WARNING: The following contains spoilers for the first episode of Marvel's Falcon and Winter Soldier, now streaming on Disney+.
The first episode of The Falcon and The Winter Soldier wasted no time hooking audiences with its big screen action sequence and quality time with the main characters. Both Sam and Bucky are dealing with trauma, the former’s due to the havoc caused by the Blip while the latter’s centers around his past life as a human killing machine.
In government mandated therapy, it is revealed that Bucky has an amends list. This is a list of things he feels he needs to make right as part of his recovery from being the Winter Soldier. The list includes names like H. Zemo, a reference to Baron Helmut Zemo who may be the big bad for this series, but his isn’t the only name worth noting. Top of the list is one A. Rostov, an Iron Man villain from the comics who has also had run-ins with Bucky Barnes.
Andre Rostov, better known as The Red Barbarian, was a violent communist general who controlled a vast spy network. His primary goal was to steal weapon plans from Stark Industries. Iron Man foiled these plans but that didn’t keep the Red Barbarian away for long. The Red Barbarian also makes an appearance in the Iron Man & the Armor Wars series, which was a spin-off of the Armor Wars comics.
Later, in Captain America #616, he returned using the name Colonel Andre Rostov. He was the warden of the gulag where Bucky Barnes served time for killing two Russian citizens. Finally, Colonel Rostov met his end in Winter Soldier: The Longest Winter when he was assassinated by a mysterious sniper, rumored to be Barnes himself.
So far, Rostov has not made an appearance in the Marvel Cinematic Universe but a flashback scene could easily place him in Bucky’s past. A slight change to Rostov's origin story could make him one of the many Hydra agents Bucky encountered throughout his time as the Winter Soldier. Knowing Bucky's justifiable hatred of the organization, it makes sense that Rostov is top of the list and could be his next target, that is until Zemo resurfaces in an upcoming episode.
Rostov's appearance in the Iron Man & the Armor Wars comics could also point to Falcon and The Winter Soldier tying into the upcoming Disney+ adaptation of the same name. In the live action Armor Wars, Don Cheadle's James "War Machine" Rhodes will be tasked with taking down any enemy who has managed to steal Tony Stark's technology. Rhodey was among the crowd at the Smithsonian watching as Sam officially turned over Captain America's shield. They spoke afterwards, with Rhodey sharing the sentiment that the world is broken and promising to be in touch. His appearance in the show could simply be a cameo, however, Marvel fans know that almost nothing is ever that simple. With Rostov and Rhodey both having ties to Armor Wars, this could mean that Bucky and Sam will appear at some point in that series.
It is too soon to tell if Bucky will have time in the five remaining Falcon and The Winter Soldier episodes to go after the other names on his list. After all, he and Sam will be busy fighting the Flag-Smashers, Batroc, Zemo and possibly US Agent. But since this show isn't the end for Bucky Barnes, there is still time for him to make amends down the road. Showing up in Armor Wars to help Rhodey take down Rostov would be the perfect way to cross one more name off of the list.
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. Episode 1 is now streaming on Disney+.