So this episode didn’t start the way I expected it to. There was action but it was just that first sequence. Just a tease. I see what you’re doing, Marvel. So from what I can see, all of what Wanda needed in WandaVision is what Bucky is actually doing for himself. Took us awhile to get here but we’re here, but don’t judge Wanda. She did the best she could and yes, I know she could have done better. But let me focus!
I, too, wondered if there was a hero fund. How do heroes get paid? Turns out, they don’t and it’s completely volunteer but this begs my next question. Back in Captain America: Civil War when the government wanted to regulate superheroes, how were you going to tell me how to do my job when you don’t pay me to do the job AND I’m saving the world? How?
Anyway, you know what I love about this show? We get to see what the heroes do when they don’t have a major threat to society. Where do they be at? Well, Sam has some contract work and helps on his family boat while James has befriended an older man and is in therapy.
At the end of Avengers: Endgame, Sam was it. Cap has chosen him to take on the mantle but I think Sam believes that he is not worthy of such a legacy, to step into the shoes of a man who was so morally pure. Let’s dive into that for a second. Sam thought the best thing to do would be to retire Cap’s shield and not take on that responsibility himself. Only for the government to decide that they needed a new hero. *Cue the Fairy Godmother from Shrek 2* I think there will be elements of Sam Wilson, from the MCU, and Black Cap, from the comics, which will ultimately give us the best version of Sam for the MCU. I think Sam struggles with the idea that he did not earn the mantle and that’s why it doesn’t suit him. I think we will see Sam come into his own in this series, become his own version of who Cap could see he was when he gave him the shield.
James “Bucky” Barnes has lifelong trauma that he has no idea how to deal with and I don’t blame him. He’s been through the ringer! He went from being Steve’s best friend, almost dying falling from that train, being found by Hydra and being programmed to kill and ending his life as an Avenger-adjacent ally. This man is 106 years old and has no idea who he really is. We’ve seen Bucky go through so much in the MCU. Probably more than a Thor or a Tony but he has so far to go and I think this series is meant to speed that up come movie time for him. I’m excited to see who Bucky really is because so much of what we’ve seen has been the Winter Soldier.
Now, like many of us, thought they would start the series together. I find it interesting that they’re going to take us on the journey of getting them and Sharon together. I’m assuming there will be some extreme reason why these three will have to get together and I don’t think this is government related. I don’t really even believe S.H.I.E.L.D. or S.W.O.R.D. are involved.
At the moment, I haven’t found many Easter eggs or clues to things I should be paying attention to just yet but I did find out that Joaquin Torres, played by Danny Ramirez, took up the mantle of “Falcon” when Sam became the new Cap in the comics. I’m not entirely sure of his place here. Also, no, I don’t necessarily believe that we’re talking about mutants just yet. I think someone just tried to create their own super soldier serum. Not entirely the same as creating a mutant like Wanda. I think eventually we will have to define what a mutant is a what an enhanced human being in. Back in Avengers: Age of Ultron, they called Wanda and Pietro “enhanced” because Marvel didn’t have the rights to the term mutant. Now, they do so they have to make a clear statement about what is what. But again, I don’t think this is what you all want it to be. I say “you all” because I only see what the show gives me and nothing more. There are some of you who were mad at things that were not promised to you. Don’t do that with this series. This will be more of a clear cut series where lines are clearly drawn and there is a lot of action and an endpoint. Much different than WandaVision.
So what do we think about the first of six episodes of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier? What do Sam and Torres know that we don’t? What alliances have been torn and why? What happened during the blip? I need answers.
BLACK WATCH 