We’ve known for a long time that The Falcon And The Winter Soldier would be a very different kind of series than WandaVision. While the previously release centering on Scarlet Witch and Vision was designed as a sitcom-tinged mystery, the follow-up has been billed as a buddy movie-inspired action-adventure story. As a result, audiences have moderated their expectations for the new Marvel title, and we’re ready to absorb everything it has to offer – but in the wake of the premiere, it seems that the two Disney+ originals do have something in common: the episodes will leave you asking some big questions.
The debut chapter of The Falcon And The Winter Soldier is now available to stream, and if you’re like us you have a whole lot of thoughts spinning around in your head. We here at CinemaBlend will surely address a whole lot of them in the coming week, but for now there are six questions in particular that we’re excited to see answered/addressed in upcoming episodes.
Will Batroc Return?
Given that Captain America: The Winter Soldier was the movie that introduced both Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes’s Winter Soldier persona into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it feels utterly appropriate that the first episode of The Falcon And The Winter Soldier begins with a cool homage to that blockbuster in the form Georges Batroc. Audiences may have assumed he was locked up after his bout with Cap, but Batroc is very active in the series’ first action sequence – flying around in a wingsuit while trying to stay one step ahead of the titular winged hero. He also clearly escapes at the very end, flying away from an explosion, but will he be back?
It’s entirely possible that Batroc was featured in the premiere just as a one-off cameo, and it is worth recognizing that The Falcon And The Winter Soldier has a good number of antagonists set to appear (more on that below). But what seems equally possible is that he gets roped into the larger plot that’s brewing. Frankly, audiences win either way: if he doesn’t reappear, at the very least we know that he is somewhere in the Marvel Cinematic Universe ready to tussle with heroes at any given moment. And if he does come back, it will be great to see more of Georges St. Pierre in action in the established aesthetic.
Does Flag-Smasher Have Its Own Super Soldier?
Sam Wilson stopped short of saying the actual words while discussing the Flag-Smasher video with his army liaison, but after seeing the action ourselves, Marvel fans can pretty much read the two words on his mind: “Super Soldier.” There aren’t exactly a lot of normal people who can leap from second story buildings without issue, and kick people with enough force to make them fly backwards 10 feet. But without actually hearing the words, we can only speculate for now.
If it is, in fact, a super soldier, that’s something that introduces a whole new set of questions to the equation – the biggest one being “who is responsible for making him?” The first instinct might be to point the finger at Zemo (who we know will be making his big comeback in the series after Captain America: Civil War), but then one remembers that he was the one who personally killed every hibernating Hydra super soldier. But we shouldn’t get ahead of ourselves anyway – it’s entirely possible that what we’re going to see develop in The Falcon And The Winter Soldier turns out to be something brand new.
What Will Bring Sam And Bucky Together?
One of the more surprising choices made by the first chapter of The Falcon And The Winter Soldier is that the two eponymous characters are never shown speaking to each other, or in the same room. As fans know, they aren’t heroes who relate to one another as the best of friends, so that makes plenty of sense, but it does still bring up the question of how the plot of the small screen episodic blockbuster will ultimately unite them.
If we had to make a guess, the answer may lie in the subject matter addressed in the previous section of this feature. If Sam Wilson is concerned that there is a Hydra-created super soldier on the loose, it would make sense that his first call would go to the only ex-Hydra created super soldier that he knows. It also may be, however, that they are brought together because of the announcement about the new Captain America (more on that in a moment). It’s hard to imagine many other circumstances where Bucky would be Sam’s first call, so we’ll just have to wait and see how their paths re-cross – presumably in The Falcon And The Winter Soldier’s second episode.
What Did John Walker Do To Earn The Title Of Captain America?
Taking on the mantle of Captain America is a heavy and meaningful responsibility, both in terms of what the moniker means and the legacy of Steve Rogers, so it’s wholly understandable that Sam Wilson doesn’t feel he’s ready to take it on at the start of The Falcon And The Winter Solder. He fought side-by-side with the patriotic hero for years, and he doesn’t feel right taking his friend’s name and shield. His handing over of the equipment to the Smithsonian is heavy and emotional material… which further accentuates the whiplash generated at the end of the premiere when it’s announced that a random white guy has taken the title for himself.
It has already been revealed that the man wearing the new Captain America uniform is John Walker (played by Wyatt Russell), but what we don’t know about are any of his qualifications to take on such a legendary position. It sure seemed like the mantle was being retired when Sam Wilson decided not to take it on himself, so what makes Walker so special that he earns that vibranium shield? As of right now we have only questions and zero answers about who the guy is and what he represents, so hopefully The Falcon And The Winter Soldier won’t dawdle when it comes to unearthing key information about him.
What Does The World Think Happened To Captain America?
Speaking of Captain America, there’s a significant question about the character that is left totally open-ended in the first episode of The Falcon And The Winter Soldier. Those who saw Avengers: Endgame know that Steve Rogers made the choice to time travel back to the 20th century and live out a normal life with Peggy Carter in the aftermath of the battle with Thanos – but what we don’t know even after the debut of the new Disney+ original is what people around the world think happened to the red, white, and blue hero. There’s evidently a conspiracy theory about him living on the moon, and Sam Wilson refers to him in the past tense, but there’s no information made available beyond that.
Surely The Avengers have an official line when it comes to the matter of Captain America’s fate, as it’s hard to imagine them telling the world the truth, but that still leaves us wondering what kind of PR spin has been applied in this circumstance. It’s possible that people think that he is dead, but if that’s the case it’s a bit strange he’s not being mourned like Tony Stark. Telling everybody that he’s lost in the cosmos or in another dimension doesn’t seem totally impossible given all of the crazy events that have transpired in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but that’s merely speculation.
How Will The Falcon And The Winter Soldier Top That Insane Aerial Sequence?
On a more practical level, we also must take a moment to further address the absolutely incredible aerial sequence that opens The Falcon And The Winter Soldier. It’s been promised for a long time that the blockbuster feel of the Marvel Cinematic Universe wouldn’t feel diminished packaged into episodic stories on Disney+, and the new series doesn’t waste any time at all putting its best foot forward. Given how remarkable it is, though, we have to now wonder if it can be topped.
Much like Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation beginning with Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt strapped to the side of a plane as it takes off, The Falcon And The Winter Soldier sets its own action bar impressively high with its first scene featuring Sam Wilson chasing Batroc through the skies. Where does it go from there? How does it beat that? We haven’t a clue, and while that has us a touch concerned, it also means that we are highly anticipating watching the show try.
This is only skimming the surface of what we’re excited for The Falcon And The Winter Soldier to explore as the story continues, and it will be doing just that in one week’s time. The second episode will be available to stream on Disney+ starting Friday, March 26 at 12am PST/3am EST, and between now and then we’ll be pondering all varieties of potential answers to the questions posed above.
