Madripoor in Episode 3 of the Falcon and the Winter Soldier is an X-Men fan catnip

Three episodes in, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier Always pulls threads from all over the Marvel Universe, from old villains and old heroes, to new heroes entirely. But the latest cameo in the series is something entirely different, a first appearance for a new “character” – but also a new milestone for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Perhaps.

Fans with stray eyes are lurking Falcon and the Winter Soldier press photos and trailer clips put together two and two months ago, but the third episode of the “Power Broker” series puts it all on the table. This week, the MCU visited Madripoor.

[Ed. note: This piece contains spoilers for Falcon and the Winter Soldier through episode 3.]

What is Madripoor in Marvel Comics?

Courtesy of Marvel Studios

In “Power Broker”, Sam and Bucky and their new boyfriend Baron Zemo travel to Madripoor, a small independent island in Indonesia. Bucky says it was a “pirate sanctuary” in the age of sailing, and according to Zemo, he also maintained his “lawless ways” in modern world capitalism.

It’s basically the same in the comics: a miserable (neon) hive of scum and villainy, available whenever a Marvel Comics writer needs it for a story. Madripoor is typically located somewhere in the Pacific Ocean southwest of Singapore, it’s ruled by the overpowered lord, lady, or cabal of organized crime that sits at the top this year, and it’s populated by a few uber-rich people. and many, many desperately poor. .

Why are Marvel fans so excited to see Madripoor’s debut?

Madripoor is sort of an X-Men character. While anyone in the Marvel Comics universe can visit the Island Nation, it was created by writer Chris Claremont and artist Steve Leialoha for the years 1985. New mutants # 32, and has been a frequent spot in X-Men stories ever since. Wolverine even has his own alternate identity as a notorious guy named Patch who looks like Wolverine, but wearing a suit and an eye patch.

This is catnip for Marvel fans who are on the alert for the Marvel Cinematic Universe to do something, whatever with the X-Men, whether it’s introducing mutants to the scene or just putting the Other Quicksilver in a show. It wasn’t that long ago that 20th Century Fox held the film license for the X-Men and all associated characters, preventing Marvel Studios from including mutants in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But Marvel got the movie license back for the X-Men through Disney’s acquisition of 20th Century Fox, and now the company can. To some fans, it feels like a mutant character is exactly the kind of shocking revelation the Marvel Cinematic Universe loves.

In ‘Power Broker’ we also walk down a street long enough to see a sign for the Princess Bar, Wolverine Patch’s favorite Madripoor waterhole. But Bucky, Sam, and Zemo pass by to visit the Brass Monkey Saloon – at least, judging by the monkey skull decor. This place was first seen in Captain America # 363. So during The Falcon and the Winter Soldier could’ve brought in an X-Men location, he did it in a very Captain America way.