For those of you who complained about the condensed traveling in the later seasons of Game of Thrones, I’m curious to see how you felt about all the travel in the latest episode of Falcon and the Winter Soldier because our characters sure did put some miles on that passport. Do superheroes require passports or do they just show up to the country flash their “bird costume” or vibranium arm and then just clear customs? Follow-up question, if you’re flying a plane that’s privately owned by a villain you thought was just a supervillain but turns out is a royal super villain, do you even require passports? Do planes like that even travel on the same grid as commercial flights? Also, who is flying that plane? Was it Zemo’s butler? And if so, why is he also providing drinks and food?! My man should be flying the plane at all times.

So many questions.

More seriously, we visited or were visited by a number of comic book hotspots in episode three. It all started in Madripoor which should have had all X-Men fans about losing their faces. After months of wondering if WandaVision was going to introduce mutants in some reverse House of M-like magic, along comes Falcon and the Winter Soldier casually strolling through an X-Men hotspot like it’s no thing. The only element missing in the background of that sequence was Wolverine with an eyepatch chewing on a stogie. There’s no way that that’s the last time we see Madripoor in the MCU. The door is slowly opening for the X-Men’s introduction, I’d say it’s possibly ajar. Maybe a crack? Mostly closed but not all the way? The MCU is aware of what it’s doing for sure. Did anyone else see the “X” on the gate that Karli Morgenthau was scoping out with her Flag-Smasher buddy? It looked very X-Menish.

After Madripoor, and a friendly discussion about the importance of Marvin Gaye, we ended up in Latvia where Bucky was tracked down and visited by the Dora Milaje. No doubt that Wakanda is going to be all types of pissed that Bucky, the White Panther himself, freed Zemo from prison. Not like that guy killed one of their Kings or anything. I doubt the show actually takes us to Wakanda, maybe Bucky promises Zemo to the Dora Milaje after their job is done, but hearing the whispers of the Black Panther score absolutely triggered some emotions in the ole heart cave. The loss of Chadwick Boseman still hangs heavy and I honestly didn’t expect the Wakanda presence this early in Phase Four.

Yet, there was another location mentioned in Latvia that had my comic book radar spinning out of control. A mention that had me turn to the Mrs. in the middle of our watch and exclaim what I think was happening. Now, the location is a place we’ve already visited in the MCU. We watch the country fall out of the sky in Age of Ultron and Zemo used that moment as the catalyst for his Avengers revenge plot in Civil War. There are also some pretty heavy accords written in honor of this location.

Sokovia.

When Zemo was talking to Sam about the Sokovia Memorial and if Sam has had a chance to view it, he also said something nonchalantly that may be pretty important for the future of the MCU. Important enough where I’m wondering if it busted open the door for one of Marvel’s biggest characters to make an entrance in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Concerning the state of Sokovia Zemo said, “I heard what became of Sokovia. Cannibalized by its neighbors before the land was cleared of rubble and erased from the map.”

(insert record scratch noise here)

Whoa, whoa, whoa, erased from the map? Cannibalized by its neighbors?! Could that possibly mean what I wrote in July of last year is coming true? For those of you who need a recap, and for some reason won’t just click that link, allow me to refresh-

Concerning Sokovia- We’ve already used Sokovia as the basis for Zemo’s origins in Civil War but let’s expand upon it a bit. What if the ashes of Sokovia evolve into something else entirely? A whole new country in fact. Something like, ummm, Latveria. Which just so happens to be the home country of Doctor Doom in the comics.

So, I ask you Geeklings, did Falcon and the Winter Soldier just set up the arrival of Doctor Doom to the MCU? It makes complete sense that Latveria would form out of the ashes of Sokovia. Zemo’s line about the country being erased from the map seems far too important to be just a throwaway and in the MCU is there such a thing as a throwaway line? Just look how hyper-focused we were looking for Mephisto. There’s no way that Zemo just casually mentions what happens to Sokovia only for the MCU to never go back there again. In fact, I think we’re going there in the next three episodes.

Why do I say that? Well, I do remember a scene from one of the trailers where Zemo, I think, was standing in front of the memorial statue he mentioned to Sam. If this is the case then we will see first hand what this cannibalization has done. Do we dare hear the whisper of Latveria? Do we dare hear about a man, with some serious magic skills, who is making a claim for a throne? Do we dare hear the name Victor von Doom?! We’ve been sitting here all this time thinking the X-Men are coming and Marvel seems poised to drop us smack dab in the middle of Latveria with the introduction of Doom within reach.

Now, I’m not saying that we actually see Doctor Doom in Falcon in the Winter Soldier. I know what too many theories did to some of your experiences with WandaVision. We’ve only got three episodes left (!!) and there’s a lot left to do. Who is the Power Broker? Will John Walker take the super-soldier serum? Who will be Captain America at the end of this? Will the Thunderbolts stem from this show? And I have some theories on those subjects for later in the week, but I feel pretty confident in thinking that we’ll be introduced to Latveria this season. Sokovia has been incredibly important to Phase Four thus far, I wouldn’t be surprised to see its importance grow to a central point of the MCU moving forward.

What do you think Geeklings, are we about to be introduced to Latveria? Is Doctor Doom on the horizon? Or am I just reading too much into this? Sound off in the comments below or throw me a line over on Twitter @iamgeek32. The MCU continues to grow and the inclusion of Latveria is inventible. The bigger question is, how long will we be waiting for that introduction? Maybe three more episodes?