Viewer Log: My Hero Academia ep 73

League of Villains arrives to tango.

Last time on My Hero Academia, we got a brief history of Eijiro Kirishima. He and his hero mentor Fat Gum battled the fighting nut Rappa and his annoyed minder Tengai. Rappa proves to be more than a match for Kirishima and Fat Gum, almost knocking Kirishima out with one heavy punch and keeping Fat Gum pinned with rapid blows. While frozen, Kirishima has a flashback to back when he kinda sucked and froze up when a monster threatened some of his classmates. Ashido slid in to save the day, and after that, and watching a video from his idol Crimson Riot, he trained hard and became the Kirishima that he is today. He was able to stop another, harder blow from Rappa and distracted him long enough for Fat Gum to take the two villains out. Enough recap, let’s get to it.

 

I mean, he's not even carrying his kid. Way to
be the winner of the sucky dad contest, Overhaul.

We open with Overhaul and Kurono as they’re continuing to run from the oncoming heroes and police. Kurono points out that this might be the end of the Shie Hassaikai. Overhaul isn’t worried, as he sees it, as long as their boss and he are alive, the group will continue to exist. Besides, most of the goons that are being taken out are loyal to the “old man” not him, so it’s more like clearing the dead wood. Besides, with the drug they’ll be able to rebuild, and the attack on their base will probably help them with sales. Makes sense, if you’ve got something that makes the heroes so nervous that they raid your base, then that’s something super criminal me would want. He tells the “temps” that it’s time for them to pull their weight. The temps being Toga (drinks blood to shapeshift) and Twice (can make clones of things he touches). Well, crap.

 

Yeah, these two are pretty much dead. Way to 
go Fat Gum and Kirishima.

We cut back to Fat Gum and Kirishima. Our red hero is pretty wiped out but he’s alive, so that’s good. Fat Gum has a quick flashback to when he first met Kirishima. He forced Amajiki to bring him to Fat Gum. In the interview, Kirishima mentions that he’s got an energetic personality that most people seem to like, but that’s all that he really has going for him. He wants to be more, to be more like Crimson Riot. Rappa gets back up, which kinda kills the mood. Fat Gum is defensive at firsts but then Rappa tells them there’s a room next door where they can get patched up. When Fat Gum is still defensive, Rappa makes the excellent point, “Do I look a guy that sets traps?” Touché, Rappa, touché. Tengai wakes up and tells Rappa that they have a job to do, but Rappa knocks him over with a kick. Tengai can’t make barriers, and both of Rappa’s arms are broken, so there’s real no point in continuing to fight. He explains that he used to be an MMA fighter before joining the Hassaikai, and that he beat most of his opponents with a single punch, so he was never fully satisfied. Getting a deathmatch like he got with Kirishima and Fat Gum made him feel alive, so he’s willing to deal with them. He wants them to heal up so they can have a rematch. Fat Gum realizes that Rappa is too stupid to be a threat now that his arms are down. As he follows after Rappa, carrying Kirishima, he realizes that despite his outward appearance, Kirishima was actually pretty down on himself, and that Amajiki must have seen that in him and wanted to help him.

 

Meanwhile, Mimic is watching the heroes and cops still making progress through the halls. He knows that his boost is going to wear off soon, so he needs to get into high gear. He starts thrashing the walls and floor about, knocking them everyone about. He’s planning to crush everyone.

 

Fat Gum is able to patch Kirishima and himself up. Sure, Kirishima could probably pass for a mummy with the number of bandages around his chest and arms, but he’s still all together so he can’t complain. They also tied up Tengai, so he’s not a risk to anyone. Fat Gum asks Rappa why he’s working for the Yakuza. Rappa admits that he’s only here because Overhaul is the only one to have defeated him. He killed Rappa for a second with one punch before restoring him. Rappa has challenged him four other times and lost each one. They want to know more about Overhaul’s plan. Tengai tries to pull the “we’ll never talk!” thing, but Rappa answers them with no hesitation. He doesn’t know the details, but does know that Overhaul is obsessed with this new plan of his to make the Yakuza strong again. They need money to get the ball rolling but once he does, they’ll be back on top.

 

So, Shoot-Style is proving to be an amazing idea.

Back with Izuku and crew, they’re getting tossed around by Mimic’s wall churning. Rock Lock (I refuse to call him Lock Lock) uses his power to lock the walls in place. Making things freeze in place isn’t the most impressive super power, but it has it’s uses. They start running. Mimic tries to crush them by throwing walls down the frozen in place corridors, but Izuku’s shoot style makes quick work of them. Mimic notes that his boost is going to run out soon, so he throws walls more rapidly. Izuku starts hitting his metaphorical wall, but then remembers all the people are fighting to get to Eri, so he gets his second wind. Realizing that this strategy isn’t working, Mimic opens the area up, before slamming walls down, separating them into groups. Izuku and Aizawa are together, Nighteye is with the cops, and Rock Lock is on his own. Once he’s by himself, Rock Lock gets jumped by Toga. He gets a knife through his hand, but he freezes her in place before taking a swing at her. This Toga breaks to sludge, as it was just a Twice clone. The real Toga jumps onto Rock Lock’s back and stabs him in the kidney.

 

Use a clone to distract so Toga can swing around and
grab him from behind, I can see why Overhaul wanted
them.

Izuku shatters the wall separating them, to find Rock Lock on the ground, with Rock Lock kneeling over him. Up Rock lock tries to claim that down Rock Lock is a copy that he took care of. It’s obviously Toga in disguise, but they don’t know she’s there so I guess I can’t fault them for not getting it right away. And in all fairness, Aizawa figures it out after about fifteen seconds. Toga drops her disguise when she realizes the jig is up, because she wants to talk to Izuku again. She’s still fangirling out over Izuku. Aizawa grabs her with his scarf and pulls her back. She flips around, gets on his back and stabs him before leaping back and disappearing behind a new wall. Aizawa tells Izuku to help Rock Lock and to make sure to grab the knife. They figured out that Toga’s power involves blood, so best take away her ammo.

 

We get a quick flashback to when Shigaraki had his meeting with Overhaul. They played Shogi, sort of. Overhaul was just using it as a metaphor to explain that Shigaraki needs to let him have access to some of his people for them to work together. He wants access to Toga, Twice and Kurogiri. They haggle a bit, but obviously Shigaraki goes along with it.

 

Twice attacks Nighteye’s group with a copy of Rappa. Shockingly, Nighteye trips the Rappa copy, and then knocks him back by hitting him with several seal stamps. They’re small but are made of a material that weighs 5 kilos (11ish pounds), so lobbing them at something huts. Nighteye is able to hit Twice with a seal, tearing his mask on one side. Twice runs and a wall drops down to help him escape. Once he’s alone, he starts having a panic attack as he can’t function with his face exposed. He blacks out for a second, but then Toga joins him and covers part of his face with a handkerchief.

 

Somehow this face is scarier than the black shadow
face he made last time...

There’s another flashback to when Shigaraki told his people about the minion exchange. He reveals that he was able to talk Overhaul down to just Toga and Twice. Both of them are completely against it, in part because of their murdered friend Magne, and in part of just not wanting to associate with Yakuza. Toga quite pointedly asks Shigaraki why they should go along with this plan. To get his point across, Shigaraki takes off his hand-mask and talks to them directly. He tells his people that he knows that the Yakuza are going to try to get them to join on a more permanent basis. He wants them to work as moles in the Shia Hassaikai. As part of their plan to manipulate the Yakuza in the present, Toga and Twice mock Mimic and the Yakuza until he has a freak out of his own. He causes a big quake, dropping Twice, Toga, Izuku and Aizawa into a lower area, vowing to crush and kill them all.

 

So, this was a bit of a slower episode. It was mostly about explaining why the League of Villains were here, and to give Kirishima a chance to catch his breath. I liked seeing Rappa now that the fighting is over. He’s shockingly helpful for a guy that wanted to fight a deathmatch a few seconds ago. His backstory was pretty box standard for a strongman type villain. Yes, strongman loses to weaker looking guy with a better power and thus works for him forever is a bit of a trope. Obviously, anyone who knows Shigaraki knows that he’s not going to work with anyone willingly, so it was kind of interesting to see him sell the backstab on his people. The fact he took his hand mask off to sell them on the idea was a nice touch. I think this is the second time in the series that he willingly took that thing off, the other to walk around like a normal person and threaten Izuku. I personally question the wisdom of pissing off a guy that controls the very halls you’re walking through seems like a poor idea, but what do I know. Oh, and seeing Rock Lock use his powers was kind of interesting. On paper, freezing things in place feels like a limited skill, but seeing him both freeze the walls and that time he froze a board mid air so he could walk across was pretty neat. So yeah, this was a slower episode, but it’s building to something amazing, so there’s that. Have a good night, everybody. 

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Viewer Log: The Falcon and the Winter Soldier ep 6

Captain America takes flight, and he looks DAMN good doing it.

Last time on The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, things finally came to a head with Walker. Distraught and clearly having a break down following Hoskins’ death and his execution of a Flag Smasher on camera, Walker was in a bad way. This led to a brawl with Bucky and Sam, with the titular Falcon and Winter Soldier coming out on top. He lost his title, rank and career after that. Bucky saw Zemo recaptured, the Baron of Sokovia crossing out his name in Bucky’s book personally, and asked the Wakandans for a favor. The Flag Smashers gained Batroc as a mercenary ally as they prepare to attack the GRC summit. Sam is able to get his folks boat fixed up thanks to reaching out to the community, and spends some time training like crazy with the Shield. As the Flag Smashers attack the GRC summit, Sam opens up the case Bucky brought him, the product of that Favor from Wakanda, and smiled before the episode ended. Enough set up, let’s get to it!

 

NOW, Cap is Back.

We open with Karli and the Flag Smashers prepping for their assault. The GRC summit is on total lockdown and the NYPD has the area secure for the moment. We’re shown Sam flying in at high speed. On the ground, Bucky arrives and meets up with Sharon Carter who busted out that face altering mesh Natasha used that one time in Cap 2 to get in unmolested. Karli noticed that Sam flew in and orders her men to begin the attack. Oh, so this is an ambush. They release gas grenades to clear the delegates from the room. Sam hurls the Shield through a window, taking a Flag Smasher down before rolling in. He announces to someone who asked that he is Captain America!

 

Do I think they contrived a reason to get Sebastian
Stan on a motorcycle? Yes.
Am I complaining? No.

Cap realizes that the Flag Smashers are luring the delegates out. He tries to warn the others but a Flag Smasher kicks him to the ground. Well, it’s actually Batroc in a Flag Smasher mask. I kind of love this killing boner he’s got for Sam now. They trade a few sniping comments, with Batroc using a French idiom that translates to “The robes don’t make the monk,” before they brawl. Sam warns Sharon and Bucky that he has his hands full and tell them to handle the Flag Smashers. Karli calls up a goon and has her pass it to Bucky as he walks by. She tries to get high and mighty over Bucky, claiming she’s fighting for the greater good and chastising him for killing for less before. Bucky says that all he’s ever tried to do is fight for something bigger than himself, and he’s fallen twice because of it. Meanwhile, the Flag Smashers get the delegates into trucks before using some kind of device to lock them in tight. Sam keeps battling Batroc. Bucky warns that despite Karli’s belief that the ends justify the means, in the end the nightmares won’t go away and she’ll remember every person she’s killed. Karli isn’t listening and reveals the call was just to slow Bucky down. He curses, runs down to the parking area, grabs a motorcycle and chases after the trucks. Sharon bumps into one of the Flag Smasher’s goons, seemingly by accident, but planted some kind of acid explosive on his chest, setting it off and killing him a moment later.

 

One of the Flag Smashers (no, I never learned their names) have delegates loaded into a copter and are about to take off. Sharon, on the ground, calls in and lets Sam know. Sam asks Bucky if he can handle it, but Bucky can’t get to them, either, so Cap is forced to force back Batroc before leaping from a window he Shield smashes open. His new suit is fast and he’s quickly able to catch up to the copter. He lands on the side, but the Flag Smasher nearly hits him with bullets. He launches Redwing and has the drone determine if anyone in the copter has flight training. It identifies one before being forced back by gun fire.

 

Karli’s team preps for their guys to arrive with the hostages. She’s ready to kill the hostages to get their message across, but the rest of her team need a little convincing. They do agree though, after a recitation of their One World, One People mantra.

 

The Flag Smasher copter hits an NYPD copter, causing it to spin out. Redwing and Cap same the two pilots, Cap landing on a bridge and being forced to use his wings to block the wreckage of the downed copter from hitting them. This does lead to a cool moment of him fully spreading his wings and people cheering, though, so I think he thinks it’s worth it. He leaps into the air and follows the copter.

 

The Flag Smashers block the Delegates trucks before taking out their guards and stealing the trucks. Bucky pulls up and launches himself at one of the Flag Smashers. Karli decides to sacrifice a truck to distract Bucky, lighting it on fire with gas and prepping to drive away. She would have, but Walker walks up and screams for her. Karli claims that Lemar’s life didn’t matter to her fight, which royally pisses off Walker, who starts taking on multiple Flag Smashers. Bucky is able to rip the lock off the Truck and starts getting the delegates out. Walker is forced to the ground, his fake Shield holding up but getting dented. Bucky saves him from being clobbered with a parking meter. He gets forced into a construction site.

 

Captain America contacts the pilot among the delegates. He gets dropped into the water for a second, but he recovers and warns her to be prepared to grab the controls when the countdown from five ends. She counts down and at one, Cap launches the Shield into his hands, does a spin to build momentum and hurls it at the copter, breaking the door of the copter enough for him to fly through it, grab the Flag Smasher and fly out the other side. The delegate grabs the stick and saves her group. Sam drops the Flag Smasher into the water and congratulates the pilot.

 

Do I like the guy? No, but I will give him credit
for choosing to be a hero over seeking revenge.

Walker keeps fighting the Flag Smashers, holding his own against three of them. Karli makes a run for the truck, but he stops her and forces her back with several hard blows. She gets around him and knocks him to the ground with a kick. She runs back and drives off with a truck. She intentionally crashes it over the side of the road and leaves it to fall into the construction site Bucky is still fighting in. Walker runs up to see it, he has the choice between fighting Karli or saving the truck and shockingly he chooses the truck. What? He was a vindictive son of a bitch, I assumed he’d take revenge. The Flag Smashers grab him and force him to let go and drop to the construction site floor. But he stopped the drop long enough for Sam to fly in and use his new suit to force the truck back enough to safety. A crowd of onlookers cheer him on, with an old man calling him the Black Falcon, and someone correcting him, saying “Nah, that’s Captain America.” Redwing laser cuts the lock off.

 

Karli, not to be stopped, throws something at Bucky to try to sucker punch him. Bucky grabs it, and then Sam hurls the Shield at her, knocking her and the other Flag Smashers for a loop. She chastises him, shocked that he “bought into that bullshit.” Sam claims he’s trying something different and maybe she should too. Batroc arrives and launches smoke grenades as a distraction. Sam’s new suit can track heat, though, so they’re able to follow after.

 

Bucky and Walker go down one route and Sam continues on his own when the Flag Smashers split up. Someone does Karli’s whistle thing to draw her around. She thinks it’s her missing, dead goon, but it’s revealed to be Sharon. Turns out they know each other… why? Because Sharon Carter is the Power Broker. Dun dun dahhhh! Yeah, I kinda saw that coming after she got Batroc to work for Karli lasts episode. She offers to take them all back in, but Karli isn’t interested. What’s the Power Broker without super soldiers? Batroc joins, shocked to find out Sharon is the Power Broker. Batroc is tired of all the intrigue, so he tells Sharon she’ll pay him four times as much to keep his silence. She doesn’t do Blackmail, so shoots and kills him. Karli shoots her in the gut, drawing Sam over.

 

Cap tries to appeal to her better nature again, but Karli’s not having it. He flying tackles her away from Sharon. He shouts he’s not going to fight her, but Karli keeps attacking him. She tells him to stay down, but in a very Captain America way, he gets back up and says “No.”

 

I 100% believe Bucky spent the last few days figuring
out phone apps specifically for this situation.

Meanwhile, the Flag Smashers get a ping on their app about allies having a way out for them. They make it to outside only to be met by Walker, who quotes Lincoln, “Mercy bears richer fruit than strict Justice.” Bucky and he used the app to lure them into an ambush. They let NYPD surround the Flag Smashers and the two men walk off to find Sam. They have this kind of weird buddy moment where Bucky ribs him for the Lincoln quote, which feels a little out of character for their previous convos, but hey, maybe Bucky immediately stopped hating him when the Shield dropped out of his hands.

 

A Super Soldier can dish out hits.
Captain America is about taking the hits and
getting back up each time.

Karli keeps wailing on Sam, but he’s only taking her blows and occasionally hitting her into objects to try to slow her down. He gets knocked to the ground but stands up again. Karli has a gun on him, but isn’t able to shoot before Sharon shoots her in the gut several times. As she lay in Sam’s arms, she grips the little bookmark thing of the Flag Smasher logo the Donya had and says “I’m sorry,” before dying.

 

Captain America carries her to the surface and then flies her back to the site of their battle, leaving the body with EMTs to handle. Walker and Bucky join him as well. He meets with the delegates and chastises them for forcing the relocation bill. He gives a speech about how relocating them is the easy answer and they need to use this common struggle to unite them. When the Senator accuses him of not understanding, Sam counters by pointing out that he’s “a Black man carrying the Stars and Stripes. What don’t I understand?” He tells them that while he knows that he’ll have to deal with the racism and the judgement and the people hoping he’ll fail, he’s going to face it. He’ll stand there, no Super Serum, no blonde hair and blue eyes, and take it, because that’s what Captain America has to do. The only power he has is that he believes that they can do better. He warns them that they have to, or another Karli Morgenthau will step up and they don’t want to see 2.0. It’s a solid speech, not as polished as Captain Rogers, but Captain Wilson has a passion that makes up for it.

 

Sam passes Walker who gives him a nod. Bucky ribs him about his speech and congratulates Cap on a job well done. They meet up with Sharon, who is doing an emergency patch job to herself. She compliments his new look. Sam is going to keep his promise to her about the pardon. Oh no. Captain America gets tasked with grabbing the last Flag Smasher that fell into the river, so he flies off to grab them.

 

Later, the surviving Flag Smashers are loaded into a truck to be taken to the Raft. One of the guards whispers One World, One People, making it seem like the Super Soldiers would fight another day. They might have too, but Oeznick sets off a bomb, killing them. That’s Zemo’s butler, if you forgot. We’re shown Zemo in his cell at the Raft. He hears the radio report of four of them being killed in a car bomb attack and smiles to himself. Looks like his butler earned a raise. We also hear that the GRC had decided to alter their policies after Sam’s speech, which is nice. Unrealistic, but nice.

 

Back at the hearing hall, Countess Valentina is with the Walkers. She lets them know about the deaths as they wait for Walker to come out. He does so, revealing his new suit. It’s basically his old suit, but black. Valentia dubs him the US Agent, for situations that don’t need Captain America. Walkers are both clearly stoked about this, but I have my apprehensions.

 

Bucky visits Yori. The old man invites Bucky in. With tears in his eyes, Bucky reveals his metal hand and his role in Yori’s son’s death. Yori is brought to tears, but we don’t see his reaction beyond that. Bucky walks out. Dr. Raynor arrives at her office to see a gift bag and a note. She pulls out Bucky’s notebook to see all the names crossed off. The note reads “I finished the book. Thanks for all the help, Doc.” Later, Bucky walks by the restaurant and sees Yori there with the bartended. He looks lighter in a way, so Bucky smiles and keeps walking.

 

Honoring another man that should have borne
the title Captain America.

Sam stops by the Bradley house. Eli asks “Whatch you want, Black Falcon?” Isaiah was actually behind him getting something for the garden and tells his grandson, “He ain’t the Falcon no more, but he’s still Black.” Sam follows him to the backyard. Isaiah seems mildly impressed in the old curmudgeon sort of way. Says Sam is special, even if he’s no Malcom, Martin or Mandela. Isaiah warns that it won’t be easy, but Sam isn’t deterred. He’s not going to let anyone tell him he can’t fight for this country. He has a gift for the Bradleys. He takes the two to the Captain America exhibit. He leads them to another wing of it, where they put in a statue of Isaiah and a display honoring his and his fellow Super Soldier’s work. Isaiah doesn’t say a word but hugs Sam tightly as he clearly is holding back tears.

 

Later, we’re shown Sam, Bucky and the whole town having a big party to celebrate him. Sam and Bucky look out across the water and smile just before the credits roll. It closes on a title change, Captain America and the Winter Soldier. Ah…

 

In a post credit scene, we’re shown Sharon’s pardon hearing. She receives a full pardon and reinstatement as a SHIELD agent. As she walks out, she calls up someone and says that they might have lost the Super Soldier Serum, but now they’ll have access to all the spy tools they could want. Well, crap.

 

So, much like with the WandaVision finale, I think this was a good ending, but not a great one. The action was great, I especially liked seeing how Sam incorporated his existing skill set with his flight suit with the Shield. Seeing him lob it and fly around to grab it was a lot of fun. I liked seeing Batroc again and how Sam and he faced off. It’s kind of a shame he died. I know I poke a lot of fun at him, but he’s was a solid mercenary character with a fun fighting style along with it. Like with Crossbones, I’m sorry to see him go. The MCU actually could use more merc villains, just saying. I liked Sam speech, even if the results of it were significantly more optimistic than reality would allow. I could buy Sam convincing them to alter plans a little, but he would never stop it entirely. Just sayin’. And I liked how they resolved Isaiah Bradley’s story. The memorial in the Captain America museum was a very elegant way to honor Isaiah for his work, to let the world know that there were Black Heroes on par with Captain America for a long time, but allow Isaiah to continue to have his anonymity in his supposed death. I liked how he didn’t actually say a word to Sam but just gave him a Super Soldier hug. On to my complaints. I thought Walker’s heel face turn was a bit abrupt. The ending of the last episode and his initial appearance in this one made me think he was on a full killing spree. The fact that he almost without hesitation decided to give up vengeance to be a hero just seems… off. Despite his happiness at being made the US Agent, I’m with those that think Valentina is setting him up to use him just like everyone else. Maybe he’ll be a Dark Captain America for the Dark Avengers, maybe he’ll just be used as muscle and then toss him aside when she’s done. I also don’t get how jazzed he is, with Karli and the Flag Smashers gone, and Isaiah still believed to be dead, folks have two options for sources of Super Soldier blood to look over and no one is going after Bucky. Speaking of, I did like the fact that Bucky told Yori what happened to his son but not his initial reaction. Because that’s not what really mattered. Bucky told him, so they’re both a little freer. Doesn’t matter if Yori broke down sobbing or cursed at him, the truth set them free. I’m curious as to what Sharon’s reinstatement and mole status will bring. Will she bring about a new HYDRA? Sell them to new groups? The Skrull? Guess we’ll have to wait for Cap 4 to find out. Karli and the Flag Smashers were interesting in concept but the end result they were kind of generic. We heard a lot about their fight, about how they’ve suffered at the hands of the GRC but we weren’t really shown it enough for me to care. Like, we mostly saw them delivering supplies and then reacting to their civilian friends being arrested for associating with them. That’ll hardly get me invested in their struggle even if I empathize in principle. I think the Flag Smashers could have used a full flashback or something to flesh them out a little. Just sayin’. So, overall, I liked this episode. It wasn’t a perfect ending but a solid one. I’m still looking forward to Loki and future Marvel projects, but that’s nothing new. Since we’re a few weeks out from Loki, I think I’ll try to finish up season 4 of My Hero Academia before then. We’ll see if I can get to the point where I’m only a season behind. Have a good night, everybody.

 

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Viewer Log: The Falcon and the Winter Soldier ep 5

 Sam Wilson I think has a sudden serious appreciation for what Icarus went through.

Last time on The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, the Wakandan Dora Milaje got involved with the Flag Smasher situation. Ayo, who helped Bucky remove HYDRA’s programing, gives the 8 hours to finish their work and then they’ll escort Zemo to the Raft prison. They were able to track down the Flag Smashers and Sam tried to talk to Karli, but their dialogue was interrupted by Walker who is more interested in punishing Karli. In the short scuffle that followed, Zemo destroys most of the Super Soldier Serum vials she had, save one. Walker got that last vial and took the serum off screen. The Flag Smashers tried to distract Sam and bucky long enough to execute Walker, but they got wise to it and they tried to save him. In the resulting battle, Walker’s best friend and partner Lemar Hoskins aka Battlestar had his neck snapped by Karli. In a blind rage, Walker hunted down and beat one of the Flag Smashers to death with the Shield and on camera. Well, damn. Enough preamble, let’s get to it.

 

I think we all knew this fight was going to happen
sooner or later.

The episode begins with Walker running from the scene where he killed the Flag Smasher, bloody Shield still in hand. He ends up remembering the scene, lines that Hoskins told him, and his death. He mutters to himself and screams that nobody listened to him. Sam and Bucky find him kneeling before the Shield. He stands up and says time to go to work. He tries to keep going business as usual, but the others aren’t having it. Sam tries to convince him to give them the Shield and surrender, but he’s not having it. He tells them that that they don’t want to do this, but Bucky is more honest and says, yeah, we do.

 

A brawl breaks out between them. Walker now enhanced with the Super Soldier Serum puts up a solid fight against Bucky and Sam. He’s had enough practice with the Shield to be a force to be reconned with. The entire time he’s saying things that make him seem unstable, like asking Bucky why he’s making Walker do this and chastising Sam for not working with him. He’s able to disable Bucky by hitting in against a power box and mildly electrocuting him. He gets Sam on the ground and literally rips his wings off, announcing “I am Captain America!” He raises the shield up to bash Sam’s brains in, but Bucky tackles him. They continue to brawl, with Bucky getting Walker up against a wall, and Sam grabbing him and using his jetpack to pull the Shield from him. They end up breaking Walker’s arm to do it. He keeps trying to fight, though, claiming “It’s mine. He’s only stopped when Bucky swings him like a bat and Sam jumps with the Shield and uses the Jetpack to collide with him, knocking him out. Bucky gets up first and drops the Shield in front of Sam before walking away. Sam get’s up and smears the blood off of the Shield as best he can.

 

After the fight, Sam tells Bucky (and us) that the GRC is raiding the camps where Karli has been staying but she’s in the wind. They’re going to keep looking but he’s clearly not optimistic. Torres joins them and Bucky wanders off. Sam asks if he’s off to take care of Zemo but he doesn’t say. Sam asks about what happens next. Torres says the higher ups are cutting them out, in part because of “Captain America” killing someone on camera. Torres thinks Karli is impossible to fight right now, as she has a lot of experience hiding and a lot of folks helping her. Sam takes the Shield, but leaves his broken wings with Torres, telling him to keep them. Ooo, I’ll get back to this later.

 

Got to give him props for holding his temper back
enough to not shatter the podium he was at.

Back in Washington, John Walker is stripped of his rank and position as Captain America. When he feels like the Senators aren’t even considering his side of the situation, he gets visibly agitated and shouts at them. “I live my life by your Mandates!” He’s given an “other than honorable discharge,” stripping of his rank and benefits. He claims that they built him, and that he is Captain America. He walks out as he gets sentences, and told that the needs to return the Shield as soon as possible. After, his wife advices him to take it one step at a time, see Lemar’s parents and build from there. They’re interrupted by Elaine… I mean Valentina Allegra de Fontaine. Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine. She’s a bit of an eccentric that encourages Walker. She tells him that he did the right thing and claims that he’s attractive to certain people. He tells him to pick up the phone when she calls before walking off. The card she leaves them with is blank. No, I don’t get it either.

 

The Flag Smashers make it home to find hit abandoned. They seem shocked that there were consequences to helping people the government has labeled Terrorists. Karli says their movement is ready and they’re not going to stop unless we make them.

 

Meanwhile, Bucky finds Zemo visiting the Memorial to Ultron’s attack on Sokovia in Sokovia. Zemo warns that Karli is radicalized beyond saving. He urges Bucky to use his training and kill her because Sam won’t be able to do it. Bucky says they’re going to do it their own way. He has a gun and points it at Zemo. Zemo nods, but it turns out the gun is empty. Bucky drops the bullets all dramatic like. The Dora Milaje walk in and take Zemo into custody. Zemo says that he crossed his name off of Bucky’s list before being taken away. Ayo says they’re taking him to the Raft and that the White Wolf should be scarce in Wakanda for a while. He has one more favor to ask.

 

Sam get's a lesson that should be taught in conjunction
with the exploits of Captain Steven Rogers.

Sam returns to Baltimore. Eli tells him that Isaiah is in the backyard and that he’ll be watching.  In the back, Isaiah is watering his plants. Sam wants to understand things, wants to understand what went wrong with Isaiah and the government. He claims he used to be like Sam, but that naivety died when he saw his fellow Black soldiers fight and die for this country only to come back to crosses burning on their lawns. Sam asks why he let it happened, why he didn’t become the next Captain. Isaiah takes him inside and shows him his history. His wife died while he was in jail, he never saw any letters she sent him, and he knows she was told he died. He explains he was one of several soldiers that were shot up with the Serum in secret. They went on missions, did good work, despite only Isaiah having a stable version of it. Eventually, some of his friends were captured, and he heard the brass talking about bombing the POW camp to hide the evidence. Isaiah busted out and saved his men. They eventually died on other missions. For 30 years, they experimented on Isaiah to figure out why the serum worked. Eventually, a nurse took pity on him and faked reports to declare him dead. She also gave him the letters from Faith, his wife. Sam wants to tell somebody; he thinks the world is different. Isaiah wants to stay dead; he doesn’t have faith that things have changed. He claims that they will never let a Black man will ever be Captain America, and no self-respecting Black man would ever want to be. Sam leaves with the Shield, calling Sarah and saying he’s coming home.

 

This was actually one of the cutes Bucky moments
in his whole time in the MCU.

Sam and his nephews untangle the nets and relaxes for a bit. His nephews tell him that Sarah actually can’t sell the boat, as Mr. Dinh the prospective buyer said that the boat was too messed up. Sarah says she didn’t tell him right away because of how sad he looked after coming home, and he admits he’s still processing what Isaiah told him. Sam promises that he will fix the boat. In part to help his family, and in part because he has nothing to do while waiting for a lead or the government to call him back in. He hears Sarah making lunches for some of her boy’s school friends, saying she does it because the other boy’s father is a drunk (not in so many words but it’s implied) and that the boys are too stubborn to ask for help. He muses that Sarah is just like their mom, trying to help the whole world. This triggers a lightbulb moment for Sam. His folks were also always helping others, and he decides to try to call in those favors. The whole town turns out to help them fix the boat, and even Bucky shows up to help lift a heavy engine block. Well, actually he was just there to drop off his “favor” from the Wakandans. He ends up helping Sam fix a steaming hose. There’s a funny line where Sam asks why used a wrench and not his cyborg arm, to which Bucky shrugs and says he doesn’t always think about it immediately because he’s right-handed. It’s kind of cute. He sticks around to help, and Sam rather awkwardly sees him and Sarah flirt before the fix it montage begins. During the montage, they discuss Karli. Sam doesn’t think she’s going to stop but he has Torres looking for her, and Bucky says that Zemo says that there’s only one way to stop her. Sam has Bucky stay the night, on the condition that he doesn’t flirt with Sarah again.

 

Meanwhile, Walker explains to the Hoskins, Lemar’s parents and sister, what happened. He lies a bit and says that the guy he beat to death was the one that killed him. They thank him for avenging their son and try to make him feel better about the whole thing. He’s clearly still heartbroken about the death. He says he’s sorry one last time before leaving. He walks by one of his Cap is Back posters.

 

In Madripoor, Sharon calls up Batroc and tells the Frenchman she ahs a job for him. He yells at her in French for a bit, before she promises to pay him double this time. That’s ominous.

 

Good to see these two back in a good place together.

Bucky wakes up to Sarah’s boy’s playing with the Shield for a bit. He gets up and goes to the docks where he finds Sam working on the boat’s water pump. They get to working on it again, largely in silence. A good bro moment. Sarah joins them and scolds him for working on the pump when she told him specifically that was not the problem. They walk off and lets her work on it. Back at the house, Sam tied some mats to trees and practices tossing the Shield. He says that the history of the Shield is complicated. Bucky tells him that he nor Steve really understood what Steve was asking when he gave the Shield to a Black man and apologizes for not thinking about it. Sam accepts it. Bucky admits that the Shield is the closest thing to family he’s got left and so it messed him up to hear Sam tried to retire it. He explains that he’s using Steve’s book to try to find himself. Sam tells him in the end, it doesn’t matter what Steve thought and he needs to stop looking to other people to tell him who he is. Sam tells him some tough love, that he needs to do the work to climb out of the metaphorical hole. He hasn’t been making amends, he’s been Avenging. That stopping the evil he enabled won’t make him feel better. “Go to them and be of service.” Bucky admits that there are probably a dozen folks that he could give closure to, and Sam tells him to start with one. They have a bro moment where they pretend to still have friction as Bucky heads out.

 

Later, Sam goes to paint over their parent’s names on the side of the boat, when Sarah stops him. After fixing it, she just can’t let it go. Sam equates the boat as their history and that is something that they can’t let go of. He admits to thinking that Sarah thought he’s been running, but she corrects him, saying that he’s never run from anything. While he definitely still empathizes with Isaiah Bradley, he resolves to make the pain and sacrifice mean something. We then get a training montage off Sam working out and training with the Shield until he’s mastered hurling the Shield, leaping around and catching it just like Steve used to.

 

Meanwhile, the Flag Smashers link up with Batroc. He’s their back up for their big play. It’s revealed they have a large group of supporters in New York to stop the GRC vote. Batroc isn’t interested in their movement, he’s only here to kill the Falcon. Karli promises that he will as she gathers her forces.

 

That night, Sam is watching the news about the GRC and the Patch act they’re voting on to relocate refugees back to their countries of origin. Torres calls him and reveals that during their time in Europe, Sam had gathered data on the Flag Smashers wireless movement. Revealed that they’re in New York City.

 

At the GRC vote, the delegates are debating the vote when the Flag Smashers begin their attack. They shut down the system and make the lights turn red.

 

Time for Sam Wilson to suit up.

Sam meanwhile, opens up the Wakandan case and has a look what’s inside. He takes a breath just as the credits roll. You damn teases.

 

We’re shown a post credit scene of Walker making a copy of the Shield in his garage, assumedly with some of the metal from his medals worked in. It’s not expressly stated, but that’s how Walker’s Shield in the comics was made.

 

I really liked the opening fight of this episode. Seeing Sam and Bucky going full force against Walker was great. I liked that while they are definitely more experience, with the Super Soldier serum, Walker is a solid match for the two of them. The bit where Bucky is down, Sam is down and Walker literally rips his wings off was a particularly intense moment. I’ve always thought that being a tech-based hero leads itself to more interesting stories, as they’re powers can be taken away rather easily but that very concept is terrifying and why I myself would much rather get powers via a lab accident or something that cant’ be taken from me so easily. The fixing up the boat and training montages were a nice bit of breathing room for a series that had been going at close to breakneck speed for a while now. I especially liked Bucky and Sam’s moments in this one, they feel like they’re bros again. Oh, and Torres getting the wings. Why is that cool? As it turns out, Joaquin Torres took up the mantle of the Falcon after Sam Wilson became Captain America. In the comics he has some weird powers from being experimented on by Karl Malus, whom was doing genetic experiments for the Serpent Society. He turned Torres into a bird-themed Vampire… yes, that might be the weirdest sentence I’ve ever written. I assume the DNA experiments are being dropped from this version and Torres is going to fix up Sam’s wings and be a normal flying man like Sam is in this continuity. Obviously, Sharon is in some shady stuff as she supplied the Flag Smashers with a high-level mercenary like Batroc, but we’ll get into that next time. Oh, and I’ll end by mentioning that last scene of Walker forging a fake Shield was fairly chilling. Makes it seem like he’s going in guns blazing next time. But more on that later. Have a good night, everyone.  

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Viewer Log: The Falcon and the Winter Soldier ep 4

 Dora Milaje's strike, and Walker makes a bad situation worse.

Last time on The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Bucky and Sam enlisted the help of Helmut Zemo to fight the Flag Smashers. They had to break him out of prison to do so, but that was actually relatively easy. He takes the pair to the island nation of Madripoor to try to find the person who is manufacturing more Super Soldier Serum. They get a little help from the exiled Sharon Carter to find Dr. Nagel, whom had made a new serum using Isaiah Bradley’s blood. Zemo, who’s hate of superhuman’s seems to have gotten stronger over time, executes Nagel just before some bounty hunters try to kill them. They got a tip from Nagel about a woman important to Karli Morgenthau named Donya Madani. They travel to find her in Latvia, but on the way, Bucky breaks away when he sees a Wakandan tracking bead. He follows it to a blind alley and is confronted by Ayo of the Dora Milaje. Enough preamble, let’s get to it.

 

Fight those murderous impulses, Buck!

We open on Wakanda, six years ago. Bucky and Ayo are in the forested hill near the city, doing a bit of therapy. Bucky is scared, but Ayo says his activation phrases. While hearing those Russian words stirs up memories of his time as the Winter Soldier, he doesn’t shut down and wait for orders when she does. Ayo announces that he is free, and Bucky ends up sobbing tears of joy at the realization.

 

In the present, Ayo is less jovial and wants to know why the hell they freed Zemo. He explains that they need Zemo for their mission, but Ayo isn’t impressed. She gives the White Wolf eight hours to complete his task, after that, she’s coming back. He’ll either have to turn over Zemo peacefully or she’ll have to get rough with them. He gives her back the beads before she leaves. Bucky returns to the group and lets them know about their reduced time table. They see the report about Karli bombing the GRC depot. Eleven injured and three dead, and they left a list of demands with a promise that more attacks will happen until they’re met. Zemo warns that Karli is radicalized and there’s really no way to stop her peacefully. Sam thinks that there is still a chance to save her, but Zemo disagrees. He feels that anyone that seeks out power is on this path. They point out the Super Soldier Serum didn’t corrupt Steve, but he counters that by pointing out Steven Grant Rogers was the exception, not the rule. Thinking it over, Sam realizes that Donya Madani was a pillar of the community and much beloved by the locals. He rationalizes that they’d probably throw her a big funeral with the whole community, like they did for his TT after she died. He explains his TT was his aunt. I think it’s a cute nickname.

 

Meanwhile the Flag Smashers are watching a newscast about their actions. In response to their attack on the GRC depot, the GRC is fast tracking legislation to deport the refugees back to their counties of origin. To get the borders back in place.

 

Stranger. Candy. Why aren't the adults reacting!

Sam and his crew make it to the Flag Smasher’s home camp. Sam explores the building, asking around about the Donya. While he finds a few items with the Flag Smasher logo on them, he comes up dry on leads. No one is willing to talk to outsiders about her. In the courtyard, Zemo sings Baa-Baa Black sheep and offers Turkish Delights to the children. They were his son’s favorite. Sad Zemo. He’s able to get one of the kids to give him the location about Donya’s funeral. And, because he’s Zemo, he tells her to not tell Sam or Bucky as they’re bad men.

 

They return to the apartment. Sam empathizes with how the people are feeling, to go from the world feeling like it’s coming together just to have things fall back into old habits when Thanos was defeated has to be rough. They ask what the girl told Zemo, he reveals that he knows where the funeral is that afternoon and where to go, but he’s keeping his leverage, so they’re getting no more details than that. Sam calls Sharon, tells her the situation and asks if she’s got anything in her bag of tricks. She has a few satellites she can tap to find Karli. She warns that the Power Broker is pissed and things are about to get nasty in Madripoor.

 

Karli and one of her guys visit a grave yard. They retrieve the Super Soldier Serum hidden in one of the headstones. She asks him if he thinks they’re doing the right thing. He thinks they are and even calls her their “Captain America.” This seems to piss her off more than anything, as modern heroes don’t have the luxury of keeping their hands clean like Cap supposedly did. The Shield is a symbol from a bygone era.

 

Sam and the others start heading to the funeral, but get ambushed by Walker and Hoskins. They didn’t hack anything this time, it’s just that two Avengers can’t walk around Latvia without someone commenting on it. They initially want to know why they freed Zemo, but change their focus when they learn that the others tracked down Karli. Sam wants to talk to her, but Walker wants to go in guns blazing. Sam points out that he’s uniquely qualified to try the talking approach as he is a former trauma counselor. Hoskins thinks it’s a good idea so Walker goes along with it. In order to make it in time, Zemo bribes another little girl with candy and she shows them the way. Once there, Zemo gets handcuffed to a pipe. Walker tells Sam he’s got ten minutes.

 

Inside, Karli is eulogizing Donya Madani. She mentions Madani was the only parent she’s ever known. She stops for a moment when she sees Sam, but then continues. The eulogy turns into a Flag Smasher speech, ending with the One world, One people line. Sam confronts Karli. He tries to talk to her, to convince her that she’s not making a better world, just a different one. She claims he’s either Brilliant or hopelessly optimistic.

 

Outside, Walker is getting antsy. He starts to go in despite the time not being up. Bucky stops him and tells him to give Sam the time. Walker does back off, but he’s clearly envious of Bucky and his perceived Super Soldier power.

 

Sam mentions that Karli is a kind of a supremacist like Zemo mentioned. She takes affront to that remark. She asks why Sam is here if he’s not trying to arrest her. He says he agrees with the fight, but not with the methods. They’re interrupted by Walker coming in to arrest her, because he’s an idiot. Karli knocks Walker aside and runs, the chase begins.

 

Good becomes Great. Bad becomes Worse.
Walker should count himself lucky he didn't
get Red Skulled.

Outside, and left to his own devices, Zemo pick his lock and escapes. He’s able to circle around everyone and corners Karli and shoots her in the gut. Non-vital. She drops the vials all around. Zemo, realizing what they are, smashes the vials as quickly as he can. Walker arrives and knocks Zemo out with the Shield. He spots the last vial and pockets it, but while distracted, Karli gets away.

 

Karli tells her team that the vials were destroyed as she puts a bandage on her stomach. While they’re down, Karli doesn’t think their out just yet. They’re going to have to deal with all of those fighting against them, including Sam. Oh, and to add to their stress tree, the Power Broker texts them, warns that they want the Serum and if they don’t get it, they’ll kill them. Needing a plan, Karli suggests that they separate the heroes, and when they do, kill “Captain America.”

 

Back at the apartment, Sam messages Sharon and asks her to keep her eyes on Walker. He wants to know if Walker makes a move on the Flag Smashers. Zemo asks Sam if they offered him the serum. Sam tells him no, and says no again when Zemo asks if he’d take the serum if offered. He likes that Sam said it without hesitation. He warns that whatever he saw in Karli is gone, but Sam insists that blood isn’t always the solution. Bucky thinks that there is something wrong with Walker, just before he comes in and demands they hand over Zemo. Sam tries to convince Walker that they still need Zemo, but he’s not having it. The Dora Milaje come in, Ayo with some backup. Walker tries to talk his way out, pointing out that the Dora Milaje have no jurisdiction here. To which they say, rather badassedly, The Dora Milaje have jurisdiction where ever they find themselves to be.

 

He's been disarmed.
I'm not apologizing.

A fight breaks out, with the elite Wakandan warriors easily beating the piss out of Walker and Hoskins. Sam and Bucky initially stay out of it, but get pulled in. Bucky stops Ayo from impaling Walker. While this is going on, Zemo casually slips into the bathroom and shuts the door. Ayo hits (what would be on a flesh and blood arm) few pressure points on Bucky’s left arm, causing it to drop off his body. Walker gets a spear through the Shield’s strap and is pinned. The Dora Milaje note that Zemo is gone, and check the bathroom. Apparently, the Baron of Sokovia slipped through the grate in the bathroom floor. They bounce as soon as they realize their quarry is gone. Walker is helped to his feet and is clearly shaken up that the non-Super Soldier Dora Milaje beat him so easily. Kind of an unfair comparison, though, as he makes it sound like the Dora Milaje are normal humans.

 

Later, Walker and Hoskins have coffee together. Hoskins once again tries to talk Walker back to normal. He asks if Hoskins would have taken the serum, to which he says he would. Thinks the power would just make him more of himself, ya know? Hoskins muses that they could have used the serum in the battle where he earned his medals of honor, and Walker admits he kind of hates those medals as he got them for the worst day of his life.

 

Karli gets her hands on Sarah Wilson’s phone number and calls her. She tells the other Wilson that she’s trying to figure out if she’ll have to kills Sam or not. Karli gives Sarah a set of coordinates, she tells her to tell Sam to come alone or she’ll have to meet Sarah and the boys in person. Damn, you never go after the family, Karli.

 

Sarah gives Sam the info, and while he insists on going alone, Bucky insists on coming with, and you don’t tell a Super Soldier to stay home. Sam meets with Karli, and the red-head revolutionary tells him to either join her or stay out of her way. Meanwhile, Sharon gets a ping on Walker’s movements, she tells Sam and he realizes this was about separating Walker from him and Bucky to kill him. Karli tries to stop them, but the two heroes knock her aside. Sam flies in and Bucky high speed jogs across town. Walker bursts into the building, clearly showing off new strength. Yeah, we don’t see him take it to my knowledge, but he’s shown to be superhuman from this point onward. He gets separated from Hoskins whom is captured.

 

Dirtying a symbol of good due to your own 
shortcomings and anger? Yeah, seems on brand
for John Walker.

Walker is able to hold off the Flag Smashers pretty well now that he’s on equal footing to them. At least for long enough for backup to arrive. Sam, Bucky and Walker are able to hold them off while Hoskins frees himself and links back up. Things hit the fan, though, when Karli goes in to stab Walker. Hoskins dives in the way, diverting her strike. She kicks him into a pillar, there’s a sickening crunch, and Hoskins lands limp to the ground. He’s dead. Walker goes into a blind rage after seeing his friend die. The Flag Smashers all bail, but Walker is hot on their trail. He chases down one of the Flag Smashers, and without hesitation, beats him to death with the edge of the Shield, in the middle of a square with tons of cameras on him. Monster. Bucky and Sam arrive a moment to late. And we close on “Captain America” holding a bloody Shield. Damn.

 

Well, that escalated quickly. I liked seeing the Dora Milaje again. These bad ass warrior ladies can do no wrong. I’d read a fan speculation that Ayo probably filled the supporting Wakandan role here that would have gone to Chadwick Boseman, if it hadn’t been for his tragic death last year. No idea if this is true, but I could definitely have seen T’Challa getting involved in the capture of the man that murdered his father. Rest in Peace, Chadwick.  The brawl between them and Sam’s people was fun. I loved seeing how these completely human but incredibly talented warrior women beat the crap out of one super soldier and several highly skilled fighters. Oh, and the early scene of Ayo helping Bucky break through his programing was really well done. Sebastian Stan acted the crap out of that scene. I knew things weren’t going to go well for Walker the moment he grabbed that vial. I remember that line from Captain America: The First Avenger, where Erskine mentioned that his formula enhanced what is there. Good becomes great, and bad becomes worse. And that was very clearly what happened to Walker. We’d seen that he has a temper, that when he gets angry, he gets violent, and the only reason he probably hasn’t hurt someone up to now is because Hoskins talks him down. Without him, and in a rage, Walker was going to kill whoever he caught, it’s a shame that it had to happen. I know it’s a prop, but damn, my gut wrenched when I saw the Shield covered in blood. I’ve been a Captain America fan for decades at this point, seeing his Shield be used as a blunt force object just sits badly with me. This action will have far reaching consequences. On a lighter note, I laughed out loud when Zemo slipped away. He just had a “well, time to hit the old dusty trail,” look as he slipped into the bathroom. It was fun. Next time, we’ll see how the world reacts to “Captain America” killing someone. Have a good night, everybody. 

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Twitter: @BasicsSuperhero

Viewer Log: The Falcon and the Winter Soldier ep 3

 Who's ready for an Indonesian Vacation... On Zemo's dime. 

Last time on The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, we were introduced to the government approved Captain America, John Walker. He’s a bit of a jackass, but I can see why the big wigs went with him… provided that there wasn’t a better pick, like say, the successor that Steve Rogers handpicked. … Not wanting to deal with him, Sam and Bucky went on their own to investigate the Flag Smasher’s terrorist group. They were rather shocked to find out that the group of eight all are clearly Super Soldiers. They learned that the group is lead by Karli Morgenthau, a young red head that’s 100% against reestablishing the status quo. Bucky also introduced Sam to Isaiah Bradley, a Black man that was somehow given the Super Soldier Serum around the Korean War. Hearing that he spent 30 years in prison and was experimented on by the CIA and HYDRA obviously pissed off Sam, but it ultimately gave Bucky an idea for a lead. They’re headed to Munich to get info from the single greatest human foe the Avengers faced off against, Helmut Zemo. Let’s get to it, shall we.

 

We open with a Global Repatriation Council (GRC) commercial. It’s all about helping people that spent the last five years… being dead, readjust to the changes that the world went through. Its tagline is Reset, Restore, Rebuild. It’s not bad, but very, very bland. Like all it was missing was a bunch of people of different ethnicities holding hands and singing America the Beautiful to be blander.

 

We then join Walker and Hoskins as they raid the Flag Smasher safehouse that Karli and her crew stayed at in the previous episode. They obviously missed the Flag Smashers, but Walker hopes to get info where she went. When Hoskins translates their goals, the guy in charge spits on Walker, and he does not take to that kindly to that. And by that, I mean he gets physical, grabbing the man and shoving him up against a beam while shouting “Do you know who I am?” Rule one of Captain America violated, Cap doesn’t lose his temper. The guy tells him in English “Yes I do, and I don’t care.” Hoskins tries to talk Walker down outside, which seems to work. Frustrated that they hit a wall, Walker decides that they need to bet on someone with a better hand. He’s totally going after Sam and Bucky.

 

Must be weird to see someone who made you
their minion after sevenish years.

Sam and Bucky arrive at the prison in Munich. Bucky wants to go in alone, as Zemo doesn’t have a great track record with Avengers. Sam points out that Bucky also has kind of a terrible history with Zemo, but agrees. Bucky goes in to see Zemo. Rather than say “hello” or “How’ve you been?” Zemo instead tries to activate Bucky’s Winter Soldier programing again. Dick move, Helmy, dick move. It doesn’t work, which Zemo assumed but thought it was worth a shot. He senses that there’s still something of Winter Soldier in him. Bucky asks him about the Super Soldier Serum. Zemo confirms that he knows how HYDRA utilized the serum, but shock of shocks, Zemo doesn’t work for free.

 

Later, we’re shown Bucky and Sam walking into some sort of garage. Bucky explains that he wants to free Zemo. Sam is almost immediately against this, as Zemo blew up the UN, killed king T’Chaka, and, you know, destroyed the Avengers. The Wakandans specifically aren’t going to forget the whole regicide thing. Bucky counter by pointing out that Zemo knows lot about this Super Soldier program, is only willing to work with them if they free him, and he kind of already started helping Zemo escape. We’re shown Bucky taking a note from Zemo and slipping it to some prisoners as he walks out. The note is that the guy this prisoner is play chess against will try to kill him, and a brawl starts up. Bucky explains that most of the guards will be forced to go quell the riots, and this plus the lockdown procedure plus, say, a fire alarm being pulled could easily help a Zemo in a uniform he stole escaped. Zemo does all of this as Bucky narrates, and joins them a moment later. Huh… Zemo tries to speak on his own behalf and they both tell him to shut it. Bucky asks that Sam trust him on this, which Sam begrudgingly does. Sam tells Zemo that he doesn’t even move without permission, to which he agrees.

 

Zemo leads them into a garage filled with cars. Sam assumes they going to steal a car, but Zemo corrects him, all of these cars belong to him. Apparently, the art of car collecting has been passed down through the Zemo line for generations. If you don’t get that joke, watch Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood and thank me later. Zemo explains that he spent years hunting HYDRA goons working on recreating the serum, and has an idea of where to look. He grabs a bag, his iconic purple mask and a coat. Zemo knows that once the Serum is out there, someone will build an army of Super Soldiers. They’re going to go check out a mid-level fence he knows named Selby.

 

This is so weird. Seeing them in this kind of 
domestic moment is weird.

The trio goes to an airport to use his private plane. Sam seems incredulous that Zemo has been rich this whole time. Zemo corrects him again and points out he wasn’t just rich, until the fall of Sokovia he was a Baron. Huh, is that a retcon? That feels like a retcon. I just remember them mentioning that Zemo and his father were spec ops, no mention of them being the evilest sounding rank of royalty. Whatever. They meet with Zemo’s butler, Oeznik, whom is happy to see his boss again and gets the plane ready.

 

The flight is relatively pleasant (he tells Oeznik to give Sam and Bucky any food that doesn’t pass the smell test which is the first passive aggressive thing) until Zemo reveals that he stole Bucky’s journal and asks about Y. Nakajima. That’s when Bucky grabs his throat and threatens to kill him if he touches the book again. Sam notes that it was Steve’s journal and he was rather proud to have told him about the album Trouble Man. He was rather shocked to find out that Bucky wasn’t the biggest fan, and even more so when Zemo points out it’s a complete and comprehensive album that capture the African American experience. “He’s out of line, but he’s right,” as Sam puts it. Zemo mentions the danger of people like Steve, as people have a habit of turning powerful men like him on pedestals, and they forget their flaws, and that leads to people like Johann Schmitt aka the Red Skull. Zemo explains that they’re on the way to Madripoor, a fictional island nation in Indonesia that began as a pirate sanctuary in the 1800s and has really hasn’t changed much in the two centuries since.  For his plan to work, Zemo mentions that Bucky has to become someone he claims is gone.

 

We jump over to the GRC refugee camp in Riga, Latvia. Karli’s guys are unloading supplies as she takes a bit of a load off playing soccer with some kids. She’s told to come upstairs as there’s not much time. She goes up stairs to see an older woman hooked up to a heartbeat monitor. Karli kisses this woman, “Mama” Donya Madani, on the forehead and we’re shown that Donya is holding some kind of bookmark with the Flag Smasher logo on it.

 

Meanwhile, Sam, Zemo and Bucky are walking the streets of Madripoor. Sam complains that his new threads make him look like a pimp, but Zemo counters that only a bankrupt society like America would lower a stylishly dressed Black man as a pimp. Sam is set to play the part of Conrad Mack aka the Smiling Tiger.  ... Okay, I can kind of see the pimp comparison. They’re going to meet with Zemo’s contact in the criminal underground filled Lowtown. They drive to Lowtown and end up getting escorted by some bikers. How odd. They pass through Lowtown, which is filled with drugs, guns and Neon, to a bar. They make it to the bar and ask for Selby, as “Mack” wants to make a deal. While they wait, the Bartender gives “Mack” his usual, which includes something cut out of a live snake. Somehow Sam is able to drink that and keep it down. A goon for the Power Broker comes in and tells Zemo they need to get the F out. Zemo tells them they either bring him to Selby or they deal with the Winter Soldier. They explain that the Power Broker is the Judge, Jury and Executioner in Madripoor. Bucky absolutely obliterates the goon. Goons start cocking, but the Bartender comes back in and tells them Selby will see them.

 

Selby greets Zemo and is rather shocked to see him out of prison. Zemo brushes passed that, and says that “Mack” wants info on the Super Soldier Serum and would be willing to sell the Winter Soldier and his activation code words for it. Selby, obviously is interested in getting the world’s greatest killer as a bodyguard, explains that a doctor named Wilfred Nagel made the serum for the Power Broker. She won’t give them more info, though, without payment. Sam gets a call from Sarah, and suspicious Selby tells him to answer on speaker. Sam tries to steer the conversation to protect his cover, but Sarah uses his real name before hanging up and things hit the fan. Selby gets killed by a sniper shot before anything happens immediately. But after she’s dead, the Power Broker puts a bounty out on them. Sam shouts “I can’t run in these Heels!” as they beat a hasty retreat.

 

They make it to their car when Sharon Carter comes from the shadows, and points her gun on Zemo. They explain the situation with Zemo, and ask what she’s doing in Madripoor. She explains that after stealing Steve’s shield, and Sam’s wings so that they could save Bucky’s ass from Zemo’s ass, she’s kind of wanted for treason. She takes them to her suite in Hightown, and explains she’s been working as a fence in Madripoor, mostly selling stolen art. They explain they’re looking for Nagel and offer to get Sharon a pardon if she’s willing to help. She’s pretty jaded on the hero stuff, but is willing to help.

 

After that weird scene where they all go to a club and we see Zemo dance for a bit, they found Nagel’s lab. They go to a shipping dock and Sharon leads them to container 4261. The three guys go in and find a secret door to a surprisingly advanced laboratory. They find Nagel working on mixing chemicals while listening to vinyl. They grab him and point a gun on him. Nagel is surprisingly cool with the situation, telling them he’ll talk if he gets a better offer.

 

He who would make monsters of men. Or champions,
but much more likely to make monsters.

Meanwhile, Sharon is dealing with a ton of bounty hunters that have tracked them down. She takes out several of them as the Bucky, Sam, and Zemo tell Nagel that he talks or he dies. (Bucky shoot just to the right of his head) Nagel explains that he worked for HYDRA and the CIA on making a Super Soldier Serum derived from Isaiah Bradley’s blood. He was able to make a stable serum after quite a bit of trial and error. He claims his version is better than Erskine’s original formula, as it doesn’t cause noticeable muscle expansion. Explains why Karli can be so small but able to lift metric tons. The reason why his product never hit the market was because he was Blipped and he’s only just gotten back up and running. Not going to lie, the Avengers coming back to a few more Super Soldiers on their side probably would have helped the fight against Thanos. Just sayin’. The Power Broker funded him and he got 20 vials of Serum ready. Karli and her crew stole them. After, she called him and was looking to see if he could help a woman dying of TB. Nagel is a piece of crap, though, so didn’t help.

 

Sharon kills several more bounty hunters and circled back to join the others. After hearing Nagel doesn’t have more of the formula and from Sharon that they’re out of time, Zemo decides he’s had enough, pulls a gun and kills Nagel just before a bounty hunter hit the container lab with an RPG. Zemo gets up and slips away before the others recover. The lab blows sky high but the others are able to escape fiery death. Bucky, Sam and Sharon hold the line while Zemo circles around, put on his purple mask and blows a gas pipeline to distract and/or kill more bounty hunters. Zemo finds the others in his car. Sharon leaves the group, and Sam redoubles his promise to get Sharon a pardon. As Sharon walks away, she’s picked up by a driver and mentions that they have a big problem.

 

We cut over to a GRC supply depot in Vilnius, Lithuania. Karli and her goons didn’t take the time to mourn Donya Madani as their mission has to be completed today. They chat for a moment and Karli mentions that she wanted to be a teacher. He warns Karli that the Power Broker will catch up to them eventually. Karli isn’t too concerned, as they have the Super Soldier Serum and will use it as a bargaining chip.

 

Meanwhile in Germany, Walker and Hoskins are investigating Zemo’s prison break. Walker knows that Sam and Bucky were involved here. He has no proof of this, so he and Hoskins are going to keep searching for Zemo, Sam and Bucky on the downlow for now.

 

Back with Sam and Bucky, Sam calls Torres and has him search for Madani. Sam is upset about Sharon and Isaiah, feels that the Shield and the concept of Captain America ruined their lives. He wonders if he shouldn’t have put the Shield in a museum, and instead of destroyed it. Torres calls him back, and tells him that Madani recently died in Riga by the Baltic Sea. Zemo tells Oeznick to change course.

 

The Flag Smashers raided the GRC building, and are gathering the supplies. Karli chastises the guard that judges them, pointing out that they’d stockpiled six months’ worth of supplies. They leave one car by the building, and sets off the carbomb she had in it. She claims that this is the only language they understand.

 

Hiyo, Ayo.

Sam, Bucky and Zemo make it to Riga. Zemo leads them to a flat he has nearby. He mentions that Sokovia no longer exists, as after the capital city was almost used as an extinction initiating meteor, the nation was cannibalized by its neighbors and erased from the map. Bucky breaks from the group, as he saw a black bead on the ground. He follows the chirping the bead makes to another and calls out to someone, and comes face to face with Ayo of the Dora Milaje. She’s here for Zemo.

 

I really enjoy Daniel Bruhl as Zemo. He’s intimidating at times, got great comedic timing, and is the perfect sort of Villain that you know kind of has a point. Would someone being capable of turning any living person into someone with Captain America’s strength, speed, and mild regeneration be a big problem if it was mass produced and sold to the highest bidder? Hell yes. But, killing the inventor and destroying his research might be a tad extreme, just sayin’. I like the banter he has with Sam and Bucky, where you can’t exactly tell if he’s playing mind games or if he’s actually a nice guy when he’s not plotting to murder you. I liked that they included Nagel in it as well. In Truth: Red, White, and Black, Nagel was a contemporary of Dr. Erskine and was the one to develop an imperfect copy of the Serum that was used on Isaiah and his 299 fellow soldiers. A fun flip to make Isaiah the origin of his research instead of the product of it. And it was clever to use the Blip to explain how this could exist without it being the number one best seller on the super criminal Black Market, along with Vulture’s tech. Madripoor was also a fun location to get a look at. It’s loosely based on Singapore, and is usually a location that the X-Men visit. It’s used well as a port of ill repute where criminals and thugs can go without fear of extradition. It’s a shame that Sharon Carter ended up there. Her role in team Captain America being able to have that battle at the Airport kind of slipped my mind. Which is a shame because, yeah, a spy committing treason would be a serious problem for her. The fact that she’s apparently spent the Blip years in a pirate port is probably not good. But I’ll get into that more later. Have a good night, everybody. 

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