THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER (EP. 1): A NEW DAY

Being Black in America automatically provides one the opportunity to become a superhero. The stage has been set against Black people by a pure evil that seeks to rewrite history using science, systemic & historical ideologies based on misinformation in order to control populations, and fear tactics to eradicate “undesirables”. Without even knowing that the late, great Stan Lee had originally crafted the original stories of Charles Xavier and the man that would become known as Magneto by drawing from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. & Malcolm X’s real lives (respectively), many Marvel fans naturally identified with mutants due to the same challenges based on racism that I’ve previously stated. All that said, Disney+’s new series, The Falcon And The Winter Soldier appears to not only spotlight problematic racism, but prejudices spanning from gender to class, and now enhanced abilities as well. Adding insult to injury, the visual metaphors used in Episode 1: New World Order compound the racial issues with how America also treats its heroes when they finally “come home” from war. 

The American Military has had a prominent presence in The MCU since the first scene in Iron Man. Rightfully so, it also has a continuing importance in Captain America’s legacy. The Falcon and The Winter Soldier is the next chapter. How could citizens & civilians feel free enough to enjoy this level of Marvel cinematic fandom without our brothers & sisters in service around the world keeping us safe? These types of questions are left to be asked in between the lines of a masterfully written script. Separated in the advent of this story, the main characters (Sam Wilson/ Falcon and James Buchanan “Bucky” Barnes/ The Winter Soldier) are given similar reintroduction treatments. Not withstanding the silent method acting Anthony Mackie (Wilson) has made one of his signature tools, the shield bequeathed to Sam by Steve Rogers (Captain America) speaks the loudest in the opening scene. This is supposed to be the symbol of righteousness and The American Dream. This Marvel macguffin that has stood the test of time lays on a quilt (which is another form of storytelling) blanketed in mystery. How is the shield in pristine condition after Thanos broke it? Where is Steve Rogers? How will Sam fulfill his destiny to become America’s superhero? And what deviations has Marvel Studios placed in the plot to keep us intrigued from week to week?

Sam & Bucky’s individual histories dictate the beats to the action & flow. The juxtaposition of Sam’s high-flying heroics to Bucky’s nightmarish haunts from his past life as Hydra’s top assassin couldn’t be more stark. (Pun game still on fleek. LOL) These two opening character scenes do everything to allay any concerns of whether Marvel will be able to repurpose their traditional form of storytelling into a TV/Stream show. 

An antagonistic group called LAF is introduced via Sam’s first mission on screen. My first guess was the acronym stood for The League of French Assassins (in French, Ligue des Assassins Français) as we get to see Batroc The Leaper resurface from his loss to Captain America in The Winter Soldier as their leader. The Air Force’s digital dossier for the mission listed criminals from other countries so the idea that these are a French group of sorts has been sidelined before it could stand. Batroc escaping death in this episode gives me hope that we might see him form Batroc’s Brigade sooner than later. I had the chance to watch this episode and allow the dialogue to clue me in and temper my expectations. That was refreshing after the saturation of misleads from WandaVision. 

Bucky’s nightmare of killing what looks like a Russian mobster, his security in tow and an innocent bystander in Hotel Inessa is not as adrenaline fueled as Sam’s return to screen, but pulls you in and gets the heart pumping nonetheless. Here is an American veteran who has been killing for enemies longer than he served his own country; back in his right mind. Now he has been given a conditional pardon provided that he adheres to The Sokovia Accords and psychiatric therapy sessions. Would Bucky have gotten this much forgiveness if he was Black? (I automatically think back to what Wanda Maximoff did to the townspeople of Westview.) Then we have a decorated & reinstated Army veteran, now Air Force private contractor in Sam Wilson that rebelled against The Accords with Captain America but helped to expose Hydra, save the Universe along with all the Earth Mightiest Heroes (at the time), and consequently donated America’s symbol of power (Captain America’s shield) to The Smithsonian Museum in Washington D.C., and he can’t even get a small business loan from his bank to save his family’s business! These specific lines are drawn for us to read through very clearly.

The soundtrack music throughout the episode is amazing. The real lift for me happens when we see Sam driving in Delacroix, Louisiana to his family business, Wilson’s Seafood; managed by his sister Sarah. Aside from his special ops contract with the government he is ironically focused on the legacy of his family. How he doesn’t see the shield as part of his legacy makes me wonder if showrunner, Malcolm Spellman is not only changing Sam’s origin from Harlem to NOLA, but his family’s connection to the Super Soldier serum, and the direct lineage of “The Captain Americas” in The MCU. There were others who assumed the moniker of Captain America and we surely will see at least two of them, based on the unveiling of the “new” Captain America (John Walker) at the end of Episode 1 and the easter egg of actor Carl Lumbly attached to a secret experiment labeled “Subject 02656” during the credits. I will return back to these credit easter eggs later.

The deepest cutting easter eggs appear in between Bucky’s therapy session as he lies to his psychiatrist, Dr. Raynor about his involvement in “making amends” for The Winter Soldier’s past deeds. The bookends of this “redemption” plot point also sandwich the introduction of a beautiful and unassuming character named Leah (played by Miki Ishikawa). There were two characteristics besides her name & looks that made Leah stand out to me. While playing Battleship she teases Bucky that she is “reading his mind” while convincingly beating him & asking probing questions. She then seems to play with Bucky’s conscience in describing the horrific significance of a parent losing a child. She seems to know just how to trigger him. Miki is also listed on IMDB as being in every episode of the series, causing me to think she may have a meatier role than we realize. There is a small character from The Marvel Universe named Leah Mickleson that is a telepath. Having learned my lesson from grasping at so many faulty clues in WandaVision, I will just say that my observation is interesting and in the back of my mind now. I am hoping that the show has drawn inspiration and plans to make her more important as time goes on. Bucky was telling her the truth in his own way so why couldn’t she have been doing the same?

Bucky’s amends for taking down Hydra sleeper agent, Senator Atwood was pure entertainment. We see a list of names being crossed off one by one. Most of the names are insignificant but there are a few that point to characters that are military or scientific leaders in the comic books. It should be said that some of the names seem to be purposely blurred out. One of those two surnames appears to be “Hudson”. The Hudson name and family tree in Marvel folklore ties directly to Wolverine via his mother, Elizabeth Hudson. Truett Hudson & James Hudson are not only first cousins to James Howlett (Logan) but also related to the character’s origins via the Weapon X Program & Alpha Flight, respectively. As Truett is also connected to Nathaniel Essex (Mr. Sinister), James was the leader of Canada’s Alpha Flight and known as Vindicator. Truett would be the most likely target if Bucky was actually hunting a Hudson down. He was responsible for manipulating memories in the Weapon Plus & Weapon X programs. This “Hudson” name could be an explosive discovery or nothing at all. There is no in between as Marvel would have had to have known its significance. Like always I leave that for the reader to decide. I just saw the name. I myself have been expecting the term “mutant” and easter eggs like this to arrive via this series.

The name that matters most on Bucky’s list at this point is, “H. Zemo”, as in Helmut Zemo. Bucky has unfinished business with the baron from Captain America: Civil War. This name and others lead me to think “The Bucky List” isn’t only about making amends, but also revenge. However, we learn the name on the next page (Y. Nakajima) is Bucky’s elderly friend Yori. In what I believe to be the best scene of the episode, we learn the innocent bystander Bucky killed in Hotel Inessa was Yori’s son, RJ. The gravitas of this moment is breathtaking.

The introduction of another character with a prominent surname in Marvel mythology is Lieutenant Torres. Auspiciously being thrust in the position of Sam’s sidekick from the beginning, I can only believe that this is supposed to be the MCU iteration of Joaquin Torres; the next in line to assume the moniker of The Falcon. Torres pushes the narrative forward for Sam throughout the first episode. From being his biggest cheerleader and fan to pontificating Sam’s aptitude in repairing “Stark level tech” & speaking Arabic, to introducing The Flagsmashers and becoming the first main victim of the group on screen. His interactions are well placed throughout.

Only a Black writer could have nuanced the difference in the way Sam deals and talks to another Black person versus others outside his ethnicity like this. The way Don Cheadle’s character, Rhodey tries to get to the root of why Sam didn’t accept the shield from his friend was very surreal. It definitely felt like “an OG trying to put the youth onto game” in a very gracious way. The way Sam plays with his sister and she teases him about being “Uncle Sam” and the way Sam claims he “isn’t playing with these White folks” is very realistic and presents the mindset Black people are forced to deal with in society. The visceral scene of Sam and Sarah (played by the beautiful Adepero Oduye) in the bank loan appointment is surely all to familiar to many minorities. “Are you an athlete?”, “Oh you’re an Avenger (and a war hero)!”, “Didn’t (Big Brother) Tony Stark take care of you or create a fund?”, “No?”….”Well, we can’t do anything for you either. Thanks for your service! And if you don’t mind, can I get this degrading selfie of you?”….chef’s kiss!

All in all, I am very excited for this series. The Flagsmashers look like they will be more than a handful for Sam & Bucky. We already got a glimpse of the leader but just like any other prejudice, it was very quick and understated. Both Torres and Sam assume the leader of this Superhuman group is the male that beat Torres up, when the reality is that the leader is the female that was handing out the masks to the flash mob, Karli Morgenthau, played by Erin Kellyman. Upon discussing The Flagsmashers we see that Sam has a possible preconceived idea of why they are so powerful. I am truly hoping that Sam stopped Torres short of using the term “mutant”. What term do you think Torres was about to use? Mutant? Enhanced? or Alien?

The theme music during the credits along with the motif feels very much like the classic hit series, Law & Order. Images flash by very quickly; including the previously mentioned image of Subject 02656. The other images that intrigued me were the image of leaking Super Soldier serum vials incompletely captioned ‘The Powerbroker is watching’, and a tourist image of Madripoor lettered with the Filipino phrase: “Isang Mundo, Isang Tao”, meaning “One world, one man/people”. This coincides with the mantra and modus operandi Torres expresses The Flagsmashers share and another image cluing us in that The Flagsmashers may appear in Prague. What are the connections between The Flagsmahers & Madripoor? It should be noted that the Russian inscription under the image of Madripoor translates from Russian to English: “the fight against terrorism is based upon security and protection of general rights and freedoms of a citizen”. This is very interesting to see this phrase is Russian. What do the Russians have to do with Madripoor & The Flagsmashers? Is there another player in this superhuman arms race that we have yet to discover? We see an image labeling John Walker’s Captain America as a “manufactured hero” and another image that implies The US has passed a secret policy called The Enhanced Humans Act headed by a Major Donovan. Two other images show the acronym (with two different logos), GRC. Based on the logos, this seems like a corporation with a double purpose; one with an all seeing eye and the other with the world in it’s focus. Maybe they are responsible for “saving the world” like The Global Reaction Agency for Mysterious Paranormal Activity (GRAMPA), but also locking up the subjects like the Government Research and Containment Facility in The Appalachian Mountains. GRC could very well be the front for the Flagsmashers as well. Lastly we are shown a Banksy style image with the date and time (7PM, December 16, 1991) when The Winter Soldier is seen on video killing Tony Stark’s parents. Why is this incident relevant to this story? Your guess is as good as mine. I always get excited about the possibilities no matter how they turn out because the wealth is in the source material.

Overall, I loved the first episode and I expect each episode to only get better. That said, my expectations have been lowered due to WandaVision but they are still relatively high since Madripoor is being introduced in this series. What are your expectations for this series? Are you excited or hesitant to let your imagination fly? What positive thoughts do you have about the show? Please share in the comments here or on Twitter. As we prepare for our official launch our schedule may be different from week to week. This will also be based on the content as it becomes available. Please feel free to let us know what you would like to see from Everyone Loves A Good Story. Thank you and be well. Manchild out.