Falcon & The Winter Soldier Episode 5 Asks 6 Questions About Cap's Future
Warning: SPOILERS ahead for The Falcon & The Winter Soldier episode 5, "Truth."
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier episode 5 is out, and it poses some interesting questions about the future of Captain America. At the end of episode 4, Zemo and Karli Morgenthau had both escaped, Lamar Hoskins/Battlestar was dead by Karli’s hand, and John Walker had taken the last dose of Super Soldier Serum and brutally murdered an unarmed Flag-Smasher. Falcon & Winter Soldier episode 5, “Truth,” picks up directly after that chaotic scene.
“Truth” starts with Sam and Bucky confronting Walker in a warehouse, asking him to hand over the shield and turn himself in. Still fueled by rage and self-righteousness, Walker attacks them both, leading to a brutal fight where Sam’s wings are destroyed and, eventually, Walker is defeated. Bucky gives Sam the shield, and they all head back to America. Walker gets discharged from the military and stripped of rank, Sam has a heart-to-heart with Isaiah Bradley, and then he goes home to help his sister Sarah fix up their old family boat. Bucky shows up to help after turning Zemo into the Dora Milaje, bringing with him a mysterious gift from Wakanda. Sam trains heavily with the shield, and Karli leads an attack on the Global Repatriation Council (GRC). In a post-credits sequence, Walker is seen making a new shield for himself.
Showrunner Malcom Spellman has spoken highly of episode 5 since before Falcon & Winter Soldier premiered, and “Truth” ultimately delivers. The slower pace and heavier emotional conversations between Sam, Bucky and Isaiah provide some much-needed grounding for the series’ more bombastic elements. With just one episode left, it looks like Sam could be ready to properly don the Captain America mantle. Here are the biggest questions about Cap’s future after Falcon & Winter Soldier episode 5.
John Walker severely damages Sam’s Falcon wings in their fight at the beginning of episode 5. Later on, after reclaiming the Captain America shield and speaking briefly with Lieutenant Joaquín Torres, Sam leaves, taking only the shield with him. When Torres asks him if he wants the wings, Sam tells him to keep them, suggesting he’s finished being the Falcon for good. This moment makes more sense in the broader context of the episode, especially after Sam’s training montage with the shield. The suggestion is that he has accepted his role as Steve Rogers’ true successor, and as a result, that he is done being the Falcon. Whether or not that actually holds true remains to be seen.
It’s also worth noting that in the comics, Torres becomes the Falcon after Sam becomes Captain America. He’s been a small but compelling part of the Falcon & Winter Soldier story so far, and it would be fun to see him don the wings himself during the show’s climax. Perhaps Torres has a bright future in the MCU as a superhero himself.
There’s every indication in “Truth” that Sam is ready to properly become Captain America. He accepts the shield, gives up his wings, trains intensely, and seems to accept the legacies of both Steve and Isaiah Bradley and the ways they complicate each other. The end of the episode indicates he’ll go into battle to stop the Flag-Smashers, and without his old suit, it’s likely he’ll do it as Captain America.
The question is, will Sam be accepted as Captain America? The U.S. government asked for the shield back and made John Walker Captain America for a reason. Isaiah Bradley said it best – they don’t want a Black Captain America. Systemic racism won’t stop Sam from being the hero he is, but it will certainly affectx the way he is seen and treated going forward should he step out publicly with the shield in hand. In the comics, Sam has an extensive career as Captain America. It remains to be seen how that future will take shape in the MCU.
John Walker experiences a rapid fall from grace after his brutal murder of the Flag-Smasher. Sam and Bucky beat him up and take the shield, he’s other-than-honorably discharged from the military with no pension, and he knows through it all that the person he killed wasn’t actually even responsible for Lamar’s death. The big question after such a dramatic collapse is what will become of him. The mid-credits scene in Falcon & Winter Soldier episode 5 shows Walker forging a new shield, but it’s unclear at this point exactly what he’ll be using it for.
In the comics, Walker rebrands himself as US Agent and manages to find redemption for his past violence as a minor hero. His role in the MCU, however, will largely be determined by Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus). Valentina has been both a hero and a villain in the comics, and even a romantic partner to Nick Fury at one point. Since she’s already shown such interest in Walker, her MCU story could be the driving force in his journey.
Though Chris Evans has been out of the MCU for some time and Steve Rogers’ story wrapped up cleanly in Avengers: Endgame, the character has continued to loom over the franchise into Phase 4. After the events of Falcon & Winter Soldier episode 5, however, Steve’s story may truly, finally, be done. During his heart-to-heart with Bucky, Sam tells him that it doesn’t matter what Steve would have thought of him or his current actions – that Bucky must find his own purpose and direction. That same advice applies to Sam, and his apparent acceptance of his own unique Captain America mantle could symbolize a final departure from Steve’s shadow. As the MCU centers new characters and new stories moving forward, it’s probably for the best that Steve becomes more of a memory than an active part of the franchise.
Bucky gives Sam a mysterious gift in Falcon & Winter Soldier episode 5 – a box from Wakanda, the contents of which have yet to be disclosed. However, Sam’s final scene in “Truth” gives a pretty good idea as to what lies within. Without his old, winged suit, Sam will need some new gear before he goes back into battle, and after discovering Karli’s New York attack, he goes straight to the Wakanda box and opens it. In all likelihood, the box contains some kind of Wakandan super-suit, likely made in part from vibranium, and possibly similar in function to the Black Panther suit. As Sam continues to grapple with the complicated nature of the Captain America legacy, swapping out the classic stars-and-stripes look for a Wakandan design could be a powerful symbol of change to come.
The MCU’s version of Sam has never had superpowers, and that isn’t likely to change. For starters, every known dose of the Super Soldier Serum has been either taken or destroyed. Sam has also said before that he wouldn’t take the serum, even if given the choice. How will he be able to keep up with supervillains as Captain America did, then? The answer is likely in the box Bucky gave him. If Sam gets a new suit with even a fraction of the advanced Wakandan tech of Black Panther’s, he’ll be a force to be reckoned with in the MCU. It should be exciting to see Sam’s full transformation in The Falcon & the Winter Soldier finale.