Marvel Studios Confirms Sam Wilson's Secret Power In Captain America 4

Action figure packaging made clear one of Sam Wilson’s biggest assets as Captain America.

Marvel Studios’ next big screen outing, Captain America: Brave New World, will follow Sam Wilson as he continues fighting the good fight as the Sentinel of Liberty. In the film, he’ll battle with various snake-themed villains, a president-turned-hulk, and the enigmatic Leader.

Captain America’s Brainpower Will Help Win the Battle

Recently revealed packaging for Hasbro’s upcoming Marvel Legends figure of Sam Wilson’s Captain America (which joins the Marvel Legends rendition of co-star Joaquin Torres) included a small section of biographical info on the character.

Not only did this blurb confirm that Sam has been operating as Cap for “a few years” as of Brave New World, but that one of Wilson’s greatest weapons (in addition to his Vibranium shield) is none other than his "intelligence:"

"After carrying the mantle of Captain America for a few years, Sam Wilson must use his intelligence and make new allies to stop a force unlike any he's seen before."

Surely, Cap will need all the wit and cleverness he can muster, as the hero has a lot on his plate heading into Captain America: Brave New World.

How Will Captain America’s Smarts Assist Him?

It looks as though Captain America: Brave New World will prove that Sam Wilson doesn’t need to be a super soldier to do the job because he has super smarts. 

What Sam lacks in superpowers, he makes up for it with his emotional intelligence and ability to connect with others. 

In the first scene of 2014’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Wilson befriends Steve Rogers. Steve is ready to withdraw from the conversation, but Sam keenly draws him out by finding common ground.

The next time viewers see Sam in The Winter Soldier, he’s counseling veterans. He explains to the former soldiers, "Some stuff you leave there, other stuff you bring back. It's our job to figure out how to carry it."

Jumping ahead to 2021 in Disney+'s The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, knowing Karli Morgenthau was just a frightened kid, Sam earnestly tries to appeal to her humanity to diffuse tensions between the heroes and the Flag-Smashers.

Apart from his openness and willingness to relate to others personally, Sam Wilson displays his intelligence in many other ways. 

He seems to know how all his high-tech gear functions inside and out and even possesses the know-how to repair it. He also routinely performs complex tactical maneuvers while in flight, which is now doubly impressive, considering he needs to factor in how to use his shield.

Some may say Sam is underqualified to face the threats he will in Captain America: Brave New World, such as the mighty Red Hulk. Whatever evildoers he can’t manage to talk down off the ledge of villainy, rest assured, he’ll manage to outwit them.

Marvel Studios’ Captain America Brave New World hits theaters on February 14, 2025.