The Falcon and the Winter Soldier-Everything You Need To Know

Georgia Axiotis, Writer|March 19, 2021

Image courtesy of marvelcinematicuniverse.fandom.com.

Among some of Marvel’s most highly anticipated works for this year, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is set to be released this Friday, March 19 on Disney Plus, right after WandaVision’s season finale two weeks ago. After the events of Avengers: Endgame and Infinity War, obviously a lot has happened and changed within the MCU. Below is a breakdown of everything viewers need to know before watching the first episode this weekend.
At the end of Avengers: Endgame, Captain America (Steve Rogers) was tasked with returning the

Sam Wilson after having received the Captain America shield from Steve Rogers. (Image courtesy of www.looper.com.)

Infinity Stones to their original timelines and places. However, when sent back in time, Rogers decided to stay in the 1940s and be reunited with Peggy Carter. He was next seen as an old man, having lived the life he had always wanted but never had with Peggy. As James “Bucky” Barnes (a.k.a. The Winter Soldier) and Sam Wilson (a.k.a. The Falcon) were both present, Wilson walked up to Rogers and was given the Captain America shield, a very symbolic hand-off of the mantle of Captain America from Steve Rogers to Sam Wilson. In Spider-Man: Far From Home, it was confirmed that Steve Rogers had passed away in the current timeline.

Sam Wilson after first meeting Steve Rogers. (Image courtesy of thenerdsofcolor.org.)

Now time to look at Sam Wilson himself. Wilson first appeared in the MCU in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, where he met Steve Rogers on a morning run outside of Washington D.C.. Here, Rogers passed him multiple times, each time teasing him with the now well-known line “On your left.” At the time, Wilson was a retired U.S. Air Force veteran who was working for the V.A. to help veterans suffering from PTSD, according to Wika. Wilson, himself, had left the military after serving two tours and having lost his wingman, Riley, who was hit and killed by an RPG during a night rescue mission. Rogers and Natasha Romanoff (a.k.a. Black Widow) later went to Wilson for help against fighting HYDRA. Wilson brought out his Falcon uniform and helped Rogers and Romanoff fight against Hydra forces, including the Winter Soldier. He was later recruited to the

Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes fighting together in Captain America: Civil War. (Image courtesy of www.theverge.com.)

Avengers. In Captain America: Civil War, when an argument over the Sokovia Accords (which would limit superheroes abilities to operate on their own) split the Avengers, Wilson sided with Rogers alongside Barnes, whom Rogers was also protecting in the midst of blame for terrorist attacks being laid at Barnes’ feet by villain Helmut Zemo. In the end, Wilson and some other Avengers who had sided with Rogers were locked up until Rogers came and broke them out. By Avengers: Infinity War, Wilson was one of the many who were snapped out of existence by Thanos, but he made a strong return for the final battle of Avengers: Endgame, when he flew back in beside Rogers, saying “On your left.”

Bucky Barnes in Avengers: Infinity War. (Image courtesy of www.kenyantribune.com.)

Now to recap James “Bucky” Barnes’ character arc. In Captain America: The First Avenger, Barnes was introduced as Rogers’ childhood best friend, who joined the army in 1943 and fought as a part of the 107th Infantry Regiment during the war, rising to the rank of Sergeant. Barnes’ regiment was later captured by HYDRA and experimented on before Rogers (then having received the serum that gave him his super-abilities) went to rescue them. To fight the HYDRA leader, Red Skull, Rogers and Barnes formed the Howling Commandos, but during an attempted ambush on a HYDRA agent, Barnes fell off of a moving train in the Austrian Alps and was believed dead. While he did lose an arm, his previous experimentation from HYDRA let him survive and he was recovered by HYDRA, brainwashed, and made into the Winter Soldier. He appeared next in Captain America: Winter

Bucky Barnes fighting as the brainwashed Winter Soldier. (Image courtesy of www.awn.com.)

Soldier, where although he was still brainwashed and fought Rogers, he seemed to regain some memory by the end, as he rescued Rogers from a lake. In Captain America: Civil War, he had really begun regaining his memory and rejoined Rogers. It was here revealed that when still brainwashed, it was Barnes, the Winter Soldier, who had killed Tony Stark (Iron Man)’s parents years ago, creating a divide between Rogers and Stark. Barnes was later brought to Wakanda to be put into cryostasis until he could be wiped of the triggers HYDRA had implanted in his mind. He was fixed by Shuri, Black Panther’s younger sister and tech genius, and was back to fighting alongside Rogers in Avengers: Infinity War. Like Wilson, Barnes was also snapped out of existence by Thanos but came back for the final battle of Avengers: Endgame.

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier walking alongside each other. (Image couretsy of indianexpress.com.)

Through all of this, one can see the common thread that Wilson and Barnes share: their friendship with Rogers. Wilson and Barnes also share a background in the military and have fought alongside each other a few times. Fans have already gotten to see some glimpses of hilarious banter between the two, so it will be enjoyable to see how that plays out when it is just the two of them in the Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
Now, time to take a look at the trailers for this upcoming series. In the trailers and character posters released so far, one can find Sharon Carter present, according to Deadline. Carter is the niece

Sharon Carter fighting against a Hyrda agent. (Image courtesy of thewertzone.blogspot.com.)

of Peggy Carter and is an agent at S.H.I.E.L.D.. She first appeared and aided Rogers in Captain America: Winter Soldier and came back in Captain America: Civil War.
Also featured in the trailers and character posters is Helmut Zemo. Zemo became a terrorist, wanting revenge on the Avengers after his family was killed in the battle of Sokovia, one of the events of Avengers: Age of Ultron. It was he who orchestrated the bombing of a UN meeting that then led to the Sokovia

The villain Helmut Zemo as featured in the Falcon and the Winter Soldier trailers. (Image courtesy of gamersgrade.com.)

Accords and the splitting of the Avengers. He had wanted to see the Avengers turn on themselves, and got what he wanted. T’Challa of Wakanda (a.k.a. Black Panther and later King of Wakanda) had the opportunity to kill Zemo as revenge for his father, who had been one of the many casualties in the UN bombing. T’Challa decided not to, not wanting to continue a cycle of vengeance and instead Zemo was imprisoned. It seems now, though, that Zemo will once again be a player against superheroes such as Wilson and Barnes.
Another character, seemingly villain, that has been featured in the recent trailers has not been clearly

The unknown villain with a mask as featured in the Falcon and the Winter Soldier trailers. (Image courtesy of www.ign.com.)

identified, though. There has been speculation about who this woman with a black mask and red hand is, with many fans pulling ideas from the comics. One theory, according to looper.com, is that this villain is somehow related to the Marvel comics villain, Flag-Smasher (Karl Morgenthau) who opposed Captain America and created a criminal organization called The Underground Liberated Totally Integrated Mobile Army To Unite Mankind or ULTIMATUM.
Looking at a few other details held within the recent trailers, one can notice the homage to Steve

Sam and Bucky shaking hands. (Image courtesy of collider.com.)

Rogers with his motorbike and original shield that he used in Captain America: The First Avenger. It seems that the mantle of Captain America, with the passing of Steve Rogers and the handing of the shield to Sam Wilson, will play a big role in the show and perhaps in Wilson’s character arc.

“It feels like it belongs to someone else,” Wilson, in reference to the Captain America shield during the final trailer, said.

“That shield represents a lot of things to a lot of people,” Barnes in response to Wilson, said.
Perhaps viewers will see the struggle of Wilson’s character with accepting such a big title as Captain America while also coming into his own as the hero he himself is. It also seems like Barnes may take on a role as a bit of a mentor to Sam through this, as someone who knew Rogers so well, even before he became a superhero.
Overall, it looks like there is a lot to look forward to in this show. Within this season, there will be 6 episodes streaming weekly on Disney+ according to Deadline and IGN. However, according to Anthony Mackie (who plays Sam Wilson), another season of the show is unlikely, as said by Den of Geek.