The Sad Story of Isaiah Bradley, the Black Captain America
Two episodes in, it’s clear that The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is really the the fourth Captain America film. The show has the same general vibe and carries forward the story of James “Bucky” Barnes, the best friend turned assassin turned MacGuffin. Bucky is struggling with leaving behind his past, and living up to the memory of his amazing friend, Steve Rogers.
The show is also an exploration of what it means to be a Black hero. Not “Black” in the way that Black Panther explores the Afrofuturist nation of Wakanda, or its connection to those of African descent. “Black” in the way that African-Americans can fight and die for a nation that gives them nothing in return, and frequently takes from them.
Sam Wilson is a man who has saved the world as part of the Avengers, but he can’t get a loan approved. He’s the high-flying Falcon — and a veteran to boot — but he still gets hassled by the cops. He gave up the near-mythical shield of Captain America, expecting it to sit in a museum, only to have the government essentially spit in his face and give it to John Walker.
The real illustration of the cost of being a Black hero was shown in this episode. Bucky takes Sam to meet Isaiah Bradley (played by veteran character actor Carl Lumbly). Bradley is a super soldier like Bucky, and in fact the American government sent him to take care of the Winter Soldier during the Korean War. A job he seemingly did.
For his service, Bradley was jailed for 30 years, experimented on, and apparently thrust out into the world with nothing. He is one of the original super soldiers lost to time. Because he was Black.
Who Is Isaiah Bradley?
The character comes from the limited comic series Truth: Red, White & Black, written by Robert Morales and drawn by Kyle Baker. The series tells the story three black men drafted into the United States Army: Lucas Evan, Maurice Canfield, and Isaiah Bradley. It’s the early 1940s and the U.S. is entering World War II after the attack on Pearl Harbor.
All three men end up at Camp Cathcart, a training camp mostly full of Black soldiers. 300 Black soldiers are taken from the camp to a secret facility, where the U.S. government experiments on them with an early version of the Super Soldier serum. And among them are our three protagonists. (The rest are killed to hide the camp’s existence.)
The premise of the series mirrors the the real-life Tuskegee Experiment, where the U.S. government promised 600 African-American men free health care. Instead, the study was aimed at seeing the results of untreated syphilis. The researchers left the disease untreated in 399 of the men, even actively preventing the U.S. military from curing them when they were drafted into World War II.
In the fictional experiment, of the original 300 soldiers, only seven survive with enhanced abilities. Those deaths allow Professor Reinstein to perfect the serum, leading to the creation of Captain America. Following several missions and failures in their version of the serum, only Isaiah Bradley remains. Bradley undertakes a suicide mission, wearing a stolen Captain America costume, only to ultimately get captured by the Germans. He’s later freed by the local Resistance, but upon his return to the United States, he’s arrested and court-martialed… for stealing Captain America’s costume.
In Truth, Bradley was jailed for 17 years. The confinement and neglect deteriorated his brain, leaving him mentally like a child. Once freed, he had a life, but it was a diminished one. Almost an urban legend, a hero to Black folk, but one never given his public due or a life of luxury for his service.
If you’re interested in reading Truth, it can be found on Comixology or Marvel Unlimited.
His children and grandchildren did pick up his powers and heroism, albeit in different ways. The government took his DNA, and with a surrogate mother created a son with the same powers. He was taken from the facility by his mother and placed in an orphanage, eventually growing up and finding out his true parentage. Taking up the Muslim faith later in life, he became Josiah al hajj Saddiq. Josiah would also become a hero, Justice, wearing a version of the Captain America costume.
Yes, there’s a Black Muslim Captain America in comics.
The second child in Bradley heroic heritage is Elijah Bradley. Elijah is Isaiah’s grandson. He joined the Young Avengers, taking up the name Patriot, telling his friends that he had inherited his grandfather’s powers. In reality, Elijah was taking the Mutant Growth Hormone, a drug that would temporarily give people powers. When he was hurt in combat, he received a blood transfusion from Isaiah, fully giving him enhanced super soldier abilities.
How Will The TV Show Handle Him?
There have been a few changes to Isaiah’s story within The Falcon and The Winter Soldier. We’re not given any details about when or how he gained his powers, and he was active during the Korean War (1950–1953), as opposed to World War II (1939–1945). I’d sure that something will cause those details to come to light in future episodes. Isaiah will probably be shown in action at least once, probably in flashback, given that Lumbly is 69.
More importantly, when Bucky and Sam go to meet Isaiah, the door is answered by a young man who looks a lot like Elijah Bradley (played by Elijah Richardson). This young man could have powers already, but my guess is they may do something closer to his comic origins.
The Flag-Smashers are obviously super soldiers who gained powers through the Power Broker. My guess is Elijah will either gain powers the same way, or alternatively, step out to become a hero and get horribly hurt. That would leave him in place to get a blood transfusion like his comic book counterpart.
We’re on the road to Patriot, continuing from the introduction of Billy and Tommy, the future Wiccan and Speed, in WandaVision, and the addition of Kate Bishop in Hawkeye. The Young Avengers are coming… eventually.
For now though, there was a black Captain America. A hero mistreated by his country and the U.S. government. One that should stand as an example for Sam Wilson. Sam doesn’t believe he can be Captain America, because that’s Steve Rogers’ mantle. But Isaiah Bradley has already stepped into that space, which should make Sam’s eventual choice to become Captain America much easier. (Look, we all know that’s happening.)
