The Falcon and the Winter Soldier sets up Sam Wilson's Falcon replacement in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Anthony Mackie's MCU character has been Falcon from his first appearance in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. However, Avengers: Endgame signaled that his time with Falcon was over. Steve Rogers gave Sam the Captain America shield and his blessing to be the next Cap. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier has shown that this isn't an easy transition for Sam, but he's finally on his way to taking on the mantle.

With Sam set to leave the Falcon title behind, Marvel Studios has used The Falcon and the Winter Soldier to set up his replacement. Fans were surprised to see Danny Ramirez playing Joaquín Torres in the Disney+ show's first episode. He's a member of the Air Force and working with Sam on various missions, before turning his attention to the Flag-Smashers. Torres becomes Falcon in the comics and his involvement in the series quickly made it possible that he could become a superhero in the MCU's future. Now, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier has already blatantly set up Joaquín's heroic future.

Related: Falcon & The Winter Soldier Episode 5 Asks 6 Questions About Cap's Future

The beginning of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier episode 5 saw Sam and Bucky Barnes fight John Walker for the Captain America shield after he used it to kill a Flag-Smasher. The fight ended with Sam taking back the shield he previously gave away, but Walker destroyed his EXO-7 Falcon suit in the process. John used his new super-soldier strength to break the Falcon wings. Sam collected up the broken parts of his suit after the fight concluded and it wasn't much later that Torres noticed the damage. Instead of taking the damaged wings with him, Sam left the bag with Torres and told him to keep them - clearly setting up that he'll wear the wings next.

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier already established that Torres is good with technology, especially that involved in Falcon's suit. This should allow Torres to be the one who repairs the wings and puts them to use. Now that Torres has been set up to be the MCU's next Falcon, it will be fascinating to see how closely his story follows the comics. The comics gave him a very different set of wings, though, as they aren't metal wings from a suit. Torres was experimented on and grew actual bird-like wings in the comics due to a mutation. Since The Falcon and the Winter Soldier leaves him with the Stark-made wings, it should be expected that the MCU will ground his superpowers just as they did with Sam.

The biggest question about Torres' future as Falcon now is when he will suit up for the first time. He could have the suit repaired quickly and lend a hand in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier's finale. With Sam and Bucky set to fight the Flag-Smashers and John Walker, they could use the extra help that Torres could provide. If Torres doesn't officially become Falcon in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier's finale, he could pop up in several other projects down the road. Some possible landing spots for him include Armor Wars, a future Young Avengers project, or even in Captain America 4 or a second season of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. We'll clearly see Torres again, but we'll have to wait and see exactly when his Falcon transformation happens.

More: Is Sam Wilson Betraying Isaiah Bradley By Becoming Captain America?

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