Warning: contains spoilers for United States of Captain America #1!
Captain America has a massive Falcon and the Winter Soldier problem - and it's an issue that may be impossible to solve. Sam Wilson as the new Captain America in the Marvel Cinematic Universe never had an easy life - nor has Steve Rogers in the comics. Both men have always faced the enemies of America head-on, but in United States of Captain America #1, Steve's enemy might just be America itself.
Recent years have introduced and re-introduced a slew of new Captain Americas to the world: John Walker, Sam Wilson, and Isaiah Bradley joined the MCU, and newcomer Aaron Fisher in United States of Captain America #1. Fisher and others like him see Captain America as a symbol of hope, and have taken up the Captain America name to lend a voice to the voiceless and defend the undefended. Aaron has even fashioned a makeshift shield for himself - while Steve's actual vibranium shield is apparently no longer his to own.
The Smithsonian's new exhibit, Americans Who Fight (Steve doesn't like the name, as it insinuates that people who resorted to violent solutions are more honorable than those who didn't fight so much as reached) is incomplete; the museum wants to put Captain America's shield on display. Their replica isn't enough - they tell Steve his actual shield would mean more to visitors. But Steve is unsure, thinking "I find myself too often stripped of what I'm supposed to stand for." He knows the Captain America name is often co-opted by those who use it for their own agendas...and he wonders if he's used said name to hide from American's many changes - and problems.
Steve isn't alone when it comes to feeling the immense pressure of the Captain America name. In The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Sam Wilson famously gave up the shield to the United States government and the Smithsonian in the very first episode, wondering if he ever was truly worthy of the symbol of Captain America. Though these situations differ - Sam certainly felt that not every American would accept a black man as Captain America - their central question is the same: can a symbol still stand for hope even after others twist it for their own personal causes? The answer is yes...provided the person who holds the symbol is willing to fight for those who cannot.
Captain America was once little more than a pro-American propaganda tool - one of many one-dimensional superheroes in the 30s and 40s who wore the American flag and punched anyone who didn't. Over the decades, he's become a more introspective character who stands for American ideals as much as he criticizes America's practices. It's no accident that both Steve Rogers and Sam Wilson have been called upon by the Smithsonian to put their respective shields in a box. But that's tantamount to stagnation; Americana at its finest, perfectly encapsulated, but unable to change - and if there's one thing that Captain America can never do, it's stand still without taking action.
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