Concept art for Sam Wilson's Captain America suit looks very different from the final version featured in The Falcon and The Winter Soldier. The second MCU series released to Disney+ featured Wilson (Anthony Mackie) and Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan) team up to track down and stop the anti-patriotism anarchist group known as the Flag Smashers. Led by Karli Morgenthau (Eria Kellyman), the group aims to reopen national borders in an attempt to shift the world back to a time akin to the five-year Blip.

Set six months after the events of Avengers: Endgame, Wilson as Falcon rejects the mantle of Captain America and gives his shield to the U.S. government to be put on display in a museum. This angers Barnes, who sees it as a betrayal of Rogers' wish, especially when the U.S. government gives it to a new Captain America, John Walker. After battling the Flag Smashers, fighting with Walker, and having his integrity challenged by both his government and Morgenthau, Wilson finally accepts the shield and becomes Captain America. His outfit closely resembles that of his costume from the original Marvel comics version as it combines elements of his Falcon wings with the style of the classic Captain America suit.

Related: Captain America 4's Story Risks Undermining Falcon & Winter Soldier's Ending

Marvel's The Falcon and The Winter Soldier: The Art of the Series art book revealed concept art (via CBR) that featured different versions of Wilson's Captain America superhero suit. Although the outfit's core design of the torso, legs, and cowl remain mostly the same, the wings differed greatly from the final design. Check a look at the images below.

The Falcon and The Winter Soldier Captain America Sam Wilson Concept Art
The Falcon and The Winter Soldier Captain America Sam Wilson Concept Art 2

The final design featured in The Falcon and The Winter Soldier finale had blue collapsible wings similar in style to that of his Falcon wings, although sporting a different color. The series designers appeared to have played with many designs that varied distinctly between each version. They tried solid color wings of each of the U.S. flags' colors without segmented sections, however, the designers settled on blue instead of red wings which his original comic book version tends to display.

The concept artists were tasked with the unique challenge of designing a character that was based on a previous version in the comics while trying to stay true to both the MCU Falcon design as well as the MCU Captain America design. Although the series received mixed reviews, the final costume design was widely praised as remaining faithful to the original design while adapting the MCU aesthetic. Although Wilson's Captain America was only featured in one episode of The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, the costume will get another moment in the spotlight when Wilson returns for Captain America 4.

Next: How Phase 5 Can Redeem Bucky’s Wasted Winter Soldier Storyline

Source: Marvel's The Falcon and the Winter Soldier: The Art of the Series via CBR

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