Two Captain Americas enter the ring, but only one will leave with the title and shield. On August 9, CAPTAIN AMERICA #25 written by Nick Spencer with art by Jesus Saiz, brings Sam Wilson and Steve Rogers face to face, but who will end up down for the count?

You can’t deny that both Sam Wilson and Steve Rogers are some bad mama jamas, but which of them is the badest of all? A harder question than you might think. Right off the bat you’d probably say Steve Rogers, after all the man is a science experiment gone horribly right, but that might be jumping the gun. Sam just might have some tricks up his sleeve.

In a straight up brawl, sure, the edge goes to the original Cap, a genetically engineered super solider with enhanced human capabilities like speed, strength, agility, durability, healing and even mental processing. That will be hard for Sam to compete with in an unarmed match, even if he can evade Steve he will eventually wear out. However, if Sam has use of his equipment it might be a different story.

Both highly trained fighters, Sam’s lack of notable superpowers might actually be what give him an edge. Since his first appearance in CAPTAIN AMERICA #117 Sam has learned to fight at the same caliber as Steve Rogers and other big time superheroes without any powers of his own aside from his telepathic link with birds. This means that like Black Widow and Hawkeye, Sam has had to use his intelligence to learn to use every part of a situation, every piece of equipment and every part of an environment to his advantage. So where Steve has raw power, Sam has ingenuity and battle strategy.

Not to mention that Sam spent quite a while working alongside Steve as Falcon. That means he’s even more tuned into Steve’s fighting style and tactics, making it easier for him to anticipate his moves and prepare a counter strike. Now yes, Steve was there too, but whether or not her truly paid attention to Sam’s fighting tactics will be what helps or hurts him. And while both of them have spent time as an Avengers team leader making them capable of taking in another’s strengths and getting them to fight together in the most effective way possible, Sam’s need to keep up with his fellow heroes when starting out at a disadvantage is what makes him such an effective strategist.

At the end of the day it will likely come down to whether or not Sam can outsmart Steve before he gets worn out, a monumental task considering we know Steve is no strategy slouch himself. But who knows if this fight will truly be a one on one showdown, with Steve repping those Hydra colors heroes everywhere may ban together to take down the man they once called not just a leader, but a friend.

Find out who will walk away the true protector of the red, white and blue in CAPTAIN AMERICA #25 written by Nick Spencer with art by Jesus Siaz, on August 9.