WARNING: The following contains spoilers for The Falcon and the Winter Soldier Episode 5, "Truth," now streaming on Disney+.
The latest episode of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, "Truth," saw the defeat and downfall of John Walker, with Sam and Bucky finally reclaiming the shield from the disgraced Captain America. The majority of the episode finds Sam finally beginning to accept his role as the true successor of Steve Rogers. He even visits Isaiah Bradley for further perspective before finally returning home to his sister Sarah, where he bonds with Bucky as they restore his family's boat.
Though Sam has proven that he has the character to take up the shield many times over, the prospect of taking on super soldiers presents a physical challenge for the non-powered (and recently de-winged) hero. As such, "Truth" sees him train in a montage reminiscent of the iconic training sequences from the original Rocky movies.
In Rocky, an iconic montage set to "Gonna Fly Now" saw the titular boxer (played by Sylvester Stallone) jogging through the streets of Philadelphia leading up to the film's climactic fight. The trope of the pre-fight training montage continued on into the later films, with the workouts becoming more and more elaborate in subsequent movies. Notably, he trained with Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) in an iconic beach jogging scene before his rematch with Clubber Lang (Mr. T) in Rocky III, and in Rocky IV, he trained in the snowy Russian wilderness.
Sam is also training for an upcoming fight, albeit with higher stakes. Karli and the Flag-Smashers still remain a threat, as do the newly-freed Georges Batroc and a vengeful John Walker. To prepare, Sam works out around his family's property, doing conventional exercises like jogging and push-ups, as well as practicing shield throwing. Much like Rocky's training sequences, Sam struggles at first, especially handling the shield. However, as the montage continues (set to an inspirational, energetic score), he becomes more confident and skilled.
By the end of the episode, Sam seems to be in full Captain America form, able to perform gymnastic stunts while successfully throwing and catching the iconic shield. And if that wasn't enough, before the episode ends, he opens the Wakandan case Bucky gifted him, which more than likely holds his new red, white and blue duds. Going into the finale of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, the new Captain America has a lot on his plate, but he's more than prepared for it.
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. A new episode debuts each Friday on Disney+.