By Nermeen Nabil Khear 
Captain America: Brave New World sees Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson wielding the shield. This political thriller pits his Captain America against Harrison Ford’s General Ross, who has a powerful new alter ego, the Red Hulk. That’s a sentence that would have melted the brains of comic book fans 20 years ago, which makes you appreciate just how far Sam has come since his Marvel Cinematic Universe debut. He may have started out as Steve Rogers’ running buddy, but he went on to become the Falcon, fight space aliens with the Avengers, and eventually inherit his friend’s mantle to become the new Captain America. With this new Captain America film hitting theaters soon, now’s a great time to recap of Sam Wilson’s entire MCU history.
This summary also acts as a watch guide if you want to rewatch all of the Falcon’s exploits.
Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)
“On your left.”
Sam Wilson first appeared in the MCU as an innocuous, good-humored man going for a jog around Washington, D.C. who got repeatedly lapped by super soldier Steve Rogers. However, comic book fans knew he was destined to soar to great heights. The character of Sam Wilson was created by Stan Lee and Gene Colan in 1969. He made history as the first-ever Black American superhero in mainstream comics. Wilson first appeared in Captain America #177 in a team-up with Steve Rogers, who inspired him to become a costumed crime fighter, and thus the Falcon was born.
When Wilson first met Rogers in the MCU, he was a former US Air Force pararescueman who became a trauma counselor for veterans. The two bonded over the challenges that come with adjusting to civilian life after going to war. And just like that, a legendary partnership began.
Having made a trustworthy impression, Rogers sought refuge with Wilson while on the run from Hydra with Natasha Romanoff, the Black Widow. Though Sam was traumatized by the loss of his fellow pararescueman Riley during his time in the Air Force, he rose to the occasion when Rogers revealed that S.H.I.E.L.D. was infested with Hydra sleeper agents who were about to enact their master plan. “Dude, Captain America needs my help. There’s no better reason to get back in,” Wilson said.
Wilson volunteered to help take down Hydra with a little help from the prototype “EXO-7 Falcon” winged jetpack he used in the Air Force. Outfitted with his Falcon gear, Wilson fought alongside (and high above) Rogers and Romanoff as they battled Hydra and the Winter Soldier. Complicating matters, the Winter Soldier was revealed to be Bucky Barnes, Steve’s old best friend who was brainwashed into becoming a ruthless killing machine.
Knowing that Wilson and Barnes will eventually become best frenemies, it’s almost funny looking back at how they first met. They clashed atop a Helicarrier and immediately tried to kill each other. Barnes ended the fight by breaking off one of Wilson’s wings and kicking him off the flying ship. Getting grounded didn’t take Wilson out of the fight against Hydra, however. He cut off the murderous rampage of Hydra agent Brock Rumlow in the Triskelion, saving the lives of the World Security Council members. Then he engaged Rumlow in hand-to-hand combat. The fight wasn’t going so well for Wilson, so it’s fortunate that a Helicarrier cut their bout short by crashing into the building. He was forced to jump for his life into a moving helicopter, proving that even without his gear the Falcon is never afraid to fly.
With Hydra thwarted and S.H.I.E.L.D. disbanded, Wilson pledged to help Rogers locate Barnes, who disappeared after the Helicarriers went down. Wilson went from living an unassuming life to fighting an evil organization alongside Captain America, Black Widow, and Nick Fury, forever changing the trajectory of his future and kicking off his superhero career as the Falcon.
Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
The second Avengers movie saw Wilson make two short yet important appearances. The first comes during the party at Avengers Tower. Wilson catches up with Rogers and tells him he’s still searching for Barnes despite all of his leads going nowhere. “I’m very happy chasing cold leads on our missing person’s case. Avenging is your world, and your world is crazy,” he told Rogers.
Wilson shows up again during the Age of Ultron post-credits scene. The Avengers roster was shaken up after their costly battle with Ultron. Rogers puts together a new team of heroes featuring Black Widow, War Machine, Vision, Wanda Maximoff, and the Falcon. Notably, this is the first time Wilson dons a wingsuit with prominent red elements, giving it a more comic book-accurate look. This is a landmark moment for Wilson because he’s now an official member of the Avengers.
Ant-Man (2015)
During the events of Ant-Man, Scott Lang is forced to steal an important piece of technology from an old Stark Industries warehouse. But once he arrives, he’s flabbergasted to see the facility is now being used as the new base of operations for the Avengers. Lang sets off a perimeter alarm and is greeted by none other than Wilson, fully suited up as the Falcon.
Despite Lang’s good intentions for needing to steal the tech, Wilson moves to capture him and a chase across Avengers Compound ensues. Lang is able to get the best of Wilson by shrinking down small enough to slip into his flight suit and destroy its circuitry. Wilson is scuffed up from the incident but is mostly embarrassed for losing to Ant-Man, of all people, saying, “It’s really important to me that Cap never finds out about this.”
Captain America: Civil War (2016)
Captain America: Civil War kicks off with the Avengers in the middle of a mission to stop Crossbones and his goons from stealing a biological weapon in Lagos, Nigeria. During the fighting Wilson utilizes a flying drone he affectionately calls Redwing, a nod to his sidekick bird he shares a telepathic link to in the comics. Despite the best efforts of Wilson and his teammates Rogers, Maximoff, and Romanoff, there’s a tragic incident of major collateral damage and loss of life. This leads to severe consequences for the Avengers.
General Ross spearheads a new set of UN-mandated laws called the Sokovia Accords that forces superheroes to submit to government oversight, but the issue divides the heroes. Wilson vocally opposes the idea and naturally sides with his friend Rogers. A clash of ideals and super powers ensues with Tony Stark’s pro-Accords group. Making matters even messier, Barnes has resurfaced and is on the run after being framed for murdering the King of Wakanda.
The conflict escalates and comes to a head at an airport in Germany. The two sides suit up and battle it out across the tarmac, with Wilson reluctantly teaming up with Barnes and getting webbed up by Spider-Man, remarking, “Is that stuff coming out of you?!” When Rogers and Barnes make their escape in a plane, War Machine ends up taking friendly fire from Vision after Wilson dodges an attack mid-air. Instead of flying away, Wilson lands to check on Rhodey out of concern for his fellow hero. He pays for his good deed by getting knocked out by Stark and sent to the Raft prison along with Barton, Maximoff, and Lang.
When Stark shows up at the Raft in need of intel on Rogers’ whereabouts, Wilson agrees to tell him on the condition that Stark go “alone and as a friend.” After Stark and Rogers resolve their grievances like gentlemen (blasting and bashing each other nearly to death), Rogers breaks Wilson and the others out of prison.
This whole ordeal was the first time Wilson’s morals and character were truly put to the test. He showed nothing but loyalty and bravery, not to mention compassion, despite the consequences.
Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
Wilson’s heroic exploits had been relatively grounded up until this point. However, Avengers: Infinity War took things to an unimaginable level. Ever since the prison breakout at the Raft, Wilson, Rogers, and Romanoff were operating underground as fugitives. That all changed when the Children of Thanos were sent to secure the Infinity Stones on Earth, starting with the Mind Stone on Vision’s forehead. When Vision and Maximoff were attacked by Proxima Midnight and Corvus Glaive, it was Wilson, Rogers, and Romanoff who came to the rescue. The heroic trio fought together like a well-oiled machine, with Wilson launching missiles and landing jetpack-boosted dropkicks on the alien henchmen and sending them running.
With stakes higher than ever, Sam Wilson and company decided to come out of hiding and take a wounded Vision to Avengers Compound. There, they reunited with Rhodey and Bruce Banner. It wasn’t long before they took Vision to Wakanda for repairs. This is where the Avengers and the armies of the Black Panther made their stand against Thanos’ army of monstrous alien Outriders. Wilson teams up with War Machine to unleash an aerial assault of bullets and explosives. We see Wilson deploy a trio of Redwing drones that have astonishingly lethal capabilities.
Despite giving it their all, the heroes of Earth fall to Thanos once he makes his grand entrance and claims the final Infinity Stone. With a snap of Thanos’ fingers, Wilson turns to dust along with half the beings in the universe. For now, the Falcon’s wings were clipped, but this isn’t the end of his story.
Avengers: Endgame (2019)
After five years, the Avengers who survived the Blip managed to miraculously resurrect everyone snapped away by Thanos. The celebration was short-lived thanks to a time-traveling Thanos unleashing his army on Avengers HQ. After a brutal battle against the Mad Titan, Rogers was the last man standing, which teed up Wilson to make the most epic return of all time.
“Cap, it’s Sam. Can you hear me? … On your left,” he radioed into Rogers’ comms, signaling his return along with all of Earth’s mightiest heroes. Sam Wilson stood next to Rogers as he bellowed his “Avengers assemble!” rallying cry and flew into battle against the alien horde. He did his part in protecting Hawkeye during the Infinity Gauntlet hand-off sequence, taking down a lumbering behemoth the size of a cave-troll by impaling it with his wings. In the end, Stark sacrificed himself to rid the universe of Thanos once and for all.
After attending a lakeside funeral ceremony for Stark, Wilson joined Banner and Barnes in taking measures to send Rogers on a mission to return the Infinity Stones to their proper place in time. To their surprise, Rogers returned as an elderly man sitting on a bench. Rogers gave Wilson his shield and some words of encouragement before passing onto him the mantle of Captain America.
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (2021)
While Rogers had every confidence in Wilson’s ability to take on the mantle of Captain America, the U.S. government had other ideas. After Sam Wilson decided to donate the shield so it can be part of the Captain America memorial exhibit at the Smithsonian, he is shocked and dismayed to see the government give it to U.S. war hero John Walker and name him the new Captain America. Deep down, Wilson didn’t think he was worthy enough of Cap’s legacy to wield the shield himself. But his decision to give up the shield resulted in the government tarnishing that legacy and using it for their own agenda.
A dark secret comes to light when Wilson reteams with Barnes to track down the Flag Smashers, a group of terrorists who are somehow juiced up on Super Soldier Serum. Tracing the origin of the new serum leads to aged war veteran Isaiah Bradley. He tells Wilson that during the war he was given the serum and turned into a super soldier. While Steve Rogers became a hero adored by the public, Bradley was secretly imprisoned and experimented on by the government and Hydra for three decades. Given what America did to him, Bradley is adamant there should never be a Black Captain America. It’s this disturbing revelation that forces Wilson to interrogate the legacy of Captain America and, ultimately, decide to redefine it for himself.
Going up against the enhanced Flag Smashers made Wilson struggle with whether he should take the Super Soldier Serum to gain super strength, speed, and endurance. Walker becomes a cautionary tale when he winds up taking the serum himself. After watching his partner get killed in battle, Walker goes into a rage and chases the Flag Smasher responsible into public before murdering him with the shield. This bloody act is filmed by civilians for the world to see, turning the public perception of Captain America into one of brutal violence. After hearing the true plight of the Flag Smashers, considering what happened to Bradley, and watching Walker tarnish the legacy of his friend Steve Rogers, Wilson finally decides to reclaim the shield and become the new Captain America. But he chooses to not take the serum because he wants to be Cap in his own way.
With Sam Wilson officially becoming the new Captain America, he passes the mantle of the Falcon on to his U.S. Air Force partner Joaquin Torres. Wilson goes back home to Louisiana to spend time with his family and train to throw the shield. Barnes gives him a new Vibranium-lined Captain America costume, courtesy of their Wakandan friends the Dora Milaje.
The conflict with the Flag Smashers comes to a tragic end. The Flag Smashers take the members of the Global Repatriation Council (GRC) hostage because they are planning to forcibly relocate people displaced by the Blip. Wilson, dressed in his new red, white, and blue superhero costume, flies to the rescue. Despite his best efforts, Wilson isn’t able to reason with the leader and she’s shot to death in the heat of battle. With the GRC saved, Wilson implores them to not forcibly relocate the millions of people displaced by the Blip but to provide them with the help they need from the governments that are supposed to protect them.
Finally, Wilson takes Bradley and his grandson Eli to the Smithsonian for a special surprise he’s arranged. He walks them through the Captain America exhibit and shows them a newly made statue of Bradley and a display that tells his story and honors him as a hero.
“Now they’ll never forget what you did for this country. Never,” a teary-eyed Wilson tells Bradley, who embraces him in thanks.
Captain America: Brave New World (2024)
Captain America: Brave New World releases in the US on February 14. While we don’t know the particulars yet, we do have a good idea of what to expect as Sam Wilson headlines his first film as the new Cap. He appears to be fighting a battle on multiple fronts, with Ross smashing things as the Red Hulk, Sidewinder shooting everything up, and the Leader lurking in the shadows. We also see Torres in action as the new Falcon and the return of Isiah Bradley. We’ll have to wait to see what happens in this next chapter for Sam Wilson.
The post Sam Wilson’s Complete MCU Journey From Falcon to Captain America appeared first on Nerdist.
This articles is written by : Nermeen Nabil Khear Abdelmalak
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