We now know where the authentic Captain America shield from Stephen Colbert’s talk show set — one given to him by Marvel itself — wound up after the cancelation of the Late Show With Stephen Colbert.
It is now in the hands of Colbert’s friend and late-night competitor, Jimmy Kimmel.
The pair recounted the story on last night’s Jimmy Kimmel Live, where Colbert appeared as a guest the night after he won an Emmy for Outstanding Variety Series for the final year of his now-canceled late-night talk show.
As Colbert explained it, when Marvel killed off Steve Rogers in the pages of the Civil War comic book, he received a letter from the company’s editor-in-chief, Joe Quesada. At the time, Colbert was the host of The Colbert Report, a spoof of blowhard news channel opinion shows where he played a pumped-up cartoon of an ultra-patriotic journalist.
“[Quesada] said ‘Listen, we opened Cap’s will. And we read Steve Rogers’ will. And in the will it says that he believe the only person patriotic enough to wield the solid vibranium shield was Steven Colbert,’” Colbert recalled.
He continued “So they had a shield that had been hanging on the wall at Marvel since 1960. And they sent it to me. And that hung on my set for the next 20 years. And so when my set was being taken apart, I knew exactly where I wanted to send the shield. So I wrote you a letter and I sent you the shield.”
Kimmel then revealed the shield, which the pair then mounted behind the cameras on the set of Jimmy Kimmel Live, where Kimmel said it will now live in perpetuity — or at least until his show gets canceled.
You can watch the whole exchange below. Colbert begins recounting the superheroic origin story around the 19:20 mark of the clip.
READ MORE: You Have to See These Halloween Costumes Inspired By Movies
Just as Sam Wilson inherited Captain America’s shield from Steve Rogers when he retired, so too did Kimmel take on the mantle from Colbert when his show ended.
Colbert’s show was canceled by CBS, supposedly as a cost-cutting measure (according to the network at least), in May of this year. It was replaced by the syndicated program Comics Unleashed With Byron Allen. He is now working on the script for a new Lord of the Rings movie with Peter Jackson.
According to reports in the trades, Kimmel is currently negotiating for a contract extention on his talk show with ABC. His current deal with the network ends in the spring of 2027.
Fall 2026 Preview: All the Movies You Have to See
Here are the fall 2026 titles you need to add to your calendar.
