The Star-Spangled Man is certainly an improvement from the scattershot premier and is a pretty good episode but suffers from one of key problem. The showrunners have no idea what to do with Sam Wilson's character. The show treats him as a main character, yet almost every other character in the show has a more compelling storyline than he does. It's strange because you can see that Marvel is conscious of race and is trying to delve into the challenges that a black superhero would face, but the problem is by focusing so much on Sam's race, they've left him without any other defining characteristics or storylines that might be interesting. In short, the show defines Sam by his race alone, to the point where it becomes the single most important aspect of his character. I find that to be very troubling, not because I don't believe that racial issues should be addressed, but rather because it diminishes Sam character to the point where he is almost singly defined by his race, where all his interactions relating to his character are about race.
I think that's why Isiah's introduction works so well compared to Sam's portrayal in this series. Isiah is introduced as a hero, a super soldier who went toe to toe with the Winter Soldier and was the only one who was able to fight him survive. But because of his race, while Steve Rodgers was thrust into the spotlight as Captain America, Isiah was treated as a lab experiment and thrust into the shadows to the point that Steve never even knew he existed. The difference is, Isiah is not singly defined by his race, he's a hero first with his own story, motivations, desires etc. But has nonetheless been negatively impacted because of his race as compared to Steve.
And it's the Sam problem that I feel is dragging the show down. Bucky and Walker have much more compelling storylines, Bucky trying to find his way in the world post-Hydra and Walker trying to fill Steve's shoes as the new Captain America, yet their stories are always interrupted, always pushed to the side because Falcon is treated as the main character of the series. The story is told through his eyes, from his perspective, yet the showrunners have sabotaged his character by making him very generic, very bland, and very static.
The episode was good, but through two episodes, it's concerning to see that Falcon is being failed by Marvel.
I think that's why Isiah's introduction works so well compared to Sam's portrayal in this series. Isiah is introduced as a hero, a super soldier who went toe to toe with the Winter Soldier and was the only one who was able to fight him survive. But because of his race, while Steve Rodgers was thrust into the spotlight as Captain America, Isiah was treated as a lab experiment and thrust into the shadows to the point that Steve never even knew he existed. The difference is, Isiah is not singly defined by his race, he's a hero first with his own story, motivations, desires etc. But has nonetheless been negatively impacted because of his race as compared to Steve.
And it's the Sam problem that I feel is dragging the show down. Bucky and Walker have much more compelling storylines, Bucky trying to find his way in the world post-Hydra and Walker trying to fill Steve's shoes as the new Captain America, yet their stories are always interrupted, always pushed to the side because Falcon is treated as the main character of the series. The story is told through his eyes, from his perspective, yet the showrunners have sabotaged his character by making him very generic, very bland, and very static.
The episode was good, but through two episodes, it's concerning to see that Falcon is being failed by Marvel.