Writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely have shed some light on Captain America's decision to pass on the shield in Avengers: Endgame.
During the final scene of Avengers: Endgame, we see an old Steve Rogers passing on his shield, as well as the Captain America mantle, to Sam Wilson, aka Falcon. Of course, Sam has taken up the mantle in Marvel Comics, but so has Bucky Barnes, aka the Winter Soldier. So, why does Chris Evans' character choose Anthony Mackie's character as his successor in the April 26 release?
Read More: Cap’s Old, Original Shield & History
Speaking to Variety, Markus and McFeely have explained their reasoning behind Steve's decision to hand over the shield to Sam instead of Bucky. Admitting that both of the characters have picked up the shield in the comics, Markus continued:
But, when you look back at "The First Avenger" and realize why he was chosen to be the first super soldier, it's about a certain purity at heart and a certain inner heroism. It's pretty hard to give it to Bucky. As much as we love him, he is on the dark path and is recovering from that. Sam really is a truly stand up guy. It wasn't a wildly difficult choice, certainly. I think Bucky has a lot more story as Bucky and as someone headed on a path of atonement. And Sam has ascended into this new role.
While Bucky was not Steve's choice for the Captain America mantle, he apparently was involved in his decision-making process. When the passing of the shield happens, Sebastian Stan's character appears to nod in agreement. When asked whether that nodding was in the script, Markus responded in affirmative. Then, McFeely added:
Our assumption is that he and Steve had long conversation before Steve went back.
During the interview, the writers also suggested that they have no idea on how the passing of the shield is addressed in the upcoming Disney+ miniseries Falcon and Winter Soldier. They, just like us, are looking forward to see how Sam feels about his new role.
