“A lot of the excitement had to do with the introduction of a new character, Joaquín Torres, and the sense that he would evolve into the next superhero,” says Chon Noriega, a UCLA professor of film, television and digital media, of Ramirez’s Falcon debut. “But there’s another reason for the excitement. Often, Latino characters that appear in sci-fi, fantasy, and action films are the first ones killed. So this series starts by signaling hope that Joaquín is here to stay, and the actor, too.”