Easter Eggs And Interesting Moments From Falcon And The Winter Soldier Episode 1, 'New World Order

Marvel Studios' first series for Disney Plus, WandaVision, was a resounding success. They will be hoping to follow that sucess with their next series, Falcon And The Winter Soldier. Initially intended to be the first series to air, the show was pushed back when the COVID-19 pandemic brought production to a halt.

Now, to the joy of many fans, the first episode of the series, which follows Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes as they find a way to move forward in a world without Captain America, has dropped on Disney Plus.

Here are all the Easter Eggs and important moments in Falcon And The Winter Soldier Episode 1, 'New World Order'.

Sam has a new Falcon suit, and runs secret missions for the Government

The series opens with a brilliant action sequence, featuring Sam on a mission to rescue a U.S Army Captain from a hijacked plane in Tunisian airspace without being noticed. The scene proved a perfect opportunity to show off Sam's new Falcon suit for the first time. The suit uses a colour scheme closer to that of the traditional comics version of the suit, and the wings have been redesigned, now resembling those of a real falcon. There is also a spot for Redwing, Sam's drone, which last appeared in Civil War.

Later in the episode, it is revealed that Sam works under a Government contract. Before his mission begins, it is impressed upon him how important it is that things stay quiet, and no-one knows that the U.S Military is operating in Tunisia. The type of missions Sam is being used for speaks volumes about how the Government views him: He is great for missions that need to remain in the shadows, but he is not suitable to be the main face of American heroism.

Joaquin Torres: Falcon 2.0?

Sam quickly bonds with First Lieutenant Joaquin Torres, who acted as his man on the ground during the Tunisia mission. It is Joaquin who first warns Sam of the growing threat caused by the Flag-Smashers.

In the comics, Joaquin Torres is a victim of experimentation at the hands of an organisation known as the Sons of the Serpent. These experiments leave him as a human/falcon hybrid, and he eventually chooses to serve as the second Falcon under Sam as Captain America.

If such a storyline is used in the MCU, it will likely be much simpler, with Torres simply receiving a Falcon suit of his own.

Not everyone is pleased with the blip being reversed.

Apparently, not everyone is pleased with the Avengers for reversing the Blip. Sam himself is the victim of how the billions of lives restored have complicated things, with he and his sister unable to secure a loan.

The Flag-Smashers are among those who believe life was better before the Blip. Torres claims the group wish for the world to be united without borders. Hoping to gather intel, Torres attends a robbery being conducted by the group, but is injured by a Flag-smasher who has somehow been granted super strength.

Sam gives up the Shield

At the end of Avengers: Endgame, the now elderly Steve Rogers presented Sam with his shield, in the hopes that Sam would take up the mantle of Captain America. However, in Falcon And The Winter Soldier, Sam, while attending a ceremony honouring Steve, chooses to give the shield up, with the understanding that it will become a part of the Smithsonian's Captain America exhibit with Steve's other wartime artifacts.

Rhodey, who was also attending the ceremony, questions Sam's decision not to take up the mantle. Sam simply states his belief that the shield only ever really belonged to Steve. The symbol is worth little without Steve's presence. Rhodey seems to disagree, but they do not discuss things any further.

Bucky is making amends for his actions as The Winter Soldier

After the events of Endgame, Bucky Barnes has been granted a pardon, and is attending therapy as he tries to make amends for his actions as the Winter Soldier. According to his therapist, there are three rules he must follow when making amends: Don't do anything illegal, nobody gets hurt, and he must say this statement:

"I am no longer the Winter Soldier, I am James 'Bucky' Barnes, and you are part of my efforts to make amends."

Bucky bends rules one and two when dealing with Senator Atwood, a woman he helped attain power during his time as the Winter Soldier. Eagle-eyed fans noticed that the name of Zemo, the villain of Civil War set to reappear in this series, is on Bucky's amends list.

Bucky also attempts to make amends through his friendship with Yori, the Father of one of the Winter Soldier's victims. This was a death for which Bucky holds immense guilt, as Yori's son was not even his target, but simply a witness.

The therapy scene also revealed that Bucky had been ignoring Sam's text messages, but this is likely because the two do not get along well.

The New 'Captain America'

As mentioned earlier, Sam gave up the shield on the understanding that it would be put on display in the Smithsonian. So, you can imagine his dismay when watching a TV broadcast of the government revealing a 'new Captain America', with the shield in hand. While the new Cap's name isn't stated in the episode, a poster during the credits reveals him as John Walker.

In the comics, John, usually acting under the alias of U.S Agent rather than Captain America, views himself as a more accurate example of American values than Steve Rogers. He shows some disdain for the Captain America mantle, although briefly takes it up at the behest of the U.S Government.

We'll have to wait for Falcon And The Winter Soldier's upcoming episodes to see what type of Cap the MCU's John Walker will be.