The Avengers' confrontation with Thanos led to some notable vacancies on Earth's roster of heroes. The Mad Titan viciously destroyed Vision in Avengers: Infinity War and Black Widow sacrificed herself to obtain the Soul Stone in Avengers: Endgame. Tony Stark's climactic Snap ended up taking him off the board, as well. Steve Rogers was last seen as an old man, so he, for all intents and purposes, is out of play. These losses are unfortunate because Falcon and the Winter Soldier episode 1 makes it clear that, even with Thanos gone, new and more complicated threats have come to the fore.

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So far, Phase 4 has not shied away from the weirdness and chaos that would come with half of Earth's population dissolving into dust before returning five years later. It's an entirely different world now, one still trying to reassemble itself economically, as well as socially. Audiences see a handful of countries in various states of disarray, which is an understandable byproduct of Thanos' decimation, allowing for some (like the mysterious Flag-Smashers) to take advantage of the unrest. The MCU has shown other figures, like S.W.O.R.D.'s Director Hayward from WandaVision, acting irrationally and violently in response to his trauma. The tendrils from the earlier films continue to affect the lives of the MCU's heroes, old and new, who are tasked with putting a divided world back together.

From a narrative perspective, both WandaVision and Falcon and the Winter Soldier seem to be tying off some loose ends from the Infinity Saga, smartly bringing some previously ing characters to prominence within the larger story. Scarlet Witch, Vision, Falcon, and Winter Soldier, while present in earlier films, were often sidelined in favor of more central heroes like Captain America, Thor, and Iron Man. It seems as though much of Phase 4 will reorient the MCU around some familiar faces while they try to come to with the new world they are currently living in.

Using already established characters will effectively help to anchor the universe as it continues to explore some of Marvel's weirder properties. The Eternals, a film which will follow Jack Kirby's god-like beings from the comics, is sure to be unlike anything seen in the MCU before. More importantly, both WandaVision and Falcon and the Winter Soldier, which center on a woman and an African American hero, respectively, have made positive strides toward a more diverse line-up of characters. The respect and level of care taken with their stories (so far) are goods signs for already announced projects, including Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, which features the MCU's first Asian lead character, and Ms. Marvel, which focuses on a Pakistani-American teenager superhero.

Ultimately, wider representation will allow for a greater understanding of a post-Blip world, as it is a crisis that would have different ramifications for different people — a reality already hinted at in Falcon and the Winter Soldier episode 1. Marvel Studio's commitment to zooming in on its characters (old and new) and giving them narrative space to reckon with their own unique fallouts from the Snap is sure to add complexity and nuance as the Marvel Cinematic Universe enters an exciting new era.

Next: Falcon & The Winter Soldier: Every MCU Easter Egg In Episode 1