The Falcon and the Winter Soldier Quiz

Answer: The Flag Smashers

Sam is sent to Tunisia at the start of this story, specifically because he needs to assist the American military in protecting a liaison from the LAF, a criminal organization with high-powered weaponry. The activity needs to be subtle; they can't violate any treaties. The problem is that when Sam reaches the plane in mid-flight, he realizes it's already been hijacked. Sam manages to infiltrate the plane and engage with the enemies, but the pilot is killed by stray gunfire in the process. The men inside nab their captive and leap out of the plane in wingsuits, and what was a fist fight becomes a mid-air gun battle and helicopter through the canyons of the Tunisian desert. Sam nabs his protective target before reuniting with his contact, Joaquin Torres, back on the ground though the leader of the LAF, Georges Batroc, leaps to safety.

Over lunch, Torres talks to Sam about another possible threat appearing on internet message boards-- the Flag Smashers. They're a group that believed the world was better during The Blip. They want a unified world without borders, but their actions are dangerous. Torres promises to keep his eye on the information while Sam heads off to Washington.

Answer: New York City

Bucky Barnes continues to suffer from nightmares of his past, dreaming of his actions in support of Hydra when he killed innocent men and women simply for being witnesses to his violent assassinations. He speaks to his therapist and lies to her about the dreams (though she sees right through it) but he does admit he's been crossing names off his amends list. His therapist suggests that he needs to make friends and have a real life; he's been ignoring messages from Sam.

Bucky has lunch with an actual acquaintance, Yori, while he lives in Brooklyn. What Yori doesn't know is that Bucky killed his son, RJ, when he was the Winter Soldier. The two continue to meet with the truth unsaid. Yori even manages to hook Bucky up wth a date with their waitress, Leah, much to Bucky's chagrin. Both events only serve to deepen Bucky's immense guilt.

Answer: Her business

Sam ultimately heads to Washington D.C. to conduct a speech about his fallen comrade, Steve Rogers, in a formal ceremony at the Smithsonian. Before attending, he packed Captain America's shield for transport and brought it with him. He admits that the world needs new heroes for new threats, and the shield was a part of Steve's legacy; that's why he's donating it for exhibition. James Rhodes, present for the ceremony, asks why Sam didn't take up the mantle. He admits that it always belonged to Steve.

Sam visits Delacroix, Louisiana to visit his sister, Sarah, and her family at their seafood business. The years of The Blip were tough for the family and with the world resuming its natural order she worries that they'll need to get rid of their fishing boat. Sam says that he'll work to get the family a loan, leveraging his status to turn things around. Interestingly, this doesn't go as planned. Sarah has no income from the years of The Blip and Sam's government work does not allow them to qualify for a loan under current terms.

In Switzerland, Torres joins the Flag Smashers as they orchestrate a massive bank robbery. Donning a mask similar to the criminals he initially blends in with the crowd, but when the event gets violent he tries to take the apparent group leader into custody. It only leads to him getting knocked out, but he does get the footage on his phone. When he shows the footage to Sam, they realize they need to be more vigilant to keep up with the group's shady operations.

At the same time, the U.S. government makes a press release. Due to American fears of attacks on the country, they've elected to institute a new hero as a symbol of protection. The Department of Defence will be protected by a new Captain America. On television, they parade him out in Steve Rogers' outfit and, sure enough, the donated shield.

Answer: True

Military Captain John Walker takes a trip down memory lane before donning the suit. As the new Captain America, he's expected to make all of the expected media appearances-- football games, press junkets, he even appears on "Good Morning America" (naturally). For all intents he's exceedingly qualified for the role. Bucky and Sam, both watching the interviews separately, struggle with the change.

There's no time to waste though. Bucky and Sam are brought in to be briefed on a mission to Munich and the two of them, reunited for the first time in what seems to be ages, descend into Bavaria to pursue the Flag Smashers. What they find there is a hostage situation that quickly spirals out of control as the anti-patriots, exhibiting superhuman powers, get the upper hand. They only succeed in holding their own when Walker and his sidekick, Lemar Hoskins (codenamed Battlestar), show up to save the day on behalf of the Global Repatriation Council. The Flag Smashers still get away.

Returning to the U.S., Bucky and Sam head to Baltimore to follow up on their leads but both get into hot water-- Bucky for missing one of his mandated therapy sessions and Sam when he's stopped by the police after questioning one of Bucky's former enemies during his Winter Soldier days, Isaiah Bradley, who was imprisoned for thirty years and dosed with the supersoldier serum. It results in the both of them continually refusing Walker's offers to join the GRC and then, eventually, sharing a therapy session together, much to both of their disdain.

The Flag Smashers seem to have their own problems. Despite escaping the fight in Germany, someone is aware of what they're doing and vows to take back what's rightfully theirs. They head to Bratislava in an effort to fly out with the goods, but the Power Broker's men find them. One of the Flag Smashers stays back to give them time to escape; it gets him killed, but the group gets away.

Bucky and Sam commit to finishing their mission, and based on something Isaiah said, Bucky is convinced that they need to fly to Berlin. If they do, they can speak to Sokovian fighter Helmut Zemo, who may have info about Hydra's secrets and the Flag Smashers.

Answer: Madripoor

Sam and Bucky end up in Berlin but only Bucky knows the actual plan. Heading in to speak to Zemo alone, Bucky realizes that Zemo has what they need and he devises a way to free the man who sparked the schism in the Avengers and killed King T'Chaka of Wakanda. Once the escape is set into motion, it's easy for Zemo to meet up with them at the intended rendezvous point. Bucky asks for a bit of trust. Considering the events that followed Sam's refusal to sign the Sokovian Accord, it almost seems as though there's no choice.

Everything comes down to the serum, as Zemo explains. After collecting his things, they head off to visit a woman named Selby conducting criminal business in Madripoor in Southeast Asia. It's clear that in this city, the Power Broker is the king, though he's not someone Zemo has actually met. When the trio finally fight their way to be an audience to Selby she confirms as much, indicating that the Power Broker commissioned replicated supersoldier serum be made for alternative use. Zemo offers Bucky in exchange for the info, but the deal somewhat falls through when Sam receives an unexpected call from his sister, Sarah. At the very least, they learn that the man commissioned to make the serum was Dr. Wilfred Nagel, and he's in Madripoor. The call, however, sparks a gunfight and rough escape out of the meeting place when Selby is shot and killed. The only way the trio can get out of the low city of Madripoor is with the help of Sharon Carter, who's been waiting in the wings.

Answer: Twenty

Sharon takes Sam, Bucky, and Zemo to her place in high town and she makes it clear that she's disillusioned by the whole situation. She can't go back to the U.S.; she's only in Madripoor because they won't extradite her. She only offers to help the guys find Dr. Nagel when Sam offers to help her clear her name.

It doesn't take long; the four head to a shipping yard to find Nagel's lab hidden in the crates therein. The talk is short. With bounty hunters closing in on their location, they discover that Nagel was hired by Hydra and then, eventually, the CIA. He successfully replicated the supersoldier serum and made twenty copies, but all of them were taken by the Flag Smashers. As Sharon comes into the lab to warn the guys, Zemo shoots and kills Nagel. The lab is destroyed and Zemo, donning his purple mask, finds a getaway vehicle and takes the guys to the airport.

Walker ends up in Munich again, this time with the GRC, looking for the whereabouts of Karli Morgenthau, the leader of the Flag Smashers. He doesn't know that Karli is in Latvia, leading her team to smuggle goods from the GRC Resettlement Camp containing her dying mother.

While Carter stays in Madripoor, Sam and Bucky travel to Latvia to search for Karli (based on Nagel's lead). It's there that they're caught out, but not by who they expected. Ayo, who once served as bodyguard to King T'Chaka, has been monitoring the area. She reveals herself to Bucky and insists she's there to retrieve Zemo. Because of Bucky's relationship with the Wakandans, she allows him to take eight hours with Zemo before they will reclaim him by force.

Answer: Walker

In Latvia, news of the Flag Smasher bombing catches up to Sam, Bucky, and Zemo. They visit the GRC Resettlement Camp for clues and it leads them, eventually, to the funeral of Donya Madani. Before they head to the memorial, however, they're met by Walker and Hoskins, both in town following their own leads, and they decide to travel together to intercept Karli. Though Walker is hesitant to go anywhere near the situation, Hoskins convinces him-- if anyone can talk her down, it's Sam. The plan seems to be good...until Walker impatiently breaks up the talk and spurs a dangerous fight. Karli escapes everyones' grasps while Zemo intercepts her deeper in the building. When she drops the vials of supersoldier serum, he smashes them...at least as many as he can. Walker stops him before he can step on the last one. It's the only prize he can claim-- secretly. He doesn't even get to keep Zemo in custody. When Ayo arrives to claim the criminal, Zemo manages to escape again and Walker is humiliated in the fight that ensues.

Karli puts a new plan in motion calling Sam's sister, Sarah, out of the blue to force Sam to meet with her. She asks Sam to go alone, but Bucky joins regardless. It's during this chat that they discover Walker and Hoksins are closing in on a Flag Smasher hideout and they rush off to intercept. All parties intercept each other at the destination and it's revealed that Walker, having absconded with a vial of the serum during their last encounter, took the dose for himself.

It's during the heat of this battle that Karli accidentally kills Hoskins (as he goes to defend Walker from a knife attack). The action is enough to drive Walker over the edge. The Flag Smashers escape in the moments that follow and Walker gives chase, catching one of Karli's closest followers and using the shield to bash him to death, all while a crowd surrounds and films him in the act. Walker flees the scene but he's quickly caught by Sam and Bucky who retrieve the shield and leave Walker incapacitated. Walker manages to break Sam's suit in the process.

Answer: Val

Walker, his arm in a sling and the focus of an international incident, is stripped of his honours and the title of Captain America upon returning to Washington D.C. Receiving an other than honorable discharge, he's informed that he should be lucky that he's not being given a court marshal-- something he was only spared because of his track record prior to taking the mantle. After his time in court, he's met by a mysterious woman who introduces herself as Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Val, for short, she says). She takes a seat and tells him he did the right thing taking the serum. He's a valuable man. Better than that, picking up the phone when she calls him in the near future. She leaves her card...but there's nothing on it.

Sam and Bucky split up. While others hunt for the Flag Smashers by performing raids at GRC compounds, Sam asks Torres to keep his ear to the ground and leaves the broken Falcon suit with him. Sam heads to Baltimore en route to Sarah's place in Louisiana and meets, once more, with Isaiah Bradley. Isaiah, bitter with the government for all that transpired when he tried to be a hero, criticizes Sam's attempt to hold on to the idea of a Captain America who supports everyone, and not just the perceived American ideal. Isaiah says that he can't hide behind their shield. They wouldn't-- ever-- make a Black man Captain America, and no self-respecting Black man would ever want to be.

When Wilson returns to Louisiana he gets to work helping Sarah and the boys get the boat back into shape. He makes the calls and before long, the community is brought together to help.

After Walker pays his respects to Hoskins' family, he heads to his workshop. Firing up his welding gear, he creates a new shield and works his Medals of Honor into the steel.

Answer: The Wakandans

Bucky heads to Sokovia before reuniting with Sam, knowing that he'll find Zemo there. He does, quite easily, and makes good on his promise to Ayo and the Wakandans by taking him into custody. Zemo warns him before he's taken, however, that Karli is too far gone and will need to be killed. Before Ayo departs with the prisoner, Bucky asks her for one more favour. This is why, when Bucky heads to Louisiana to assist Sam and his sister in fixing the boat, he's able to drop off a massive briefcase from the Wakandans.

While life goes on for Sam and Bucky, and as they come to terms with working together going forward, something stirs in New York City. Sharon makes a call from her base in Madripoor, managing to get Georges Batroc freed from prison. As a GRC Conference is called, Karli expects to make her biggest play yet and Batroc, seeking vengeance, joins her in this plan. He wants to bring down Sam, and Karli wants that too, for what happened in Latvia.

It's because of this that Sam opens the Wakandan briefcase and dons the contents-- a new Captain America uniform and a flight suit. He, Bucky, and Sharon, emerging from the safety of Madripoor, converge in NYC as the GRC Conference comes to a screeching halt.

Answer: Sharon

The Flag Smashers divide to conquer. Splitting their prisoners and attempting to get the GRC representatives out of the building, they sic Batroc on Sam, now donning the Captain America name and colours, while sowing chaos. Though they're forced to split up, Sam, Bucky, and Sharon take a multi-pronged approach to securing the situation. Sam chases a helicopter, saving the NYPD in pursuit while he does so, while Bucky travels by chopper. He catches up to the hostage trucks quick enough that Karli has to create a diversion. He occupies himself saving the captives and Karli nearly gets away with it, but this is when Walker arrives.

John Walker, now with a new Captain America shield of his own making, walks onto the scene and provokes her into fighting, but the battle pushes him and Bucky into the pit of a nearby construction project. Karli drives the remaining truck over the side of the road and leaps free as it rolls over into the pit, but Sam arrives just in time to save the people in the vehicle. Unfortunately, it means that the Flag Smashers are able to escape.

As the terrorists race into the nearby tunnels, Karli is separated from the others. She's met by Sharon deeper within and the two express their disappointment in one another. Sharon, angry with Karli's defiance, asks her to come back in the fold and work for her-- the Power Broker-- so that they can make actual change. Batroc also reveals himself to be a pawn in Sharon's scheme, but when he attempts to leverage the situation for his own gain, Sharon shoots and kills him. Karli shoots Sharon as well, right before Sam arrives and tries to talk her off the ledge. Karli gets the upper hand in this fight, but just before she can shoot Sam, Sharon regains her composure and shoots first to save his life. Before she succumbs to her injuries, Karli tells Sam that she's sorry.

Amongst the events that follow, Sam speaks to the GRC representatives and asks them to defer their plans to relocate the refugees of The Blip. Hearing him out, they accept his reasoning.

The remaining Flag Smashers are set on a transport to head to the Raft, a maximum security prison in the Atlantic. They're intercepted and killed, however, by one of Zemo's associates.

Walker receives his call from Val. She quietly hands him a new uniform. It's the same, he says, but black. Val suggests that things are about to get weird, and when they do, they won't need a Captain America. They'll need a U.S. Agent. She tells him to keep his phone on.

Sam attends the unveiling of a new memorial exhibit at the Smithsonian for Isaiah Bradley while Bucky crosses the last names off his list of amends and leaves it, along with a parting gift, for his therapist. Both Captain America and the Winter Soldier reunite in Louisiana where the Wilson family looks forward to a better future.