Sam Wilson (Marvel)
Sam Wilson is a male comic superhero who features in Marvel Comics.
Contents |
Biography
Origin
Samuel Thomas Wilson was the son of Reverend Paul Wilson and Darlene Wilson with him being one of three siblings with him having a brother named Gideon Wilson and a sister named Sarah Wilson. He grew up in Harlem where he came to idolise his father who was a man of faith that believed in God. One day, the 9 year old Sam witnessed his father looking to stop a fight between two rival gangs on the street leading to him being stabbed to death. This event changed his life as he began to spend more time at a church community centre after school. Then, he along with his sister were out with their mother when a mugger came upon them. Sam's mother gave him her purse but the criminal was so angry at so little money inside that he decided to shoot her thus killing Darlene Wilson. (Captain America v1 #277)
From a young age, he came to support his younger siblings by working two jobs and making sure they were not hurt. (All-New Captain America v1 #3)
After being 18 years old, he went to L.A. where he fell in with a local mob where he began to earn money. (Captain America v1 #186)
Falcon
With Leila, he travelled to Wakanda to enlist the aid of Black Panther in upgrading his suit. Whilst there, the bored Leila wanted to be in a city thus leading to her going to neighbouring Lagos where she was kidnapped by Harlem gangster Stoneface. (Captain America v1 #170)
Soon afterward, the Red Skull tricked Sam into believing he had a secret past as mobster named Snap Wilson who was born from Sam's grief and anger. This came to be wiped from his memories using the Cosmic Cube so that Sam could be a mole for Red Skull. (Captain America v1 #277)
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. (Avengers v3 #64) He used this ability to spy on Avengers liaison Henry Peter Gyrich and discovered that the United States' Secretary of Defense, Dell Rusk, had been pressuring Gyrich to spy on the Avengers and turn over their secrets. (Avengers v3 #61)
Falcon subsequently helped Cap track down the Winter Soldier. He was also the first to join with Captain America against the Superhuman Registration Act, and played a leadership role in the Secret Avengers. Following Captain America's assassination by the machinations of the Red Skull, the Falcon registered with the government and was made responsible for Harlem, although he remained in contact with the underground New Avengers. (Captain America v5 #25)
Sam later formed an initially uneasy alliance with Bucky Barnes after the latter became the new Captain America, and eventually became his partner. Together, the two faced continuing threats from the Red Skull and other villains. During a clash with the Watchdogs, both Sam and Bucky were taken prisoner, but with help from Redwing, Sam managed to free himself and prevent a terrorist attack. (Captain America v1 #604)
During the celebration, everyone came to depart except for Jet with the two sharing a drink together. This led to Sam getting drunk and he came to sleep with Jet Zola. The next day, he showed some regret over his actions though Jet was happy for a relationship to develop between the pair as she had come to like him. Their talk was then interrupted when the city came under attack from Dimension Z as Arnim Zola launched an invasion of Earth where he sent an army of mutates against mankind. (Captain America v7 #22) In the midst of the attack, Falcon used his ability to have birds to maintain a view of the city and scout the area. Jet accompanied him as they went to Zola's tower where she suggested that they infiltrate the structure in order to assassinate her father to stop the invasion. (Captain America v7 #23) He later broke into the tower to accompany her as Arnim Zola attempted to convince her to re-join him with this leading them eventually battling on the streets. During their fight, Arnim attempted to forcibly take Jet away but Falcon stopped him leading to the Bio-Fanatic looking to kill Wilson. He then learnt that Zola was in control of a bomb that was seemingly tied to his antennae with Redwing being sent to damage it but this simply triggered the activation sequence. Sam then took the bomb with him into low orbit where he intended to save everyone by sacrificing himself. (Captain America v7 #24) Miraculously, Wilson came to survive as a result of the Vibranium in his wings absorbing most of the blast. Jet then rushed to his side but Sharon Carter accused her of being a spy for her father. Upon seeing that the Avengers were turning on her, Jet abandoned them and fled back to her fathers side where she returned to Dimension Z with this leaving Falcon saddened over her departure. A week later, the heroes recovered with Steve Rogers formally declaring his new replacement to be Sam Wilson who took the mantle of the new Captain America. (Captain America v7 #25)
Captain America
His first assignment as Captain America was to investigate mysterious Hydra activity leading to him finding a secret base. Once there, he rendezvoused with Nomad with the pair driving deeper into the hidden operation that was utilising a doomsday weapon. (All-New Captain America v1 #1)
He next confronted Sin who attempted to psychologically assault him by claiming that the 'Snap Wilson' persona was the real him and it was overwritten by the Cosmic Cube. However, Wilson refused to accept these lies but then Sin threatened to kill Sam's family using her snipers. She ordered Wilson to jump off the cliff without his flight gear after which she called off her operatives as she thought the new Captain America was dead. Unknown to her, Redwing arrived to save Wilson who came to recover his gear and confront Sin. Their fight went to the sterilisation bomb that was about to launch where Sam helped damage it thus causing a chain of explosions that was destroying the facility. In the chaos, Sin lost her footing with Wilson attempting to save her but she refused to be helped by her enemy thus seemingly perishing from her fall. (All-New Captain America v1 #3) He later travelled to the next site where he was ambushed by the Armadillo and Cobra where he came to convinced the former to switch sides. (All-New Captain America v1 #4) Sam failed to stop the launch of Lucas's ship that carried infected fleas that were to be dropped from the air onto population centres to spread the plague. Instead, he was forced to battle Baron Zemo who badly wounded him though Sam used his ability to communicate with birds to call a large flight of them to come and consume the fleas before they dropped to the ground. Captain America was then saved by Nomad who was revealed to had been alive where Ian helped defeat Zemo. Despite Helmut's defeat, Ian revealed that their battle was not over as Zemo had a failsafe that was being enacted by Baron Blood with them having to stop the vampire. (All-New Captain America v1 #5) Wilson pursued the vampire into low orbit as Baron Blood attempted to detonate the bomb to spread the sterilisation plague. In their fight, Wilson came to be infected with the disease which led to him getting close to his foe and removing the bomb which detonated harmlessly in space. He then knocked Baron Blood further into space leaving the vampire frozen and making it easy for him to be recovered by S.H.I.E.L.D. Wilson later fell into the ocean where he was unconscious and nearly died but Misty Knight saved him. She provided him a cure for the sterility plague whereupon Sam rendezvoused with allies in order to recover Ian Rogers. (All-New Captain America v1 #6)
A series of events later came to be triggered when a mysterious hacker known as the Whisperer leaked S.H.I.E.L.D.'s secret plans to create a Cosmic Cube. As this was something that Wilson had opposed, he came to cut his ties with the agency. When S.H.I.E.L.D. later tried to capture the Whisperer, Sam helped him instead, believing the hacker's actions to be righteous, and S.H.I.E.L.D.'s potential retribution disproportionate. With the help of the Whisperer, Sam spent months taking down different Hydra cells, and struck a deal to acquire diplomatic immunity. (Captain America: Sam Wilson v1 #2) The parting of Wilson from his superiors took another step when he decided to stop working for the government, believing that the United States needed a Captain America who was more socially active than before. Captain America's divorce from the government was not without criticism, with certain Americans believing him to have become 'Captain Socialism'. Despite this, other citizens were shown to had fully supported this change. (Captain America: Sam Wilson v1 #1) During this time, Sam was drawn into a crisis when he and Iron Man aided Spider-Man in battling Warbringer. Joined by the Vision, Thor, Nova and Ms. Marvel, the group took down Warbringer and stopped his attempt to bring an army of Chitauri to Earth. Impressed by it all, the team became the newest incarnation of Avengers. (All-New, All-Different Avengers v1 #3)
Sam began to face public pressure to return the shield and mantle of Captain America to Steve, as does Maria Hill for the consequences of her actions on Pleasant Hill. He and Steve then begin to secretly plan for a way to get Hill to face her crimes publicly. During a press conference, Sam encounters the mercenary Chance who was about to kill Steve in the middle of his speech. After defeating him, Sam receives a hero's welcome when Steve announces him to the public as Captain America. While getting arrested, Chance tells Sam that he was on Pleasant Hill and that he did not agree with the heroes' actions. (Captain America: Sam Wilson v1 #9)
Return of the Falcon
As a result, he relinquished the mantle of Captain America in the process, and returned to his former alias of Falcon. (Avengers v1 #672)
In an effort to re-connect to the country beyond the threats usually tackled by superheroes, Sam began to focus his efforts on de-escalating street-level issues. Afterwards, he teamed up with the new Patriot and set about stopping crime within America where he looked to end gang fighting in Chicago. This saw him going to the Chicago streets to stop a conflict between two gangs. (Falcon v2 #1)
He came to investigate a string of mysterious murders that were occurring leading to him finding Bucky Barnes who was also looking into the deaths. During their search, the two were beset upon by a young man calling himself the Natural. He claimed to had been a fan of Captain America and had been brainwashed along with enhanced by Hydra to kill the pair. Despite their skills, the two were defeated but the Natural stated that he wanted to give the two another chance with him wanting to fight the heroes again. (Falcon & Winter Soldier v1 #1)
Symbol of Truth
Overview
Personality and attributes
The Red Skull's manipulations of reality once led Sam to believe that he was once a mobster named Snap Wilson. (Captain America v1 #277) After Steve Rogers lost his powers, he came to pass his mantle to Sam who became the new Captain America. (Captain America v7 #25)
Even as a child, he was friendly and joyful to people. (Captain America v1 #186)
Steve Rogers had said that Sam Wilson was the most upright person he had ever met. (Captain America v1 #186) He would comment that he quite liked Exile Island as it was where he met his two best friends namely Steve Rogers and Redwing. (Captain America and the Falcon v1 #11)
His father had an uncompromised faith in his fellow man with a certainty in a better tomorrow. Sam, however, came to see him as a hopeless dreamer after having seen the worst in the world by the time he was 14 years old. Despite not sharing his fathers faith, he came to worship him all the same as he gave people a reason to hope and a reason to be better. (All-New Captain America v1 #1)
Sam's mother that looking after family alone should not be the goal of a person as a community was needed that could support one another. She taught him that cooperation was mandatory in order to achieve anything real and lasting in life. This saw her telling him that by not trying to help others that it meant the person gave up everything. (All-New Captain America v1 #6) The death of his mother a year after his father nearly broke him. (All-New Captain America v1 #1) After that time, he was determined to ensure that no one hurt the people he loved ever again. (All-New Captain America v1 #3)
His sisters kids were said to had made him happy and he cared deeply for them. Sam had said that seeing them happy made his fights more worthwhile in the end. (All-New Captain America v1 #6) He loved his uncle Rashon who taught him to play baseball with him teaching Sam that he could change the world. (Falcon v2 #3)
After losing his parents, he was angry at the world for taking so much from him but he did not lash out as he remembered his father's sermons. (All-New Captain America v1 #1)
He used to tell his sister that he wanted to have his own family and pass everything his mother as well as father had taught him to his own kids. She said that he would never be happy unless he had a family of his own. (All-New Captain America v1 #6)
He later shared a drink with Jet Zola with him becoming drunk and later sleeping together. At first, Sam regretted it but Jet stated that she had come to like Wilson and wanting a relationship with him. (Captain America v7 #22) Sam came to equally care for her and was saddened when she left to go back to Dimension Z. (Captain America v7 #23) Whilst serving as Captain America, he developed an attraction to Misty Knight who kissed him. (All-New Captain America v1 #6)
Powers and abilities
At one point, he came to be mistaken for being a Mutant by a Sentinel. (Falcon v1 #2)
Wilson came to discover that he could extend his telepathic bond with Redwing allowing him to control other birds and 'see' through their eyes. (Avengers v3 #64) He was later shown to had commanded large flights of birds and coordinate their activities which was a feat that he had never attempted before. (All-New Captain America v1 #5)
At Wakanda, his suit was enhanced in order to better allow Wilson to work alongside Captain America. This saw the addition of light yet super-strong glider-wings with integrated circuits powered by sun-charged power-pack that fed jets allowing for flight. Control was achieved via a direct link to Falcon's brain thus giving the Falcon the power of flight. (Captain America v1 #170) A vibranium microweave was added to the costume itself, making Falcon resistant to small arms fire. (Captain America and the Falcon v1 #6) The Vibranium wings were shown to be capable of absorbing the brunt of a powerful explosion with it saving Sam's life. (Captain America v7 #23)
A typical issue for Wilson was that ultimately he was an ordinary human being and lacked the enhanced superhuman traits of Captain America. As a result, it meant that it took time for his wounds to heal and his stamina as well as strength were not as strong as Steve Rogers. (All-New Captain America v1 #4)
Notes
- The Falcon Sam Wilson was created by Stan Lee and Gene Colan where he made his first appearance in Captain America #117 v1 (September, 1969).
- In Marvel Masterworks: Captain American Volume 4 (2008), Gene Colan recalled, "...in the late 1960s [when news of the] Vietnam War and civil rights protests were regular occurrences, and Stan, always wanting to be at the forefront of things, started bringing these headlines into the comics. ... One of the biggest steps we took in this direction came in Captain America. I enjoyed drawing people of every kind. I drew as many different types of people as I could into the scenes I illustrated, and I loved drawing black people. I always found their features interesting and so much of their strength, spirit and wisdom written on their faces. I approached Stan, as I remember, with the idea of introducing an African-American hero and he took to it right away. ... I looked at several African-American magazines, and used them as the basis of inspiration for bringing The Falcon to life."
Alternate Versions
- In Spider-Gwen v2 #2 (2015), an alternate world designated Earth-65 that was home to Spider-Woman had its own version of Sam Wilson. This world's Sam was actually an African-American woman named Samantha T. Wilson that lived in World War II who volunteered for Project Rebirth. She was among the candidates for the supersoldier treatment alongside Steve Rogers, Bucky Barnes and Isaiah Bradley. The scientist in charge namely Erskine was killed by Nazi spies but Samantha managed to undergo the treatment to become Captain America. She operated as a hero in the war but during a battle with Arnim Zola she became lost in another dimension and when she returned to her Earth it was after 75 years. She later learnt that Project Rebirth attempted to replicate the supersoldier serum in her and even created a clone of Wilson that was named Sam 13 to replace her. Samantha Wilson resumed operations as a hero and served in S.H.I.E.L.D. with her becoming a mentor to her clone sidekick with Sam 13 becoming the Falcon.
In other media
Television
- In The Avengers: United They Stand, Sam Wilson as the Falcon appeared in the animated television series where he was voiced by actor Martin Roach.
- In The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes, Sam Wilson as the Falcon appeared in the animated television series in the episode "Nightmare in Red" where he was voiced by actor Lance Reddick. He was shown to had been recruited by Secretary of Defense Dell Rusk to be part of Code Red that was a superhuman response team consisting of Red Hulk, Doc Samson and the Winter Soldier.
- In Avengers Assemble, Sam Wilson as the Falcon appeared in the animated television series where he was voiced by actor Bumper Robinson.
- In Ultimate Spider-Man, Sam Wilson as the Falcon guest starred in the animated television series where he was voiced by actor Bumper Robinson.
- In The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Sam Wilson appeared in the setting of the 2021 live-action mini-series set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe after Endgame where he was once again portrayed by actor Anthony Mackie.
Films
- In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Sam Wilson made a number of appearances in the shared continuity setting.
- In Captain America: The Winter Soldier, the character was introduced into the Marvel Cinematic Universe where he was portrayed by actor Anthony Mackie.
- In Ant-Man, the character appeared where he was once more portrayed by Anthony Mackie. He was shown stationed at the Avenger's Compound when Scott Lang as the Ant-Man was sent there to retrieve a device Hank Pym had constructed. Lang's attempt at infiltration were detected by Falcon with a fight emerging between the two. After a lengthy fight, Lang shrunk down into Falcon's pack and disabled it which in turn prevented his goggles from tracking Ant-Man. Following this point, Falcon attempted to track down the Ant-Man in order to recruit him for a mission for Captain America.
- In Captain America: Civil War, Sam Wilson returned in the live-action film where he was portrayed again by actor Anthony Mackie.
- In Avengers: Endgame, Sam Wilson appeared in the live-action film where he was once more portrayed by actor Anthony Mackie.
Video games
- In Marvel: Avengers Alliance, Falcon appeared in the setting of the Facebook video game.
- In Marvel Heroes, Falcon appeared as a support team-up character for Captain America in the MMORPG video game. The All-New Captain America version appeared as an alternate skin available for Captain America.
- In Marvel: Future Fight, Sam Wilson was introduced as a playable character in the mobile game where one of his skins resembled his Marvel Cinematic Universe counterpart.
- In Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order, Falcon appeared as a playable character in the video game where he was voiced by actor Bumper Robinson.
Appearances
- Captain America v1: (1969)
- Avengers v1:
- Captain America and the Falcon v1:
- Captain America v7:
- All-New Captain America v1:
- Captain America: Sam Wilson:
- All-New, All-Different Avengers v1:
- Falcon v2:
- Falcon & Winter Soldier v1
External Links
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