There were a ton of questions surrounding the Marvel Cinematic Universe following the epic conclusion that wasEndgame. After such a mythological showdown that marked the culmination of over a decade of world-building and origin stories, how could the MCU possibly continue their dominant run in a way that would both live up to their own lofty standards while not taking the stakes too far to an outlandish or cartoonish level?
Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige decided to take a reprieve from the silver screen for a while and let the ramifications ofEndgamebreathe. Instead, Phase 4 offered the MCU the perfect opportunity to claim its stake into television and streaming, albeit dispensing with the established formula of having a showrunner for these shows.
Before Phase 4’s first film,Black Widow, hit theaters, three shows had already been released on Disney+:WandaVision,Loki, andThe Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Each took a completely different direction from the other and was received with varying levels of approval, although each was equally instrumental to the future of the MCU, holding an imperativeness that Marvel’s previous television ventures lacked.
Easily, the least well-received show to kick off Phase 4 wasThe Falcon and the Winter Soldier.WandaVisionwas praised out of the gates to kick off a new era for Marvel, andLokiwas welcomed as a slow-burn that paid proper homage to the fan-favorite antihero.TFATWS’s reception was much more lukewarm. Here’s why it was the most underrated series in MCU’s Phase 4.
Update June 27, 2025: This article has been updated with more reasons whyThe Falcon and the Winter Soldieris the most underrated MCU Phase 4 entry.
The Series Brings the MCU Back to Earth
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier
The series Sam Wilson, the Falcon, and Bucky Barnes, the Winter Soldier, deal with the fallout directly following the events ofEndgame. First and foremost, Wilson jostles with the idea of taking over themantle of Captain America, passed on to him by Steve Rogers himself after he decided to remain in the past after returning each of the Infinity Stones to their original timelines. Partly due to the attachment to the shield and name’s former possessor, and also because of his worry that the United States would be unwelcoming to a Black Captain America, Sam declines the honor betrothed upon him, only for the government to anoint a less-than-ideal soldier with the mantle instead.
Meanwhile, Bucky works to rectify some of the sins he committed as a weaponized and hypnotized Hydra agent. Both have to work through these deeper issues while also dealing with the Flag Smashers, a group of radicals who believed the world was better off during the “Blip” — the five years in which half of the population Thanos snapped away were nonexistent — that have secured a recreation of the super soldier serum that gave Rogers his powers and are using it to disrupt the world governments' attempts to reintegrate the people that the Avengers brought back.
The Falcon and the Winter Soldierultimately focuses on the aftermath of the “Blip”. All of a sudden, the population doubled in size again, which, as a natural consequence, did not only fill people with relief after the return of their loved ones but also caused a lot of discontent. While the remaining population had years to adapt to their “new” life, whether it is food, politics, or any other social issues, they were now expected to simply bounce back. The overcrowding of the planet resulted in unrest, which, inThe Falcon and the Winter Soldier,all takes place in a world as we know it, but is wrapped in some of that superhero magic.
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None of these plot lines are as dire as Thanos, Ultron, or even Loki. The Flag Smashers are not an Avengers-level threat. And yet, Sam and Bucky are in an appropriate battle that requires the best out of both of them, individually and as a pair. While global genocide isn’t at risk, the Flag Smashers do present a very real threat while also displaying the traits necessary to make themsympathetic and understandable villains.
After the slow build-up that led to the epic crescendo that wasEndgame, the MCU desperately needed a way to keep things interesting without continuing to escalate the stakes. After all, how much grander could they make their villains after Thanos, the Mad Titan who sought to bring balance to the universe to prevent the overpopulation that led to his own planet’s doom? Trying to one-up the Infinity Saga immediately after would be a recipe for disaster that the MCU craftily avoided.
In this way,The Falcon and the Winter Soldieraccomplished a tall task: bridging the MCU to its next era while honoring the events ofEndgamein a believable and entertaining manner. There aren’t any sorcerer supremes, titans, or infinity stone-enhanced individuals in this story. Rather, it follows two heroes whose layers were worth peeling with plenty of smash-mouth action to keep audiences properly engaged.
Was Not Afraid To Be Political
TheCaptain Americafranchise has always been political, notably as bothThe Winter Soldiertackles the idea of government oversight whileCivil Waraddresses superhero registration. It would only make sense thatThe Falcon and the Winter Soldier, which would beleading into a fourth Captain America movie, would also be political. Yet it takes on a new political dimension.The Falcon and the Winter Soldierbuilds off the idea of what it means for a Black man to be Captain America. The major conflict of the series is the government does not want Sam Wilson (an African American) to be Captain America, the symbol of patriotism, and appoint a white man in the form of John Walker.
Yet the biggest political messaging comes in the form of the character Isaiah Bradley (Carl Lumbly), an African-American who underwent the supersoldier serum after Steve Rogers. Unlike Captain America, Isiah was not given a warm hero treatment and instead was held as a prisoner of war, where his blood was forcibly taken as a POW by various organizations, including the army, S.H.I.E.L.D., and HYDRA. This story draws from plenty of real-world cruelty to Black Americans being overlooked and mistreated, particularly by the government as test subjects.
The series becomes more topical as in episode two, Sam Wilson is approached by the police after he gets into a loud argument with Bucky in the streets. The police are about to comprehend Sam until they realize he is The Falcon, someone famous. This scene aired ten months after the tragic murder of George Floyd, and Black Lives Matter re-entered the public discourse, as did calls for defunding the police and the overt violence against Black Americans by law enforcement. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier was an MCU series that was not afraid to get political and was better for it, as it tied into the grounded nature of the story.
Character Development
The Falcon and the Winter Soldiertruly gave audiences greater insight into both Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes as their own people, but also who they were to one another now that their mutual friend Captain America was gone. For more of the MCU, bothSam and Bucky have been defined by their friendship to Captain America. Not much was known about their backstory.
The series delves into Sam Wilson’s family life and his dynamic with his sister. Meanwhile, Bucky Barnes is undergoing therapy for his years as the Winter Soldier and trying to atone for the crimes he committed, even if he wasn’t in control. There is also a nice hint of Bucky’s personality before becoming the Winter Soldier, as it was established in Captain America: The First Avenger as he was a lady’s man and got to flirt a lot in the series.
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The MCU uses humor to develop dynamics and personal relationships with characters. A couple of the funniest moments unfold between Sam and Bucky, creating an amusing dynamic between the two superheroes. Whether it’s a comment made by Sam about Bucky’s time spent in Wakanda, calling him the “White Panther”, or their (very deep) therapy session, in which they had to tackle the much-feared soul-gazing exercise, humor is an essential part of the entire series but also gives viewers greater insight into these two as both their own terms but who they are to one another now.
Valid Criticisms of the Series
WhileThe Falcon and the Winter Soldierseemingly received more condemnation than it deserved — take this article fromForbes, for example — there were some valid critiques of the show. For one, the show took on more than it could handle at times. Along with the title characters, the first season also brought back both Baron Zemo and Sharon Carter as major players moving forward, had John Walker (Wyatt Russell) a.k.a U.S. Agent, as an additional antagonist/antihero on top of the Flag Smashers, and introduced Valentina Allegra (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), who’s sure to be a big part of the MCU in the future. That’s a lot of different story lines and personalities to portray aptly in six episodes.
The logjam of characters also did a disservice to some of the more significant themes thatTFATWStried to tackle in its short inaugural season. Mainly, Sam’s struggles with being a prominent Black superhero and the backlash that he may receive by donning the mantle of Captain America because of the color of his skin was a narrative that deserved more time and care. As previously mentioned,The Falcon and the Winter Soldierreally creates a splendid connection between events in the series and real-life events, as it brings up topics such as overpopulation or racism.
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The attempt to dive deeper into these issues was definitely there, and they were off to a great start by even highlighting the reality of the population’s discontent and Sam’s worries; however, the show could have focused more on giving them the space they deserved. It certainly warranted better than the closing monologue that attempted to wrap up those untied threads that the show left hanging with a five-minute speech. While Anthony Mackie did a great job delivering a very powerful message, it just felt a little rushed and a classic case of the writers failing to show it rather than say it.The Falcon and the Winter Soldierwas hurt by Marvel’s six-episode format for their hour-long dramas. This was a series that could have benefited from nine or ten episodes.
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier Remains To Be Underrated
WhileThe Falcon and the Winter Soldierwas still well-received and mostly praised, it’s still deserving of more credit than it’s received so far. Of the three shows that preceded the first movie of Phase 4 inBlack Widow,TFATWSreceived the lowest critic and audience scores on Rotten Tomatoes, nabbing 84 and 83% fresh ratings, respectively. For comparison,WandaVisionscored 91% from critics and 88 from viewers.Lokigot 92 from pundits and 90 from fans. Yet after disappointments likeMoon KnightandSecret Invasion, the series looks better by comparison.
The show brought back multiple characters to tell a cohesive story, even if some of the plot points will be changed in the future due to fan outrage. (Let’s say making Sharon Carter evildidn’t sit well with anyonein the fandom). It also was an MCU series that showed the franchise was not afraid to tackle some big subject matter, one that is certainly important for a young audience to hear and likely did for the first time in the context of an MCU series.
A simple search for “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier” on Twitter will draw pretty mixed reviews. Perhaps it was from Marvel fatigue or people criticizing the show for being “too political,” but it certainly doesn’t seem like the returns are properly reflective of the quality of the series. If it’s the former, hopefully, the growinghype around theThunderboltswill have fans revisitingThe Falcon and the Winter Soldierand giving it the flowers before the release ofCaptain America: Brave New Worldin 2025.
StreamThe Falcon and the Winter Soldieron Disney+
