The buddy action-comedy show The Falcon And The Winter Soldier of the Marvel Cinematic Universe that you’ve been waiting for is here.
The Falcon And The Winter Soldier is out on Disney+, with five more new episodes streaming weekly on Fridays. This series follows the other recent Marvel show, “WandaVision,” which began airing on Disney+ in January. So where does the show fall in the MCU timeline? Who was that guy on the plane? And how does the series connect to the movies and the comics? We’ve got answers to your burning questions.
Here’s everything you need to know about “Falcon and the Winter Soldier.” (Light spoilers for the first episode ahead.)
Who is Falcon?
Sam Wilson, aka Falcon (Anthony Mackie), was a close friend of Steve Rogers, also known as Captain America. Sam, a US Air Force veteran, and Steve met while running in the 2014 film “Captain America: Winter Soldier” and formed a tight friendship. Captain America left his shield – and his legacy – to Sam. Falcon, introduced in a 1969 edition of the Captain America comics, is the first African-American superhero to appear in a major comic book (and second Black superhero, after Black Panther).
Who is the Winter Soldier?
DISNEY+ James Buchanan “Bucky” Barnes, the Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan), was one of Steve Rogers’ closest childhood friends. They fought together in World War II before Bucky was seemingly killed in action, as seen in “Captain America: First Avenger.
But Bucky wasn’t dead: He was scooped up by HYDRA, a terrorist organization that’s been around for hundreds of years but is usually associated with Nazi Germany. The group brainwashed and experimented on him, giving him superhuman abilities – though he lost his arm. He did HYDRA’s bidding for the next few decades until his mission to eliminate Captain America went awry in “Winter Soldier” and he went on the run before teaming up with the Avengers. Shuri, the sister of the Black Panther/King T’Challa of Wakanda, helped Bucky overcome his brainwashing.
When does the series take place?
Falcon and the Winter Soldier” starts a few months after the events in “Endgame,” when half of the population that disappeared in Thanos’ snap-called the “Blip” — returned.
Where we saw them last
In the closing scenes of “Avengers: Endgame,” an aged Cap had returned the infinity stones, handed his shield and the mantle of Captain America to Sam and said goodbye to both of his friends
Bucky and Sam haven’t been the best of friends through the years (see the “I hate you” scene from 2016’s “Captain America: Civil War”), but they’ve grown closer through their mutual friendship with Rogers and their work with the Avengers. They also both were among those who disappeared in the “Blip” in 2018’s “Avengers: Infinity War,” and have been grappling with their relationships and lost time. Each could use a friend.
Who else is on the show?
Showing some Avenger solidarity, Colonel James “Rhodey” Rhodes/War Machine (Don Cheadle) makes an appearance about halfway through the first episode. And expect to see Sharon Carter (Emily VanCamp) and Helmut Zemo (Daniel Brühl), last seen in “Civil War.”
How many episodes? How long are the episodes?
There are six episodes scheduled for the limited series, each running 45 to 55 minutes.
What movies do you need to see first?
Like most of the Marvel movies and the recent “WandaVision,” it might be confusing to go into this one without having seen previous MCU projects. If you haven’t seen any of the movies, you’ll want to catch up with “Captain America: First Avenger,” “Captain America: Winter Soldier,” “Captain America: Civil War,” “Avengers: Infinity War” and “Avengers: Endgame.”
Just looking for a refresher? A rewatch of “First Avenger” and “Civil War” should do
Who is that at the end?
There’s no mid- or post-credits scene in the first episode, but don’t rule out this tradition. The first episodes of “WandVision” didn’t have any additional scenes, but later episodes did.
