On the Jimmy Kimmel Live! episode that aired September 15, 2026, guest Stephen Colbert revealed he has passed on his Captain America shield to host Jimmy Kimmel. The shield, which Colbert received from Marvel in 2007, decorated the sets of The Colbert Report and Colbert’s Late Show, and following the conclusion of the latter this year, Colbert decided to mail the shield to Kimmel. The pair then proceeded to place it in front of the audience’s seating area.
Despite what Colbert says in the episode, the shield was created and owned by the late Marvel editor, and 1985-95 Captain America writer Mark Gruenwald. Colbert, who explains he was given the shield as part of a sketch to promote the death of Steve Rogers storyline, recalls the letter he received from then Marvel editor-in-chief Joe Quesada described the shield as having hung in Marvel’s offices since 1960. Fabian Nicieza said on Facebook, Gruenwald made it “on his own time with his own money and was in his office until his passing [in 1996].”
He adds, “Unless he willed it to Marvel, it should have been returned to his wife. I think Mark would appreciate the journey his shield has taken but I also think Marvel should work harder to get the story right.” However, Gruenwald’s widow, Catherine Schuller, commented last year, “I am so glad Stephen Colbert is the one in possession of [his] Captain America shield. Marvel Comics bequeathed it to him sometime after Mark’s passing and I am so PROUD. Hope it helps him fight the good fight!!”
Colbert’s gift indirectly returns the shield to Marvel, whose parent company Disney also owns Kimmel broadcaster ABC, but the decision is politically pointed too, given the ongoing suspicions Colbert’s CBS show was canceled so his nemesis Donald Trump would approve the Paramount Skydance merger, and Kimmel’s temporary suspension over his comments about the killing of Charlie Kirk last year. Essentially, Colbert and Kimmel have recreated the denouement of Avengers: Endgame, with Colbert as the retired Steve Rogers, and Kimmel as Sam Wilson, the newly anointed Captain America.
In the meantime, you can watch Kimmel and Colbert’s full conversation below. The shield segment begins at about 19 mins, and in case you skip to that part, no, you’re not seeing things: Colbert shaves his beard in the thumbnail off (live!) before that part.
