Falcon & Winter Soldier Secretly Introduced Patriot, A Young Avenger

It's long been clear the MCU was setting up the Young Avengers - and in The Falcon & The Winter Soldier episode 2, Marvel introduced another team member, Elijah Bradley, aka Patriot. Marvel has been setting up the Young Avengers for quite some time now; back in June 2018, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige openly admitted the character of Cassie Lang was being positioned for her Young Avengers role. "That’s why we wanted Cassie, a very young Cassie in [Ant-Man & the Wasp], to be inspired by her father," he explained. "Just planting seeds." Those seeds flourished in Avengers: Endgame, with a five year time jump that even means Cassie is now at the right age to become the superhero Stature.

Cassie isn't the only Young Avenger set to appear in Phase 4, though. WandaVision introduced Scarlet Witch's children Billy and Tommy, aka Wiccan and Speed, and though they were apparently erased from reality, a post-credits scene saw Wanda hearing their voices summoning her for help. Kate Bishop is due to make her MCU debut in Hawkeye, played by Hailee Steinfeld. What's more, assuming the MCU iteration of the Young Avengers blends the team with other young superhero groups from the comics such as the Champions, other prospective members include the likes of Ms. Marvel and Ironheart.

Given all the explicit setup, then, it's hardly surprising even Kevin Feige is willing to allude to the Young Avengers. "Yes, you can certainly see that Phase 4 is introducing all sorts of new types of characters with the potential being endless," he recently observed mildly when asked about the Young Avengers. "I'm happy to say everybody that's here, certainly where I'm sitting now, is doing amazing work and [I] can't wait to show them the world." Falcon & Winter Soldier is clearly continuing with the build-up to the Young Avengers, because it features a delightful cameo.

Falcon & The Winter Soldier's Patriot Cameo Explained

Patriot and Sam in Falcon and Winter Soldier

Falcon & Winter Soldier rewrites the history of the MCU, revealing a forgotten super-soldier who served in the Korean War. Isaiah Bradley is a character lifted straight from the comics, and his MCU story seems every bit as tragic as the one in print. Although he served his country loyally, Isaiah somehow angered the powers that be and wound up imprisoned for 30 years. He is embittered and frustrated with his own country, aware of how badly he was let down, and it's easy to understand why he never stepped forward to join the Avengers.

Most viewers will understandably watch this scene and focus on Isaiah Bradley. It's easy to miss that he is also being looked after by his grandson, played by Elijah Richardson. In the comics, Elijah Bradley – or "Eli" to his friends – is one of the founding members of the Young Avengers. He took up the codename "Patriot" in honor of his grandfather, insisting through his actions that the world was now willing to accept Black superheroes. Along with Kate Bishop's Hawkeye, he is one of the Young Avengers' greatest leaders.

Patriot Comics Origin & Powers Explained

The Young Avengers formed at a time when the traditional Avengers group had been disbanded. When Iron Lad, a young version of Kang the Conqueror, arrived in the present day he resolved to create a new team. He learned of the secret Avengers Fail-Safe Program, which contained records pertaining to the family members of superheroes who could potentially have inherited their powers. This led him to Eli, who claimed to be a Super Soldier due to a blood transfusion from his uncle. In reality, Eli found a supply of the illegal drug known as "Mutant Growth Hormone," and used MGH to give himself super-soldier-equivalent powers. MGH is dangerously addictive, and regular doses also have severe health impacts. Eli quit the team after having an overdose.

Still, you can't keep a good superhero down, and soon Eli was suiting up as Patriot once again. Ironically, he suffered a grievous injury during an alien invasion, and his grandfather really did give him a blood transfusion. Eli became an actual Super Soldier, gaining the powers he had previously pretended to have. He is still active as a superhero in the comics today.

Why Isaiah Bradley's Past Makes Patriot Perfect For The MCU

Isaiah Bradley angrily speaks to Bucky and Sam

The MCU has adapted Eli's grandfather Isaiah Bradley, lifting him from his World War II context and instead revealing he was subjected to super-soldier experiments sometime after Steve Rogers had gone missing towards the end of the Second World War. In the MCU, Isaiah was active as a super-soldier in the early 1950s and, in fact, he participated in the Korean War. He was sent out there when the U.S. Government received reports of the Winter Soldier, and he proved more than capable of taking on Bucky, apparently tearing off half his cyborg arm during the confrontation. Isaiah was subsequently imprisoned for 30 years, meaning he was released sometime in the late 1980s. Interestingly, by Isaiah's account, he was subjected to regular experiments by both government and Hydra scientists, and he was only freed shortly before Howard Stark duplicated the super-soldier serum in 1991.

These updates actually help set up Patriot in the MCU. They adjust the timescale, meaning it would just about make sense for Eli's grandson to be a teenager in 2023, when Falcon & Winter Soldier is set. More intriguingly, they also hint that Isaiah's blood may be the secret for creating more super-soldiers, setting up the idea of blood transfusions. As Isaiah's grandson, Eli would probably be compatible – and, indeed, the genetic similarities may make it easier for the Super-Soldier effect to be transferred. Alternatively, it is also possible Eli will somehow wind up caught up in the Power Broker's experiments; the mysterious Power Broker has clearly learned how to create Super Soldiers, perhaps courtesy of old blood samples taken from Elijah, and Eli could become one of his subjects, willingly or not.

It's tempting to view Eli Bradley as an Easter egg, but that would be a mistake given the number of other Young Avengers entering the MCU in Phase 4. Rather, this should instead be seen as more subtle setup, and Eli should be viewed as one of the next generation of superheroes in the MCU beyond The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. It's only a matter of time before Marvel bring these different characters together, and officially form the Young Avengers.

More: Falcon & The Winter Soldier: Every MCU Easter Egg In Episode 2