Falcon

"I thought you said you were a pilot." "I never said pilot."

- Captain America and Sam Wilson

Samuel Thomas "Sam" Wilson is an Armed Forces paratrooper who is an ally of Captain America under the codename Falcon.

Military Career
Sam Wilson joined the United States Air Force, serving two tours and eventually becoming a Pararescueman, working with the 58th rescue squadron. He was a test pilot for the EXO-7 Falcon along with his wingman, Riley. After Riley was killed in action, Sam found that he had a hard time trying to find a reason to continue serving.

Meeting Captain America
"On your left."

- Steve Rogers as he ran past Wilson

After returning home, he joined the Department of Veterans Affairs helping people suffering from . While out on a morning jog, Wilson met Steve Rogers and the two talked about their status as veterans and their time serving in the Armed Forces.

Helping the Fugitives
While on the run from undercover members of HYDRA within S.H.I.E.L.D., Steve Rogers and Natasha Romanoff sought refuge with Wilson. While at his home, Sam learned of Rogers' and Romanoff's predicament and offered his assistance, revealing to them that he was part of a military project that tested a new form of winged jetpacks.

After retrieving his wings from Fort Meade, Wilson traveled with Rogers and Romanoff to interrogate HYDRA sleeper agent Jasper Sitwell. When Romanoff resorted to kicking Sitwell off a building, Wilson flew in and caught him and brought him back to the top of the building. This fall scared Sitwell so much he revealed HYDRA's plan to Rogers, Romanoff and Wilson. Afterwards the team took Sitwell in their car and drove towards the Triskelion, where they planned to use Sitwell's clearance to gain access and shut down Project Insight. However they were ambushed by the Winter Soldier. Sitwell was killed but the team managed to escape the car and a fight erupted in the streets. Wilson used gave the Rogers and Romanoff cover with a machine gun and fought off the HYDRA assassins. Eventually Rogers, Romanoff, and Wilson were taken into by some of HYDRA's infiltrators within S.H.I.E.L.D.. They were rescued by a disguised Maria Hill, who brought them to a secret facility where S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Nick Fury was recuperating from an assassination attempt. Wilson later talked with Steve Rogers about what they should do if they encounter the Winter Soldier again, Wilson telling him he was the kind of guy you have to stop rather than save.

Fighting HYDRA
Wilson helped Rogers install three special chips that would take away HYDRA's control over the Project Insight Helicarriers. Wilson used his flight suit to battle a Quinjet controlled by HYDRA. When a hole was blown into the side of a Helicarrier, Wilson was able to get aboard and install one of the microchips.

Later, Wilson saved Rogers from a deadly fall and carried him to the third Helicarrier; however they were immediately attacked, and Wilson's flight suit was damaged by the Winter Soldier, forcing him to skydive down to the Triskelion. He was attacked by Brock Rumlow and they fought each other in hand to hand combat. Their fight was cut short when the Helicarrier crashed into the Triskelion, forcing Wilson to jump from the 41st floor of the building where he was picked up by a S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicopter piloted by Fury and Romanoff. Steve Rogers was found unconscious near the ruins of the Triskelion and hospitalized. Wilson stayed beside his bed until he recovered and played the music he had previously recommended to him. When Rogers awakened, the first words he said to Wilson were "On your left". Wilson reviewed the events of the past few hours to Rogers.

At the fake gravesite for Nick Fury, Wilson was offered by Fury to join him on his mission to exterminate HYDRA. Wilson refused Fury, citing that he was not a spy. However, Wilson agreed to help Rogers in his search for Bucky.

Powers

 * Flight: Using a special winged harness, Sam Wilson is able to fly at the same speed as a jet, but with an enhanced degree of maneuverability. He was able to avoid a Quinjet and the shots of a Helicarrier's main weaponry.

Abilities
"I'm more of a soldier than a spy."

- Sam Wilson


 * Expert Acrobat:
 * Expert Marksman: Wilson is a very accurate marksman skilled in sharpshooting.
 * Expert Martial Artist: As a former member of the United States Armed Forces, Wilson is highly trained in hand-to-hand combat. However, his skill was not enough to defeat Brock Rumlow, as he only gained the upper hand at the beginning of the fight by ambushing Rumlow.
 * Expert Tactician:
 * Master Pilot: Wilson displays the utmost skill when flying with the EXO wings; he can perform many advanced and complicated maneuvers.

Equipment

 * EXO-7 Falcon: Prototype jet-pack with wings that enables the user to fly.
 * : Falcon carries two of these machine pistols in the holsters of his EXO-7 suit. He uses them to great effect during the assault on the Helicarrier.

Allies

 * Riley † - Wingman
 * Steve Rogers/Captain America - Partner and Friend
 * Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow
 * Nick Fury
 * Maria Hill

Enemies

 * HYDRA
 * Jasper Sitwell †
 * Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier
 * Brock Rumlow
 * Khalid Khandil

Video Game Only

 * R.A.I.D.
 * Sin
 * Taskmaster
 * Shockwave
 * Serpent Society
 * King Cobra
 * Puff Adder
 * Diamondback
 * U.L.T.I.M.A.T.U.M.

Trivia

 * In the comics, Sam is a Harlem native who moved to California and became a drug dealer. His plane crashed, and he was genetically altered with the ability to speak telepathically with birds. He is also the uncle of Jim Wilson, who appeared in The Incredible Hulk. Sam eventually took over as the new Captain America.
 * Falcon's suit in the film is more similar to the suit of his Ultimate comics variant than that of his Mainstream Universe version.
 * Falcon was the first African American superhero in mainstream comics.

Behind the Scenes

 * Anthony Mackie was extremely disappointed to discover that the suit he would be wearing in the film would not resemble the red spandex suit from the mainstream comics.