Falcon and Winter Soldier S1, Ep. 1: A look at the other side of superhero life
- Jeremy Costello
- Mar 19, 2021
- 7 min read
Updated: May 23, 2021
The Falcon And The Winter Soldier (Disney Plus) - Episode 1: New World Order
(Note: From now on, I will refer to the show as Falcon and Winter Soldier - like Justin Timberlake's character in Social Network said, dropping the "The" is cleaner, especially with two of them!)

The Captain America movies are some of my favorites in all of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. If not for the coolness and excitement factors that came with the experience of watching The Avengers for the first time, I would rank The Winter Soldier as my favorite of the MCU movies. Part of the reason is that characters like Captain America, Falcon, Bucky, and Black Widow are more "realistic" superheroes (as oxi-moronic as that sounds). Sure, Cap has the serum in him that amplifies what's already there by an incredible amount, but for the most part, these characters are driven by motives of altruism, patriotism, and a general sense of honor.
As we begin our six-episode venture into Falcon and Winter Soldier, Marvel's second foray into shows on Disney+, we are reminded that the Falcon and Winter Soldier characters are really Sam Wilson and James "Bucky" Barnes: two guys who, when they aren't fighting Thanos' goons in Wakanda, still have day-to-day lives to navigate. It almost seems comical when Falcon is sitting at a desk while trying to help his sister get a loan from their bank, or when Bucky goes on his first date in 75-some years (here's hoping he has the same comical problems that Steve did in the movie). This show already does a great job of positing these two famous superheroes in tough situations in which superpowers aren't the answer.
Don't get it twisted, though. Action scenes still set the tone here, even if the opening scene is the only extended sequence of the episode (there will be more for sure). Watching Falcon zig-zag to avoid bullet shots while chasing a bad guy parachuting out of a plane through the air (I won't even think about the absurdity of bullet paths at 35,000 feet in the air) or flying through a canyon while chasing bad guys as if he was an X-Wing flying through Beggar's Canyon (come on, you know I'm making Star Wars references whenever possible) is pure joy and a good reminder of this mini-franchise within a franchise's roots. Let's not forget Falcon's toy, Redwing, which is Iron Man if he was an action figure.
As the second Marvel show on Disney+, it's hard not to want to compare it to WandaVision. I'd say Falcon and Winter Soldier lines up more with typical expectations of an MCU entry - one of a plethora of reasons WandaVision was so popular was its unique feel - but honestly, the MCU has had a varied portfolio for a long time now, so I don't even think it's fair to pigeon-hole Falcon and Winter Soldier; more importantly, it doesn't mean this show can't be just as compelling, or tell just as grand a story, or develop character as well as WandaVision did. This show definitely feels like it belongs within the characters' sub-franchise; whereas with WandaVision, it was way more its own thing. We already are getting hints of messaging around PTSD and how we treat war veterans as well as socio-economic divides - another reason I like the Captain America movies most is their willingness to tackle major issues. Oh, and seeds are planted around the themes of one-world governments and the notion of a military having too much control.
In this opening episode, titled New World Order, Sam's backstory takes centerstage, which makes sense since we already know more about Bucky. Sam has a sister, Sarah, two nephews, and a dead father that left his family in a tough spot. We didn't get quite the same look at the chaotic moment when Falcon returned from the Blip as we did with Monica Rambeau in WandaVision, but he did elude to the shock of seeing his nephews five years older (establishing that this show and WandaVision probably are in similar spots in the MCU timeline). Sam now is trying to get back to a normal life, which includes helping his sister with their family business in Louisiana. It's refreshing to see this day-to-day aspect of a superhero's life. Superheroes need to eat, too, right? It's not like they're on bad terms, but Sam and Sarah clearly have some unresolved issues to work through, and there may be some bad grudges that need to get ironed out between the two at some point.
Meanwhile, Bucky is in therapy for a variety of reasons. He's a soldier who's not at war anymore, and he's now having nightmares (though he has stopped admitting as much to his therapist). He's also a former Hydra soldier, so who knows if there's still some of that brainwashed junk in his mind. I guess I just assumed they dealt with all that when he visited Black Panther in Wakanda, so I hope this is not the angle they take with him. It's time to move on from that story, and that's exactly what Bucky is trying to do. He has regular lunch visits with an elderly Asian man named Yori (it's not clear, but they may live near each other). Yori even sets up Bucky and their waitress, Leah, on a light-hearted date during which they eat dinner and play a game of Battleship together (probably not the best idea since that might trigger war flashbacks).
Bucky is making these efforts to earn a pardon and clear his name. Again, it's refreshing to see the effects the aftermath of the events in the movies has on these characters. Bucky was a known terrorist. How do you move on from that? How will the public view him? Leah and Yori don't seem bothered to be associated with Bucky, but will that ring true for everyone else? It's great that Marvel is going down this narrow, somewhat off-beat path of watching their superheroes deal with real difficulties, and I hope they continue to explore how they will be viewed in the public. Though it was more of a toss-away line, one of my favorite lines in WandaVision was when Wanda was warning Monica about how the public sees her and how to handle that.
Maybe Marvel will deal with the tough act of balancing normal life and hero work. Though Sam is trying to get back to a regular life, the leadership void left by Captain America is calling. At the end of the episode, a White House official gives a speech about needing a new leader in what turned out to be the most poorly written scene of the episode (seriously, how clunky was that?). Falcon oddly decided to walk away from the shield, but after the world is introduced to a new Captain America (who clearly is going to be a bad guy), Falcon may realize that "the safest hands are still our own," which inevitably leads to him finding his calling in life; surely we'll see him deemed the "new Cap" by the end of the show, right? In the same way that Marvel contrived the need for a new Iron Man in Spider-Man: Far From Home, when they tried to make Spidey pick up the mantle, I don't truly see the need for a new Captain America, either. Why can't Falcon just be Falcon?
I'm sure we'll get more information on the criminal organization LAF (which Falcon was hunting down in the beginning). The more interesting "bad guys" was Flag Smashers, a group dedicated to creating a unified world without borders; this group thought the world was better off during the blip (ouch). Their team logo is a giant hand surrounding the Earth.
I'm happy to see Rhodey back! Makes sense since he has government connections. I hope it was more than just a cameo, though. I'd love to see Marvel delve into a story about how Rhodes has continued to cope with his injury he suffered in Captain America: Civil War. Now would be as fitting a time as any.
Theory Time
Okay, I know looking into all these theories burned us pretty badly during WandaVision, but hey, it's still fun, right? So here's a theory for you. What if the Captain America we saw at the end of Avengers: Endgame was from the FUTURE? And he brought back the shield to Falcon because he knew Falcon would need to be "the guy" in whatever situations are arising in this show? It would be like Inception-level planning! I have not seen this theory out on the Internet anywhere, so I'm claiming this one as my own idea. but I'm honestly not sure if that would work. Speaking of theories, I love how Torres, a new character who seemed to be friends with Sam, is literally quoting theories about what happened to Captain America at the end of Avengers: Endgame! Marvel once again knows how popular it is in the lexicon/social vernacular, and they are taking way too much advantage of that.
Notes:
- I love that Falcon is protecting Cap's shield by putting it in a round bag. I could just see him needing to whip the shield out of the bag in the middle of a fight and needing to shout out "Hang on, guys. The zipper is stuck." At least going through airport security should be easier since they would know what's in the bag, right?
-Watching Falcon fall out the back of an airplane like Cap does in The Avengers never gets old.
-Falcon showed off his Arabic language skills, and he knows his tech as he repairs his gear on his own. Not just a one-note hero, huh?
-It's fun watching people react when they to seeing an Avenger, even when it's mundane things like Sam trying to get a loan. We saw that in Avengers: Endgame when Banner was trying to eat a breakfast for 20 people.
-I used to play penuckle with my cousins. I also have an Uncle Sam (my mom's brother). Hearing both of those mentioned made me smile.
-We find out that Yori had a son who died, but he never finds out how. That's got to be a sick feeling for a parent. Bucky seems compelled to find out what happened to him. Hm, will Bucky find out he was the one who killed Yori's son? That won't be much of a twist, so I hope they don't go down that path. I thought the line about our language not having a word for parents who lose their children to fit with widow or orphan was truly touching. On a personal note, I've recently been at a funeral for my wife's cousin who was 22 years old. It's the saddest thing I've ever known, and I can't imagine the pain her actual family is feeling (she's in Heaven, at least).
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