Hey! Hallie here!
This Friday the hole that ‘WandaVision’ left in Marvel fan’s hearts is set to be filled with Marvel’s new series, ‘The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’. There’s no knowing how good this series will really be, and I’m not here to speculate about that. But I do love the characters that are starring in this series and I’ve wanted more from them for quite a long while. In the past our three main characters, Sam Wilson, Bucky Barnes, and Sharon Carter, had been given decent set ups and were then pushed aside. There have even been some glaring missteps in the MCU’s writing for these characters thus far. This is what has happened to these characters so far and what I hope to see from their storylines when the series airs on Friday.
Sam Wilson:
Sam was first introduced into the MCU in ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’. From the beginning of the movie his relationship with Steve Rodgers was heartwarming, especially because they could confide in each other over their shared trauma. It wasn’t surprising that Sam Wilson decided to take Steve and Natasha in without hesitation when they were on the run. His loyalty was well appreciated by Steve, who managed to retrieve the experimental technology that was Sam’s Falcon wings so that he could join their team. Sam was shown to be a pretty laid back guy with a good sense of humor and a strong sense of right and wrong. It wasn’t surprising that Steve liked him so much. But his friendship with Steve took an immediate backseat to Steve’s friendship with Bucky. Even though Sam literally made Bucky sit in the backseat in ‘Captain America: Civil War’, it was clear who the movie was really about. In fact, one of the major reasons why Steve was so willing to fight Tony was because he wanted to protect Bucky. Steve did give Sam the shield when the time came for him to give it up, but the two didn’t spend nearly enough screen time developing their bond. Part of that was because writers decided not to give Sam much screen time at all, which was a huge problem in the MCU that specifically targeted their first few BIPOC superheroes and still lingers. What I want to see from this show is the full main character treatment. I want a more full exploration of his relationship with Steve Rogers, but I also want a full development of his character in general. I want to know more about his life and his past. I want to see him be more than just the comic relief. I want to see how he interprets taking on the Captain America responsibilities and the struggles he faces that are specific to his character. Sam Wilson deserves to show everyone why he got the shield.
Bucky Barnes:
I talked a lot about the focus on his friendship with Steve above but, despite his much larger amounts of screen time, he still has faced a lot of issues in past movies. His introduction was in ‘Captain America: The First Avenger’ where Bucky was already friends with Steve. He was a bit of a flirt and somewhat conceited, but his care for Steve showed just how big his heart really was. And then, towards the end of the movie, Bucky died. When he reappeared in ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’ his personality was nowhere to be found. Despite the fact that the movie focused quite a bit on Steve’s relationship with Bucky, it was all from Steve’s perspective. Bucky’s brainwashing made him nothing more than an emotionless murderer throughout the movie. ‘Captain America: Civil War’ saw the return of Bucky without the brainwashing. But his personality was definitely not on display. He was mostly quiet and his main goal throughout the movie was simply to survive. Once again, his relationship with Steve was focused heavily on Steve’s emotions. Apart from a few short comments about the past, Bucky was still devoid of most of his own emotions. What I want to see from Bucky in this series is a full exploration of his personality. He doesn’t have to be the same as he was in the first ‘Captain America’ film, and after all he’s gone through, I don’t imagine that’s even possible. But I do want to see what has stayed the same despite all the years that have passed. I also want to see more differences from his past self aside from simply “he’s quiet now”. I don’t want to see the strong, silent character type he’s been portrayed as in the last few movies. I want to see a more complex personality from him.
Sharon Carter:
Oh boy. Here we go. We saw very little from Sharon Carter in ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’, but that is where we were first introduced to her. She worked undercover for SHIELD as Steve’s neighbor so that they could keep an eye on him. She was very nice to him and clearly very good at her job because he didn’t suspect her. But she also earned immediate distrust from Steve when she revealed herself to be an agent. Despite the distrust, she proved that she was on Steve’s side when she decided to stand up against Hydra. We saw Sharon again in ‘Captain America: Civil War’ and, once again, she wasn’t around for long. She grieved with Steve when her aunt, Peggy Carter, died and she helped him for a very short amount of time. She also kissed him, which was really creepy considering he was still in love with her aunt. Overall the creepiness of her relationship with Steve ended up turning most audiences against her character. In this show I’m hoping they make audiences regret brushing her off. I want to see her personality, because we haven’t actually seen it yet. I want to know about her past, especially with her aunt as one of the founders of SHIELD. I want little to no mention of her relationship with Steve and I don’t really want to see her act as a love interest at all in this series. I just want to see her move past her awkward beginnings and prove how big of a badass she is.
And that’s it! There are plenty more reoccurring characters set to pop up in this series, but I’m really hoping for these three to get the major focus they deserve. I’m excited to see what this series has in store. If it’s anywhere near the quality of ‘WandaVision’, it’ll definitely be a fun series to dive into. I guess we’ll see on Friday!
Don’t do anything fun until I get back!
Hallie
Oreos & Peanut Butter 