Photo courtesy of Gage Skidmore, Flickr
Marvel fans everywhere have been stunned and amazed by the beauty of “WandaVision,” which recently concluded its first season on March 5. However, a new Marvel show has come onto our radar and we know for sure it will be another hit.
The highly anticipated show, “The Falcon and The Winter Soldier,” made its debut on our screens and stole our hearts on March 19. Fans across the globe were roped into the Marvel Cinematic Universe once again with this thrilling new adventure that will surely not disappoint.
*Warning: MCU Spoilers Below!*
TFATWS roughly takes place six months after the events of “Avengers: Endgame,” where we saw everyone who had disappeared from the Blip in “Avengers: Infinity War” return to the big screen while some of our favorite characters met their end.
While the movie barely included Sam Wilson (The Falcon) or Bucky Barnes (Winter Soldier), they are pivotal to the story with their small scenes helping set up what this series is about. After Captain America goes back in time to place all the Infinity Stones back where they once were, he decides to stay in the past and grow old with his love, Peggy Carter.
At the end of the movie, we see an older version of Cap talking about his legacy and saying that it is time for someone new to take over. Although hesitant, Sam takes the shield, and we are led to believe that he is now going to be the new Captain America.
With a very somber opening screen of Sam ironing a shirt for what looks like a funeral service and then a fast-paced action sequence of him in a battle following suit, it appears that Sam has not taken up the shield and has stuck to being The Falcon. Instead of fighting on the ground, our man has remained in the skies by doing missions for the US Air Force.
After completing an assignment, we see Sam later donating the shield to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C., saying that this is the right thing to do and that this is a part of history that is meant to be preserved. He then goes to Louisiana to help out in the family business with his sister, Sarah. She has been trying to keep it afloat these past five years, but she is struggling with finding the funds to keep it going.
While Sam is simultaneously on different missions and attempting to keep the family business alive, Bucky Barnes is on a completely different path than we have previously seen him. To recap, Bucky has been trying to figure out what life is like outside Hydra, bloodshed and war since “Captain America: Civil War.”
After finally getting the chance to be with his best friend Steve “‘til the end of the line,” he now only has Sam to fall back on. Even though their relationship is strained, it appears that Sam has been trying to contact Bucky during this time; however, Bucky remains reluctant.
Bucky has vivid nightmares from his past and is currently in therapy to work on his trauma and make amends with those he has wronged. Generally speaking, he is trying to figure out how to live his life without his best friend and navigate this new world on his own.
The episode’s main goal was to show where Sam and Bucky are now and showcase the new threat on the horizon. The “Flag-Smashers” is a group of people who believe that the world after the Blip was perfect and that the world should have no borders between nations.
Although we do not know the extent of their plans, we know that they are up to no good when we see a super-powered member robbing a bank and hurting Joaquin Torres, a new friend of Sam’s. This is certainly not the last time we will see this superhuman in action, and we can only wonder what’s in store for the future.
Even though the pair have not met up yet in the series, there is still plenty of time to see two great characters that are finally getting a good story and see where this will go. The ending, however, is a very controversial one.
After Sam donated Cap’s shield and was told it was the “right” thing to do, the Smithsonian intentionally changes their mind and gives Captain America title to John Walker, a figure known in Marvel comics as US Agent. With this happening at the very end, the show is setting up the perfect reunion for the Falcon and the Winter Soldier to come together again, making this a phenomenal start to this new series.
5/5 stars
rarchibe@ramapo.edu
