At 1pm today I’m getting a screener for the first episode of Falcon and the Winter Soldier. So before this, I want to share my theories, so Disney doesn’t just think I’ve watched that and put something out like “here are all my amazing fan theories that turned out to be true!”
Show’s Plot
Overall the show seems to be centred around the graphic novel run ‘Sam Wilson: Captain America’. Though his relationship with Bucky isn’t that big of a focus, the series has clearly taken some ideas and aspects from it and in the run, we start with an elderly Captain America passing the mantle to Sam.
This is of course very similar to the way that Endgame culminated and they clearly put the pieces in place to follow that narrative. Similar to today’s current climate, Sam finds America more divided than ever with almost every aspect of society at the neck of its opposite.
Due to the rise of Nationalism, Sam finds himself as a controversial figure and whereas he thought he would initially be just fighting bad guys and attending parades, the series goes far beyond that.
This is something I feel will definitely carry across to the show and though we don’t quite know what happens yet.
Political Focus
Early reactions from people that have already seen it say it’s the most political MCU property yet.
I think that due to Sam breaking the Sokovia Accords and also being on the run for several years that he will have the mantle taken from him in exchange for all charges against the character being dropped.
However, he will have to carry on working for the Government along with Bucky and this will be part of the missions that we see them on. Bucky is quite a dark horse in the show as it’s difficult to predict where his arc will be going. I kinda hope the guy finds love and a home, as he’s someone that hasn’t really had a place in the world.
However, I feel like the show will predominantly be centred around the fight for the Captain America mantle and what it actually means to be a hero that represents the symbolism of a country.
In the source material, there’s even a bit where the hashtags #NotMyCaptainAmerica and #TakeBackTheShield trend which I believe are things that we might see in the show too.
Where’s Steve?
It’s possible that because Steve wanted to lie low as an old man, Sam and Bucky will have to pretend that the character is dead. In the trailers, we do see what looks to be the pair preparing for his funeral however we also know from behind-the-scenes info that Chris Evans is returning for a couple of projects down the line.
In the comics, they actually reverse the ageing process on him at one point and this allows him to be a young man once more which could be what the MCU ends up doing so that he can come back. I dunno how I feel about that but from my sources, I did hear that the reason that Marvel Studios approached Chris once more is that Chadwick Boseman was going to become the next quote-unquote face of the MCU.
Sadly the actor passed away which devastated the comic book community and as Marvel doesn’t really have a fully established name that they can use to lead the Avengers, they went to Chris with a proposal.
I think they’re just biding their time until they get that in place and that they will do something similar to the comics where he is reverted back to being a young man.
Now I think he will most likely be absent from this series but because he was never able to officially announce that Sam was the new Captain America, whether he’s the right one will be put into contention.
Captain John Walker
This will open the door for the US Government, which I hope is headed up by General Ross to appoint their own Captain America…namely John Walker. Now if you’re aware of the character then you’ll know that in the comics he did have the Cap mantle but he’s more predominantly known as US Agent.
US Agent is somewhat of an anti-hero and he’s been on both sides of the fence which I think is a motif that this show will too tackle. In the comic he and Sam actually end up facing off against each other and this is something that is put in place by Hydra….and Captain America who was working for Hydra at the time I think…look it was complicated…the point is that Sam and US Agent end up fighting.
We know from the trailers that people appear in Hydra Jumpsuits at one point and this could mean that the organisation is in the show. The last time we saw them they were stealing Cross’ Pym Particles so they are still out there somewhere. Potentially Walker could be working for them and he may be organising attacks with Flagsmasher to swoop in and save the day so he seems like the hero.
Flagsmasher
Now Flagsmasher is someone who too briefly appears in the run and though this is an LMD, the character still brings a lot with them. Flagsmasher is a male in the comics but it looks like they’ve done a gender swap and set the character up with a bunch of forces so that they operate more as a group rather than one Individual.
In the source material, Flagsmasher holds a senator at one point and reveals that his motives for doing so are because he believes that Nationalism always leads to Fascism and Fascism always leads to war. Flagsmasher sees himself as someone who is pre-emptively saving lives by opening up the borders, tearing down nations and thus allowing people to be truly free.
My prediction is that Flagsmasher will be painted out in somewhat of a sympathetic light and whereas Walker will likely be revealed as being a villain, Flagsmasher will become somewhat of a hero by the end.
Show’s Message
I think the show will be heavily steeped in politics and it will also tackle what it truly means to be Captain America. The source material does a great job of explaining that Cap was never meant to be a force that attacked people and they even showcase a part where Steve decides to pick a shield over a gun to hammer home this message. Captain America is supposed to be a defender, not a conquerer and we will likely see the image of Cap perverted before Cap has to restore the mantle.
After Wandavision I feel that the Disney Plus shows will very much be side adventures that you don’t have to watch if you want to just follow the films. Therefore they need to leave things like how they were at the end of Endgame and the series will culminate with Sam becoming Captain America once more.
Powers in Politics
Now in the comics, there’s actually a bit in which they go to a village that SHIELD has used to rehabilitate supervillains. This is actually very similar in aesthetic to Wandavision with Maria Hill using pieces of the cosmic cube to somewhat alter reality. Through this power, she has changed the super villains into people that believe they’re living in an idyllic America.
I don’t think this aesthetic will be used as it’s too close to Wandavision to be something that they will adopt in the show I do believe that in the wake of the snap that the powers in politics will have tried to rehouse Supervillains and this could be why Zemo is out free. Zemo is of course still cry-wanking over that voicemail message and this is still likely driving his actions in the show.
We see him visit a memorial for the people of Sokovia, including his family and from the trailers, it seems like he wants to destroy Superheroes across the planet.
Confronting Zemo
Now we also know that there will be a scene in which Bucky confronts him face to face. I think that at this moment, he will try and use the mind-control words on the character but Bucky will unload the gun to show him that they no longer work. This is a big moment for the Buckster but I think Zemo will try and employ these tactics on others.
Potentially he could even brainwash John Walker to have him as one of his sleeper cells and this may be a driving force behind the character turning to the dark side.
Location
Now we also know that the series will take us to Madripoor, the fictional Asian Country that is divided into two sections. High town and low town are both crime-ridden areas with the former being filled with mobsters whereas the latter is more of your typical kind of crimes…like stealing your girl’s heart which I just did.
Shaboow.
Anyway, this location not only ties into Wolverine but also The Mutants as a whole.
Links it Mutants?
We know from behind-the-scenes information that the show changed a big aspect of its story in the wake of the pandemic and that this plot line centred around a virus.
There’s even potential that this could be Terrigan Myst which transforms people into Inhumans. I kinda feel like either them or Mutants, in general, will be set up in the show and that this location was picked for that very reason. We know mutants are coming down the line and I expect to see at least one or two of the lesser-known ones in this series at some point.
Now those are sort of my over-arcing predictions based on the comics and things that we know so far. I know with Wandavision we got a couple of things right and a lot of things wrong but when doing fan theory videos I tend to look to the comics which is also what a lot of my Wandavision theories were based on.
Marvel is never one-for-one with their comics to adaptations though so I am expecting a lot of surprises as well as the usual twists and turns. Even though it’s only been a week, Wandavision feels like it was so long ago and I’m glad that we’re back with Marvel already.
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