Following the most recent episode of The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, it’s kind of obvious that John Walker won’t be keeping the shield he holds, or the role of Captain America, that much longer since one thing that Captain America was never known for doing was killing out of spite. His most recent action, killing one of the Flag Smashers, and obviously ingesting the super-soldier serum, will no doubt get that title yanked away from him at some point. But that raises the question of who the shield will go to following this demotion since if it doesn’t come then it means that US Agent might be coming. Cap’s shield is still going to change hands since the trailers for the show have made it pretty clear that Sam and Bucky get their hands on it again. But it’s already been established that Sam doesn’t want it and Bucky doesn’t think he’s worthy of it. Those that aren’t into Marvel comics or the MCU might wonder what the fuss would be over the shield, but it’s easy enough to explain since Captain America’s shield has been held up as a symbol of America for so long that it’s almost a legend unto itself. Thinking that just anyone could pick it up and use it is bound to elicit a startled gasp from fans. Yes, it’s that important.
One fan theory is that it will end up with Isaiah Bradley, who was given the serum close to the same time as Steve Rogers but was imprisoned instead of being celebrated for his service to his country. Sam was pretty incensed when he found out about this, but Isaiah didn’t even want to hear it, as the memories that it brought back were a little too traumatic for his liking. The theory expands a little further though to state that maybe Isaiah would keep it for his grandson, Eli, who is fated to become a member of the Young Avengers, and in the comics does wield Cap’s shield. That theory is kind of likely but it doesn’t feel as though it might happen this time around, since the shield might actually come back to Sam for a bit until another theory comes to pass, that Sam might get his own shield from Shuri after Zemo is captured by the Wakandans. The theories aren’t bad ones really but they kind of point to events that aren’t likely to happen yet, though the second one could happen by the end of the season for all we know. It’s not even certain if Zemo is going to be captured again since he’s proving to be rather resilient and even more than a little capable of slipping away from his would-be captors.
So far The Falcon and The Winter Soldier has been far more grounded than WandaVision, offering a different side of the MCU as the only out-of-control element are the Flag Smashers, who are now firmly set on fighting thanks to the overeager attempts of John Walker to bring them in. The thing about this is that Sam had Karli Morgenthau talking and even starting to relate with him, but of course, the new Cap had to come waltzing in and screw things up with his over-the-top attitude and less than humble social graces. It was a bit satisfying to see Walker get his butt handed to him by one of the Wakandans, but it was equally surprising to see one of them detach Bucky’s metal arm from his body with a few quick, practiced movements. These ladies are no joke since from the movie to Disney+ they’ve remained just as awesome. The finale is going to be something to see since it would appear that the Flag Smashers aren’t interested in taking prisoners, and the Wakandan guards aren’t bothering with niceties since they want Zemo and they’re willing to go through just about anyone to get him. What comes in the next couple of weeks will be interesting to see since the overall feeling is that the Flag Smashers, or Karli at least, don’t want to see the world powers continue along the same path that was in place before the blip. She’s willing to do anything to create open borders for the sake of creating a global community, but she’s quickly becoming the monster she tried to fight against.
Sam happens to agree with Karli when it comes to taking care of the people, but the fact that Karli has made things personal by contacting his sister might become a factor he can’t overlook since once family is involved things tend to get pretty tense. Facing down an enemy is one thing, but bringing their family into the battle is another matter that many people can’t let slide. We’ll see how things continue to pan out though, and we’ll eventually get to see just where the shield is going to end up.
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