The Falcon And The Winter Soldier brings Wakanda back into the fold
TV Features The Falcon and the Winter Soldier
The third episode of the Disney+ superhero drama The Falcon And The Winter Soldier packs a lot in its almost 50-minute runtime. But it’s the closing scene that helps tie the show into the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe, specifically the Black Panther franchise. In the final moments of “Power Broker,” Bucky (Sebastian Stan) comes face to face with Ayo (Florence Kasumba), a member of Wakanda’s Dora Milaje, second-in-command to Danai Gurira’s Okoye. The connection between them was established in films like Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War, as Bucky spent time in the technologically-advanced African country so Shuri (Letitia Wright) could help him get rid of Hydra’s mind influence. But this surprise cameo is a more direct thread to the world of Black Panther after everyone’s return post-Blip.
Ayo’s appearance is the most significant way that the MCU has brought Wakanda into the mix since the country served as the center of the climactic action in Infinity War. Yes, all the snapped characters from the film came back to life for the big showdown against Thanos in Avengers: Endgame but that’s about it. Since then, the released projects have delved into Spider-Man’s story on the big screen, and Wanda Maximoff, Vision, The Falcon, and The Winter Soldier on the small screen. The return of Ayo, who first appeared in Captain America: Civil War briefly, further proves that the Russo brothers’ second MCU film has the strongest ties to TFATWS. It’s also a natural gateway to an expansion of Wakanda on the big and small screens: There’s the upcoming Black Panther II, which is being directed by Ryan Coogler, whose TV deal with Disney+ includes a Wakanda series. Evidently, the TV MCU is focusing on supporting film characters to turn them into fully formed heroes.
In the most recent outing of The Falcon And The Winter Soldier, “Power Broker,” Sam and Bucky break out Civil War villain Helmut Zemo (Daniel Bruhl) from his German prison. They want his help in identifying who might be remaking the super soldier serum he so desperately wanted to destroy. Zemo, of course, is responsible for the bombing that killed Wakandan King T’Chaka, which led to T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) taking on the Black Panther mantle. Baron Zemo tried to put the blame on Bucky/Winter Soldier but he was nabbed for his crimes by T’Challa and imprisoned, anyway. Now that he is free, and helping Sam and Bucky, Ayo has arrived to seek vengeance.
It’s a strategic move to bring her into the world of The Falcon And The Winter Soldier, which sees the two titular heroes teaming up with various characters to defeat their enemies. Along with Zemo, they also pair up with reenergized badass Sharon Carter (Emily VanCamp) in this episode. She was last seen in, you guessed it, Civil War, when she went on the run as a fugitive for helping the real Cap escape with his vibranium shield. It’s entirely possible that even though she wants revenge, a skilled fighter like Ayo might work with the characters of TFATWS to help them out temporarily. Or, she might straight-up kill Zemo and make an exit. In any case, the Disney+ drama has certainly ratcheted up its value by expanding its world and charting a course for (hopefully) next year’s Black Panther sequel.
15 Comments
Maybe don’t post a spoiler headline AND picture? Not cool dude, in fact it sucks. I’ve luckily seen it already, but this is kind of a big reveal.
I was just about to start the episode and fucking around on my phone for a second and I see this at the top of the newswire, thanks a fucking lot AV Club.
I hate that I basically can’t read any entertainment sites starting on Thursday night now, if i don’t want anything ruined for me for these shows. It sucks. Because then I actually have to do work all day friday.
Haha 100% agreed! Started feeling that way with WandaVision
Sorry, Its been set that the AVclubs policy is to put spoilers in the headlines, anytime they don’t do it, they are punished.
I just thought to myself, “damn, I’m glad I watched that last episode AND was a bit behind on my news feed”. This is otherwise criminal.
It’s always good when the TV series are used to explore minor film characters more. Reminds me of when Sif got to be a central character in 2 episodes of Agents of SHIELD, after playing a minor role in Thor and The Dark World, and got so much fleshing out. Ayo is an even less significant character, but this is an opportunity to make her better known and appreciated. It’s the whole point of having a shared universe in the first place, and frankly, Marvel haven’t taken advantage of it as much as they should have over the years.
Winter Soldier show includes characters from recent Winter Soldier storyline? It’ll never catch on.
“But this surprise cameo”Well it WOULD HAVE BEEN A SURPRISE if a certain website hadn’t FUCKING SPOILED IT.
I feel like the entire concept of this article is to troll people. Spoiler headline. Summary of things that happened that no one who is tuning into AFATWS and reading articles about it on AV Club would need. Minimal actual analysis or speculation. No interview with anyone working on or acting in the show.Like why isn’t this just a bullet in the review?
When was Wakanda out of the fold?
They better not reship Bucky/Sammy to Bucky/Ayo
Great Job Internet.Poor Job AV Club.
What I don’t get is Falcon telling Bucky that Wakanda hasn’t forgiven him. I thought they already had and understood his situation. Or am I remembering what happened in the show wrong?
Nothing about this was a surprise. This episode suffered the most so far, from falling back on the worst of the MCU movies.If Zemo pulled the fire alarm, someone would have had to go and retrieve him, even with the small riot going on. So at best 30 min before someone would notice he was missing. Which should have sent off alarms, which there is also be no way there is not some giant blinking light and alarm in Wakanda tied to Zemo, so that it took them so long to meet up after he escaped, was a massive stretch. I am glad they brought them in, but had they not it would have been a country sized omission. If in their time crunch with remaining episodes they can smooth out the glaring issue with response and security the MCU world has, the above issues will go away. Sadly i do not think this will be the case.