WARNING: The following contains spoilers for The Falcon and the Winter Soldier Episode 4, "The Whole World is Watching," now streaming on Disney+.
While much of The Falcon and The Winter Soldier centers on the Super Soldier Serum, the long lost formula is not the only thing empowering Bucky Barnes. After losing his arm in World War II, Bucky was given a cybernetic replacement that allowed him to perform incredible feats. However, he lost that arm while fighting with Tony Stark/Iron Man in Captain America: Civil War. Later, though, the Wakandans replaced the arm with a new one. As it turns out, though, the Wakandans installed a fail-safe in case the Winter Soldier ever turned on them.
Falcon And Winter Soldier Episode 4, 'The Whole World Is Watching,' Recap & Spoilers
In Civil War, Iron Man blasted apart Bucky's cybernetic arm, and in the wake of their battle the fugitive Winter Soldier took refuge in Wakanda where he became known as the White Wolf. It was there that much of his brainwashing was removed, with the Wakandans employing techniques that brought Bucky some modicum of peace. In the latest episode of Falcon and Winter Soldier, a flashback revealed his emotional realization that he was free at last from the code words that used to activate his assassin side.
From there, the episode returned to Dora Milaje member Ayo confronting Bucky for his role in freeing and harboring Baron Zemo. Eventually, Bucky found himself in combat against Ayo when the Dora Milaje fought against John Walker/Captain America. She first stabbed her spear into Bucky's shoulder. While the vibranium arm absorbed the blow, Ayo then struck the arm in a precise location that activated a fail-safe, detaching it from Bucky's body and causing it to fall uselessly to the ground. Soon after Sam Wilson asked Bucky if he knew it could do that. He did not.
Depending on your point of view this either comes as evidence of distrustful underhandedness or wise paranoia on the part of the Wakandans. Although Bucky's recovery from his brainwashing was complete, it seems that the Wakandans did not fully trust him in the aftermath. Wakandan scientist Shuri designed the arm and evidently installed a feature for removing it that the Dora Milaje were aware of but that Bucky was not. Indeed, being able to remove the arm could have been useful, as Bucky has been sleeping with the arm still on.
Rather than informing Bucky of the feature, the Wakandans kept it to themselves. With Bucky standing in their way Ayo had little hesitation in exploiting the secret weakness, and though Bucky had little trouble in reattaching his arm, the message was clear that, should they ever come to blows again, Ayo could repeat the strike just as easily. At the same time, the instance does bring up intriguing questions involving what other features could be hidden within the vibranium arm.
In the comics the Winter Soldier's arm is capable of disabling technology with electromagnetic pulses, using holograms to disguise itself and serving a variety of other functions. Bucky has yet to demonstrate any of these abilities, but if this latest inclusion is to be believed there may be plenty else that the arm can do of which he is not aware.
Directed by Kari Skogland, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier stars Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Emily VanCamp, Wyatt Russell, Noah Mills, Carl Lumbly and Daniel Brühl. New episodes debut on Fridays on Disney+.
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