Even though we’re only two episodes into The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, the one thing that’s already clear is just how much of a unique voice the series has in comparison to almost everything else in the MCU. Yes, the series still looks and feels very “Marvel”, it’s still got the same quippy banter and cleverly choreographed action, but it also seems to be toying with the idea of addressing some of the more contemporary issues that plague American society. In these first two episodes alone, the writers take on questions of race, privilege, entitlement, atonement, economic inequality, and American Exceptionalism, making it one of the most politically overt product that Marvel has put out to date.
In this Malaysian exclusive, we asked Malcolm Spellman, the head writer and showrunner of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, about the political nature of the show and the lens he used to frame the series.
We’ve seen the first two episodes and you already take on quite a lot. Already, this feels like Marvel’s most political work. Is that an accurate read on our part? And was that a lens by which you framed the series?
Malcolm Spellman: I want to say this. This series would not be possible without Black Panther, because Black Panther showed Marvel’s fans willing to go on a road and accept heroes that don’t necessarily look the way heroes “normally” look. You know that hashtag #KillmongerWasRight? That hashtag is very much alive in this series. And we are picking up from where they put us. And it’s brave. No one showed up with an agenda, but at the same time, no one wanted to hide from the obvious truth of what these characters were going to deal with. And it does not go away as the series continues. It stays relevant and stays, you know, pretty conscious.
While being “political” may be a novel concept to Disney, it isn’t necessarily something new in comicdom. In line with their overall narrative philosophy, Marvel’s comics have always tried to address issues that were of the zeitgeist. Sometimes they were snide subversive jabs. Sometimes, as in the case with Truth: Red, White, and Black, one of the inspirations for this TV series, they were all out and in your face about it.
We can’t wait to see where Spellman and his team take the rest of the series. It would be interesting to see just how far Disney is willing to go with regards to addressing questions of race and extremism, especially in a moment when American discourse is so divided. Let’s hope they don’t pull their punches. Relevancy and consciousness only serves to make the genre a lot more interesting.
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