Isaiah Bradley’s story in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier means there could be other super-soldiers out there Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) - the new Captain America - and the Avengers know nothing about. Through the Power Broker, the Disney+ series introduced new super-soldiers into the MCU, such as U.S. Agent (Wyatt Russell) and Karli Morgenthau’s Flag Smashers, but there may be more that already exist but haven’t been seen yet.
When Bucky (Sebastian Stan) took Sam to Isaiah’s home, he found out about the government’s efforts to recreate the super-soldier serum and produce successors to Steve Rogers (Chris Evans), one of which being the Black hero from the Korean War, Isaiah Bradley (Carl Lumbly), who in the comics was the first Black Captain America. Isaiah confirmed to Sam that other people aside from him received the serum, but only he survived it. For thirty years, he was experimented on by scientists trying to understand how it worked on him but no one else. Later, a nurse arranged for him to be declared dead so that he could be free once again.
What Isaiah said to Sam sets up more super soldiers in the MCU. According to him, the serum only worked on him, but there’s a limit to what he could know. If his death could be faked, the same thing could have happened with a different super-soldier. Another scenario is that they actually did learn something from the three decades they spent studying Isaiah Bradley’s body and were able to reproduce the results. Regardless, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier doesn’t eliminate the possibility that the government created others like him and Steve Rogers. Here are some of the super-soldiers from Marvel Comics that could secretly be alive in the MCU.
Nuke
Frank Simpson was a very different kind of super soldier to Steve Rogers, who was created by Project Rebirth. Years later, the same government program, Weapon Plus, brought in Simpson, who was a damaged Vietnam War veteran. After transforming into the cybernetic super-soldier now known as Nuke, the character became a weapon of various villains looking to use him to advance their own goals. Since the 1980s, he has clashed with Daredevil, Captain America, and Wolverine. He was loosely adapted to the small screen in Jessica Jones as Will Simpson, but that doesn’t mean he can’t be reintroduced in a proper MCU movie or show. If he’s used, he could become a Winter Soldier-type minion for HYDRA or some other terrorist organization.
Wolverine
Captain America and Nuke weren’t the only products of the Weapon Plus program. Arguably it’s most notable experiment after Operation: Rebirth was the Weapon X project. By infusing the bones of Wolverine with adamantium (the strongest metal in the Marvel Universe), they created a whole new breed of super-soldier. There was a belief that The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’s super-soldier story might include a Wolverine cameo, but it was not to be. However, Marvel could still delve into the Weapon X project and the origin of Wolverine whenever the time comes to bring the iconic X-Men hero to life in the MCU.
Protocide
In Captain America: The First Avenger, General Chester Phillips (Tommy Lee Jones) initially felt that Steve Rogers was a poor choice for Dr. Erskine’s super-soldier serum. In the comics, that opinion was shared by some military officials, who felt Clinton McIntyre, a soldier that was in much better shape than Steve, was a more sensible option. As a result, a vial of the serum was stolen and given to McIntyre, who went insane. He was placed in suspended animation for decades until he broke free in the early 2000s. As the costumed supervillain Protocide, he defeated U.S. Agent and then battled Captain America. It could be that the MCU will move in a similar direction by giving its version of Protocide the same origin story. If that happens, it’s take on Protocide could set his sights on Walker and Sam in Captain America 4.
Sentry
Sentry is one of the most powerful characters in the entire Marvel Universe and a major member of the New Avengers in the mid-2000s. He’s someone fans have had their eye on for a long time now in of which Avengers Marvel might incorporate into the MCU. As a character who is depicted as a forgotten hero in Marvel Comics, it’s likely that if the MCU has any plans at all for Sentry, he already exists in the MCU and could be reawakened at any time. The MCU could do its own telling of his comic story. which saw drug addict Robert Reynolds become the Sentry after injecting himself with a secret version of the super-soldier serum. Because it was so much more powerful than the one that Steve received in World War II, Sentry is a powerhouse whose strength is rivaled by only a small number of heroes.
The Grand Director
Marvel Comics had a big plot hole on its hands when it revealed in the 1964 comic, The Avengers #4, Steve Rogers had been on ice since 1945. The problem is the company was still publishing Captain America comics in the 1950s, where he was battling communists. In the 1970s, Marvel fixed this by explaining the 1950s Captain America was actually William Burnside, a teacher who idolized Steve. With the aid of the US government, a new super-soldier serum, and plastic surgery, Burnside became the new Captain America and the new Steve Rogers. He started out with idealistic goals, but the serum corrupted him and made him go on a reckless crusade against communism. In a way, the character was an allegory for McCarthyism.
Similar to the Protocide situation, they put Burnside into suspended animation. When he was unleashed on the world again, his mind continued to deteriorate. He became a foe of Captain America and a pawn of Doctor Faustus, who brainwashed him into the Neo-Nazi villain, Grand Director. Though he was mostly utilized as an antagonist in Captain America comics, he was often shown in a sympathetic light. Since what happened to him was a result of the failed serum and the government’s decision to abandon him, there was always a question of whether or not he deserved to be treated as a victim, or held able for his actions. If the 1950s Captain America is alive somewhere in the MCU, he’d be a strong candidate for Sam Wilson’s Marvel movie.
Nomad (Jack Monroe)
When Burnside suited up, he was ed by one of his students, an enthusiastic kid by the name of Jack Monroe as the new "Bucky" stand-in. Since the serum had the same effect on him that it did on Burnside, he too was put in a cryogenic state. He was released alongside Burnside, but he was taken down by Falcon. While Burnside remained untreatable, Jack, regained his sanity and attempted to re the world as “Nomad,” a superhero identity briefly used by Steve Rogers in the 1970s. Nomad made frequent appearances in the pages of Captain America as an ally, and eventually headlined his own comic book title for a few years in the 1990s. His adventures in the comics and role in the superhero community could be adapted at some point down the road, especially if Marvel uses William Burnside in Captain America 4. The “man out of time” aspect of the character and the fact that he’s a super-soldier might make him a bit too similar to the Winter Soldier, but there’s a chance that Marvel could make him work. If so, the MCU could finally have an official Nomad.
