On the heels of the much anticipated Captain America: New World Order film featuring Sam Wilson as the new Captain America in the MCU, we have a new arc to complement its movie release. Greg Pak and Evan Narcisse are the writers of Sam Wilson, Captain America. Pak appears to have lead writer credits as the first featured name; he’s Eurasian, while the co-writer Evan Narcisse is a Black African-American of Haitian immigrant parents. This is important for understanding the implications of how Sam Wilson, as a Black man, is depicted with the influence of a non-Black writer at the helm.

This issue immediately focuses on Black folks in Harlem at a soup kitchen, showing the importance of Sam’s stomping ground. When disaster strikes abruptly, a slew of vampires descend upon the community. This scene is the kickoff of awkwardly structured scenes and dialogue that feels as natural as a perm. With Black folks in the claws of death, in walks cartoonish reactions as if there’s no imminent threat with vampires breathing down their necks(all puns intended).

It felt amateurishly written and slapstick, as a young Black kid appears unbothered, as if he knows someone’s coming to save them. The vampire uses what feels like Blaxploitation rhetoric, which reads stilted and stereotypical. The dialogue is comically on the nose and inserted out of rhythm with organic conversation. Predictably, Wilson swoops in to save the day in an underwhelming fashion, but not without the inclusion of Steve Rodgers, the proverbial shadow in which Wilson’s legacy languishes. A constant reminder that Wilson is second fiddle, an alternate “Black” Captain America, a bona-fide legacy carrier of the original.

Rodgers serves to undermine Sam’s proxy in Harlem as he fails to be able to protect Harlem single-handedly without Steve’s aid. The white savior must monitor Sam’s heroics, which paints Sam as impotent without the “real” Captain America.

The inclusion of Steve Rodgers was obligatory, as his role felt like a cameo appearance to remind the audience there’s a perpetual asterisk to Sam’s title as Captain America. As Rodgers was the quintessence of “invited to the cookout,” Wilson is progressing to a discreet gathering he must attend. As scenes go on, that event is a literal cookout with some of the most popular Black superheroes in Marvel’s catalog. The sequence of this event felt like fodder for pander to Black consumers because the setup was expedited, and none of the high-profile Black superheroes in the following scene added any meaningful value in the dialogue or plot line.

Again, this underscores the tone-deaf pandering to cultural tropes and tacky Blaxploitation-esque dialogue exchanges, often reading as reductionist rather than relevant. With Pak in the first chair, it questions to what extent he’s responsible for the gauche dialogue from characters like Billie. Billie is Sam’s cousin who represents that embarrassing relative who’s always into something.

Billie’s characterization is annoyingly written as a 2000s sitcom caricature spewing cheesy AAVE one-liners that make her character insufferable. Her appearance is central to the storyline as she reveals that a company called Eaglestar is seeking to give restitution to Black farmers who were precluded from getting federal loans from the government and thusly experienced irreparable damage.

Here lies the conflict: although Pak and Narcisse had the right intentions, they had the wrong execution. They attempted to super-serve Black comic consumers’ interests by discussing culturally relevant issues. They feature a cadre of popular Black superheroes, using AAVE, etc., yet these mismeasured ingredients leave a bitter taste.

The story proceeds to snowball when Billie seeks to convince Sam to become a spokesperson for the company. Begrudgingly, Sam agrees to check out this company that promises milk & honey to Black folks on a proverbial yellow brick road in the sky. A floating landscape encased in the sky, in a too-good-to-be-true scenario, farmers have been given endless amenities. Farmers were given 40 acres and a robotic mule, a tacky tongue-in-cheek reference to the unfulfilled restitution to enslave Africans in reconstruction.

This cheeky symbolism meant as a redemptive gesture felt ironically demeaning by arbitrarily gesturing the “40 acres and a mule” without meaningful usage beyond wordplay. Unceremoniously, the issue closes on a decline as the predictable villain Dennis Harmon determines to attack Sam with Red Hulk when Sam foils Eaglestar’s hidden agenda.

Ultimately, this issue has created waves in the Black comic community. Some suggest “we should be grateful” and not dissect the implications and intent of the depictions in this story. An ironic undercurrent as America often suggests Black people should be grateful and not critique this country. We can enjoy the aesthetics of Black superheroes while also critiquing the quality of storytelling and cultural sensitivity to how Black social issues are addressed within the medium.

This critique was written by Obasi Jaheem Amare.  Obasi is a writer who seeks to provide a prescriptive analysis on topics ranging from race, society, politics, and culture (tv/movies, social media, comics, etc) that directly impact the Black experience.  Subscribe to his Substack here.