Amazing how much better a show like The Falcon and The Winter Soldier becomes when you allow the titular characters (who have a proven track record of solid chemistry together) to actually work with one another! And, with a lot of the table-setting and expositional work handled in the series premiere (noting how messed up things have gotten from a sociopolitical aspect in the wake of the Blip, how much Sam doubts his ability to take up the Captain American mantle, and how much PTSD Bucky is still working through), “The Star-Spangled Man” has the much easier task of laying out the key players in the series outside of our two Avengers.
And lay out they did, letting us know a bit more about our new Captain America, John Walker, introducing us to his wing-man, Lemar Hoskins (aka Battlestar), and explaining the Flag-Smashers – who their leader is, what abilities they have, and just who might want to collect on some back payments for that impressive super strength. Now, a lot of these elements come straight from the comics in some form (and don’t worry, I’ll dig a bit more into possible comic connections at the close of the review as always), but the most interesting element of the episode was the one the series didn’t break down and explain to us: the race issue.
Anthony Mackie, the series’ showrunner Malcolm Spellman, and the show’s director Kari Skogland have all been very open in interviews recently that a large part of Sam’s story will tap into the fact that he is a Black man in America, wrestling with how he fits into a country that so often expresses that it would rather he not have the position he has. The role of race in America is a huge one, and I’m glad to see the series tackle a bit of what it would mean if the hero for all Americans (Captain America) was a Black man. I don’t think I, or the series, has to tell you that such a situation wouldn’t be accepted everywhere in this country. When Sam turns over the shield to the Smithsonian, he’s told he “did the right thing.” But was he doing the right thing because America’s greatest hero should be celebrated in a museum, or was he doing the right thing because he shouldn’t be the one taking up the mantle? Well, considering the new Cap was selected mighty quickly after Sam’s decision – and he’s a Southern, ex-football playing white man – I think it’s more of the latter than the former. And then there was that police intervention in the episode, with the Baltimore cops assuming Sam was a problem, not Bucky. Hell, even simply making the assumption that something was amiss was likely an all-too-familiar situation for many Black Americans watching. And it following closely on the heels of our introduction to Isaiah Bradley (more on his comic roots later), a man provided the Super Soldier serum and then sent to prison for thirty years following his heroic actions in Korea. An interesting double-standard: Bucky gets a pardon, Isaiah goes to prison.
Considering we are all expecting Sam to accept the mantle of Captain America by the end of the series – or at least be in a position to do so – it’s crucial that the series takes the time to sort out the myriad reasons why he feels unworthy of the role. Sure, some are tied directly to his having known Steve and likely feeling that Steve was such a damn good guy no one could ever live up to what he did. But a lot are tied to the complex and difficult relationship between Sam being a Black man in America, a country that has time and again made Black men and women feel lesser than their white counter-parts and so often treats them as disposable. It’s an ugly tradition and one that continues to percolate within our national reality. And yes, the MCU has plenty of failings when it comes to dealing with diversity within its ranks (I could write you a treatise on the treatment of women throughout its films), but I’m intrigued to see where this particular plot point goes, and I really hope the series goes all-in on calling out the racist underpinnings of the US government selecting another white man for Captain America while lauding Sam for his choice to step aside.
On the flip side of the story, our true introduction to the Flag-Smashers was a bit confusing. I’m not entirely sure if the series wants us to sympathize with their mission (they appear to be Robin Hooding to get medicine to displaced persons camps) or to see them as the villains (they have taken the Super Soldier serum and are taking matters into their own hands – killing and attacking others in the process). I love a villain with character depth and nuance – and I love when a series isn’t afraid to wade into morally gray areas with both heroes and the bad guys – but this crew continues to be too ill-defined to really understand how we should feel about them. I will say that I’m happy with the decision toe gender-swap the comic character of Karl Morgenthau for Karli. The MCU has been slow to add female villains to its ranks, and I’m always happy to see some equal opportunity villainy introduced.
So, while “The Star-Spangled Man” was a marked improvement on the pilot, there’s still some groundwork to be laid before we really understand who we’re dealing with – both on the bad guy side of the equation and the good. But I’m far more invested in a series that is willing to allow Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan the chance to banter back and forth each week than one where they are siloed in their own stories, so a big win on that front this time around. I’m excited to see what Helmut Zemo has to offer in way of information next week – and to get a better handle on just who the Flag-Smashers are and what they did to piss off the Power Broker.
Marvel Easter Eggs and Theories
— So, last week I mentioned that John Walker has a past with the Power Broker in the comics, and this week it looks like he might not be fully suped up, considering he was man-handled by the Flag-Smashers pretty soundly. He also didn’t seem nearly as cocky and self-assured as his comic counterpart (who felt he was a better representation of America than Steve and wasn’t afraid to say so). But there were some clues that John might not be the best Cap option. First, Lamar made sure to tell him than he can’t just punch his way out of situations anymore (which isn’t at all ominous, right?), while we saw that he immediately resorts to threats when he doesn’t get his way. I suspect he’s bound to be trouble for Sam and Bucky down the line. After all, if he was able to throw his weight around to free Bucky on the assumption that it would get both Bucky and Sam to work with him in his mission, imagine what he can and will do once he realizes they are working their own mission behind his back.
— One of the new key characters we met this week was Lamar Hoskins, who is essentially the Bucky to John Walker’s Cap (and he even adopted that moniker briefly within the comics, until the racial connotations of it were discussed and he opted to go with Battlestar for his code name). Like John, he’s got a past with the Power Broker (aka he got suped up), which doesn’t appear to be the case with him in the series as of yet. My guess? At some point this season, thinking they need better skills to fight the Flag-Smashers, both Lamar and John will work with the Power Broker to get their super powers, potentially making them just as dangerous as those they are meant to be fighting against.
— Speaking of suped up heroes, in the comics Isaiah Bradley was experimented on with the Super Soldier serum, and then attempted to fight off the bad guys – only to be given a court martial when he returned from war. Sound familiar to the Tuskegee Syphilis Study? It should, because it was one of the influences of the comic arc. His grandson, Eli (aka the young man who let Sam and Bucky into the house) also might have a role to play in the MCU as a member of the Young Avengers (Wanda and Vision’s sons are also team members), so file that away for a potential series down the line.
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