The New Captain America Uses Civil War Against Sam & Bucky
Sam and Bucky were reminded of the events of Captain America: Civil War by John Walker in the latest episode of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. The Marvel Studios series is the second project out of MCU Phase 4 following WandaVision, but while it's supposed to begin the next storytelling for the franchise, it keeps on referring to the events of the Infinity Saga. Aside from the consequences of the Blip and its eventual reversal in Avengers: Endgame, the break-up of the Avengers is also a primary narrative driver in the show.
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is tackling the legacy left by Steve Rogers as Captain America, so while the series doesn't feature him physically, his presence looms all over it. All of his three solo films have been regularly referred to in the Disney+ show, but arguably the one that has the biggest impact on it thus far is Civil War. Aside from the return of Zemo and Sharon Carter who were both last seen in the MCU in the Joe and Anthony film from 2016, its events are also factoring into the current series. At one point, Walker even used it to coerce Sam and Bucky to work with him.
After having its main players separated in the premiere, The Falcon and The Winter Soldier episode 2, "The Star-Spangled Man" brought most of its key characters together. As Sam and Bucky reunited, they also had their first encounter with Walker, who dropped in on them while going after the Flag-Smashers. The new Captain America is adamant that they work together to track down the vigilante group, but the heroes don't want to. Towards the end of the outing, Walker tried convincing them again to cooperate with him and his partner, Battlestar/Lemar Hoskins, and while doing so, he used the events of Civil War to drive his point. "If we divide ourselves, we don't stand a chance, you guys know that," he said. While it sounded like a reasonable justification, Walker was also alluding to the Avengers' break-up due to the Sokovia Accords that led to their defeat to Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War.
It's no secret that Civil War was a setup for the arrival of the Mad Titan; there have been so many conversations pondering whether or not the Avengers would have had a better chance at stopping him if they had put on a united front. Endgame seemed to prove this, but there were also other elements that led to their eventual victory, such as the arrival of Captain Marvel, as well as Black Widow's and Iron Man's sacrifices. Walker's argument here doesn't really work because, unlike the Avengers who were previously working together, he doesn't have any existing relationship with Bucky and Sam prior to the episode. They don't even know if they have the same end goal here as the new Captain America may only be using them for his own benefit. At least Tony Stark and Steve Rogers were always on the same page about their genuine dedication to their role as superheroes despite their other differences.
This final exchange between Walker and Sam and Bucky effectively pits them against each other as they could end up competing over who can track down the Flag-Smashers quicker. This leads The Falcon and the Winter Soldier heroes to seek out Zemo instead, who learned more about Super-Soldiers when he was plotting his revenge against the Avengers in Captain America: Civil War. Based on the trailers, they'll find the old adversaries working on this new mission, although it's unclear just how long their partnership will last.