The Falcon and the Winter Soldier: What’s hidden in plain sight in episode 5

John Walker’s new shield

During the mid-credits scene – the only one thus far in the series – we see John Walker (Wyatt Russell) making his own version of Captain America’s shield out of corrugated steel. He even wields his Medal of Honor to the inside of it. While this certainly makes for a great visual representation of Walker’s refusal to give up being the new Cap to the point of fanaticism, it’s likely this won’t be an effective replacement for the actual shield. At least when you compare it to the comics.

When Walker becomes U.S. Agent, he’s given both the costume and shield Steve Rogers had while he was briefly “The Captain.” Unlike the original circular Captain America shield, which is made of a vibranium and adamantium composite, the Captain’s shield was made from pure vibranium given to Steve by T’Challa. It also had a different color pattern and arrangement, too, going from black to red to white then black again.

So if The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is setting up Walker to become U.S. Agent, then why have him make a steel shield? Well in the first place, even the MCU establishes that Vibranium is a rare metal outside of Wakanda. In the second, there was another Captain America who used a steel alloy shield in the comics: the Captain America of the 1950s.

Created to explain the contradictory history between Steve Rogers frozen in ice during the time in which Captain America comics showed stories of him the 1950s, Marvel retconned it so that the Cap from the 1950s was an imposter. That Cap was one William Burnside, who became so obsessed that, when he ended up finding long lost notes on the Super Soldier serum, he told the US Government he would only give it to them if they made him Captain America. He even legally changed his name to Steve Rogers and underwent reconstructive facial surgery to look like him. Needles to say, Burnside went a little nuts, especially after being brainwashed by long time Cap enemy, Doctor Faustus.

The main point, however, is that the because the original Cap shield was lost, the 1950s Cap had a shield made of titanium alloy. It might be a stretch, but since Walker in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier makes his own shield out a type of steel, and given how obsessed he is in maintaining that he’s Captain America, it seems Marvel Studios are merging Walker’s story with that of Burnside’s. Hence this allows them to have a crazy anti-Cap while also using a more recognizable character.

But we’ll have to see how this plays out in the finale, as it certainly looks to be setting up a five-way match-up between Sam and Bucky, the Flag-Smashers, Batroc, Walker, and the Power Broker’s minions. And of course, if there’s any special Easter Eggs to be had in that episode, we’ll be looking for them.

What Easter Eggs and clues did you see in episode 5 of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier? Let us hear from you in the comments section below.