The Falcon & The Winter Soldier, third episode: all references and quotes
The Falcon & The Winter Soldier, third episode
Power Broker, the third episode of The Falcon & The Winter Soldier, seems to want to press the accelerator on the new Marvel series from Disney +. An understandable choice, considering that with this episode we have reached the middle of the narrative arc that sees Falcon and Winter Soldier the protagonists of a particularly intense story, in which the spectators are guided in an MCU struggling with the absence of historical figures such as Iron Man and Captain America. The new Marvel Cinematic Universe seems desperately looking for new symbols to look to, a sensation also seen in WandaVision. The Falcon & The Winter Soldier, relying on the person of Steve Rogers and the role he had as Cap, becomes the first product of the MCU to emotionally enter this social context, shaken by the Blip, which previously was only touched upon, while now it we fully address the social fallout. Even in Power Broker this event is mentioned often, but it is not the only easter egg present in the third chapter of The Falcon & The Winter Soldier.WARNING: the following contains a series of important spoilers on the third episode of The Falcon & The Winter Soldier
Old Enemies ...
At the end of The Man with the Stars and Stripes, Bucky and Sam were determined to seek help from one of the Avengers' most fearsome enemies: Helmut Zemo. The villain of Captain America: Civil War, played by Daniel Brühl, then returns to the scene, but he is no longer just an agent of the Sokovian secret services, who lost his family during the events of Avengers: Age of Ultron, but we discover that he is none other than a rich baron. The last time we saw Zemo was at the end of Civil War, when he was arrested after leading to the rift between the Avengers using Bucky as the breaking point between Captain America and Iron Man. An achievement that is remembered in Power Broker when Zemo repeats the keywords to activate the Winter Soldier on his first meeting with Bucky.The new role of Helmut Zemo is closer to the comic book version of the character. Created in 1973 by Sal Buscema and Tony Isabella, Baron Helmut Zemo was the son of Heinrich Zemo, a historical enemy of Captain America, who decided to continue his father's work by becoming one of the deadliest enemies of the Captain America and Falcon duo. Even in the comics, Zemo is a skilled strategist and has the gift of being particularly persuasive, as well as being a fighter with above average strength.
While escaping with Sam and Falcon, Zemo uses his wealth to finance their own hunt for Flag Smashers. On this occasion, aboard his private jet, he first makes fun of the condition of prisoners, an experience also tried by the two heroes after the events of Civil War, and does not spare himself even in commenting on how controversial a figure like Captain America can be, not only heroic, but also hypocritically symbolic of political power.
… and old allies
Another welcome return in The Falcon & The Winter Soldier is that of Sharon Carter, the great-granddaughter of Peggy Carter, the a woman Cap loved, who had helped Cap and Sam during the events of Civil War. She is the former agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., after becoming an agent of the C.I.A. following the fall of Nick Fury's agency due to what happened in Captain America: Winter Soldier, he seems to have suffered more from the consequences of his siding with Cap while on the run.Not being able to enjoy of the backing and support of the Avengers, Carter has found refuge in Madripoor, finding fertile ground in the criminal undergrowth of the Asian city to become a trafficker.
Madripoor
First stage of this mission unusual trio is Madripoor, an island in Southeast Asia, home to criminals and pirates, whose history is one of the most dear components to a particular family in the Marvel world: the mutant one. The first appearance of this criminal stronghold, in fact, takes place in New Mutants # 32 by Chris Claremont, even if this exotic destination will be developed more in the following years when it will become the theater of Wolverine's adventures in the period in which he had left the X- Men and was back in this dangerous city, where he had already stayed years before.Curiously, in Uncanny X-Men # 238, Madripoor was the place where Captain America and Wolverine first met, at the time of the Second World War, when the Canadian claw and the Sentinel of Freedom helped to save a newborn who in the future would become one of the deadliest spies in history: Natasha Romanoff. The Madripoor myth was developed in the following years in the aforementioned Wolverine series, but also series such as X-Force.
During their mission in Madripoor, Zemo advises them to move into the criminal underworld of the undercover city. Already counting on his reputation as a criminal, the baron has no problem making himself perceived as one of the criminals, prompting Buckly to pretend to be the Winter Soldier again. For Sam, on the other hand, it is decided to pass him off as the criminal Conrad Mack, known as Smiling Tiger.
In the comics there really is a Smiling Tiger, part of the Folding Circle criminal group that on several occasions created problems for different Marvel home groups, including the Avengers, from which they stole a Quinjet, ending up crashing right in Madripoor, where they decided to stay to become part of the local crime.
In Madripoor, crime is firmly in Power's hands Broker, the king of thugs, who apparently managed to recreate the super-soldier serum thanks to Dr. Wilfred Nagel, scientist who continued the experiments of Abrham Erskine, the man who created the original formula with which Steve Rogers obtained his powers. In comics, Nagel continued his studies of Erskine giving birth to a second formula with which he experimented with black soldiers, including Isaiah Bradley.
Within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Nagel is a scientist who has continued Erskine's studies based on a Bradley blood sample, but after returning to the Blip, while trying to continue his studies for the government, he finally decided to offer his services to the highest bidder. That is Power Borker.
Sam and Bucky
The two protagonists, although driven by a common intent, are still looking for their balance as a team. A moment of growth that is highlighted by all those with whom they come into contact, as we can see during the scene of the air travel, the occasion in which the booklet of Bucky appears on which the people to whom the Winter Soldier caused suffering are reported. in the past. Sam immediately recognizes that this is the booklet used by Steve Rogers to write down everything that he had to recover after his awakening, where the soundtrack of Trouble Man was also inserted, which we heard right in the finale of Captain America: The Winter Soldier. br>Still on the relationship of brotherly rivalry between the two, it should be noted how when climbing aboard the car driven by Zemo to escape from the port of Madripoor, Sam asks Bucky to bring the seat forward, so that he stays behind can sit comfortably. Mindful of a similar but reversed curtain seen in Captain America: Civil War, Bucky refuses to grant the request.
Wakanda does not forget
During Zemo's escape, Sam does notice to Bucky that freeing the terrorist will surely have consequences: the Wandians don't forget. In fact, during Captain America: Civil War, it was discovered that Zemo was the culprit of the plan that led to the death of T’Chaka, king of Wakanda. After the heir, T'Challa, as Black Panther exposed Zemo's plan, Zemo was arrested for legal trial.Apparently Bucky's orchestrated escape was not particularly welcome in Wakanda, since once in one of the baron's shelters, Bucky notices vibranium spy devices used by the Wakandian secret services. Thus he discovers that Ayo, one of the Dora Milaje known in Captain America: Civil War, is on their trail to capture Zemo.
The Falcon & The Winter Soldier: Power Broker
Power Broker, while putting the dynamic between the three characters at the center of the story, has the merit of giving further depth to the social side of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The presence of the GRC (Global Repatriation Council) takes on its own significance, it is the mirror of a world that despite having been pardoned by the losses suffered with the snap of Thanos' fingers, is still plagued by wounds that struggle to heal.Even the alleged villains, the Flag Smasher led by Karli Morgenthau, are thought to be children of this time, of people who struggle to find their place in a world perceived as alien and unfair. The strength of The Falcon & The Winter Soldier is having found this emotional identity in which the protagonists' experience is an integral part of this complex and suffering social dynamic, where an atypical and different vision of the hero than in the past becomes the spring that pushes Sam and Bucky to take full possession of Steve Rogers' legacy.
