Anthony Mackie Responds to Captain America Comment Controversy

Comments made by actor Anthony Mackie went viral this week after the Captain America: Brave New World star opened up about what the Marvel character means to him. Speaking at an event, Mackie, who will star in the February movie as the title hero, said that “Captain America represents a lot of different things, and I don’t think the term, you know, ‘America’ should be one of those representations.” The comments were innocuous enough when looking at the rest of his statement, but they quickly caused a firestorm online, with some bad faith readings of Mackie’s comments making waves on social media. Now, the actor has responded to the controversy.

In a block text post on his Instagram story, Mackie wrote a message about the controversial remarks and the public outcry, “Let me be clear about this, I’m a proud American and taking on the shield of a hero like CAP is the honor of a lifetime. I have the utmost respect for those who serve and have served our country. CAP has universal characteristics that people all over the world can relate to.”

Many Marvel fans were quick to jump to Mackie’s defense after the initial comments went viral and began to attract attention from uncouth replies, and his new statement has drawn similar support as well.

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“Captain America 2 and 3 were about Captain America directly going against the US government,” One user wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “He’s not a propaganda-spewing mouthpiece and is in fact the direct opposite. So yeah Anthony Mackie is right.”

“Anthony Mackie understanding Captain America better than most the MCU fanbase is so funny,” another posted. “This man read the comics.”

Mackie’s feelings on what it means to be Captain America are something he’s been dealing with not only as a performer for years, but within the context of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This not only prompted what he said in the original viral clip, but also his clarifying response.

In truth, Mackie’s comments have a larger meta-textual reading on the upcoming Captain America: Brave New World. Since Avengers: Endgame concluded with Chris Evans’s Steve Rogers handing the shield over to Mackie’s Sam Wilson, the character has battled with his own feelings about what it means to take on the role of Captain America and to become that symbol. One of the first Marvel Studios television shows produced for Disney+ handled this directly with The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, which ended with Sam officially suiting up and taking on the role of Captain America moving forward in the MCU.

With Captain America: Brave New World, Sam’s position as the “new Cap” is something that appears to still be a point of contention. Trailers for the Marvel film have revealed a tense moment between Mackie’s Cap and Harrison Ford’s President Ross where he growls at him, “You’re not Steve Rogers,” prompting the reply, “You’re right, I’m not.” The ideals that Sam embodies, and which Mackie was originally alluding to, are about a character that faces adversity head-on and does the right thing no matter how tough it is; not just blind patriotism.

Captain America: Brave New World flies into theaters on February 14th.