Falcon and the Winter Soldier summarize episode 1: Captain America’s legacy hangs over Sam

Go here, WandaVision. You have is done for two whole weeks, and there is a new Marvel Cinematic Universe show in town. The first episode of The falcon and the winter soldier stand out Disney Plus Friday around us on a spying adventure with two of Captain America’s Friends.

The last time we saw Sam Wilson, or Falcon (Anthony Mackie), the vet in the wing was chosen to be the vet next Captain America and the iconic shield given by an elderly Steve Rogers. However, he does not seem too sure about picking up the mantle.

On the other side of the program title we have Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), aka the Winter Soldier. Originally, Steve was a buddy during World War II and spent decades as a brainwashed assassin for the rogue terrorist group Hydra. He has been fully programmed and rejoined the heroes, but it is not easy to overcome the sins of his past.

This show takes place in the wake of Avengers: Endgame, when billions of missing people returned after five years of absence and the world suddenly felt quite pressured. Let’s jump across the border SPOILER territory.

Your new Captain America

After telling Sam that he ‘made the’ right decision ‘to donate Cap’s shield to the Captain America exhibit at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in Washington, the same government official later introduced the new Captain America to the world. It’s clearly a kick in the teeth for Sam, who handed over the shield because he reasoned that no one should enter the role of Steve.

There is also something bad about giving the shield to a white guy after the black man selected for the role gave it up.

The new Captain America government is John Walker (Wyatt Russell). In a Comic storyline from the 1980s, Walker was selected for the role in the comics after Steve walked away due to political interference. Sam was also considered for the role there, but politicians have argued that people are not ready for a Black Captain America – it is possible that they think similarly in the MCU.

Walker was an opponent and ally of Cap in the comics, and mentioned names such as the rather intense Super-Patriot and a more reasonably sounding American agent. However, it is about serving Uncle Sam, to the point that he was often a puppet for morally dubious politicians.

I rather wish they made Ralph Boehner the new Cap, just to mess with us.

The late Steve Rogers?

When Sam donates the shield, he refers to Steve as ‘gone’. It is unclear whether Steve is dead or alive at this point – he would have been over 100 years old when he reappeared at the end of Endgame. It is possible that the Super Soldier formula gave him a longer lifespan than normal, so he could still be physically fit.

Sam’s new partner, Joaquin Torres, mentions a conspiracy theory about Steve in a secret base on the moon. Maybe he’s next to Attilan, the devastated inhuman city from the show we all want to forget ?! Please do not.

It’s likely that Marvel Studios has not yet decided whether Steve will return, so he’s alive and dead.

Schrödinger’s Cap, if you will.

Mirroring Steve

The opening action in the Tunisian air feels similar to the beginning of 2014 in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, from Sam’s confident fall from the plane to the presence of Georges Batroc (Georges St. Pierre). It’s clearly designed to tell us Sam is worthy to take Steve’s place, despite his reservations.

Batroc, the brutal Charlie, lives another day to fight because he jumped from the helicopter just before it was blown up by a missile. He really lived up to the alter ego of his cartoon, Batroc the Leaper.

No more boundaries

We get just a little bit about the show’s villain group, the Flag-Smashers, in this episode. They are an anarchist group that prefers the world as during the Blip, without borders – one can quite see where they come from. Sorry about the violence.

They gather followers online and take part in a V For Vendetta style, “everyone wears the same mask”, is a wrong directional stunt to get a heist. And at least one of them has superhuman strength and reflexes.

In the comics, Flag-Smasher is an individual identity rather than a group. A few people took over the role, but their common goal was to spread anti-nationalist sentiment through terrorist acts. The original, Karl Morgenthau, especially honored the Captain of America and saw him as a symbol of American ideals.

Winter murders

We see Bucky “fixing” for his dark deeds as Winter Soldier, including taking down a corrupt senator planted by Hydra. (I could see a whole series about his decades working at Hydra.)

He tells his therapist that he ” had some calm in Wakanda ‘- he has been deprogrammed in the meantime Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War. He was given the name “White Wolf” there, which is about the same coolness as “Winter Soldier.”

In the biggest emotional guts of the episode, however, it appears that he became friends with the father of one of his victims. They hang out a lot and it even makes Bucky a wonderful date, but he’s too reported for guilt.

It seemed like the date was going pretty well too! I think it’s an appointment three or four before anyone tells her about your past as a brainwashed murder soldier.

Observations and WTF questions

• The sound at the beginning is the exchange is the last exchange between old Cap and Sam in Avengers: Endgame.
• According to Sam, we are a few months after the playoffs. It was previously confirmed that it would take place six months after the events. That post this show between WandaVision and Spider-Man: Far from home.
• Rhodey (Don Cheadle) doesn’t get much to do here except push Sam to pick up the shield. He will play in the upcoming Disney Plus series Armored Wars.
• In the comics, Joaquin Torres the new Falcon while Sam is Captain America.
• Why would you sit next to a corpse? I realize that the dead pilot indicates to the audience that the plane was taken over by bad people, but Louie, the pilot, really needs to be stalked.
• Normal wing clothes are cool, but the bad stuff in this episode seems a little sad compared to Sam’s amazing wings.
• The scene in the bank is quite frustrating, especially since the lending officer is pretty unprofessional. It’s also a little strange that it turns out that the bank’s policy does not take people into account.
• Sam refers to ‘government contracts’, but why does he not mention all the sweet Microsoft money ?!
• The mission at the beginning of Captain America: The Winter Soldier has been revealed to have been set up by Nick Fury to discover information about Hydra’s bad plans. He probably won’t be involved in this since he’s in space, but can Sam’s Tunisian operation sting more than meets the eye?

Join us for next Easter eggs and sightings next Friday episode 2 of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier hits Disney Plus.