Falcon (Samuel Thomas "Sam" Wilson) 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 (Sept. 1969), and was the first Black American superhero in mainstream comic books.
Samuel Wilson, or known as 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 retires, Wilson becomes Captain America in All-New Captain America #1 (Jan. 2015) and 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.
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 (2014), Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), Ant-Man (2015), Captain America: Civil War (2016), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), Avengers: Endgame (2019), the television miniseries The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (2021), and the upcoming film as Captain America in Captain America: Brave New World (2024).
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 (Sept. 1969).
Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Gene Colan, he came about, Colan recalled in 2008,
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 (Feb. 1971–June 1978), though still copyrighted as Captain America. In issue #186 (June 1975), 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 (August–October 1978), and was a member of the Avengers from issues #183–194 (May 1979 – April 1980). 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 (later known as Christopher Priest). 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 (Nov. 1996–Nov. 1997), the Falcon rejoined the Avengers in The Avengers vol. 3, #1 (Feb. 1998). This time, he remained with the team, becoming one of its most prominent members by issue #57 (Oct. 2002). Concurrently, he was also a supporting character in Captain America vols. 3–4 (Jan. 1998–Feb. 2002 and June 2002–Dec. 2004). 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 (Jan. 2005–July 2009). The Falcon continued to play a significant role in the series after it returned to its original numbering, beginning with Captain America #600 (Aug. 2009).