Well, we have one Marvel Cinematic Universe Disney+ show out of the way, not it’s time for the next one. The Falcon and The Winter Soldier is probably my most anticipated of all the MCU Disney+ shows. It’s probably because I like the vibe it gives. There’s a lot of action, a lot of conflict, and a signature Marvel villain makes a grand return. And this time, he wears his iconic purple mask. Oh yeah, Helmut Zemo will soon be leading the Thunderbolts and he’ll earn his Baron title. Okay, I’ll admit, that’s wishful thinking, but I think the Thunderbolts is a high probability after this show.
So what else looks cool about The Falcon and the Winter Soldier? Well, I dig the political thriller vibes it gives, much like Captain America: The Winter Soldier. After Cap handed Sam Wilson the Captain America mantle, Sam has a big burden on his shoulders. It’ll be up to him and the Winter Soldier to act as super powered secret agents who don’t exactly work for the government. Yeah, it sounds weird, but c’mon, it’s superhero stuff. Plus, they’re blending it with the secret agent/political thriller genre, so not everything has to make sense.
All we need to know is that two Marvel characters who famously act as secret agents will be going on Tom Clancy-like adventures. Now I’m a sucker for those kind of stories and I love superheroes on top of that. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is right up my alley, so I’ll be tuning into Disney+ next Friday right away. These two Marvel superstars haven’t had the best relationship so far, so it will be fun watching their partnership develop.
Who will they be fighting? Well, for starters, Helmut Zemo might be the main antagonist, but they’ll also take on the Flag-Smashers. Flag Smasher was just one character in the comics, so it’ll be interesting to see how the show interprets the character as a whole anti-patriotism group. Let’s not forget about U.S. Agent, the douchebag version of Captain America. It sounds like these two will have their hands full, but as the show approaches, I just can’t help but think of the possible roads the show can take.
I’m talking about introducing certain characters that will set up what we’ve been wanting to see for a while. Maybe not popular characters, but characters that represent a particular race. And what’s the most popular race in the Marvel Universe? The race of people who face the most discrimination and inequality and a group of those people make up one of the greatest superhero teams ever. Yes, I think The Falcon and the Winter Soldier can introduce the mutants in the MCU.
So how can The Falcon and the Winter Soldier squeeze in the mutants with everything that’s happening? Well, I have a theory that the show can pull it off in a more low-key fashion. I think the easiest way to do it is by having Falcon and the Winter Soldier just join forces with Wolverine right away. Okay, maybe not, but that would be awesome, right? But seriously, I believe Falcon and the Winter Soldier can come across some mutants, both good and bad.
Let’s start with some possible bad mutants our two heroes can interact with. I think a suitable mutant villain for the show would be a particular foe of Wolverine. This villain is a Russian-born super solider named Arkady Gregorivich Rossovich, aka Omega Red. What makes him so suitable for the Falcon and the Winter Soldier? Well, it’s because he’s a super soldier from Russia. Unlike Steve Rogers, Arkady was no patriotic volunteer for the Russian super soldier project. This man was a serial killer who was experimented on by the KGB and the Soviet government. What the Soviets discovered was that Arkady was actually a mutant who could emit toxic “death spores” that cause a fatal sickness.
The Soviet government also implanted retractable carbonadium coil-like tentacles, which became his signature weapons. Omega Red would use these tentacles to wrap his victims and literally drain the life out of them. With these deadly weapons at his disposal, not to mention his regeneration abilities, Omega Red became the Soviet Union’s greatest assassin. The guy can go toe-to-toe with Wolverine. If that doesn’t make you take him seriously, then what does?
In many ways, Omega Red is Captain American flipped on his head. He’s a real superpowered scumbag who has taken on some powerful superheroes. Now how would he fair against Falcon and the Winter Soldier? Well, I would imagine Falcon would use his wings and elusiveness to avoid Omega Red’s coils, but his guns surely wouldn’t do much damage. Now Winter Soldier also has guns, but he would be the one to get in close to Omega Red and do some damage. Together, they could probably defeat Omega Red, but it would be a very tough fight for both of them.
Now can Omega Red appear in the Falcon and the Winter Soldier? It’s possible, but even if he does, he doesn’t necessarily have to be a mutant. The show could easily retcon Omega Red’s backstory and simply portray him as a Russian super soldier with large, retractable tentacles. Like Captain America, he has the signature weapon and uses it to the extreme, but Omega Red’s weapon only amplifies his “death spores”. His weapons and abilities literally allow him to drain the life out of his victims. He’s dangerous, he’s a handful for heroes, and he’s a lunatic.
This would make for a fine villain for the Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Now I think debuting Omega Red in the show can low-key introduce the mutants. Like I said, they don’t really have to make him a mutant. However, it would be an opportunity to at least let us know that the mutants are coming. If that is the case, the show must make Omega Red being a mutant mean something. He can’t just be a mutant just for the sake of introducing the mutants. I think the show can make it work. If Omega Red does pop up and they don’t say he’s a mutant right away, we’ll at least get the hint.
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier premieres on next Friday on Disney+. I can hardly wait.
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