Falcon and the Winter Soldier ch. 3: Wakanda, Zemo and the Easter Eggs
Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes had to go to Zemo to help them in their fight, but how long can that last?
The previous chapter of Falcon and the Winter Soldier gave us a first look at Zemo , Battlestar, and Isaiah Bradley, the African-American Captain America who was apparently part of the same show as Steve Rogers before being treated as a criminal, and chapter 3 departed of that to tell us even more details.
Chapter 3 begins with an announcement from CRG , a government agency charged with helping the world return to what it was before, by solving the issue of borders and repatriating people. In the middle of that, John Walker and his team arrive at a warehouse where he shows his anger (hitting a civilian while yelling “Do you know who I Am?”) On a mission to find Karli Morgenthau , but by the time he arrives, she and her Flag Smashers were already gone.
For their part, Sam and Bucky have their own objectives and Bucky Barnes comes up with a crazy plan that leads them to meet with an old enemy, who years ago accused Bucky of planting the bomb that killed King T’Chaka of Wakanda in the ONU.
Baron Zemo
Zemo arrived at Falcon and the Winter Soldier trying to “activate” the Winter Soldier again, but Bucky replies that those days are long gone and tells him that someone recreated the super soldier serum and needs to find who it was, thinking that, like Zemo says, HYDRA could be behind all of that again.
The plan is to get one of the most dangerous (and insane) men out of the prison he’s in, in exchange for him giving them all the information they need to uncover the truth about the terrorists they are pursuing. Although Bucky ends up taking Zemo out without telling Sam, so as not to make him an accomplice.
Zemo clearly has his own agenda and acts strange throughout the entire chapter, even secretly donning a very ghoulish purple mask that he puts on for a moment to show off a version of his look in the comics.
After escaping from prison, Zemo reveals that he has spent years searching for the people Hydra recruited to recreate the Super Soldier Serum, to prevent it from being used to create more “heroes.” Zemo is super rich, he has a large collection of cars, his own Alfred and even a private plane that they use to travel to Madripoor .
Madripoor, the crime island
Sam and Bucky must travel with Zemo to Madripoor , an island without law or order in Indonesia, which has been mentioned in various comics over the years. In the series version, Power Broker, who has been chasing the Flag Smashers from the beginning, appears to be the leader of the island.
It is in Madripoor that we meet Doctor Wilfred Nagel , an old HYDRA scientist who was later recruited by the CIA and was able to recreate the super soldiers serum using Isaiah Bradley’s blood. Nagel’s serum was a bit more subtle and this is why Flag Smashers don’t have huge muscles and perfect bodies like Steve Rgers’.
The problem was that Karli Morgenthau stole 20 doses of the serum on the orders of Power Broker, and this is why he is now after them. Also, in the comics, the version of Nagel was a scientist responsible for recruiting African American soldiers to experiment with the serum before using it on Rogers.
The arrival of Sharon Carter
Sharon Carter shows up in Madripoor just as Sam, Bucky and Zemo have to escape when they all discover that there is a bounty for them. Sharon, who has been missing since Civil War, tells them that she has had to live in hiding and that her own family does not know where she is.
Carter did not receive any kind of pardon for helping Cap in Civil War, she would be arrested if she decides to return home and Madripoor is the only place they cannot reach her. On the island, Carter has also become something of an art thief and Sam offers him the chance to clear his name if he agrees to work with them again.
It is clear that Sharon has changed a lot and that she has many contacts on the island, but could she be the Power Broker that everyone talks about? It’s just a theory, but she seems to have a lot of influence on Madripoor , she’s the one who reveals Nagel’s location and she definitely has reason to want to find the Flag Smashers . If Sharon is a Power Broker, does that mean the big bad is actually an undercover agent?
Zemo ends up murdering Nagel, after Sharon alone defeats all the thugs they sent to attack them, and the Baron ends up donning the purple mask and helping everyone escape.
The Wakanda connection
In the last moments of the episode, Bucky bumps into Ayo , a Dora Milaje , in Riga, Latvia. Ayo is now looking for Zemo to make him pay for his crimes, mainly for the murder of King T’Chaka.
It is not known if Ayo is working alone or if T´Challa (or the new Black Panther) could have sent her to find the criminal. It’s a small moment, but it could be the key to connecting this story with the Black Panther sequel.
The Easter Eggs
- “You’re not going to move your seat up, are you?” Bucky remembers what Sam did to him in Civil War when he refuses to move his seat, and gets his revenge.
- The words Zemo utters when Bucky arrives at the prison are the same as those used to activate the Winter Soldier programming in Civil War.
- Zemo is reading Machiavelli in his cell, who says that “the end justifies the means”, that could point to that Zemo has a plan and is actually using Sam and Bucky.
- Bucky’s notebook previously belonged to Steve.
- The Smiling Tiger , the alias Zemo uses for Sam, is actually Conrad Mack, a member of the Folding Circle group of villains in the comics.
- Bucky’s fight at the Madripoor bar was filmed, if that video gets released, the government might have an excuse to arrest him again.