The Star-Spangled Man

By October 2018, Marvel Studios was developing a limited series starring Anthony Mackie's Sam Wilson / Falcon and Sebastian Stan's Bucky Barnes / Winter Soldier from the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) films. Malcolm Spellman was hired as head writer of the series,[1][2] which was announced as The Falcon and the Winter Soldier in April 2019.[3] Spellman modeled the series after buddy films that deal with race, such as 48 Hrs. (1982), The Defiant Ones (1958), Lethal Weapon (1987), and Rush Hour (1998).[4] Kari Skogland was hired to direct the miniseries a month later,[5] and executive produced alongside Spellman and Marvel Studios' Kevin Feige, Louis D'Esposito, Victoria Alonso, and Nate Moore.[6]^: 15 The second episode was written by Michael Kastelein and is titled "The Star-Spangled Man".[7] It was released on the streaming service Disney+ on March 26, 2021.[8]

The opening scene featured John Walker going on a press tour, which was Feige's idea in order to humanize the character.[9] Actor Wyatt Russell described John Walker as being a soldier from being in a different time period than Steve Rogers, comparing him to military men who had served in the Iraq War and War in Afghanistan. He noted that there is "the grey area now" and a "much different way of fighting" as actions are more heavily scrutinized due to technology. He also felt that Walker was "more of a company man" serving the US military, with it being evident as Walker carried a gun, unlike Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes, and described him as being an obedient person who is willing to do things he's not comfortable with doing. He also paralleled Wilson's imposter syndrome regarding Captain America with Walker's, stating that Walker was a "little bit more of a [jump in] head first type guy". Russell did not read the comics for inspiration.[10][11] Skogland had said that the therapy scene between Barnes and Wilson had allowed the characters to show their vulnerabilities, as they both shared the grief of losing Rogers.[12] The character of Isaiah Bradley was included in the series after the creative team was inspired from his depiction in the Truth: Red, White & Black (2003) comic book storyline. Spellman said that Bradley's character was the "soul" of the series and said his interactions with Wilson would be formative in Wilson's tenure as Captain America.[13]

The episode stars Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson, Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes, Wyatt Russell as John Walker / Captain America, Erin Kellyman as Karli Morgenthau, Danny Ramirez as Joaquin Torres, and Daniel Brühl as Helmut Zemo.[14]^{: 44:12–44:46} Also appearing are Clé Bennett as Lemar Hoskins / Battlestar,[7] Carl Lumbly as Isaiah Bradley,[15] Desmond Chiam, Dani Deetté, and Indya Bussey as the Flag Smashers Dovich, Gigi, and DeeDee, respectively, Renes Rivera as Lennox, Tyler Dean Flores as Diego, Ness Bautista as Matias,[14]^: 45:21 Amy Aquino as Dr. Christina Raynor,[16][14]^: 45:21 Elijah Richardson as Eli Bradley,[15] Noah Mills as Nico,[14]^: 45:21 Gabrielle Byndloss as Olivia Walker,[7] Mike Ray as Alonso Barber, Neal Kodinsky as Rudy, and Good Morning America journalist Sara Haines as herself.[14]^: 45:21

Filming took place at Pinewood Atlanta Studios in Atlanta, Georgia,[17][18] with Skogland directing,[5] and P.J. Dillon serving as cinematographer.[6]^: 15 Location filming took place in the Atlanta metropolitan area and in Prague.[19][20] The episode's cinematography attempted to merge the separate styles Skogland used to depict Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes in "New World Order".[9] Scenes in Isaiah Bradley's house were filmed in 66 Hogue Street NE in Atlanta, which was a block away from Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthplace.[21][22] According to Aquino, the therapy scene with Wilson and Barnes was largely improvised between Mackie and Stan.[23] Visual effects for the episode were created by Digital Frontier FX, Tippett Studio, Rodeo FX, QPPE, Cantina Creative, Technicolor VFX, and Trixter.[24][14]^{: 46:43–46:53}

The drumline in the episode plays a rendition of the song "Star Spangled Man" by Alan Menken, first heard in Captain America: The First Avenger (2011),[7] which series composer Henry Jackman attributed to Skogland and the series' music supervisor. He described it as a parody.[25] This rendition was included, along with selections from composer Henry Jackman's score for the episode, on the series' Vol. 1 soundtrack album, which was released digitally by Marvel Music and Hollywood Records on April 9, 2021.[26][27]

Nielsen Media Research, who measure the number of minutes watched by United States audiences on television sets, listed The Falcon and the Winter Soldier as the most-watched original series across streaming services for the week of March 22 to 28, 2021. Between the first two episodes, which were available at the time, the series had 628 million minutes viewed, which was a 27% gain over the previous week.[33]

The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 100% approval rating with an average score of 8.1/10 based on 37 reviews. The site's critical consensus reads, "New political intrigue and a healthy dose of emotional stakes are great, but what really makes 'The Star-Spangled Man' sing is the return of Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan's delightfully antagonistic chemistry."[34]

Sulagna Misra of The A.V. Club was amazed how the series was "leading us to how Sam can become Captain America. It's clear that it's not a problem of nerve or intelligence or compassion. It's that Sam feels there is no easy way to go into the role without feeling like an imposter—or even worse, being treated as one." She was relieved that Wilson was an emotionally intelligent main character, and enjoyed the banter between him and Barnes. Misra also felt Lumbly was able to convey a lot in his short scene, and gave the episode an "A".[35] Den of Geek's Gavin Jasper felt the series found its footing in this episode and was "walking into an interesting conflict. As our heroes reluctantly work together, they're sandwiched between a country that mistreats them and a group of terrorists who want to do away with the systems that mistreat our heroes." Jasper called the scene with Isaiah Bradley a memorable, though somber, moment of the episode. He gave the episode 4.5 out of 5 stars.[36] Giving the episode a "B", Christian Holub of Entertainment Weekly believed it was a good choice to explore Walker in the opening of the episode and praised the scene with Isaiah Bradley. Holub enjoyed seeing the Flag Smashers expand upon the idea that there were some benefits to the Blip and compared the group to the Red Lotus from the animated series The Legend of Korra. Speaking to the episode's main set piece, Holub said it was less impressive that the first episode's opening sequence, but made up for its smaller scale by adding more characters to the fight. He was also excited by the continued teasing of the Young Avengers forming in the MCU, as seen in other MCU films and television series, with the appearance of Eli Bradley who becomes Patriot in the comics.[37]

Feeling "The Star-Spangled Man" dove "headfirst into its story" with the episode giving more time to the Flag Smashers and John Walker after the first episode was "highly character-focused", IGN's Matt Purslow said the episode was "another dense, chewy episode, marred only by an odd approach to Sam and Bucky's antagonistic [quippy] dialogue" which came off as "irritating rather than funny". Purslow felt having the action sequence centered on super soldiers "neatly ties it all into the Captain America mythos that runs through the show" and spoke highly of the scene with Isaiah Bradley. He felt that scene was a huge moment for Wilson and said it was "a good sign that the writing team intends to continue exploring the issue in a serious way that is smartly woven into the larger-than-life world of superheroes". He gave the episode an 8 out of 10.[38] Alan Sepinwall at Rolling Stone said the episode was "even busier" than the previous one, but found it to be more satisfying given Wilson and Barnes share scenes which "significantly boosts the energy level of the show and injects some badly-needed humor". Wilson and Barnes' counseling session was one of the highlights for Sepinwall along with the various running gags throughout, though he did criticize the episode's set piece for being repetitive and having what he felt were questionable visual effects.[7]