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The Falcon and The Winter Soldier (TFATWS) answers long-awaited questions for die-hard Marvel fans. You’ll get to know the next Captain America, what Bucky is up to, and life before the blip. Here are 5 reasons to watch the latest offering from Marvel:
1. Action-packed scenes
If there’s one thing that’s guaranteed with a Marvel property, it’s bursts of pure undiluted action. TFATWS has the same brand of action as was present in Captain America: The Winter Soldier.”
My personal favorite is John Walker being handed his butt by the Dora Milaje, with Ayo leading the Wakandan King’s personal guard. I mean they tossed him around like a hockey puck! Sam kicking butt as the Falcon is also really fun to watch.
2. Real-life parallels
The Falcon and The Winter Soldier introduces the first unofficial black captain through Isaiah Bradley. Bradley is a character who took a prototype version of the serum before Steve Rogers, along with several other black men. All except Bradley died.
When he went and rescued his compatriots from a POW camp in enemy territory, he was thrown in prison for insubordination. While in prison, the government ran tests on why he survived the serum while others didn’t.
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This bears a striking similarity to the real-life “Tuskegee Experiments” conducted by the US government. This unethical and inhumane set of experiments called forth young black men to have their blood checked, saying that they had “bad blood”.
The true motive of this study by the Center for Disease Control ( CDC ) and the Public Health Service (PHS) was something else entirely. It was to record the course of syphilis disease in black males when left untreated.
When people showed up for the “medical procedure” officials found latent syphilis in a few hundred black people. Instead of informing the people of their ailment, they were kept in the dark about their diagnoses. A significant portion died from syphilis or from related complications along with their wives and children.
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3. Marvel tackles issues of immigration
The central plot of The Falcon and The Winter Soldier revolves around the conflict between the flag smashers and the Global Repatriation Council (GRC). After Thanos snapped away half the universe, the world dealt with the loss of their loved ones.
With so many people gone, people settled into a new status quo in the next five years. There were possibly relaxed migration laws and more jobs.
After the blip, the world was thrown into chaos again, displacing billions and creating instant refugees. This is when the GRC was formed to ease the transition into order. Predictably, the GRC grew apathetic to the plight of the global refugees. Enter the anti-nationalist group flag-smashers, intent on keeping the previous status quo.
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This conflict echoes immigration problems across the world for decades. There is the alleged lack of national resources to take in refugees on one hand and people without a safe haven on another.
4. MCU tries to address racism
Marvel’s attempts at calling out racism are hard to watch, to say the least. After 22 movies, the best they could do is a not-so-subtle racially motivated "stop and frisk”? Cliche doesn’t even begin to describe how lame this scene was.
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Cops pull over and ask for Sam’s ID even though it was Bucky who had a warrant in his name for missing a court-appointed therapy session. Although post the events of George Floyd, it's nice to see Marvel making an effort to at least try.
It was more realistic to see the difficulty the falcon faced while trying to obtain a bank loan, even with his Avenger status. The bank clerk was ready to take an autograph from Sam, but not prepared to approve the much-needed loan for fixing up his family fishing boat.
5. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier addresses mental health
In this series, mental health issues are given a fair shake with several characters going through inner turmoil and healing. Bucky is shown trying to make amends, aided by his court-appointed therapist, with Sam in tow.
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John Walker faces his demons, choosing not to continue on a self-destructive path after Lemar Hoskins dies. Sam reaffirms his faith in himself as a savior and finally takes on the mantle of Captain America.
As with most Marvel offerings, this series is definitely worth a watch. Even though it is not as good as Wanda Vision, it is entertaining and has some good stuff.