Connecting Imaginary Dots: ‘THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER’ Will Introduce Songbird

If you’ve never read an installment of Connecting Imaginary Dots, allow me to explain the idea. Connecting Imaginary Dots was the title I came up with for my speculation pieces when I was writing at MCU Exchange. These types of pieces basically allow me to unload a bunch of junk that’s circulating in my brain in a way that should never be confused for things I actually expect to happen. I basically take a bunch of facts that are almost always entirely unrelated and do my best to connect the dots with by stretching my imagination. In the past these types of pieces have resulted in me theorizing that the Spider-Man sequel which became Far From Home might end up being a team-up outing of Spidey and Hulk in the Savage Land;however, I also wrote one theorizing that Sterling K. Brown would be playing the father of Erik Killmonger in Black Panther LOOOOOONG before anyone else was considering it and one in which I theorized that Annette Bening was actually Mar-Vell when everyone else still thought Jude Law was playing the character. The bottom line is this: these are fun spec pieces that allow me to just be a fan. With that out of the way…

Filming is underway in Atlanta on The Falcon and The Winter Soldier. While we don’t know an awful lot about the series, we do know it’s set to feature Wyatt Russell as John Walker, the U.S. Agent. In the comics, Walker is chosen by the government to become the new Captain America after Steve Rogers walks away from the role. From what we can tell, it seems like this series is going to develop along those lines as well and, to that end, some interesting set photos appeared online last night.

The photos taken at Duluth High School, located about 30 miles Northeast of Atlanta, clearly show a platform featuring the same logo that we saw on the costume of U.S. Agent in the concept art that was displayed in Disney+’s Expanding the Universe feature.

This is awesome. This is interesting. With filming only having been underway for a few weeks, this scene is probably taking place relatively early in the season and may be either John Walker’s introduction to the world or one of a series of events where the U.S. Government is introducing their Captain America to the nation one town at a time. I love it. I love all the possibilities. But what I love even more is the lady with the purple mohawk who appears to be connected to a stunt harness.

Now I have no idea who this person is. I don’t know if this person is a cast member, stunt double or someone who bought coffee for the guy in the plaid shirt. However, once I saw this person, it didn’t take my mind to start connecting imaginary dots and come up with a way for that person to be Melissa Gold, aka Songbird.

For those you who are unfamiliar with the character, Melissa Gold first appeared in 1979’s Marvel Two-In-One as Screaming Mimi, a member of Marvel Comics awesome wrestling federation, the UCWF (Unlimited Class Wrestling Federation), were super-powered beings were allowed to tussle in the squared circle. Following her stint in the UCWF, Gold next showed up on Helmut Zemo’s Masters of Evil and, eventually, the Thunderbolts.

While a lot of people aren’t going to like John Walker in The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, he’s not the villain. That honor goes to Helmut Zemo, who will be played once again by the brilliant Daniel Bruhl. As we saw in Captain America: Civil War, Bruhl is plenty capable of devising a strategy to take on the Avengers by himself, but I think it’s possible that we might see Zemo bring in a band of mercenaries (I mean he has to get out of prison, right…oh, spoilers, there’s a prison riot in this series, BTW) to help announce his reentry into the MCU and, if he does, it would make sense that Gold, who was a key member of many of Zemo’s team, would be on it.

So why is she in this scene? Are Zemo and his Masters of Evil crashing the party? It’s possible. I know that earlier this week, the crew filmed an evacuation scene in a small town…could that be the result of Zemo and his crew blowing up the joint during the public reveal of the “new” Captain America? I have no idea, but it’s sure fun to think about. Obviously it’s less likely that this is Songbird than it is. It could be Rachel Leighton. It could be a crew member. I could be an extra. But this is what these pieces are for…fun speculation!

What do you think? Could The Falcon and The Winter Soldier introduce us to Melissa Gold and the Thunderbolts/Masters of Evil? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments!