Sam Wilson is poised to be the new Captain America in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and that would be huge for the MCU. In these films, Anthony Mackie‘s character has been at Steve Roger’s side in the modern period after the Avenger was frozen in ice for decades. That characterization led him to be a little old-timey in some ways that the franchise used for comedic effect. However, the “man out of time” conceit actually shapes how the character’s narrative evolves over the course of the films. Rogers can be the team’s moral compass, but because he’s not of this generation, a lot of the way the Avengers navigate the world falls onto Tony Stark instead. Shifting the moral compass to a person with different experiences carrying that shield will signal some changes in that regard. Sam Wilson is his own man, and that means he will approach issues in a different way than his predecessor did.