Unbeknownst to those who have traditionally eschewed the comic book scene, superheroes like Captain America have long been tackling some of Earth’s most complex and perplexing problems. Some viewers may have been surprised by The Falcon and the Winter Soldier tackling themes of race, displacement and immigration, radicalization, and the troubling hubris of American nationalism, but that just means they have never spent any serious time in the comic book universe prior to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The social commentary told through the perspectives of Sam Wilson, John Walker, James Barnes, and Karli Morgenthau in Disney+’s The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is neither foreign to nor new in the realm of comic book superheroes, villains, and anti-heroes.
The prolonged success of comic books and the superheroes whose tales they tell are proof that exciting entertainment and thought-provoking storytelling can go hand-in-hand. The concept is good and the potential is powerful.
But that doesn’t mean everyone always gets the balance right.
Take the 1990 Captain America for example. The film, starring author J.D. Salinger’s son as the titular Captain America/Steve Rogers, attempts to tackle the harms of unfettered capitalism on the environment but manages to be both a terrible film AND an ineffective vehicle for the legitimately important message inside. It’s so bad, in fact, that we (Fanboy and Know-It-All, in case you forgot) had a wonderful time ripping it to shreds in our Hurts So Good segment of this episode.
Where does The Falcon and the Winter Soldier stack up in comparison? Is it entertaining? Is it thought-provoking? How does it handle its myriad complex characters and themes? Kevin Feige and Co. bit off an ambitious mouthful by trying to pack as much nuance as it did into a six-episode series (or first season, perhaps?). There’s a lot to unpack, so you knew it would only be a matter of time before Fanboy and Know-It-All dropped a spoiler-y and hot take-laden deep dive into the mix.
Pop Culture with Fanboy and Know-It-All 