MCU: The 10 Most Important Milestones In Steve Rogers & Sam Wilson’s Relationship

In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the relationship between the two Captain Americas, Steve Rogers and Sam Wilson, is an important one. This relationship starts out with Sam in a supporting role, but luckily, Sam gets the chance to be the main hero later on after Steve’s departure to the past.

Throughout their time together on screen, these two become close friends and allies, and there are many key moments between them that speak to this bond as well as to the complexity of the Captain America mantle.

10 “On Your Left”

The moment that these two characters meet whilst jogging in Captain America: The Winter Soldier is a rather iconic one. It’s hilarious, and it could practically be classified as a rom-com meet-cute. There’s an element of competition but also playfulness, and both Steve and Sam seem to like each other right away. They also end up having a conversation about being war veterans, and it’s clear that Steve is searching for people who can understand the loneliness he feels in this regard.

9 Steve Attends The Support Group

When Steve shows up to the end of the support group for veterans that Sam runs, it’s one of the best scenes between these two. Sam illustrates that he’s worked hard to deal with his own trauma, and the death of his friend, Riley, is also revealed. Steve is clearly still struggling to deal with his own guilt over Bucky and trying to find new connections in this new age. It sets up the supportive relationship Sam and Steve are going to have.

8 Steve And Natasha Seek Sam’s Help

While Steve only meets Sam a couple of times, he clearly trusts him and makes a judgment call that turns out to be the right one. For example, when Steve and Natasha are on the run from HYDRA/SHIELD, they go to Sam’s house for refuge. Luckily, Sam is more than happy to help, and he offers to assist them and also tells about his own special technology. It’s the perfect way to include Sam into the team, and Sam’s willingness to help a friend in need is a great quality.

7 Sam Helps Steve Get To The Helicarriers

After Sam joins up with Steve and Natasha, he ends up being a key player in the major fight at the end of Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Sam is important in helping Steve make his way onto the Helicarrier, and he also has to help him fight The Winter Soldier. This sequence sets up the dynamic between Steve and Sam and how Steve can rely on him. Sam also gets his own moment to shine as he fights Brock Rumlow. The friendship between Steve and Sam already seems to be quite secure even at this early stage.

6 Sam Plans To Help Steve Find Bucky

At the end of The Winter Soldier, Steve gets the information from Natasha about Bucky, and he’s planning to look for him. Sam is hesitant, but he is also willing to help. His dedication and willingness to help make him one of the best friends in the MCU, but this mission doesn’t ever actually play out on screen completely.

However, Steve and Sam do discuss trying to find Bucky’s whereabouts briefly in Avengers: Age of Ultron, but it’s not until Captain America: Civil War that Bucky comes back into the picture.

5 Sam Sides With Steve In Civil War

Given how good of friends these two are, it’s not really a big shock when Sam decides to side with Steve in the conflict over the Sokovia Accords. He’s Steve’s closest ally in this regard, and he ends up risking a lot to support Steve in this. He’s setting himself up as going against the law, and he even gets arrested after the battle at the airport and sent to the Raft prison.

4 Steve Frees Sam From The Raft

Sam, along with the rest of Steve’s allies, are freed from The Raft by Steve at the end of Civil War. And while this is only shown briefly on screen in Avengers: Infinity War, both Sam and Natasha live on the run with Steve as fugitives. Sam especially gave up a lot of his own life and connection to his family to support Steve, and this sadly is only really explored once Steve is out of the picture after Avengers: Endgame.

3 Sam Is Snapped By Thanos

One of the ways that the MCU dropped the ball somewhat on this relationship is not showing the impact that Sam being gone had on Steve. While Steve lost both of his best friends – Bucky and Sam – in the Thanos snap, his grief over that is never really explored. Instead, he mostly only pines over losing Peggy in Avengers: Endgame.

Given how key Sam was to Steve’s life and how much Sam had supported him, this was definitely a misstep. It would have been nice to see Steve grappling with losing his closest friends so recently, too. This is one time when Steve and Sam don’t seem like true friends as it feels one-sided.

2 Steve Gives Sam The Shield

While it would have been great to see more scenes between Steve and Sam after the Blip is undone, Steve giving Sam the shield was the right move. However, while he clearly trusted Sam to carry on the mantle and respected him, some fans were surprised that Steve didn’t explain to Sam beforehand that he was leaving to the past. This felt out of character, so it could be chalked up to a writing or creative decision problem. However, this made even this scene which should have been well-earned fall a title flat.

1 Sam Grapples With The Captain America Legacy

Given how often Sam helped Steve, and risked a lot to do so, Sam didn’t get as much support in return as he deserved. Steve’s ending in the MCU has been met with very mixed reactions by fans, and this is one of the reasons why. Sam was left to deal with the legacy of the shield on his own, and he didn’t have Steve around to support him. This would be difficult for anyone, but Sam also had to deal with the reality of being a Black man in America and the complicated and racist legacy of the Captain America mantle.

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