Warning: SPOILERS for The Falcon and The Winter Soldier Episode 5 - "Truth," and Zemo's interactions with Sam Wilson. 

Baron Helmut Zemo (Daniel Brühl) identified a key trait Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) shares with Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) in The Falcon and The Winter Soldier: They're both stubborn. Zemo played a significant role in Wilson and Bucky Barnes' (Sebastian Stan) attempt to stop the Flag-Smashers and Karli Morgenthau (Erin Kellyman), although the villain was working his own agenda. Still, Barnes turned Zemo over to the Dora Milaje so he could be imprisoned in The Raft.

Supervillains in the Marvel Cinematic Universe often know the heroes as well as, if not better, than the heroes know themselves. For example, Obediah Stane (Jeff Bridges) knew everything about Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) to the point where he easily arranged Tony's kidnapping, and he very nearly killed Stark later on in Iron Man. The Red Skull (Hugo Weaving) had the advantage of knowing Captain America well because he was admittedly a fan of Steve's World War II propaganda films. After 1,500 years as brothers, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and Loki (Tom Hiddleston) can anticipate each others' actions and betrayals. And in WandaVision, Agatha Harkness (Kathryn Hahn) closely observed Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) and was able to prey on Wanda's grief to manipulate her and her family.

Related: What Zemo's Plan To Defeat Karli Was

By working side-by-side with Sam and Bucky in The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, Helmut Zemo was able to size up the two Avengers. Zemo already knew Bucky well after he framed and manipulated the Winter Soldier during Captain America: Civil War, but the Baron seized the opportunity to get to know the Falcon as well. Zemo engaged Sam in conversation and shared his own belief that "super soldiers must not be allowed to exist" and that those who seek such powers are on the path to becoming "supremacists." Zemo was also impressed when Wilson quickly replied that he wouldn't take the Super-Soldier Serum if offered. However, Zemo also assessed that Sam is stubborn in his beliefs of doing what he thinks is right, just like his best friend Steve Rogers was.

Zemo Stubborn

Zemo studied all of the Avengers in order to break them apart in Captain America: Civil War, and he also had to get to know Steve Rogers to properly anticipate how Captain America would respond to Zemo framing the Winter Soldier. Rogers' stubbornness and insistence on doing what he thought was right led to him refusing to sign the Sokovia Accords, which split the Avengers apart. Zemo knew Steve Rogers so well that he was surprised to see a slight imperfection in the color of Captain America's eyes, and he even told Rogers that it was "nice to find a flaw."

However, for Zemo, Sam Wilson's identical stubbornness is disheartening because his insistence that Karli Morgenthau (Erin Kellyman) and the Flag-Smashers must die will fall on deaf ears with the Falcon. This isn't to say that Zemo doesn't respect Sam Wilson's stubbornness and inherent nobility, just as the Baron also respected Steve Rogers'. But it did mean that Zemo couldn't rely on Wilson to see things his way when it came to how to stop the Flag-Smashers.

Instead, Zemo appealed to Bucky in Sokovia to kill Karli, although Barnes merely thanked him for the advice and insisted he and Sam would handle the Flag-Smashers their own way. So in that sense, Bucky has proven to be just as stubborn as Sam Wilson and Steve Rogers. Barnes knows Zemo is a master manipulator so not doing what he asks is the surest way to keep him from winning a victory by proxy in The Falcon and The Winter Soldier.

Next: Where The Wakandans Took Zemo And Now It Sets Up The Thunderbolts

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