Verified by 
Key points
- Sam Wilson and Steve Rogers, with their different backgrounds, have different perspective on "the system."
- Sam is less confident than Steve is that the system will work for everyone, which makes him more proactive.
- Steve may not agree with every stance Sam takes, but he respects his right to take it, based on shared values.
As we saw in the last post, Sam Wilson’s need to live up to his parents’ example, to go out of his way to help people and address injustices wherever he sees them, helps explain his eagerness to jump in the middle of political controversies as Captain America, which is a key difference between how he and Steve see the role.1
One of the more direct clashes between the two heroes occurred in Captain America: Sam Wilson #1-2 (2015). It dealt with a whistleblower who revealed SHIELD's plans to use Kobik, a sentient Cosmic Cube, to wipe the minds of convicted supervillains and house them in a secret compound. After Sam and Steve discovered the plans and forced SHIELD to shut down the project, SHIELD still wanted to find the whistleblower, who had since reached out to Sam.
Steve and Sam disagreed about what to do: Sam wanted to protect him, arguing that SHIELD was only out for revenge, while Steve maintained that the whistleblower broke the law and endangered national security, so he must be brought in and held accountable. Sam reminded Steve of all the times he broke the law himself when he thought it was the right thing to do, but Steve responded that he always accepted the legal consequences (in the spirit of civil disobedience).
Sam doubted that the whistleblower would get a fair trial if he surrendered, and Steve says he has to believe he will. This brought the different perspectives of the two men to the forefront as Sam thought to himself:
Here was a man I’d been as close to as two human beings could be—but in that moment, I saw—maybe for the first time—we’d always been miles apart. Because Steve Rogers, in his heart, believes that when the chips are down, when its values are at stake—his country will do what’s right. And me? In my heart? I can only hope it will.2
Despite all of his experiences to the contrary, which are still few enough to remain the exception to the rule, Steve maintains a high level of faith in government institutions to serve justice. Sam has significant reason to be skeptical, though, given his own negative experiences and those of his family, friends, and community, which are much more frequent.
When Sam reflected on these episodes against the background of worsening political divisions in the country and Steve’s legacy of remaining “above” politics, he came to the following realization about his own stance as Captain America:
In all these struggles, all these debates, all these things tearing us apart—I have a side. That’s right. I have opinions. Strongly held beliefs, even. And here’s the thing—the more I saw the people I believed I was standing up for being walked on—the more I heard a noise machine spouting intolerance and fear, drowning common sense out—the more I wondered—shouldn’t Captain America be more than a symbol? Steve always tried to stay above the fray, and I respected him for it. He took a stand when he had to, but as far as politics went—he played it close to the vest. But if I really believed I could make a difference—if I really believed I could change some minds, do some good—then wasn’t I obligated to try?3
Whereas Steve sees injustice arising from outside the system, and presumes it will be opposed by reasonable people of all ideological persuasions, Sam more often sees injustice in the system, often supported or passively maintained by mainstream political figures. When Steve fought against neo-Nazis and white supremacists “back in the day,” it was never seen as “political”—but when Sam does it, in an age where these ideas have been normalized in the political discussion, it more often is. (The fact that Sam is fighting them as a Black man only draws that much more anger from those who are sympathetic to these ideas, as we saw in an earlier post.)
For his part, Steve reliably supported Sam’s independence, despite their differences of opinion on specific issues. When the Kobik plans first became public and Sam demanded that SHIELD shut it down, Steve defended him to a reporter: “Listen—when I handed that shield over to Sam, it didn’t come with a rule book. I trust him to do what he thinks is best for our country.” When the reporter pointed out that Steve never took such an active or vocal role in political affairs, he acknowledged that times are different, saying, “What I did is irrelevant. Would I do things differently today? Maybe. Either way—it’s not my place to comment. Sam doesn’t need any second-guessing from an old man.” And although he didn’t necessarily agree with Sam’s public statements asserting his own political stance, he does agree with him regarding SHIELD and Kobik: “What SHIELD was doing here is wrong, and I’m going to personally make sure they’re held accountable. So, yes, on this, consider me on the record—I stand with Sam.”4
Together, Sam and Steve show us that people can have sincere, reasonable disagreements on issues of principle, respecting each other for their basic moral character and judgment despite having different opinions about how those principles should be balanced. But this is possible only insofar as we actually do share basic principles—and the fact that they all too often do not is the threat to civility and democracy that we face today.
References
1. As with the previous posts in this series, this post is adapted from the revised and expanded edition of my book, The Virtues of Captain America: Modern-Day Lessons of Character from a World War II Superhero.
2. Captain America: Sam Wilson #2 (2015).
3. Captain America: Sam Wilson #1 (2015). To be sure, Steve acknowledged the divisive nature of American society too, going all the way back to the early 1970s, when he told Sam, “the world’s like a giant powder keg—waiting for the slightest spark of hatred to set it off!” (Captain America, vol. 1, #134, 1970). More recently, during the superhero Civil War, he told reporter Sally Floyd that “we’re becoming swaths of red and blue on an election-night map. Welcome to the Divided States of America” (Civil War: Front Line #9, 2006, “Embedded Part 9”).
4. Captain America: Sam Wilson #2 (2015). This attitude is not new, as Steve has recognized their similarities and differences since their early days fighting crime side by side: “We both have the same goal: ending injustice! No matter how we each do it, we’re united in that!” (Captain America, vol. 1, #161, 1973).
