Shield sidekicks’ society
Two of captain america’s former sidekicks, both of whom have wielded the shield themselves, team-up for The Falcon And The Winter Soldier TV show.
IF you are still suffering from post-endgame withdrawal syndrome, the recently announced host of upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe Phase 4 offerings should help reduce the anxiety attacks.
Having already covered Wandavision, What If?, Shang Chi and the Taskmaster (who will be appearing in the standalone Black Widow movie), we now focus on the inevitable pairing of two Captain America sidekicks!
We first saw Sam Wilson (aka Falcon) and Bucky Barnes (aka Winter Soldier) team up against ... Spider-man in the Captain America: Civil War movie, which certainly helped developed some chemistry between them.
While that combined five minutes of reel time didn’t immediately propel them to the level of the Green Lantern/green Arrow, Power Man/iron Fist or even Quantum/ Woody partnerships, it was enough to get them a Us$150mil budget, six-episode TV series on Disney+.
Written by Malcolm Spellman (Empire, Our Family Wedding, Foxy Brown) and directed by Kari Skogland (The Walking Dead, The Punisher, The Handmaid’s Tale), filming commenced in October with a tentative release date of late 2020.
The bonus here (and a logical one) is Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan reprising their respective roles as the Falcon and Bucky. Hence, with just 12 months separating us from six episodes of The Falcon And The Winter Soldier, let’s see why this pairing could be more successful in on the TV screen than than comic books.
Sidekick society
The Falcon and The Winter Solder (or the hero formerly known as Bucky) share one common trait – they both started their superhero careers as Captain America’s sidekick.
Bucky, who is Cap’s first sidekick, was co-created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby for the pages of Captain America Comics #1 (1941). Bucky and Steve Rogers both served at the U.S. Army Camp Lehigh in Virginia, where they became friends.
A chance ‘forgot-to-knock’ moment led to Bucky discovering Steve’s ‘secret identity’, and led to Cap taking him on as his mentee, and taking part in a series of battles with the Nazis and the Red Skull.
After Bucky’s ‘death’ during World War II, Stan Lee and Gene Colan then co-created the Falcon, who made his debut in Captain America (Vol.1) #117 (1969).
Taking a cue from the Vietnam war and Civil Rights developments in the 60s, the Falcon represented diversity and holds the honour of being the first African-american superhero in mainstream comic books.
While there are divided opinions as to who was the better sidekick, neutral’s point of view would be that they were both equally great during their respective stints. Just as it is difficult for Batman to choose between Dick Grayson, Tim Drake and Damian Wayne (but NOT Jason Todd), Cap would certainly have a tough time to pick between Sam and Bucky. Unless of course, if the role requires killing, which means Bucky would be the perfect pick, due to his Winter Soldier past.
On your left
First heard in the Captain America: Winter Soldier movie (and later in the epic Endgame finale), the ‘on your left’ in joke between Cap and the Falcon may be an immortal line, but it doesn’t grant Sam the edge over Bucky, as the latter grew up with Rogers.
In short, don’t read too much into the fact that Steve gave Sam the shield in Endgame. The fact that Bucky didn’t (or couldn’t) object, but instead encouraged Sam to wield the shield, does point to a more senior mentor-like role, which he arguably deserves, having been with Captain America for so long.
The right man for the shield
In the comics, Bucky and Sam have each had their shot at being Captain America, but both eventually decided to revert to their original personas.
Bucky’s moment came during the epic Death Of Captain America storyline (Captain America (Vol. 5) #25, by Ed Brubaker and Steve Epting), with Tony Stark instrumental at initiating the handover as a way of continuing Cap’s legacy. Unfortunately Bucky’s assassin past as the Winter Soldier tarred his character, making him unworthy to continue as Cap. For the record, Bucky’s stint as Cap (Captain America (Vol. 5) #34-50) stands out as one of the best Cap runs ever.
The Falcon’s rise to the shield came after Rogers returned from Dimension Z as an octogenarian. Needing someone younger, fitter and “graduated from the school of liberty and justice the American way” .... Sam ticked all the boxes and became Captain America for a while. His stint as Cap wasn’t without problems though – he was never truly accepted as the Sentinel of Liberty by the public, and after the Standoff! event, he was even asked to return the shield.
Sam eventually played a big part in defeating the Hydra-fied Cap in the Secret Empire event, after which a younger, fitter version of Steve Rogers was restored, and the Falcon returned the shield to its rightful owner.
While both Bucky and Sam relinquished the shield in similar circumstances, i.e. when Rogers is back in form, it’s a clear message that there are some characters who are simply irreplaceable. Hence, the idea of moving on and finding your own equilibrium as your own character makes more sense.
Sideshow bobs
While a Rogers’ appearance in the TV Series would be on every fan’s wish list, what is certain is the reappearance of Zemo (from Civil War) and Sharon Carter.
And if Rogers doesn’t show up, the next best thing would be the US Agent, who’s confirmed for a few episodes. Considering the Agent’s volatile behaviour, I’m expecting a lot of in-your-face showdowns with the lead characters.
While six episodes doesn’t allow much room for introducing more new characters and character development, one that they should strongly consider is Jack Monroe aka Nomad, who once assumed the Cap-mantle. While he may have been “killed” by the Winter Soldier in the comics, a “reunion” of past Caps should raise the nostalgia level of this series!
True to form
For once, it’s a good thing that there is limited specific comic book references on the Falcon and Winter Soldier as a team!
While they have shared a few comic book adventures with others, this is a good opportunity for this Disney+ series to carve out new ground for the duo.
Having read most of their respective solo comic book adventures, which were quite patchy, I feel that they will soar higher as a team due to their proven teamwork ability.