In late 2019, it was revealed that a portion of the now delayed Marvel Studios Disney Plus streaming series The Falcon and The Winter Soldier would take place in Madripoor. Murphy’s Multiverse had some exclusive set photos which were followed by a great look at the action in photos which can be seen at the Daily Mail.
Now, thanks to a Murphy’s Multiverse reader known as Danny, we have an unprecedented look at Atlanta set that became Madripoor. The photos reveal new locations and give us a sense of the scope of the set. While it’s possible that these locations may just be Easter Eggs, there’s always the possibility that one of them may end up being a spoiler of some sort, so proceed at your own risk.
The first photo gives another, closer look at a location that first indicated to me that the set was indeed Madripoor. Patrons of mine might remember that in mid-December, before the set leaks confirmed Madripoor, I teased that there was a spoiler in one particular set photo that I had shared.
The above photo gives us a look at a sign for Stinger’s Strip House. It was this Stinger’s sign that first gave away Madripoor to me and that now, in light of the recent news of Marvel Studios developing a slew of new shows, might turn out to be more than a great, obscure Easter Egg.
During Jonathan Hickman’s 2009-2011 run on Secret Warriors, he introduced some appendices that included some “top secret” information about the team and a slew of secret bases kept by Nick Fury. Top on the list and indelibly etched into my mind despite never playing a big role in the series is Stinger, a safe house located in…you guessed it…Madripoor.
The inclusion of Stinger’s Strip House is either an incredible coincidence or an example of some deep cuts being added into The Falcon and The Winter Soldier. Given what we’ve already seen from the production, I’m inclined to believe it’s the latter and, I think that if Stinger’s is actually one of Fury’s safe houses, it works nicely to move the plot along. We’ve all wondered just what the boys (Bucky, Sam and Zemo) are doing together in Madripoor; maybe now we know that they hit up this safe house while on the run (and they’re not running from who you think they are! Their pursuer was actually seen in those Daily Mail set photos).
The idea of Stinger’s being one of Fury’s safe houses is even more interesting when we consider that since these shots were taken, Marvel Studios has begun development on a Secret Warriors project meaning we might just get even deeper into Nick Fury’s world! All speculation of course but it’s really hard not to start connecting those dots.
In addition to Stinger’s, there’s one more location in Madripoor that I believe to have been taken right from the pages of the comics: the Brass Monkey Saloon. The saloon, which has also been called the Bronze Monkey, made it’s first appearance in Captain America #363, Moon Over Madripoor, and written by Mark Gruenwald whose run is clearly the basis for much of The Falcon and The Winter Soldier. The Brass Monkey also popped up recently in Mark Waid’s Invisible Woman series and while it’s never been a major location, it’s a place where Lowtown’s shady characters assemble, punches get thrown and no questions get asked.
In the first picture above, you’d be hard pressed not to notice that the original sign of the bar was a brass monkey head. You may notice a similar, less subtle motif in this next set of exclusive set photos.
If that’s not an outdoor version of the Brass Monkey, then I don’t know what it is. It’s possible that the boys pass through here and may even come into conflict with some of Lowtown’s less desirable inhabitants; it’s also possible it’s just a very cool nod to Gruenwald’s 2 issue arc that saw Cap chasing Crossbones into Madripoor after he had abducted Diamondback. Either way, these photos show an incredible level of detail and preparation that went into a temporary set.
There are several more photos here that show a Casino, a tattoo parlor and do a great job of showing the fine details on the Madripoor set.
The level of detail and effort to build Madripoor into a multicultural crime den is incredible. We don’t know right now when we will see The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, but for MCU fans who aren’t avid comic book readers, it looks like their introduction to Madripoor is going to be memorable!
