Falcon And The Winter Soldier Episode 3 Explained - Zemo's Return And Wakanda's Hitlist

5. The Super Soldier Serum Came From Isiah Bradley

The little conversation with Nagel reveals to us exactly how the Super Soldier Serum has come back into circulation, having spent years and years with all leads completely dormant since the death of Dr Erskine.

Nagel explains that he was working on HYDRA’s winter soldier programme after the failed Siberia tests, but when HYDRA fell, the CIA recruited him. The CIA had samples of Isaiah Bradley’s blood, and Nagel was able to isolate the serum from it.

After isolating the necessary bits, he began work on optimising it. He wanted to eliminate the aesthetics of the hulking super soldier, making the serum’s effects subtle enough that anyone could have taken it - which explains why the Flagsmashers are able to have Steve-ish strength without the big boy muscles.

Even with this work going well, nobody was immune to the blip. Nagel turned to dust and reappeared five years later to find the programme with the CIA was defunct, his research unfunded. In came the Power Broker, sinking money into his research, and here we are today!