On April 23rd's The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’s first season finale, Sam Wilson aka The Falcon, flew into the first five minutes sporting the long-anticipated suit of the new Captain America. More than reminiscent, the costume is considered a perfect adaption from the comics, possibly the first to be so close to the original comic material. And yet, the suit translated from page to screen falls into The Avengers problem of costumes.

Since 2014’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier, diehards and casual viewers have been anxiously awaiting Sam Wilson aka The Falcon to take over Cap's shield as the MCU inched his succession along. And finally after seven years, a comic debut, a civil war, a dust-up, a temp megalomaniac Cap, and a Winter Soldier team-up, Sam Wilson is Captain America. In the finale of The Falcon and the Winter Solider, streaming on Disney+, audiences were treated to the new highly anticipated Captain America suit, and it was worth the wait.

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Following closely the original comic design with stars and stripes and the addition of Wakanda-based Vibranium articulated wings, the suit has stunned fans and began trending almost immediately. From the color scheme to the lines and the belt, it’s as though Sam flew right off the page and into Marvel Studios. But as illustration accurate as the costume is, there’s still something that feels just a little off, as is common with the evolution of costuming in the MCU.

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MCU properties go through a sort of “puberty” in costuming with the first generation costume evolving and developing with the real-life actor. Elizabeth Olsen aka Wanda was heavily involved in the costume design for the look of the Scarlet Witch (though her original look of corset and trench coat is loosely defined as a costume in the finale of WandaVision for that very reason).

There’s nothing wrong with the costume. It’s not watered down to dull like the black jumpsuits of 2000’s X-Men. It’s not absurd as Wanda’s Halloween costume in WandaVision, which was a direct reference to The Scarlet Witch’s look in the comics. It just sticks out dramatically in a series that has remained grounded despite the source material. The look is perfect for meet and greets, press photos, to illicit the exact reaction from the public it received in real life on social media. But Sam/Captain America's ears sticking out (how fast can he fly with that upgraded wing set? Fast enough a bug might whip through his cartilage?), the snowboarder red goggles, the bright white when he and Bucky have been sneaking into situations all season, the Crest toothpaste color scheme... it doesn't quite settle into the mood of the series.

Because a direct comic to screen reference isn't always the best direction. Fans needn't look further than OG Captain America (portrayed by Chris Evans) himself in 2012's The Avengers for a good example of that common MCU misstep. In the first film featuring the beginning of the assemble, Captain America's suit after forty years in stasis is awkward, dull and downright corny with his USO days referenced in the soft fabric and that gym-mat blue screaming across the screen. And THAT costume... is another direct comic reference with a lot of thought behind it, not a random pass or intentional modern take, yet it never resonated with audiences the way Captain America's WW2 looks nor his 2014 Captain America: The Winter Soldier updated suit did.

This isn't to say Sam's debut Captain America suit is dumb. Sam debuting in a suit straight from the comic material is important as a reference to how far the character has come and the genre in representation and challenging the classic Marvel storylines. Though the character has existed since his unnamed first appearance in Captain America issue #117 (Sept. 1969), it wasn’t until 2014 that Sam Wilson appeared on the page as Captain America.

The Falcon was the first African-American superhero (The Black Panther precedes him but is not American) and, while Cap's shield has been passed around more times than appetizers at a wedding, Sam's 2014 comic debut as New Cap was a deep moment of ownership. Rather than a black superhero "covering" for Steve Rogers in a one-off short-run, this iteration of Captain America leads the Avengers and inspires hope, not by emulating Steve, but by being Sam Wilson. His suit in the comics and then to screen reflects that milestone:loud, proud, unabashed, and not backing down.

The new Captain America suit revealed in the final The Falcon and the Winter Soldier episode is impractical for stealth, Sam's ears are going to get wrecked and that eyepiece would trend well in the Winter X Games. But the suit's a symbol of evolving perspectives and ideas. So it's perfect.

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