THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER Star Anthony Mackie Says Captain America's Shield "Is In Good Hands"

...so now he's confirming he becomes captain america? I mean i know its obvious because of endgame but considering they specifically chose to call the show FALCON and the winter soldier, you'd think they'd at least want to cover up what they're doing there.

It honestly never even entered my mind at all, the notion of Bucky being given the title and not Sam. and I realize there's the comics precedent for that (though with how often these stories get retold on the page I'm sure there's been Sam versions too), but I'm going strictly from the context of the films as we've seen them.

Yes it's all well and good that Shuri seems to have "cleansed" Bucky's mind once and for all of the brainwashing triggers and I very much look forward to him consistently fighting on the side of better angels, but he ultimately just has too much baggage to be given the shield and the name. He was Russia's number one fixer for almost half a century, he needs to spend some time now just figuring out exactly who he is as Bucky Barnes, and what that means.

Meanwhile Sam is who Steve has fought side by side with more than anybody else since thawing out except probably Natasha. Steve would trust him just as much as anyone else in the world. And it ain't like even aside from being a major confidant to Steve that Sam doesn't have a roster full of excellent qualifications to take the gig.