Joaquin Torres may be the latest addition to Marvel’s heroes catalog as Sam Wilson succeeds on his wings in Falcon and Winter Soldier.
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for The Falcon and the Winter Soldier Episode 5, “Truth”, which is now streaming on Disney +.
Lots of The falcon and the winter soldier deals with the weight behind the legacy of Captain America’s shield and who should inherit it, and the hero of the series, Sam Wilson, struggles to accept the burden or not. But when Sam examines his responsibility, he leaves a legacy of his own, possibly setting a new hero in the wake of it.
Joaquin Torres has his own superhero history in the comics, the seeds of which have already been planted in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This episode pushes him one step further in the direction of the next Falcons.
It seems that Sam Wilson in a large part of the series does not think of his own symbolic status as the Falcon. While his position as a hero and an Avenger deserves him the treatment of a celebrity, he never seems to leave anything behind if he were to pull on the mantle of Captain America. That’s probably why he threw away his wings so easily in the latest episode.
To be honest, the wings have had better days. While in a fight with John Walker, furious after the death of his partner Battlestar and empowered by the Super Soldier Serum, the mad captain managed to snatch Falcon’s wings in their skirmish. Joaquin showed great interest in the wings when he looked over the aftermath, in amazement that they had even been destroyed. As Sam wanted to leave them behind, it seemed like Joaquin’s own interest remained, and that could be the perfect setup for a new hero.
The future of the MCU is currently full of potential new heroes and successors to the current Avengers, but this is a particularly cunning introduction from Marvel. Having only existed since 2015, Joaquin Torres is a relatively new character whose name many fans can easily pass up, and so far in the Disney + series he has already served as the technically-skilled backup role in support of Sam’s missions. If Sam were to move on to the role of Captain America, as he wants to look good at this point, Joaquin could easily pick up his old cloak.
An inevitable rematch with John Walker is likely to happen, as the deceived hero creates his own shield in the series’ post-credit series, and Sam opens a high-tech briefcase that Bucky gave him, a package from Wakanda that easily becomes a new version can be. of the Captain America costume. After practicing stubbornly with the shield to use it effectively, it appears that Sam Wilson is ready for the role. But exactly what training Joaquin needs with the wings remains to be seen.
It may be too early to expect Joaquin to fill Falcon’s boots right away, but the setup is clearly there. Whenever he is most needed, Marvel heroes can expect some backing from their next flying hero.
Directed by Kari Skogland, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, starring Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Emily VanCamp, Wyatt Russell, Noah Mills, Carl Lumbly and Daniel Brühl. New episodes debut on Fridays at Disney +.
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