Episode 2 of Falcon and Winter Soldier brings us face to face to Isaiah Bradley. In the comics, he is the first Black Captain America.
The second episode of Falcon and Winter Soldier introduces Isaiah Bradley, a super-soldier. Isaiah’s history is grave. And he is the first Captain America who is also black. Let’s find out more about him.
Watch: The Falcon and the Winter Soldier | MCU’s Isaiah Bradley
When Sam Wilson agrees to join James Bucky Barnes and go see a guy who can help him find out more about the super soldiers and the super-soldier serum, Bucky takes him to Isaiah Bradley.
Isaiah (Bradley) is a war veteran and, to Sam’s utter surprise, is a super-soldier. He had met Bucky during the Korean War in 1951. But later was imprisoned for 30 years and experimented on. This included tests and blood extraction.
With so much going on about the worth of the shield, it seems that Falcon and Winter Soldier is not pulling punches while taking the shield’s succession and superhero identity crises to new heights.
Black Captain America in Marvel Comics
Isaiah Bradley AKA Black Captain America debuted in a 2003 Marvel Comics miniseries titled Truth: Red, White & Black written by late Robert Morales with illustrations by Kyle Baker. Isaiah isn’t a seldom figure in Marvel comics but had his share of appearances in Young Avengers comics.
According to the comics, Isaiah joined the army after the attack on Pearl Harbor. However, the US army had other plans for him and other black soldiers, 300 in total. The government wanted more soldiers like Steve Rogers and decided to use black soldiers as their guinea pigs. A German scientist by the name of Dr. Wilfred Nagle helmed the experiments with the hope to recreate the super-soldier serum.
Out of the 300 soldiers, 295 died. The remaining had their families and friends killed for the government to cover up the experiments. However, Isaiah Bradley was the only one who survived all of it and gained powers equivalent to those of Steve Rogers. The army then sent him on various suicide missions, one of which brought him face to face with the winter soldier AKA Bucky. During all the missions, he donned the Captain America suit. But upon returning, he was framed for “stealing” the shield and received a court-martial and a jail sentence. Upon release in 1960, his mental state had deteriorated severely. Even Steve Rogers visited him in prison to learn about his experiences.
Isaiah Bradley In Falcon and Winter Soldier
Isaiah’s words about identity strike hard -“You think you can wake up one day and decide who you want to be? It doesn’t work like that.” These words seem to resonate with what Sam is going through. Now that Isaiah has finally arrived, he might help Sam come face to face with his identity. After all, Isaiah is also Captain America and someone who is black, just like Sam Wilson. The racial tension in the air will be easier for Sam to cope with, with Isaiah at his side. We might even see Isaiah pass on the shield to Sam.
All of this sounds great, but we need to keep in mind that Isaiah is living in secrecy. What happens when the US government finds out about him? There will be “consequences.” But we need to wait for the upcoming episodes to find out more.
