Was Captain America Taking The Shield In Civil War Stealing?

Warning: SPOILERS for The Falcon and The Winter Soldier Episode 2, "The Star-Spangled Man"

The Falcon and The Winter Soldier episode 2 posed an interesting quandary: Was it stealing when Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) took his shield after he refused to sign the Sokovia Accords and was arrested by the United Nations in Captain America: Civil War? The answer is yes. Sam Wilson/Falcon (Anthony Mackie) also called it a theft, and he reminded Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan) of what happened when Team Cap went rogue back in 2016.

After Steve Rogers received the Super-Soldier Serum back in 1945, he used a prop shield when he was given the identity of Captain America and sent on a USO stage tour to sell war bonds. When he went to Europe, Rogers used the prop shield in actual combat when he rescued the 107th Infantry Regiment, including Sgt. Bucky Barnes, who were being held as POWs by Hydra. Afterward, Howard Stark (Dominic Cooper) gifted Captain America with a new prototype shield; the discus-shaped weapon was made from the only supply of Vibranium owned by the U.S. Government. This shield became Steve Rogers's primary offensive and defensive weapon, as well as the symbol of Captain America. The shield was frozen in ice along with Rogers and it was retrieved when Captain America was revived in the 21st century. Cap's shield was ultimately destroyed by Thanos (Josh Brolin) during Avengers: Endgame's climactic battle.

But who really owns Captain America's shield? According to Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) in Captain America: Civil War, the shield is "technically... the government's property." Hence, when Sharon Carter (Emily VanCamp) took the shield and gave it to Steve prior to the Avengers' battle at Berlin Airport, she stole U.S. Government property. The shield is a government asset and it was stolen for and by Steve Rogers after he was disavowed. Sharon was then declared an enemy of the state for violating the Sokovia Accords by aiding and abetting Rogers, a fugitive who was himself aiding and abetting another fugitive, the Winter Soldier. At the end of Captain America: Civil War, Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) reminded Cap that the shield, "doesn't belong to you! My father made that shield!" Rogers dropped the shield off with Stark and he didn't see it again for seven years when Tony gave the shield back to Steve during Avengers: Endgame.

Of course, the shield that's now in the possession of John Walker (Wyatt Russell), the new Captain America, isn't Steve Rogers' original shield anyway. At the end of Avengers: Endgame, Steve used the Quantum Realm to retrieve another shield from an alternate timeline, and he gifted that shield to Sam Wilson. So the shield that Sam and Bucky want back from John Walker is a substitute from somewhere in the Multiverse. However, as Sam said in his speech at the Smithsonian in The Falcon and The Winter Soldier's premiere, Cap's shield is more than a weapon - it's a powerful symbol of Steve Rogers' legacy as Captain America.

The Falcon and The Winter Soldier has further clarified that the shield is property of the U.S. Government, specifically the Department of Defense. Sam Wilson inadvertently reinforced this truth when he surrendered the shield to the Smithsonian's Captain America exhibit at the National Air & Space Museum. The government quickly repossessed the shield without Sam's knowledge. Indeed, the very identity of Captain America also belongs to the government, which chose John Walker to become the new Cap and carry the shield. The Falcon and The Winter Soldier is, in essence, about who is the rightful heir to Steve Rogers' legacy as Captain America – whether that's Sam Wilson or John Walker. But whoever does carry the shield as Captain America will also ultimately need the endorsement of its legal owners, the United States Government.

Next: Why Bucky Is So Angry Sam Gave Up Captain America's Shield