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The Falcon and the Winter Soldier episode 1: Marvel fans in uproar over Captain America moment
‘Are you f***ing serious?’ one angry viewer wrote
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Brand new Marvel series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier has one big question lying at its core: who will be the new Captain America?
The show, set six months after the events of Avengers: Endgame, catches up with Sam Wilson AKA The Falcon (Anthony Mackie), as he battles with the idea of taking up Cap’s mantle having been given his shield.
*Spoilers follow – you have been warned*
Instead, he donates it to the Smithsonian’s Captain America exhibit, telling Don Cheadle’s James “War Machine” Rhodes: “When Steve first told me about the shield, the first words I said were, ‘It feels like it belongs to someone else.’”
By the end of the episode, it does – but who is the new Captain America unveiled in the closing moments?
The department of defense hands the shield over to ex-marine John Walker, who is played in the series by Wyatt Russell.
Russell, who is the son of Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell, has previously appeared in horror film Overlord, Richard Linklater’s Everybody Wants Some!! and the “Playtest” episode of Black Mirror.
Speaking of his appearance in the show, he told USA Today: “John Walker wouldn’t be in this series if he was causing everything to go well. There’s a dynamic he adds that somewhat complicates the relationship of everybody involved.”
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At the end of the episode, a spokesman for the US government says: “While we love heroes who put their lives on the line to defend Earth, we also need a hero to defend this country. We need a real person who embodies America’s greatest values.”
He then introduces “your new Captain America”, who appeared in the comic books as a replacement for the hero when he refused the government’s demand.
Viewers were not impressed with the reveal and expressed their fury at Steve Rogers’ replacement.
“Are you f***ing serious?” one viewer wrote following the revea;, with many people adding: “Not my Captain America.”
Either way, Wilson is not happy and it seems this might finally be the event that causes his reunion with Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan).
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The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is available to stream on Disney Plus now.
Read our review of episode one here.
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