imagine Bucky, superpowered himself, has some thoughts.

As for Bucky, his cameo offered him a subtle but significant character beat. Much of his time in the MCU has been spent as a character who needs support and defense. Yes, he is a super soldier with a near-indestructible arm. He has also been mind-controlled, victimized, scapegoated, wiped out of existence, and grappling with decades of crimes done under HYDRA’s control. He has been someone that a loved one saves. (Or destroys the old world order for, if you ask Steve.) In Brave New World, Bucky does the saving. He pulls Sam out of his funk and reminds him of who he is and what he stands for. Bucky becomes for Sam what Steve had been for him for so long. It’s a powerful full-circle moment for the two heroes and friends, separate from their initial connection: Steve.

Brand New World also misses out on an advantageous world-building opportunity. If Bucky were more involved in the film, perhaps using his political connections to aid Sam, it would not only further enrich their relationship. Seeing his political savvy (or lack thereof) could’ve set up whatever role he plays in Thunderbolts*. Is he under the thumb of Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), or is he acting as part of his longtime journey of atonement? These questions will be hard to answer in Thunderbolts* as an ensemble film, but Brave New World could have a least posed them. It also would’ve been fairly seamless cross-story integration (unlike Allegra de Fontaine’s other post-Endgame appearances).

I hesitate to bring up the previous Captain America films in the context of a new Captain America. (And yes, Sam Wilson is Captain America.) However, it’s worth noting what made those films successful, especially Winter Soldier and Civil War. They succeeded because, whatever their larger thematic, political, cultural, and MCU-driven priorities, they were steeped in the mythology of Steve Rogers. They emboldened and challenged him, and he responded in kind. He didn’t feel sidelined or inconsequential in those films, and his films certainly didn’t feel like resolutions to other MCU plot points.

Unfortunately, I can’t say the same for Sam Wilson and Brave New World. While a fine entry in the MCU, it doesn’t feel like a film beholden to him. It doesn’t feel like a film that only Sam could lead, with a problem only he could solve. It’s admittedly weird for one character to encapsulate another character’s issue. However, Bucky’s cameo highlights the problems with the film and the MCU overall. Aside from the issues above, the MCU continues to find itself rudderless. It struggles to ground its sprawling, unwieldy universe in stories that make sense for its characters. Why does Natasha Romanoff pop up in Winter Soldier? We may not have known at first, but her friendship with Steve Rogers proved to be one of the most endearing in the MCU.

Brand New World had a comparative layup. Bucky had plenty of history with Sam to mine for rich storytelling. However, the film focused on fitting Sam into a story that offered him little narrative and emotional development. And so, Bucky was relegated to a three-minute appearance after spending a whole miniseries with Sam. If it’s any consolation, Sam was in a comparable position, sidelined in a film bearing his title.

Funnily enough, the former Falcon and Winter Soldier, two of Steve’s sidekicks, are poised to lead their own teams, Sam with the Avengers and Bucky with the Thunderbolts. One would imagine seeing their dynamic play out in their respective films, their friendship helping them through the trials and tribulations of superheroism. Unfortunately, Brave New World doesn’t leave much hope. That does beg the question: after a decade of painstaking world-building, what was the point if it can’t be leveraged to deepen our understanding of these characters?