Captain America: The Shield of Sam Wilson

by Jesse J. Holland (Editor), L.L. McKinney, Maurice Broaddus

The new Captain America has a big shield to carry. Is he up to the task? In these short stories inspired by the Marvel comic book universe, Sam Wilson takes up the shield and proves his mettle.

Sam Wilson has a heavy shield to lift as the new Captain America. Read an action-packed anthology of stories about Sam Wilson. Inspired by the Marvel comic book universe, the stories will see Sam prove he is ready to carry the shield as he faces Skrulls, Sabretooth, Kingpin, and other infamous villains.

A revolutionary anthology of stories written by authors of African Heritage and inspired by the Marvel Comics universe. Slated to take part are several noted, award-winning authors including bestselling author Kyoko M., fantasy author L.L. McKinney, crime writer Gary Phillips, sci-fi author Sheree Renée Thomas, comics creator Alex Simmons, horror and mystery writer Nicole Givens Kurtz, and many more. Edited by Jesse J. Holland, distinguished visiting scholar in residence at the U. S. Library of Congress who edited the Marvel anthology Black Tales of Wakanda and wrote the novelization of the graphic novel Black Who Is the Black Panther? , which was nominated for the NAACP Image Award for outstanding Literary Work.

Genres: Marvel, Audiobook, Fantasy

304 pages, Hardcover

First published November 19, 2024

Reviews

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm glad I listened to these stories of Sam Wilson, Captain America, so fresh off of viewing the latest MCU movie featuring the character. It felt good to give him a little more depth, even if this collection cleaves closely to the established Earth-616 canon in which he is not ex-military but a career social worker who can, indeed, talk to birds (more or less).


Art by the excellent DGino on Deviantart

Each story touches on the difficulties Sam faces in living up to Steve Rogers' legacy while at the same time establishing his own as a Black American trying to do the right thing for everyone in his fractious nation. They are...all right, for the most part, but honestly the thing I probably enjoyed the most was the collection's editor Jesse J. Holland's introduction explaining why he was initially upset by Marvel's decision to change the Falcon into the new Cap, and his own personal history with the character as well as what he meant to Black comics readers of his generation.

[Justin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m so tempted to give this book 4 stars, because it really did help me develop a fondness for Captain America that I’ve always lacked. Because let’s be honest, Steve Rogers is not that interesting, but Sam Wilson is! Like all short story collections, though, especially by multiple authors, some stories here are super good while others not so much. Nonetheless, I really enjoyed learning more about this character - about his friends and foes, about his origin story, and about his complicated relationship as a Black man donning the stars and stripes - than what the MCU has shown to date (and I simply won’t forgive the MCU for cutting out Sam’s ability to communicate telepathically with birds and for making Redwing a drone instead of an actual falcon). I do wish this book had offered a little more about Sam when he was still The Falcon, before he took on the complicated mantle of Captain America, but I get that that wasn’t necessarily for this book. All that said, this book made me so excited to see Wilson wield the shield again in the upcoming film, Captain America: Brave New World!

[Gregory Pedersen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a series of short stories written about Sam Wilson as Captain America. They were pretty good overall, but there weren’t any stories that felt especially spectacular or exciting. Some were actually bordering on the mundane, but being the short story format, they were easy enough to get through and a couple were on the more enjoyable side.

[Caroline · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a fun read. To see every author put there own spin of Sam Wilson as Captain America was such a breath of fresh air and to see how every author was able to characterize and develop this iconic character through short stories in this anthology was rewarding. I love how every idea could’ve been an opportunity for the MCU to expand Sam Wilson as a character, especially with Sam Wilson working as a veteran counselor and a social worker in these stories.

My favorite stories in this anthology that stood out to me were Exclusive Content by Sheree Renee Thomas, Uniform by Jesse J. Holland, Chaos Rules by Gloria J. Browne-Marshall, and No Time Like the Present by Alex Simmons. These stories for me didn’t feel formulaic and rather authentic when it came to seeing Sam Wilson as more than an Avenger/Captain America/The Falcon and I could see the amount of time every author took in order to craft these stories and have Sam be balanced between his role as a hero and a human that needs rest when necessary. Especially Uniform because while we see the ramifications of a black man wearing Stars and Stripes, we also see the black soldiers that came before him in WWII and how much they were willing to sacrifice. Chaos Rules was the one story that made me tear up because we saw more than a Captain America story, but rather a story of love and loss and how that grief can overcome us sometimes and Chaos represents that well. The way she gets wrapped up in Brutis’ plan or suffering and realize she’s a pawn is heartbreaking when all she wanted was for someone to understand/love her like Miss Jackson did. When she died, I felt the pain that Browne-Marshall was conveying and hoe everything came together cohesively.

While No Time Like the Present was a highlight story for me, I do wish we had a more cohesive ending. It didn’t feel as satisfying as an ending compared to some of the other stories, however I do like that we were able to see Sam’s struggles of coming to terms with being the new face of Captain America, which is something that didn’t get explored as coherently in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier for me. Overall, every story did come together and was nice to see new villains like Taskmaster, Brutis, A.I.M, and mentions of the X-Men, Misty Knight, etc. Was a great read for me!

[Bill Sleeman · Rating 4 out of 5]

When the recent Captain America movie with Sam Mackie reprising his role as Sam Wilson was released the movie was blasted by fanboys and would be critics who, in their badly disguised and hateful racism, brought to life a recurring theme of the stories collected here. Mainly that Sam Wilson, as a Black man, simply cannot be - for many in these stories - Captain America. Truth, it seems is stranger than fiction, and as presented in this collection and reactions to Mackie's portrayal of the Captain in film, fiction can be just as hateful!

That said, I really enjoyed these stories! I enjoyed that all of the writers placed Sam Wilson in a community of POC who reflected back, in different ways, Wilson's own struggle to be a Captain America for everyone. The presence of Luke Cage and Misty Knight along with references to the Black Panther, Storm, Blade and Brother Voodoo all point to a community of heroes who get Wilson's struggle and offer different ways to respond to living and representing different communities. Perhaps most importantly, the stories offer another way for readers to appreciate these characters as the lead figures in the story and not sidekicks or extras!

A minor quibble, one I often make because I am an old Sgt. Fury fan. The Falcon is not the first Black hero in comics (Lion Man... anyone?), nor is he the first Black Marvel hero. That claim belongs to Gabriel Jones of the Howling Commandos who precedes the Falcon by several years.

Sam Wilson is MY Captain America.

[Rachel Nethaway · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was very well done. It is an anthology of stories written by Black American writers, chronicling Sam's experiences as a fellow Black American living as the new face of America. While I cannot say I relate to that experience, it was definitely eye opening for me. The Falcon has been my favorite Marvel character for years, and reading about him made me understand him further. He is good, through and through. He is a man for the people, even those who don't want him to be. While some of the writing styles of these short stories weren't my favorite, it doesn't take away from the character and his ideals. Sam Wilson is my Cap. ❤️

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the audio version. I enjoyed this more than the movie. Sam Wilson is a more complex character than i realized. No one seems to like him, the black community thinks he is a sell out, and the white community treat him as a diversity hire ruining the legacy of the shield. He fixes most of the problems by talking much more than punching. I did not know the comic history of him much more than the weird bird guy side kick. I will seek to read more about Sam going forward.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like most of the stories in this short story anthology. I like most of the dialogue, the descriptions, most of the characters, the title of each story, the pace in each story, and most of the plot in those stories. Several of the sentences in the stories aren’t grammatically correct. One of the authors misspelled a word in one of the stories in this short story anthology. Overall the stories in this short story anthology are good. I rate this Kindle eBook four out of five stars.

[Jay DeMoir · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sam deserved this. Glad the new Captain America received a literary love letter! Adding this to my classroom library.

[Derrick · Rating 2 out of 5]

So..I enjoy Marvel novels...this is not one of those. This is a collection of stories. I didn't understand that and was sad.

[Jessi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this! Some of the stories I liked better than others but I did like them all. Sam is a really cool character and it was a good time. So glad I picked it up, so glad I have it in my collection.

[Brianna · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book containing short stories about Sam Wilson? I was all in, and it didn't disappoint. All unique stories and everyone of them great.