With the Disney+ debut of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier,
Sam Wilson is set to take on a leading role in the MCU — so there's no better time to find out
a little more about his comic book history. This is the untold truth of the Falcon.
The Falcon first debuted in Captain America 117, which was published all the way back in 1969. In
this comic, Sam Wilson is a resident of Harlem who discovers that a group of Hydra agents,
led by the Red Skull, are operating out of a tropical island called Exile. Wilson and his
trained falcon, Redwing, soon discover the group's nefarious plan, and along the way he learns that
they've been enslaving indigenous tribes on the island. Sam is then encouraged by Captain America
himself to adopt a superhero moniker of his own and save the islanders from the Red Skull's men.
Artist Gene Colan had the idea for the Falcon partly as a response to the civil rights movement,
and, for a number of reasons, he's generally regarded as one of the more empowering characters
of the Silver Age of Comics. For one, he's arguably the first mainstream Black hero to not
actually have the word "Black" in his name. Falcon was also considered an equal to Captain America,
rather than a sidekick, and the two famously received co-billing in the
ongoing Captain America series — for almost a hundred issues.
Despite receiving co-billing with Cap, however, it took a long time for Falcon to get a chance
to shine in his own series. Indeed, his origin story has been retconned several times, and,
like many other comic book heroes, he's bounced between several different teams over the years.
Falcon finally appeared as a solo act in a 1979 issue of Marvel Premiere, a "tryout" series that
the company used to gauge interest in new material, although it didn't lead to much.
Four years later, he led a four-issue miniseries that identified Sam Wilson as a mutant,
but that plot twist was wisely retconned in 2001.
It wasn't until 2017, almost 50 years after the character's debut,
that the Falcon got his own true solo series: the sensibly titled Falcon,
led by writer Rodney Barnes and artist Joshua Cassara. However, as Marvel fans will know,
Wilson led his own series a few years before that — but it wasn't as the Falcon at all.
Starting in 2014, Sam Wilson replaced his original partner, Steve Rogers, as Captain America.
The transition occurs after Rogers has the Super-Soldier Serum drained from his body during
a battle with Iron Nail, which forces him to hang up the shield as he rapidly ages into an old man.
Considering how long the two had fought side by side,
Wilson was a natural fit to take over the role and continue Captain America's legacy.
This makes the ending of Avengers: Endgame even more significant to longtime fans of
the comics — since both Bucky Barnes and Sam Wilson have taken up the shield in the comics,
it really could have been either of them that filled Steve Rogers' shoes.
But while Rogers and Wilson do share a knack for heroism, it will be interesting to see how the
Falcon's totally different backstory meshes with the role of Captain America in the MCU.
For his MCU appearances, Falcon was given a handful of technological upgrades that
fit with a more modern interpretation of the character. In his original iterations, however,
he was pretty much just a dude in a costume. As his character started to gain a bit more traction,
certain elements were added: for example, miniature solar arrays were inlaid into
the fiber, which allowed his suit to essentially provide its own power.
In both the movies and later iterations of the comics,
Falcon pilots a Stark Industries drone, codenamed "Redwing."
"Payload secure. Thanks, Sam."
"Don't thank me."
"I'm not thanking that thing."
"His name is Redwing."
"I'm still not thanking it."
"He's cute. Go on, pet him."
That's a far cry from his early years, though, when he was partnered with an
actual trained falcon named Redwing. Falcon's origin involves him forging a connection with
the bird, who's been with the character ever since that first issue of Captain America,
and the two share a bond that goes far beyond the emotional. It seems only right, then,
that Redwing stays by Falcon's side even when he takes up Captain America's shield.
Falcon has gone through a handful of other technological upgrades over the years,
too. His first modern costume was created at Captain America's request
not long after he made his debut, and it was even made by a familiar face: King T'Challa of Wakanda.
Originally, Black Panther designed Falcon's wings to have just a few basic features,
including the solar receptors, jet boosters, and a small handful of other tricks and gizmos.
Over time, however, Falcon has had T'Challa — and a few others — upgrade
his suit to give it the versatility and power to rival Marvel's slickest heroes.
One more recent iteration of the costume features holographic wings made of "hard light,"
which feature a maximum wingspan of fifty feet. The wings can shield him from enemy firepower,
they're virtually indestructible, and they can be manipulated into a
variety of shapes and configurations at the drop of a hat. All of this is
controlled through a cybernetic connection run through Falcon's mask directly into his brain,
meaning the whole system is controlled by his thoughts. Quite a leap from wings made of fabric.
"The receipt for your gear."
"Bird costume? Come on!"
"I didn't write it."
Falcon's origin story has been changed a few different times,
but one thing has remained constant: he was originally a relatively ordinary man with
no superpowers to speak of. Still, when he fights alongside Redwing in his debut story,
the connection between Wilson and his avian ally seems abnormally strong.
But it later turns out that the Red Skull himself helped give this power to Wilson,
as part of a plot that revolved around a very familiar Marvel MacGuffin — the Cosmic Cube.
In a later story, it's revealed that the Red Skull used the Cosmic Cube to brainwash
Wilson into turning against Captain America — an act which also established a telepathic
link between the Falcon and Redwing. As he grows into his role as Falcon,
Wilson learns to expand this link, and what begins merely as a means of communication
soon becomes the ability to see through Redwing's eyes.
Eventually, Wilson becomes able to see through any bird's eyes, and even access their memories.
But the Falcon's encounter with the Cosmic Cube had other side
effects as well — one of which would lead to a very unfortunate retcon.
The confusing nature of comic books can mean some characters are given many back stories.
Since so many different writers are involved in such a wide, shared universe, some pretty strange
contradictions and retcons can emerge if you go back far enough. And despite Falcon enjoying a
pretty strong debut, his character was later given a new — and immensely disappointing — origin.
In his original story, Falcon is a social worker from Harlem. That background was overturned in a
later run, however, in which it is revealed that Sam Wilson's true identity is "Snap" Wilson,
a Harlem mobster and pimp, who was essentially the epitome of an ugly
racial stereotype. His social worker origin is explained to have been a false memory,
implanted in Wilson's mind as a side effect of the Cosmic Cube's powers.
Fast forward a few decades to 2015, and it turns out that the "Snap" Wilson origin was
the actual false memory, implanted by Red Skull to sow confusion in the Falcon's mind.
Wilson's life as a social worker is subsequently revealed to be the real memory,
having simply been overwritten by the power of the Cube.
Comics love to critique, satirize, and subvert things that are happening in the real world,
and Falcon has tackled his fair share of real world issues, too.
One of the strangest instances of this occurred during a brief Avengers run that began in 1979,
when Wilson joined the team — and quit almost immediately.
At this point in time, the United Nations liaison for the Avengers is a man named Henry Gyrich,
who tasks Captain America with recruiting Falcon to join the team. However, Falcon
learns that Gyrich has merely tapped him to fill a racial hiring quota, and he isn't best pleased.
Falcon has come and gone from a variety of teams over the years,
but he has almost always stayed true to his convictions. As a character,
he believes in being recognized for a person's skills and abilities, and his principle in
quitting a group like the Avengers due to being a "token" hire epitomizes that belief.
In many ways, Sam Wilson was the one who helped Steve Rogers heal from the grief of
losing his old partner, Bucky Barnes. When it is revealed that Bucky has been alive
all along — albeit having been brainwashed into becoming a Soviet assassin — Wilson is
there for Rogers as they try to help Barnes regain his memories. Their dynamic in the MCU
is a little different than in the comics, as, in the movies, the Falcon and Captain
America don't have half a century's worth of history together. In the comics, however,
a mutual respect is earned between Sam and Bucky — not just because of their relationship with Cap,
but because they both spent time carrying the shield when Rogers stepped aside.
There weren't many storylines that really explored this relationship properly,
though — until the 2020 Falcon & Winter Soldier series, that is. When the series picks up,
Falcon is back in the bird-suit and Bucky has received a pardon for his murderous past — but
it's contingent on working for an agency that locates and eliminates domestic terrorists.
The series forces Wilson and Barnes together as they try to track down
Baron Zemo — as well as a handful of other villains, including the Natural, a psychotic
teenage assassin with a Captain America fetish. Over time, the series deepens their friendship
and allows both to evolve as heroes — much like the upcoming Disney+ series is poised to do.
Not too much is known about the Disney+ Falcon and Winter Soldier series so far,
as Marvel and Disney have been typically tight-lipped about what to expect.
But one or two details are certain, at least.
"Oh yeah, I can see it working. Gears turning — oh, they're malfunctioning. They're on fire!"
"God, I hate you."
Most importantly, both Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan will be continuing in their
respective roles of Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes, joined by returning MCU stars Emily VanCamp,
who plays Sharon Carter, and Daniel Brühl as the nefarious Baron Zemo.
Joining the cast is Wyatt Russell, who is taking on the role of John Walker,
the U.S. government-approved replacement for Steve Rogers.
With Wilson having been handed Captain America's shield at the end of Avengers: Endgame,
it seems certain that the show will focus on Wilson's transition from the Falcon to
the new Captain America. The series was created and written by Malcolm Spellman,
who is best known for writing several episodes of the TV series Empire.
Very few details are known about The Falcon and the Winter Soldier's plot,
but it isn't all that hard to figure out which comic books have inspired the series'
story — especially considering where the characters ended up after Avengers: Endgame.
The most likely route for the show to take would involve borrowing beats from the Captain America:
Sam Wilson run. In 2015, Captain America fought that battle with the Iron Nail,
which led to his rapid aging and subsequent retirement from his life as a superhero.
Rogers then passes the mantle to Sam Wilson, who has to cope with the responsibilities of becoming
Captain America. In light of the similar circumstances at the conclusion of Endgame,
this storyline seems a likely influence on the series.
Beyond that, though, anything could happen. But considering the involvement of so many villains
and anti-heroes — including Baron Zemo, John Walker, Batroc the Leaper, and Flag-Smasher — you
can be sure of at least one thing: Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes are gonna have their hands full.
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