The Falcon And The Winter Soldier premiered with a new character, Joaquin Torres, as the canon series introduced the lives of both Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes outside of being the heroes that they are. In various scenes, Joaquin Torres and Sam Wilson seem to collaborate in taking down the baddies of this season while Bucky is still out of the picture.
The Falcon and The Winter Soldier is set after the events of Avengers: Endgame where everyone is still recovering from "The Blip" when those who have been snapped away by the Mad Titan returned into existence after The Avengers was successful, especially Hulk who did the snapback, in their plan to blip everyone back.
In the world where Captain America has already retired happily with his second take in life, The Falcon and The Winter Soldierfocuses on his best friends, Sam and Bucky, who are still trying to get back on their feet after getting blipped back.
The Falcon and The Winter Soldier can be streamed exclusively on Disney+ where the series is also available in 4k. It releases the episodes weekly every Friday at 3 AM, taking up the spot that WandaVision had left. It is rated 16+ which makes it unsuitable for children and only those with the age of 16 and above as the series is an action-packed one with some violence.
Warning! This portion may contain spoilers for The Falcon and The Winter Soldier. Read at your own risk!
In the first episode of The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, the series opened with an action scene where Sam would need to rescue a soldier, Captain Vasant, from the hands of Bartoc the Leader, a familiar villain who has been in the MCU before and has faced Captain America and Black Widow before. With the mission being a quiet one, The Falcon had to work his way up in the sky while he has eyes on the ground.
His eyes on the ground are that of Joaquin, a member US Air Force, giving The Falcon some pointers and being on the lookout. After successfully saving Captain Vasant, Sam and Joaquin had a chat in what seems to be a restaurant before Sam heads back to the US. They had a talk about a new group, The Flag Smashers, and how the anarchist organization has been spreading worldwide.
Joaquin did some digging on his own, tried to infiltrate The Flag Smashers, and was injured in the process. What Joaquin did was quite careless but at least, he was wise enough to put it all on camera without the fiasco knowing it was filmed.
He called Sam via video call and shared with him that a new group is trying to wreak havoc globally by taking down governments as the Flag Smashers seem to aim for a borderless world where everyone would be free to go around.
Who is Joaquin Torres?
Although the series has yet to reveal his last name, all the stars are pointing to the direction where he is the Joaquin Torres as the one in Marvel Comics.
After Sam Wilson leaves to take on the mantle of Captain America, the Falcon would be left without a person flying the wings and the successor of the wings of the Falcon is none other than Joaquin Torres.
Joaquin Torres in Marvel Comics
Joaquin Torres is created by Nick Spencer and Daniel Acuna who appeared first in Captain America: Sam Wilson #1 released in 2015. Joaquin is a Mexican immigrant who had Arizona as his home since moving to America. He helps other immigrants who are trying to cross the border by leaving them food and water.
When he was caught alongside other refugees, they were given to Karl Malus, a scientist experimenting on immigrants in hopes to create human-animal hybrids. He was saved by Sam Wilson; however, it seems to be too late for him as he already mutated. His mutation gave him avian senses, a wide range of vision, natural wings, healing, and communication with birds.
He finally became The Falcon in the sixth issue of the comics series. His character was crucial to the transition of Sam to be the new Captain America as he tells Sam not to think too much about what the white conservatives would say about Sam being a black Captain America.
Joaquin Torres in the MCU and What It Means
Joaquin's presence means a lot to Sam Wilson if he would be taking on the mantle of Captain America in this series. He could be one of the driving forces for Sam to fully accept the challenge that Steve gave to him when he passed him on the shield him. Once he does, there would be a void for the Falcon.
If and when Sam takes on being the new Captain America, Joaquin could fill in the shoes and be the new MCU Falcon. There is still no Karl Malus so it seems Joaquin would not be a human-animal hybrid just yet. Still, he could have a hand down of the wings of Sam along with redwing, as redwing seems to interest Joaquin.
If Joaquin will be the new Falcon in the MCU, then Marvel is really stepping up their game in diversification, inclusivity, and proper representation as he would be the first-ever Latinx superhero to appear in the MCU.
The writer of the series, Spellman, has put a lot of scenes with moments of racial reflection and in just the first episode, it seems that the series will be expanding with its treatment of racial issues and possibly be an eye-opener to most viewers and fans.
Marvel's promise of inclusivity, proper representation, and diversification, as told by Marvel President himself Kevin Feige, aims to make it the norm in Hollywood that not only those who are on-screen share but also those who work behind the scenes as well.
Joaquin Torres is starred by Danny Ramirez in The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, released weekly every Friday, on Disney+.
Related: The Falcon and The Winter Soldier: Who is Yori Nakajima?
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