Falcon (comics)
The Falcon is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was introduced by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Gene Colan in Captain America #117.
Samuel Wilson, known by his superhero alias Falcon, uses mechanical wings to fly, defend, and attack. He also has limited telepathic and empathic control over birds. After Steve Rogers retired, Wilson became Captain America in All-New Captain America #1 and the leader of the Avengers. Wilson's deceased nephew was the Incredible Hulk's sometime sidekick Jim Wilson, one of the first openly HIV-positive comic-book characters. Jim Wilson's father Gideon Wilson would go on to join the Gamma Corps.
In a significant move for representation in American comics, the Falcon became the first African American superhero and the second Black superhero to debut in a mainstream monthly publication, following Marvel's Black Panther. The character's prominence grew significantly in February 1971 with the release of Captain America #134. For the first time, the comic’s cover title was officially changed to Captain America and The Falcon. This issue marked a historic moment as an African American hero received co-billing on a major comic book, signaling a direct marketing effort to an even wider mainstream American audience.
Sam Wilson as Falcon and Captain America has made several media appearances, including in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, where the character is portrayed by Anthony Mackie in the films Captain America: The Winter Soldier ; Avengers: Age of Ultron ; Ant-Man ; Captain America: Civil War ; Avengers: Infinity War ; Avengers: Endgame ; the television miniseries The Falcon and the Winter Soldier as Falcon; and in Captain America: Brave New World as Captain America.
Publication history
Samuel Thomas Wilson, known as Falcon, was the first Black American superhero in mainstream comic books. The character first appeared in Captain America #117.Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Gene Colan, he came about, Colan recalled in 2008,
In mainstream American superhero comics, the only Black characters who preceded Falcon were Gabe Jones, Black Panther, Bill Foster, Spider-Man supporting characters Joe Robertson and his son Randy.
He was introduced as an unnamed former resident of New York City's Harlem neighborhood, who had adopted a wild falcon he trained and named Redwing. His own name, Sam Wilson, was not given until the following issue. When a group of men on an island "in the tropics" wanted a hunting falcon, Wilson answered the ad, only to discover that the self-dubbed "Exiles" were former Nazis in league with the supervillain the Red Skull. He escaped, but remained on the island to organize the natives to confront the Exiles, who had turned them into serfs. At the urging of Steve Rogers, whom he later learned was Captain America, Wilson took on the costumed identity of the Falcon and underwent training with Rogers to better inspire the villagers and lead the fight.
Through most of the 1970s, the Falcon and Captain America were a team in New York City. The series was cover-billed Captain America and the Falcon from issues #134–192 and 194–222, though still copyrighted as Captain America. In issue #186, writer Steve Englehart retconned aspects of the Falcon's past. Originally depicted as a former social worker, motivated by a desire to better the lives of inner-city youth, the Falcon was revealed as a mob-connected thug whose memories were altered by the reality-warping Cosmic Cube.
The Falcon briefly joined the superhero team the Defenders, appearing in issues #62–64, and was a member of the Avengers from issues #183–194. During this time he also starred in a solo adventure in issue #49 of the try-out series Marvel Premiere; however, the story was not a try-out for a Falcon series, but an intended fill-in issue of Captain America which was shuffled into Marvel Premiere when the editors objected to having an issue of Captain America with someone other than the title character as the star. He starred in his own four-issue miniseries in 1983, written by Jim Owsley. Its first issue was illustrated by Paul Smith with the final three issues by Mark Bright. The series revealed that the Falcon was a mutant, although this development was later retconned in The Avengers 2001 Annual.
After regularly appearing in Captain America vol. 2, the Falcon rejoined the Avengers in The Avengers vol. 3, #1. This time, he remained with the team, becoming one of its most prominent members by issue #57. Concurrently, he was also a supporting character in Captain America vols. 3–4. The Falcon next appeared in the short-lived Captain America and the Falcon series, in 2004 and 2005. After the events of the storyline "Avengers Disassembled", when the Scarlet Witch temporarily restored his criminal personality, the Falcon became a supporting character in Captain America vol. 5. The Falcon continued to play a significant role in the series after it returned to its original numbering, beginning with Captain America #600.
Falcon was a member of the Avengers in the 2012 Marvel NOW! relaunch.
On July 16, 2014, Marvel Comics announced that Sam Wilson would relinquish the mantle of Falcon and would become the new Captain America, succeeding Steve Rogers in the role. During this run, it is established that Sam Wilsons's "Snap" backstory as a drug dealing pimp was fake memories implanted by the Red Skull to discredit Sam through racism.
An ongoing series starring Sam Wilson as Captain America launched in October 2015, as part of Marvel's post-Secret Wars relaunch, written by Nick Spencer and Daniel Acuña.
Wilson temporarily returns to the role of Captain America in the 2017 miniseries Marvel's Generations.
Wilson resumed the identity of Falcon in a series written by Rodney Barnes that debuted in late 2017, the character's first solo series since 1983.
Fictional character biography
Early life
Samuel Thomas Wilson was born in Harlem, New York City, to Paul Wilson, a prominent minister, and Darlene Wilson. Wilson had a happy childhood and finds he has a natural affinity for birds. He takes up training pigeons, and has the largest pigeon coop in Harlem. In his teens, however, encounters with racism leave him jaded. When he is 16, Wilson refuses to join the church, believing his deeply religious parents to be ignorant for their faith. To his surprise, rather than put up a fight, his parents provide him with books on different religions and comparative theology. The next night, however, Sam's father is killed trying to break up a neighborhood fight. Two years later, his mother is shot and killed by a mugger one block from their apartment. The tragic death of his parents does not stop Sam from being a respected community volunteer.As a grown adult, Sam continued doing social work and meets Captain America on Exile Island. The once-peaceful island had been taken over by the Exiles, a group of would-be world conquerors who had collaborated with the Nazi supervillain the Red Skull during World War II. They had been betrayed by the Red Skull and were forced to remain in hiding on the island, enslaving the natives. Wilson finds and befriends Redwing, a falcon with which he feels a remarkably strong bond.
Becoming the Falcon
Wilson is an upright and cheerful social worker who is eventually lured to the Exiles' island and organizes the natives to fight for their freedom. Steve Rogers befriends him there and convinces Wilson to adopt a persona to inspire the natives in their rebellion. The two create the costumed persona the Falcon and train together extensively before attacking and defeating the Exiles and the Red Skull. The Falcon becomes Captain America's regular partner in crime-fighting, and briefly even takes on the Captain America costume and identity when Rogers is believed to have been killed.Later, again as the Falcon, Wilson receives help from Black Panther, who creates a harness for him, allowing him to fly. When Rogers briefly abandons his Captain America identity, others attempt to take up the mantle, including a young man named Roscoe whom the Falcon mentors. When the Red Skull eventually kills Roscoe, Rogers again becomes Captain America.
Soon afterwards, the Red Skull tricks Sam into believing that he had a secret past as Snap Wilson, a professional Los Angeles criminal and gang member persona created out of grief and "angry at the world" following the death of Sam's parents. Red Skull makes the untruthful claim that the Cosmic Cube was used to erase the memories of this Snap Wilson past so that Sam could be used as a mole for Red Skull. Red Skull then unsuccessfully attempts to use the Cosmic Cube to make the Falcon kill Captain America. Believing in the existence of this fake criminal past but deciding to continue as a hero, the Falcon is eventually named head of the Super Agents at the espionage agency S.H.I.E.L.D.
US government superhero liaison Henry Peter Gyrich then recruits Wilson, one of the few active black superheroes, to fill a mandated racial quota for the venerable team the Avengers. Resentful of being a "token", the Falcon quits at the first opportunity. He debuts a new costume when he fights the supervillain Taskmaster.
2000s
Falcon becomes a member of the new team of Avengers assembled to fight the international menace Scorpio as a United Nations peacekeeping agency. By this point, Falcon had discovered that he could extend his telepathic bond with Redwing, allowing him to control other birds and "see" through their eyes. He uses this ability to spy on Henry Gyrich and discovers that the United States' Secretary of Defense, Dell Rusk, has been pressuring Gyrich to spy on the Avengers and turn over their secrets. Although initially hostile to one another, Falcon convinces Gyrich to help the Avengers spy on Rusk, feeding him false information while gathering evidence to expose him. They discover that Rusk is actually the Red Skull, who has launched a biological weapon attack on the United States, intending to use the ensuing panic to gain control over America's government and start a war with other countries. Falcon is instrumental in defeating the Red Skull.It is around this period of time that, a new "Captain America" secretly created by the Office of Naval Intelligence goes rogue and begins eliminating anything and anyone he sees as a source of terrorism. To draw out this agent, O.N.I. leaks information about their involvement in a biological weapons project with the notorious Rivas Family, powerful Cuban drug lords. Reporter and social activist investigates this rumor and attempts to smuggle a sample of the virus into America, but she is arrested by U.S. forces in Cuba. Falcon, who is a friend of Taylor, breaks her out of prison and investigates her claims, destroying the Rivas Family's biological weapons lab and obtaining a sample of the mysterious virus they were developing for O.N.I. Falcon is able to fly Leila back to America while Captain America follows Falcon's directions and retrieves the virus sample. The Anti-Cap kills the head of the Rivas family, and pursues Leila, Falcon, and Cap, intent on obtaining the virus sample. After reuniting, Falcon and Captain America are able to barely defeat the Anti-Cap. Realizing that O.N.I.'s goal was to draw out their rogue agent to execute him, Captain America arranges to have the Anti-Cap secretly imprisoned in the Wakandan embassy until O.N.I. agrees not to kill him.
Since Captain America and Falcon now possess both O.N.I.'s rogue agent and the last remaining sample of O.N.I.'s virus, O.N.I. begins to put increasing amounts of pressure on the heroes. Falcon is especially targeted – he had broken Leila out of Federal Custody, and his alleged criminal history makes it easier for O.N.I. to create further false charges against him. Falcon soon finds himself on the run from O.N.I.
Meanwhile, the superheroine the Scarlet Witch, having gone insane, begins using her powers to recreate many of the Avengers' greatest trials and tragedies. She destabilizes the Falcon's mind, causing him to act increasingly like the "Snap Wilson" persona. He begins carrying a gun, keeps secrets from his friends, assaults Leila's boyfriend Norman when he protests they go into hiding, and uses a high power rifle to shoot at his friend Robbie Robertson. Although they succeed in exposing the illegal activities of O.N.I. and clear Wilson's name, Sam's methods cause his relationship with Captain America to become strained. Cap confronts Falcon about his recent actions, and Falcon, angered at what he sees as an ultimatum, terminates their partnership. As they are walking away, Norman appears and shoots at Falcon. Captain America is seriously injured by the stray bullets, and even appears to die. The shock of watching his best friend seemingly die because of his actions has a powerful effect on Sam, who briefly gives up being Falcon and reexamines his life.
Sam Wilson reappears as Falcon in the 2005 "House of M" storyline and in the 2006–07 "Civil War" storyline. In the latter, he supports Captain America against the Superhuman Registration Act. When Captain America is incapacitated, Falcon temporarily assumes leadership of the "Secret Avengers" rebel group. Following Captain America's assassination by the machinations of the Red Skull, the Falcon registers with the government and is made responsible for Harlem, although he continues to maintain contact with the underground New Avengers. He is also called upon to investigate the Captain's assassination by locating Winter Soldier and tracking down the Red Skull.