The Falcon and the Winter Soldier: Spider-Man continuity error?
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier has arrived on Disney Plus, giving its main characters a series of their own. While we've already seen Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) and Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) in many Marvel Studios projects, we now have the chance to further explore the duo and their layered psychology. As some on social media have begun to point out, this new TV series has already potentially brought a continuity error between the latest Disney Plus show and Spider-Man: Far From Home.The article contains spoilers from the first episode of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
Interestingly, Wilson and Barnes never met in the debut episode of their series. The premiere features two different storylines that see the characters live their lives in a post Avengers: Endgame world. When it comes to Barnes, his scenes are largely set in the psychoanalytic studio where he makes amends for his behavior during his time as HYDRA's Winter Soldier.
Throughout Bucky's story, we discover that he is able to travel through New York City at ease without anyone knowing who he is. He is not stopped on the street, nor do people run away from him out of fear. After all, he operated under the name of Winter Soldier for decades before being in Captain America: Civil War as a bona fide villain. Even then, Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) had to take him to Wakanda where he had been hibernating until a cure for his conditioned mind was found.
In Spider-Man: Far From Home, Bucky is named in a lineup of characters cited for saving the world. Not only are the Spider-Man characters aware of Barnes's existence, but they also know that he is now on the side of the good guys instead of the HYDRA.
Does this mean there are continuity issues between Far From Home and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier? The point where this particular theory or concern begins to crumble comes when we look at the timeline within the overall MCU. We know that The Falcon and the Winter Soldier takes place about six months after Avengers: Endgame, which means that it would have had about six months to "clean up" the image of him. In fact, no one seems to notice Bucky’s identity, and this is far from what Far From Home suggested, which is that Bucky Barnes was a very well known name after Blip. Hence, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier offered a new hiccup in the ever-expanding continuity of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
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Anthony Mackie And Sebastian Stan Have Hilarious Ideas Regarding The Types Of Texts Falcon Sends The Winter Soldier
One of the strange aspects of The Falcon And The Winter Soldier’s premiere episode is that the two titular characters never talk to one another or are featured in the same room – but those who paid attention will note that there is a quick line of dialogue about an attempt at communication between the two heroes. When Bucky’s therapist (played by Amy Aquino) takes a look into the former soldier’s phone, one thing that she notes is that he has unanswered texts from “Sam” a.k.a. Sam Wilson a.k.a. Falcon.
Knowing that the two have a somewhat icy relationship, it may seem a bit strange to hear about this outreach – but according to Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan, there is a very reasonable explanation for the texts… and also a rather good explanation for why Bucky chooses not to respond.
I spoke with the two The Falcon And The Winter Soldier stars last weekend during the virtual press day for the new Disney+ original, and I figured I’d use the opportunity to ask about the types of texts that Sam Wilson sends The Winter Soldier. Tapping into the brain of the character he’s played for nearly a decade now, Mackie came up with a quick and fantastic answer:
‘Hey, did you kill anybody today?’
When it comes to Bucky Barnes, Sam Wilson is not a character who is ever seems hesitant about poking the bear, so to speak, and this encapsulates their dynamic perfectly. When you consider that The Winter Soldier was once of a mind to try and kill Falcon (and very nearly succeeded), this kind of ribbing is at least somewhat understandable from the flying Avenger.
On the other side of the coin, however, Bucky is obviously tortured by the extremely guilt he possess from his time as a brainwashed Hydra assassin, and the whole start of his arc in The Falcon And The Winter Soldier’s first episode is about him trying to fix that. As such, one can imagine that a text like “You kill anybody today?” might get under his skin a bit… so it’s entirely reasonable that he opted not to respond (and it’s likewise understandable that he might not want to open that bag of worms with his therapist when she brings it up).
This crazy relationship between the two heroes is unquestionably one of the things that makes us more excited to see how The Falcon And The Winter Soldier unfolds – so hopefully the series gets them together quickly in the next chapter. On that note, the second episode of the Disney+ six-part series will be launching this Friday, March 26 at 12am PST/1am EST, and we’re counting down the minutes.
