Marvel is preparing to make a huge splash on Disney+ later this year with the debut of the new series The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, amongst others. While we wait for that though, Marvel Comics has launched a new series based on the two characters simply titled, “Falcon & Winter Soldier.”
This new series comes from writer Derek Landy and follows Bucky Barnes and Sam Wilson after their days of being Captain America. Now that they’ve returned to their respective roles of the Winter Soldier and the Falcon, their investigating a new threat and they may have bit off a bit more thant they can chew.
This first issue has everything you could want to kick off a new series. It quickly reintroduces two fan-favorite characters and catches you up on what they’ve been up to without spending too much time explaining their background (which I’ll get into a bit more later). Then, it wastes no time at all before getting into the action.
If your familiarity with the Winter Soldier comes from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, there’s not much of an adjustment period to get into this comic as the first couple of pages look like they were taken right from Captain America: Civil War.
In fact, as I mentioned, there’s not a lot of time spent explaining the backgrounds of these characters but it doesn’t really create a problem. If you’ve seen the films of the MCU, you know more than enough. There’s also a brief description on the title page that fills in any potential gaps. It’s an easy comic to jump into if you’re not a diehard comic fan.
While this first issue is certainly loaded with action, it doesn’t come at the expense of the story. It may not be the most complex story, but there is certainly an arc being built that establishes a clear goal for the two heroes as well as a couple of ominous and major threats.
One of those threats is one they're all too familiar with: Hydra. The splintered terrorist organization is making a comeback with two potential leaders struggling for power. The second threat is a new one, and it goes by the name of “The Natural.” He may seem innocent enough, but this kid is not to be taken lightly. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier are clearly outmatched, as they should be in the beginning of their new comic series.
“Falcon & Winter Soldier #1” is a solid, albeit pretty simple, introduction to what can be a very fun new series. It follows a succinct formula that reintroduces the main characters, wastes no time throwing them into the action and then caps it off (pun intended) by introducing the big bad. It’s a straightforward launch to a new series that looks as though it has a lot of potential.
“Falcon & Winter Soldier #1” is available now.