Falcon And Winter Soldier Explained - Who Is Isaiah Bradley?

by Ewan Paterson

Isaiah's Grandson Also Makes His MCU Debut

The Falcon and The Winter Soldier Eli Bradley
Marvel Studios

Isaiah Bradley's legacy goes beyond just purely Captain America though. In the comics his grandson, Eli, becomes the superhero known as Patriot. Patriot is a co-founder of the Young Avengers, and also makes his MCU debut in the same episode as his grandfather, with actor Elijah Richardson stepping into the role.

In the comics, Patriot gains his powers through the use of Mutant Growth Hormone, a drug that enhances a given individual's physical abilities. Eli eventually stops using the drug though, and receives a blood transfusion from Isaiah that grants him the same super soldier abilities as his grandfather.

It's too early to tell if Eli will have a significant role outside of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, but the character was at one time supposed to appear in 2018's Black Panther, and given Marvel appear to be laying the groundwork for a Young Avengers team-up - with Kate Bishop, Ms. Marvel, Cassie Lang, Speed and Wiccan all in the mix currently - it would certainly appear as though he's in Marvel's plans.

Either way, one would imagine that both Isaiah and Eli will factor into future episodes of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, especially as Sam begins to contemplate reclaiming the shield back from John Walker. The legacy of Captain America has been blown wide open by the former's introduction, but only time will tell if the show is up to the task of unpacking it as thoughtfully as Truth: Red, White & Black.

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Content Producer/Presenter

WhatCulture's very own resident movie guy, Ewan has been working in the content creation biz for over 10 years now, having started as a freelance contributor to WhatCulture Gaming all the way back in 2015. After graduating with a First-Class Honours in History from Northumbria University in 2017 (where he won a prize for a totally killer dissertation on the Watergate years), Ewan took on the role of Comics Editor at WhatCulture and quickly developed WhatCulture Comics into one of the biggest superhero-focused channels on YouTube. He followed this with a brief hiatus at Screen Rant in 2021, where he worked across the Gaming and Film sections as a writer and editor, before returning to WhatCulture as a Senior Content Producer / Presenter in 2023. He started his own podcast, We Love Dad Movies, in 2022, and has contributed several written pieces to the Eisner-nominated comics website Shelfdust as well. In his current role, Ewan incorporates his love of cinema, comic books, and history into written pieces and video essays for WhatCulture's Film & TV channel, as well as WhatCulture Gaming and WhatCulture Horror, with a particular focus on nineties-era Dad Movies, old school Westerns, and Golden Age Hollywood Noir. John Carpenter is his fave, and he thinks Batman Beyond should never have been cancelled. If that's your vibe, you'll probably like his stuff.