Most of 2016s Steve Rogers: Captain America #1 plays like a standard adventure starring the Sentinel of Liberty. In between flashbacks to Steves childhood in 1926 New York, we see Cap and his allies on a rescue mission and eventually battle classic villain Baron Zemo. However, the final splash page, after Cap has defeated Zemo and saved the day, ends with a shocking reveal.Hail Hydra, Steve Rogers proclaims.Written by Nick Spencer and penciled by Jess Saz, Steve Rogers: Captain America #1 kicked off Secret Empire, a massive Marvel-wide crossover in which Steve Rogers is revealed to be a Hydra sleeper agent. To put it mildly, Secret Empire isnt very good, plagued by odd characterizations that cant be explained away by hidden Hydra affiliations. But it is an excellent Sam Wilson story, one that shows exactly why hes a great Captain America.Sam Wilsons Shifting HistoryDespite a charming turn by Anthony Mackie in the MCU, Sam Wilson isnt the most interesting character in the Marvel Comics universe. Introduced by Stan Lee and Gene Colan in 1969s Captain America #117, Sam Wilson quickly became Captain Americas most-enduring partner, even co-headlining a book with Cap.However, writers struggled to find a consistent characterization for Sam, resulting in a bunch of convoluted backstories. Sometimes, Sams a mutant who can talk to birds. Sometimes, hes a social worker whose left-leaning politics challenged Steve, and sometimes hes got a military background. And once, he was a street hustler who went by the name Flip Wilson, but we dont talk about that.There are a lot of reasons for Sams wildly varying characterization, including (it must be said) the fact that he was mostly written by well-meaning white people trying to comment upon the Black American experience. But the fact that writers kept trying to find a good take on Sam demonstrates that he belongs in the Marvel Universe.That enduring importance helps explain the decision to give Sam the shield after Steve Rogers lost the Super Soldier Serum and experienced extreme aging. Where Buckys brief tenure as Captain America seemed like part of his redemption arc that would end in him becoming a heroic Winter Soldier, Sam feels like hes finally found his place as Captain America, a compelling counter to the nostalgic values that Rogers embodies.And no storyline demonstrates Sams role as Cap better than Secret Empire.Resisting the Secret EmpireThe first three issues of Secret Empire are pretty bleak. Since revealing his true purpose as a Hydra Agent, Steve Rogers has turned the nation toward fascism. Schools teach children fascist ideology, a team of Avengersincluding Scarlet Witch and Thorendorse Hydras claims with every victory they win, and even Rick Jones is executed as a traitor to the state.Things start to look up when resistance fighters find Sam Wilson, the other Captain America. Filled with hope again, the resistance asks Sam to suit up and become Cap once more. To which Sam offers a succinct answer: No.Im not interested in playing dress-up, fighting the bad guys, acting like a fool, Sam gripes as he walks away. Its not that Sam has lost hope. Recovering his social worker roots, Sam has been working to help 647 people escape Rogerss Hydra-run America. Its just that he sees that as work for Sam Wilson, not for Captain America.Join our mailing listGet the best of Den of Geek delivered right to your inbox!Im done trying to make the world something it clearly doesnt want to be, Sam reasons, pointing to how quickly most Americans accepted Steves authoritarian turn, either because they agreed with his Nazi politics or because they just didnt think it worthwhile to fight. So maybe this is who we are after all. Maybe this is us getting what we deserve.Sam sticks around with the resistance long enough to sneak them out of the country, where they try to find shards of the cosmic cube and restore the Rogers they once knew. But he refuses to take part in the fight until the end, when Rogers kills Black Widow, breaking the spirit of the resistance. As depicted in 2017s Sam Wilson: Captain America #24, written by Spencer and Donny Cates and penciled by Joe Bennett, Sam shrugs off calls to return to action until teenager Rayshaun Lucas explains why he took on the mantle of the Young Avenger Patriot.Shaun admits that Steve was always his favorite Captain America and that he feels betrayed by Rogerss betrayal. But he also insists that the dream matters more than the person, that people need something to inspire them to make the world better than it is.We see that inspiration in Secret Empire #8 by Spencer and artist Daniel Acua, which picks up right after Sam suits up again. The issue opens with a montage of all the parts of America destroyed by Hydras reign under Steve, with small pockets of heroes surrounded by destruction and debris. Using mass communications, Sam communicates with them all, sending a message across the country. This is Captain America, he begins and then proceeds to lay out a perfect message that combines strategic leadershipincluding a plan to reassemble the cosmic cube and decimate Hydras forceswith inspiration. In his closing remarks, Sam acknowledges all of the hurt and division the resistance forces have faced. And in the last panel, a tight close-up of Sams face in Captain America gear, he says the words we all wanted to hear: Its time to Assemble.Loyal to the DreamSecret Empire ends with Cosmic Cube shenanigans that restore the original good Rogers back into reality, where he fights with the new Hydra Rogers. Its a fun battle, complete with Hydra Steve using Iron Man tech and original Steve wielding Mjolnir. And, of course, it ends with good Steve triumphant, ready to set the world to right.In a coda to the final issue, we see people of a North Carolina town come together to help an oppressed inhuman, one attacked by Hydra in the first issue of the series. Unsurprisingly, one of the kids carries with him a Captain America action figure, his belief in the hero restored. But its not the Steve Rogers Cap that hes holding. Its the Sam Wilson Cap.Like Steve, Sams all about inspiration and hope. But Steves World War II origins and his status as a man out of time makes that hope a bit easier to find. Sam lives in the real world and knows first hand Americas many failures and disappointments. When he inspires hope, its an act of faith.That faith is on full display in Secret Empire. Its a faith that can only be held by someone with a backstory as crazy as Sam Wilsons. Its a faith that makes Sam an excellent Captain America.