Recap of episode 1 of Falcon and the Winter Soldier: Captain America’s legacy endures

Get out of here, WandaVision. You have was made for two whole weeks, and there is a new Marvel Cinematic Universe show in the city. THE first episode in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier fell in Disney Plus on Friday, bringing us on a espionage adventure with two of Captain america’s friends.

The last time we saw Sam Wilson, also known as Falcon (Anthony Mackie), the Air Force veterinarian with wing coveralls was chosen to be the next captain america and received the iconic shield from an old Steve Rogers. He didn’t seem too sure about taking on the mantle, however.

On the other side of the show’s title, we have Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), also known as Winter Soldier. Originally Steve’s sidekick during World War II, he spent decades as a brainwashed killer for the stealthy terrorist group Hydra. He’s since has been deprogrammed and joined the heroes, but overcoming the sins of your past is not being easy.

This show takes place following Avengers: Endgame, when billions of missing people return after an absence of five years and the world suddenly seems very crowded. Let’s skip the border to SPOILER territory.

Your new Captain America

After telling Sam that he made “the right decision” by donating Cap’s shield for the Captain America Exhibition at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in Washington, the same government official later introduces the new Captain America to the world. It is clearly a kick to the face of Sam, who handed over the shield because he reasoned that no one should take on Steve’s role.

There is also something deeply unpleasant about giving the shield to a white guy after the black man chosen for the role has given up.

The new Captain America of the government is John Walker (Wyatt Russell). On a 80s comics, Walker was chosen for the role in the comics after Steve left due to political interference. Sam was considered for the role there as well, but politicians reasoned that people were not ready for a Black Captain America – it is possible that they think the same way about the MCU.

Walker has been an opponent and ally of Cap in the comics, using names like the rather intense Super-Patriot and the most reasonable-sounding US Agent. It has everything to do with serving Uncle Sam, however, to the point that he is often a puppet for morally questionable politicians.

I kind of wish they had made Ralph Boehner the new captain, just to mess with us.

The late Steve Rogers?

When Sam donates the shield, he refers to Steve as “missing”. It is unclear whether Steve is alive or dead at this point – he was over 100 when he reappeared at the end of Endgame. It is possible that the Super Soldier formula gave him a longer life span than normal, so he could still be in good physical shape.

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

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

Schrödinger’s cap, if you want.

Mirroring Steve

The opening action sequence in the Tunisian sky looks similar to the start of Captain America: The Winter Soldier 2014, from Sam’s confident departure from the plane to the presence of Georges Batroc (Georges St. Pierre). It is clearly designed to tell us that Sam is worth taking Steve’s place, despite his doubts.

Batroc, the cheeky Charlie, lives to fight another day because he jumped out of the helicopter just before he was blown up by a missile. It really corresponded to the alter ego of its comic book counterpart – Batroc the jumper – with this movement.

Enough borders

We were just a little bit about the show’s group of villains, the Flag-Smashers, in this episode. They are an anarchist group that preferred the world as it was during Blip, without borders – you can see where they are coming from. Penalty for violence.

They gather online followers and engage in a V-for Vendetta-style disorientation maneuver “everyone wears the same mask” to land an assault. And at least one of them has superhuman strength and reflexes.

At the the comics, Flag-Smasher is an individual identity rather than a group. Some people took on the role, but their common goal was to spread anti-nationalist sentiment through terrorist acts. The original, Karl Morgenthau, was particularly offended by Captain America, seeing it as a symbol of American ideals.

Winter Kills

We see Bucky “fixing” his dark acts as a Winter Soldier, including taking down a corrupt Senator planted by Hydra. (I could watch an entire series about his decades working for Hydra.)

He tells his therapist that he had “a little calm in Wakanda” – he was deprogrammed there between Captain America Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War. He received the name “White Wolf” there, which is almost the same cool level as “Winter Soldier”.

However, in the biggest emotional punch of the episode, it turns out that he befriended the father of one of his victims. They have a lot of fun together and it even gives Bucky a beautiful date, but he is too full of guilt to enjoy it.

It looked like that date was going very well too! I think it’s three or four days before someone tells her about the past of a brainwashed murderous soldier.

WTF notes and questions

• The audio at the beginning is the exchange is the final exchange between the old Cap and Sam in Avengers: Endgame.
• We are “a few months” post-Endgame, according to Sam – it was previously confirmed that it will happen six months after these events. What put this show on in between WandaVision and Spider-Man: away from home.
• Rhodey (Don Cheadle) doesn’t have much to do here but push Sam to get the shield. He will star in the next Disney Plus show Armor Wars.
• In the comics, Joaquin Torres becomes 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 public that the plane has been taken over by bandits, but Louie, the pilot, must be really scared.
• Normal suitsuits are cool, but the villains in this episode look a little sad compared to Sam’s incredible wings.
• The scene at the bank is quite frustrating, especially since the credit agent is unprofessional. It’s also a little strange that the bank’s policies don’t seem to get people to be blocked.
• Sam refers to “government contracts”, but why doesn’t he mention all that beautiful Microsoft money ?!
• It was revealed that the early mission of Captain America: The Winter Soldier was created by Nick Fury to discover information about Hydra’s cowardly plans. It is unlikely that he is involved in this case, since he is in space, but could there be more to Sam’s Tunisian operation than meets the eye?

Join us for more Easter eggs and remarks next Friday, when Episode 2 of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier arrives at Disney Plus.