The Falcon and the Winter Soldier's second episode, "The Star-Spangled Man," finds our
heroes hunting down super soldiers while at odds with each other, and the "new" Captain
America, John Walker. Here's what went down, and what it all means.
After spending the first episode apart, Sam and Bucky- reunite in a less-than-ideal manner.
Upon hearing the news of John Walker replacing Steve Rogers as Captain America, Bucky heads
to the United States Air Force base Sam is operating out of to give him a piece of his
mind, calling Sam out for turning over Cap's shield in the first place.
The two argue for a bit, Sam presents his theory that all the enemies they fight are
either androids, aliens, or wizards, and then Bucky and Sam team up. Their attempt to scope
out a potential Flag-Smasher cell in Germany doesn't go as planned, but that doesn't stop
them from continuing to take jabs at one another all the while.
"That little girl kicked your ass."
From this point on, Bucky and Sam are practically inseparable, despite their apparent distaste
for one another. At the end of the day, they're both invested in stopping the Flag-Smashers
by any means necessary, and they have a vested interest in showing up John Walker in hopes
of rectifying the damage they think he's doing to the Captain America mantle.
They make it known following their messy therapy session that they're going their separate
ways once the job is done, but it's pretty much a given they'll become full-fledged allies
in the end. If not, surely they'll part with a mutual respect between them.
The reveal of John Walker as the next Captain America in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier
Episode 1 was a surprise both in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and for many viewers in
the real world, who speculated all week about his character's intentions online. This week's
episode is certain to keep the conversation going, now that Walker has spoken, had some
of his backstory revealed, and established himself as an antagonist in The Falcon and
the Winter Soldier's story.
A decorated army veteran and longtime admirer of Steve Rogers, Walker makes no bones about
his desire to do right as Captain America. This is seen when he and his partner Lemar
Hoskins, the MCU's version of Marvel Comics' Battlestar, drop in to give Sam and Bucky
some backup during their first fight against the Flag-Smashers.
All four end up on the losing end of the skirmish, but Walker's obliviousness to the disrespect
that comes with him taking over for Cap makes it easy to see why. Right away, he seems to
lack the leadership skills, self-awareness, and — according to his Good Morning America
interview at the top of the episode – the Super-Soldier Serum enhancements of his predecessor.
All together, he seems to be kicking off his tenure as the Star-Spangled Man on the wrong
foot.
Walker recognizes that he's not Steve, which is a step in the right direction. However,
it'll take more than that acknowledgment to prove himself a worthy replacement — not
only to himself, but to Sam and Bucky as well.
After suffering defeat at the hands of the Flag-Smashers, Sam and Bucky make their way
back to the U.S. There, the former Winter Soldier leads them to a Baltimore neighborhood
to introduce Sam to an elderly man named Isaiah Bradley, whom Bucky met in 1951 during the
Korean War and failed to defeat while under HYDRA's control.
Isaiah himself is revealed to be a Super-Soldier, not unlike those in the Flag-Smashers group
or the original Captain America. Because of Bucky's time as a HYDRA assassin, it doesn't
take long for Isaiah to kick them out of his house, compelling Sam to interrogate Bucky
about this apparently secret Super-Soldier project that neither he nor Steve ever knew
about.
To avid comics readers, this tease should ring some bells, as Isaiah Bradley is a Marvel
Comics legend. He made his introduction in 2003's Truth: Red, White & Black #1 as an
unwitting subject of Project Rebirth's attempts to recreate the Super-Soldier Serum. He survived
the experimentation and became Captain America, storming the battlefront during World War
II and helping secure a victory for the Allies. Much like the version we meet in The Falcon
and the Winter Soldier, he saw jail time after the fact and has since faded from public consciousness.
It's a tragic story that helps further ground The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. The very
system that created Isaiah silenced his inspiring and heroic story. He could have become an
icon, but instead was left to live in poverty in the shadow of Steve Rogers — and now
John Walker, too. Hopefully by the end of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier's six episodes,
the MCU world will recognize and appreciate Isaiah Bradley, and maybe even his grandson
Elijah, who becomes the Young Avenger Patriot in many Marvel Comics stories.
As Walker struggles to get on the same page as Sam and Bucky, their enemies continue to
move in the shadows. Having bested the dysfunctional heroes, Karli Morgenthau and her small band
of Flag-Smasher members frantically send off supplies with a group of ambiguous enemies
hot on their trail. It's revealed that these mysterious enforcers are employed by someone
known as the Power Broker, who may become a key figure in The Falcon and the Winter
Soldier going forward.
The Power Broker name dates back to the 1980 run of The Thing, and the sinister plan behind
it stays generally the same no matter the incarnation. The Power Broker — either the
individual or business going by that name — promises clients that they too can enjoy
heightened physical abilities much like those found in the Super-Soldier Serum, oftentimes
at a hefty price. This falls in line with the Power Broker's currently vague ties to
the Flag-Smashers, but could also point to a future development involving John Walker.
At one point in the pages of Marvel Comics, Walker, prior to his debut as Super-Patriot,
visits the Power Broker to gain superhuman strength, speed, durability, and more. Considering
how inadequate the seemingly enhancement-free MCU John Walker is beginning to feel after
his first big loss, perhaps a trip to the Power Broker for a super-boost is in the cards...if
he hasn't visited him already. We'll have to wait and see what kinds of connections
these two will have as the rest of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier unfolds.
After telling John Walker that they won't work with him to track down the Flag-Smashers,
Sam and Bucky try to figure out their own leads. They want to stomp out the Flag-Smashers,
but they need to figure out the origins of their Super-Soldier-esque abilities. That
means they need to speak to someone who has extensive knowledge of HYDRA's research into
the subject: Helmut Zemo .
Zemo first arrived in the MCU as the main antagonist of 2016's Captain America: Civil
War. In the film, he exacts revenge on the Avengers for their participation in the battle
of Sokovia that got his family killed, setting the wheels in motion to fracture the team's
seemingly unbreakable bond. With Cap and Iron Man at odds, the Sokovia Accords in full effect,
and a brainwashed Bucky as his weapon, Zemo succeeds in his plan. Nevertheless, Black
Panther apprehends him by the end of the film and sends him off to prison to pay for his
crimes.
Besides chilling in his prison cell, we don't know what exactly Zemo has been up to since
we last saw him, but we're certainly going to find out in the next episode of The Falcon
and the Winter Soldier — and the meeting is sure to be fraught with tension and possible
danger. The series has made it clear that Bucky is having trouble letting go of his
past as an assassin, and that he's still fragile from enduring decades of HYDRA experimentation
and mind control.
It took only a few simple words for Zemo to control Bucky's mind in Civil War, so who's
to say he couldn't do it again in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier? Visiting Zemo is a
massive risk for Bucky, but if it means saving the world from yet another major threat, surely
it's one that the so-called White Wolf is willing to take.
Check out one of our newest videos right here! Plus, even more Looper videos about The Falcon
and the Winter Soldier are coming soon. Subscribe to our YouTube channel and hit the bell so
you don't miss a single one.