A news report states that Steve "Captain America" Rogers' forces have devastated the Underground resistance movement. Sam Wilson's twitter feed is full of people praising Rogers' actions and hoping all the Underground fighters, including Sam Wilson, died in the attack. There is also one conspiracy theorist saying he's heard that the Underground survivors are in hiding and are demoralized after the recent death of Natasha "Black Widow" Romanoff.
Wilson looks at his old Captain America uniform and thinks back on his life and wonders how he got to where he is. He wanted to fight for what he believed in, but he underestimated how hard it would be. He had asked his brother "Mister" Gideon Wilson, a pastor, for advice as to whether he should give up his identity, and to his surprise Gideon didn't try to talk him out of it but just said he should do what's best for him. Gideon did, however, note that Wilson quitting being Captain America would impact a lot of people. Wilson listened to his brother and ultimately decided to give up being Captain America. As he stares at the outfit, he realizes that he always felt on some level that his identity as Captain America was temporary and not a permanent part of his identity.
He was surprised a few minutes prior to his musing by Misty Knight, who curses him out and yells at him to get back in the fight. She insists that people need to see heroes fighting the good fight. Wilson says he needs time to think but Knight says she doesn't care what Wilson needs at the moment. She reveals that she kept his old Captain America outfit instead of giving it back to Rogers as Wilson had requested, and notes that given what Rogers went on to do, she clearly made the right call. She also says that Wilson is supposed to be a soldier and soldiers don't give up during wars. Wilson stalks off and calls back that Knight is being unfair. He says it's ridiculous to expect him to take up the Captain America shield again after what Rogers did, especially since the American people supported his takeover. He yells that America does not deserve Captain America anymore and leaves.
Wilson is then stopped by Rayshaun Lucas, the new Patriot. He says that the previous Patriot Jeffrey Mace, who retired from being a superhero to focus on voter registration, supported Lucas taking up his mantle. Wilson confirms that Lucas heard his shouted argument with Knight, and Lucas says that Knight is right and that the whole reason he (Lucas) decided to become a hero is because of the video Wilson made announcing his resignation from being Captain America. Wilson is pleased, saying he's glad he inspired young people, but Lucas corrects him and says that he became a hero because he thought Wilson was being an idiot. He notes that Wilson was mad about what happened to Elvin "Rage" Halliday and says that he was upset about that too; in fact, Lucas adds, he liked Halliday more than Wilson because Halliday fought for good without caring what anyone thought of him while Wilson always seemed to be needy for public approval. Wilson vents that the public wound up supporting Rogers and HYDRA and says he can't wear a flag that stands for that, but Lucas says the flag doesn't stand for HYDRA even if a majority of Americans support the new regime. Lucas then says that Wilson might have given up his mantle in protest, but all he did was empower the people who never wanted him to be Captain America in the first place, and setback the people who did support him. He finishes by saying that the surviving Underground members need a Captain America to rally behind.
The two look at each other for a moment, and Wilson asks if Knight asked Lucas to talk to him. Lucas says they've never met but he'd loved to be introduced, and a bemused Wilson tells Lucas to take things slow. He then puts his Captain America uniform back on, thinking to himself that he did a lot of good while wearing the uniform. As he finishes suiting up, he notes that he might even enjoy bearing the mantle once again.
Tropes:
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Lucas gives an epic one to Wilson, calling him selfish and stupid for giving up on being Captain America just because the public didn't support him.
