Sam Wilson is a promising genius with both technology and science and has secretly worked with Tony Stark on technological advances and special armor.[1]
After Captain America was thought to have been killed by the Red Skull, Iron Man activated the Avengers Protocol to reassemble the Avengers. Sam responded to the call in the Project Red-wing armor. Taking the identity as the Falcon, Sam Wilson joined the Avengers and was subsequently fired from S.H.I.E.L.D. by Nick Fury.[1] He rejoined S.H.I.E.L.D. after the Avengers split into two teams, but resigned after Ultron was defeated.
History
Sam Wilson served as a member of S.H.I.E.L.D. and often trained. However, during one of his training sessions, where he was scolded so viciously by Nick Fury, he received the Avengers Protocol from Iron Man. After being asked by Nick Fury where he was going, Sam told him that he was heading into the big leagues. However, Fury questioned what could be bigger than S.H.I.E.L.D. as he left. Upon entering Stark Tower, Sam was greeted by J.A.R.V.I.S., whom he expressed his interest in becoming a member of the Avengers too. Though JARVIS told him that Iron Man had suggested that he wear the War Machine armor, Sam insisted on wearing the Red-Wing suit, later called the Falcon Armor. In the meantime, the other responders of the Avengers Protocol went with Iron Man to fight Red Skull at the Arctic Base. Sam learned of their location and made his way there.
He met up with the other Avengers after taking down agents of HYDRA and soon found himself on the receiving end of suspicion from Hawkeye. After having his name cleared by Black Widow, he joined the Avengers in aiding Iron Man and Captain America, the latter having had his mind placed in Red Skull's body and fighting his enemy in his own. After successfully taking down Red Skull and having the latter placed in the machine he used to switch bodies with Captain America, Falcon was given the permission of Captain America to switch their bodies back and soon thanked by him. After M.O.D.O.K. woke up from his unconsciousness and attacked Iron Man, Falcon participated in trying to get through the force field with the other Avengers as M.O.D.O.K. removed Iron Man's armor and arc-reactor, placing it on Red Skull and causing the latter to dub himself the Iron Skull.[1]
After moving into Avengers Tower, Falcon tried flying there with the cookies that his mother had made for the team, only to be encountered by Iron Man, who tried messing with him.[2]
On his day off from working for the Avengers, Falcon went with Hawkeye to a carnival, where he became annoyed by his constant winning of stuffed bears as prizes for having succeeded in the games there, leaving him be before Hawkeye was confronted by Black Widow, who informed him of Molecule Man returning. Falcon overheard Hawkeye, who, as being told by Black Widow not to inform Iron Man, swore that he would be angry, leading Falcon to question the pair on what he meant. When they failed to convince him that they were discussing a "surprise poker party", Falcon left the two alone.
Hawkeye and Black Widow went after Molecule Kid, and despite their efforts, they were not only unable to retrieve his wand from him without the interference of the other Avengers as they intended, thanks to Captain America coming to save the pair after they were stopped in their tracks by Molecule Kid, who trapped them in "honey" but also had to deal with the M.O.D.O.K.-controlled Super-Adaptoid intervening as well. Falcon came to their assistance, flying over Hawkeye and Black Widow as they argued and called for one of the pair to free Captain America, who had been caught in a bent pole made to bend by Molecule Kid's wand. Falcon gave his all against the Super-Adaptoid but found it difficult to significantly harm it, prompting the other Avengers to assist him until Iron Man arrived and broke the wand when trying to get it out of the hands of Molecule Kid.
The wand's shattering sent the group into an alternate dimension, which Falcon was caught into. There, he assists in attempting to stop Super-Adaptoid from harming Molecule Kid and the others by holding him down as Iron Man, Hawkeye, and Black Widow convince him to assist them in using the wand to return things to normal. Once this was done, the group returned to their normal dimension.[3]
Personality and traits
Being the newest member of the Avengers, Falcon's personality is an extension of his inexperience. When he first joined the Avengers, Falcon was jittery, extremely self-conscious, and oblivious, although he was an adept young superhero who longed to fit in with the member of the team and was eager to please.[2] Set on making a good impression, Falcon would go out of his way to make sure the Avengers were comfortable, bringing homemade cookies made by his mother as a concession to a team meeting.[2]
He can occasionally lose focus when impressed by something but can regain his concentration when corrected. An avid fan of all his teammates, especially his mentor Tony Stark, Falcon oftentimes came off as a glorified admirer rather than an actual asset to the Avengers. He would also sometimes express grandiose delusions when commanded by his older teammates, adding more to his anxious personality. Mending Iron Man after the loss of his Arc reactor, both he and Captain America expressed their gratitude towards Falcon. Readily starstruck, he asked them both to reiterate their words of praise back into his cellphone, wishing to make it his ringtone.[4] Falcon also showed an apparent fear of the Hulk, as many do.[2]
For all his inexperience, Falcon is enthusiastic and determined to make up for his ignorance.[4] Being gifted in the intellectual arts, he is inspired when solving acts of heroism using his head more than his powers.[4] His skill set was apparently infamous within the ranks of S.H.I.E.L.D. training class; when Iron Man set out the call, activating the Avengers Protocol, re-gathering the team so that they can avenge Captain America, Falcon was in the middle of training with Nick Fury when the call came and he abandoned his training session, though not before Nick Fury put his reputation into question due to his shift in behavior.[1]
Powers and Abilities
Abilities
Genius Level Intelligence: Like his mentor Iron Man, Falcon shows a remarkable proclivity toward science. He is gifted in at least physical sciences, being able to determine the specifics needed to siphon a vortex of energy into space with minimal communication of the idea.[4] Additionally, Falcon had absorbed extensive knowledge about the inner workings of the Arc reactor and the Iron Man armors. An example of this can be seen when he restarted a dying Tony Stark's heart, using only equipment available to him within Stark's laboratory.[4] Falcon is also a genius when comes to tactics and preparations. When he was S.H.I.E.L.D., he studied the Avengers and devised countermeasures and contingency plans for taking them out if they ever turned evil or succumb to mind control.
Hand-to-Hand Combatant: As a former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, he is trained in hand-to-hand combat.
Peak Human Conditioning: As a former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, Sam is in top physical shape. He was able to recover from physical trauma caused by the Hulk landing on him within a day or two.
Paraphernalia
Equipment
Red-Wing Armor: His suit enables him to have a set of powers to make up for his lack of superpowers.
Holographic Programs: The suit is embroidered with holographic wings, which can produce explosive flechettes[4] and retractable talons.
Flight: For transportation, the holographic wings permit him to fly at incredible speeds and with more precision than the most advanced aerial vehicles.
Sensory Systems: The suit also has advanced[4] x-ray scanners and a heads-up display, which are embedded in the face mask.
Enhanced Strength: With the Redwing armor, he was strong enough to lift the Hulk and throw him onto the river in order to wake him up, after the Serpent "knocked" him out.
Enhanced Durability: The armor's plating gives him high resilience to physical trauma. This was seen when energy shots just bounce off him. His greatest feat of durability was when he received only moderate injuries from the Hulk landing on him at high speeds.
Relationships
Iron Man
Iron Man is Falcon's mentor and team leader. Sam respects and admires Tony, since he is the one who convinced him to become an Avenger. In Exodus, Tony is deeply shaken for having put Sam's life at risk and stays behind with him while the other Avengers fight Red Skull. When Sam awakes, determined to head to battle, Tony tries to stop him. Sam expresses how much Tony has impacted his life and his words help Iron Man rebuild his confidence in his own leadership.
Captain America
Captain America and Falcon are good friends in The Avengers Protocol, Part 1 Sam was not wanting to knockout Captain America but realized that he and Red Skull switched bodies to keep Captain America's. He calls Captain America his hero in The Avengers Protocol, Part 1. It's been revealed in Ghosts of the Past that Falcon and Captain America did missions together to save the world and took Captain America's side at the end of Avengers Disassembled.
Hawkeye
Although Sam and Clint don't start their friendship with the right foot, they learn to respect each other in Downgraded.
Hulk
Hulk is Falcon's teammate. During the episode, ghost of a chance, falcon shows an apparent fear of hulk, but he learns to get used to him. Although, there's not much interaction between these two. But at least, they respect each other.
Black Widow
Black Widow is Falcon's teammate.
Thor
Thor is Falcon's teammate.
Nick Fury
Nick is Falcon's former S.H.I.E.L.D. commander.
Darlene Wilson
Darlene is Falcon's mother. She usually bakes cookies or cakes for his fellow Avengers.
Background information
In the comics, the Falcon was the second black superhero created (the first was the Black Panther) and made his debut in Captain America #117. His backstory was largely different from that in the show, as he was later revealed to be a sleeper agent pawn of the Red Skull, and had a past as a criminal. Also, the Falcon had a telepathic link with his pet falcon, Redwing, which he would later hone to other birds, but has never been fully explored.
The show's iteration of Falcon takes hints of the Ultimate Universe's Sam Wilson, who first appears during Ultimate Nightmare #1. In the Ultimateverse, Sam's a certified genius in the fields of engineering, mathematics and nanorobotics who both doubles as an Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. over being a member of the Ultimates or any Reserve teams and an adventuring scientist with a Microbot made wing harness of his own design.
Trivia
He was 17 years old during the first season. By the time of the fourth season, he was described as a young adult.
