First things first. A short disclaimer on what this isn’t. This isn’t yet another listicle of comics that we think may have inspired Disney+’s upcoming The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. This isn’t a reading list of books that we believe might help you better understand what’s going on in the series. The reality is that everything you’ll need to know before going into The Falcon and the Winter Soldier you can glean by watching the following movies: Captain America: The First Avenger, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame. While the Marvel movies and TV shows always return to and reference their comic book roots, the characters and stories within them nevertheless remain true to their narrative arcs within the MCU.
So just what kind of list is this then? Seeing how many of the comic books featuring The Vision and The Scarlet Witch were sold out following the release of WandaVision, it is clear that audiences had become so invested in the lives of these characters that they just wanted more. More stories. More adventures. With that in mind, we’ve put tougher a list of four great reads featuring the Falcon and the Winter Soldier for anyone looking to spend a little more time with these characters.
Winter Soldier: The Bitter March (2014)
Rick Remender’s five issue mini-series is the perfect spy thriller. It is a fast paced, high-octane adventure, featuring S.H.I.E.L.D. operatives, former Nazi scientists on the run, and scarily villainous Hydra vixens who can vomit up and control swarms of tiny maggots, that seamlessly blends a superhero story with the pulp sensibilities of Ian Fleming and Patricia Highsmith. The story, which is told from the perspective of S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Ran Shen, is set at a time when the Winter Soldier was still a blunt instrument of Soviet counterintelligence. Rick Remender utilizes the character in an incredibly clever way. His name may be in the title, but the Winter Soldier isn’t the driving force of the narrative. He is instead, much like his reputation, a deadly and imposing force that is constantly stalking our heroes.
Falcon (2017)
Falcon’s first solo title in three decades, Rodney Barnes’ take on the character is quite revolutionary for a number of reasons. Most importantly, he elevates Falcon beyond his street level origins to something far more heroic. Yes, he is still a potent Black voice in the Marvel universe, standing up for the downtrodden and dealing with gang wars, but he is also teaming up with Blade, taking on demonic entities like like Blackheart and Mephisto, and dabbling in the otherworldly. This isn’t just Falcon stepping out from under Captain America’s shadow, this is Falcon leaning into some real comic book zaniness.
Captain America: Sam Wilson (2015)
This 24 issue run by Nick Spencer is everything. In it, we see Sam’s struggle in trying to live up to the fraught legacy of what it means to be Captain America. Besides facing off against super foes old and new, Sam also has to deal with issues surrounding racism, police brutality, social media, a conservative press that hates the idea of a Black Captain America, and the difficult conversations on what it means to be an American symbol. This is an incredibly bold take on the character that doesn’t shy away from the politics of the day. From what we know about Disney+’s The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, it looks like some of the core narrative arcs might come from the questions that Spencer asks in this run.
Captain America: Winter Soldier (2004)
Comic book fans let out a collective groan when they first heard that Ed Brubaker was bringing Bucky back from the dead. He was a crucial part of Captain America’s pain. Like Uncle Ben, like Gwen Stacy, like the Waynes, the consensus at the time was that Bucky needed to stay dead for the modern day Captain America to work. That opinion would soon change. Brubaker’s take on Bucky’s revival was nothing short of genius. A brilliantly crafted piece of writing that brought together history, action, and Cold War politics, that provided surprising new depth to the character of Steve Rogers and Captain America, and gave Bucky some real, honest-to-God agency.
Okay… I know we said four… but here’s a fifth honorable mention…
Winter Soldier (2012)
And it’s more Brubaker. This 14 issue run should really be called Black Widow and the Winter Soldier, as it follows the lovers Bucky and Natasha as they fight their way through the seedy (and oftentimes absurd) underbelly of comicdom. But Doombots and gun-toting gorillas aside, there are nevertheless some real stakes here as the series eschews everyday superheroism for a darkly compelling story about two tortured human beings seeking atonement for past sins.
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