Captain America: Brave New World is the first solo feature film featuring the character of Sam Wilson in the lead. And it’s not insignificant, as Sam Wilson’s Falcon was the first African-American superhero in mainstream comics. Sam didn’t debut until Captain America #117 in 1969, a whopping 30 years after Superman (and thus, all superheroes) became comic book mainstays. Yes, that’s how long it took to get a Black American superhero in comics, sadly. But his stature has only elevated since his debut, especially since 2014, when he also became Captain America. But it was a long road for Sam Wilson from Cap’s sidekick to being Captain America himself.
1969’s Captain America #117 Introduces the World to Sam Wilson
If you are only familiar with the character of Sam Wilson from his MCU iteration, his backstory in the comics is quite different. Artist Gene Colan, famous for his work on Daredevil, came to Stan Lee with the concept of the Falcon. Colan specifically wanted an African-American hero in Marvel Comics, realizing that all the African-American characters at Marvel were supporting cast to Caucasian heroes. (Black Panther was already introduced in 1996, but of course, he was African royalty.) Stan Lee welcomed the idea, and Captain America #117, published in the summer of 1969, introduced the heroic Falcon.
Sam was the son of a Harlem minister who was a beacon for the community. Sadly, Sam lost both his father and his mother to violent crime at a young age. Instead of becoming bitter (like a certain Bat guy at DC), he devoted his life to helping the community through social work. During his young adulthood, Sam realized he had a special bond with birds of all kinds. He eventually shared an empathic connection with a falcon he trained called Redwing who became his constant companion (and later, ally in battle). He later revealed that he could connect with birds across the world and even “see” through their eyes. Professor X of the X-Men saw this as proof that Sam was a mutant, but later discovered he had no X-gene. The avian powers were a result of exposure to the Cosmic Cube, a.k.a. the Tesseract in the MCU.
Sam met Steve Rogers at a place called Exiles’ Island, where he was training Redwing. The once peaceful hideaway was now the home of former Nazis and other wannabe world conquerors, all collaborating with the Red Skull. There, Steve Rogers and Sam quickly became friends, and Cap began training him in hand-to-hand combat. He convinces Sam to adopt a costumed persona. Sam takes on the name the Falcon and he helped Cap liberate Exiles Island from its oppressors. He originally wore a green and orange costume, looking like something a pro wrestler might wear. That outfit was not to last.
Sam Wilson Becomes Steve Rogers’ Co-Headliner in Captain America and the Falcon
Fans instantly took to Sam, and he became Cap’s crime-fighting partner within a year. By 1971, the Falcon had a much improved red and white costume, and mechanical wings provided by the Black Panther, with Wakandan tech that allowed him to fly. From 1971 to 1978, Marvel renamed the series Captain America and the Falcon, elevating Sam Wilson to one of Marvel’s most prominent heroes. He was also one of Marvel’s first heroes to get his own action figure, as part of the MEGO World’s Greatest Heroes line in the ‘70s.
One of the most egregious decisions in the Falcon’s development came in Captain America #186 in 1975. Writer Steve Englehart, who wrote one of the all-time runs on Avengers, gave a new wrinkle to Sam’s backstory. Englehart revealed that the Falcon wasn’t really a social worker who helped the community. His true backstory was as a criminal thug with mob ties. The reality-warping Cosmic Cube altered his memories. Whether intentional or not, Englehart’s story forced Sam Wilson into a racist stereotype. Sam rejected his “true” past, choosing to embrace his new personality. Luckily, a 2014 story undid this retcon, stating that the Nazi villain the Red Skull used the Cosmic Cube to implant false, racist memories into Sam’s mind to make him doubt himself. The fix came late, but better late than never.
Sam Wilson Becomes an Avenger, and Eventually Captain America
In 1983, Sam headlined his own The Falcon four-part mini-series by Christopher Priest. He would also appear as an Avenger in multiple incarnations of the team over the next several decades. In addition, he returned to being a supporting cast member in the Captain America series. In 2014, Steve Rogers became an old man when the Super Soldier Serum was removed from his body. He bequeathed the name and shield of Captain America to Sam Wilson after years of working alongside him. This led to Sam headlining his own series by Rick Remender and Stuart Immonen in 2014, The All-New Captain America. In 2015 he’d get another new ongoing series, titled Sam Wilson: Captain America, this time from the creative team of Nick Spencer and Daniel Acuna.
Eventually, Steve Rogers got his youth restored, and took on the Captain America mantle once more. Sam Wilson became the Falcon again, but this return to his old identity was temporary. In 2021’s The United States of Captain America, Sam Wilson reclaimed the title of Captain America. He is now Cap alongside Rogers. He’s currently the leader of the Avengers as well. Despite having been around since the ’60s, it took a long time for Sam Wilson to receive the proper recognition as one of Marvel’s most important heroes. But now, he’s as important to the Marvel Universe as any long-standing member of the Avengers.