For the vast majority of Bucky Barnes’ 106 years on Earth, his life has been to run from battle to battle without a second to simply sit down and exist. Bucky Barnes is now confronted with a new reality he can’t navigate — what happens after the knuckles are tied up and the bad guy is dead? | The Falcon and the Winter Soldier
The Cinematic Universe of Marvel spent eleven years building up its climate battle between the world’s most powerful heroes (and some space friends) and the Mad Titan, Thanos. Some hiccups were on the way — Ultron almost destroyed the world, countless others, like Loki, Red Skull and Hydra, tried a few times to kill the Avengers, but all of this boiled down to Thanos.
He’s not a threat anymore (in this universe, anyway). After being snapped from existence, millions of people are back on Earth. In the last five years, the world has to try to move on. The government is developing new regulations, banks are trying to figure out how to help people with finance after being away for five years, but superheroes have been stuck in a suspension moment.
The next big deal is at the corner — it’s always — but for now, Marvel Studios is using its new Disney Plus TV world to step back and let its heroes break down when they are trying to find their place in a strange, new world. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, which are currently debuting, are a perfect example.
[If you read a new Marvel show writing, you know what is ahead of you. Here’s your warning for spoilers in the first episode.]
At the beginning of the show, Captain America is gone, and without him, his two best friends navigate the world. Sam Wilson (Falcon) joined the Air Force and attempted to prevent terrorists from gaining power. Bucky Barnes (Winter Soldier) undergoes therapy, living in New York City for the first time as a normal civilian since he left to fight in the Second World War. Both try to acclimatise themselves to their new lives, dealing with things they did not have when the world was on the verge of extinction.
In one case, Sam is trying to help his sister obtain a loan in Louisiana for the houseboat in which he grew up but which has now become too costly to maintain. Among the lamentable requests of an Avenger-fanboy banker for selfies, they consistently tell the duo that they do not have enough income to give the bank a loan. Confused, the banker repeatedly asks how Sam earned a profit when he was one of the most famous superhero groups in the world (“Did Stark pay you when he was around?”). Even if Sam disappeared for five years (no recent income, therefore), it just makes him like half of the people who disappeared in the world.
It’s a magnificent scene. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier shine best when they ask questions that people have kicked in their minds for more than a decade and have conversated with friends. How do you pay for the Avengers? On their time off, what do they do? Do they go with non-Avengers on dates? Do they take part-time jobs if the world doesn’t have to save? How do the Avengers live when nothing takes vengeance?
This is a big part of how comic books are fun week by week, month by month. Superheroes’ intimate lives when masks are removed and high-tech gear is removed are as important as the extensive CGI combat sequences. In WandaVision, these are the small moments in what could have been their post-Thano lives between Wanda and Vision. If Marvel’s next Hawkeye series is inspired by the beloved Hawkeye comic by Matt Fraction, it is barbecued on the roof, coffee in the morns, and searches for new cars for purchase. Sam helps his nephews to catch fish on the dock or Bucky tries to date online in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Hell, Bucky is something ripped from Tumblr in therapy; this is a compliment.
Just months after half of the world’s population returns, everyone is trying to figure out their identity and they are trying to do so with undeniable legacies hanging over their head. Two of the greatest heroes in the country were gone without Steve Rogers (Captain America) and Tony Stark (Iron Man) and a hole was left in their place. Sam won’t be the new Captain America. In addition to handling his guilt and trauma after his years as a winter soldier, Bucky is monitored by the government. The world may need a new Captain America in order to feel safe, but Steve Rogers’ replacement is not as simple as pointing to a new person and saying “You are.”
Oh, not to Sam. The government introduces a new Captain America at the end of the episode (most likely John Walker, who becomes US Agent and has his own colourful history). While the government is trying to replace Steve Rogers’ home, Sam is about to face a new threat that Bucky will need. Without Steve or Tony to guide the charge, it is up to them to stop any threat — even if it means holding the trials and tribulations of daily life. As Bucky says to his therapist, life is never known without fighting.
Here are all elements of a typical MCU movie from The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. The pilot opens with a 10-minute sequence of activities (including the appearance of a favourite Winter Soldier) and creates the kind of mission-oriented action film Marvel fans love. They look good, they feel costly, and they provide a much more traditional MCU experience. WandaVision screamed experimental and abstract (in comparison to the larger MCU-widespread), but Falcon and the Winter Soldier can fit perfectly into every instalment between Captain America and Avengers. There are big struggles, bigger explosions, and more bad guys promise. I mean, with Falcon fighting Batroc, the episode opens.
No doubt things are about to become explosive again for the boys. But these are the quieter moments when Bucky tries to meet a young girl in a bar without taking off his gloves because he doesn’t want to blow his metal armour Sam goofs with his nephews, which make Falcon and the Winter Soldier special. We had so many fans knowing the great heroes who now look like the perfect way to meet characters with whom we haven’t had enough time during the last decade: Wanda, Vision, Bucky, Sam, Clint Barton (Hawkeye). In fanfare, the Avengers crew living together in Avengers (nee Stark) Tower is one of the most popular settings. People, like anybody else, want to imagine their favourite superheroes going about their days. As I love the Falcon and Winter Soldier stories, I love Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes.
If The Falcon and the Winter Soldier come to Bucky and Sam, who they are outside of battle — between big sequences of struggles, of course — I am glad. After all, in Avengers we love the party scene: Ultron’s age for a reason.
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