Falcon

"I just wanna make sure we consider all our options. People who shoot at you usually wind up shooting at me."

- Sam Wilson to Captain America

Samuel Thomas "Sam" Wilson, better known as Falcon, is a former United States Air Force pararescue airman who left active duty and began helping fellow veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder at the VA (Veterans Affairs). During this time, Wilson became an ally of Captain America during the HYDRA Uprising and assisted him in his search for Bucky Barnes. After the Ultron Offensive, Wilson became a member of the second incarnation of the Avengers, during which time he had an encounter with Ant-Man who was attempting to break into the New Avengers Facility.

Wilson continued to be an active member of the Avengers until he chose to side with Captain America against the Sokovia Accords. Believing in his friend and leader, Wilson assisted him in rescuing the Winter Soldier from the government and even fought against his former team mates when Iron Man attempted to stop them. In the aftermath of the battle, Wilson was arrested by Thaddeus Ross and taken to the Raft along with his teammates, but was soon freed by Captain America.

Losing Riley
"You lose someone?" "My wingman Riley. Flying a night mission, standard PJ rescue op, nothing we hadn't done a thousand times before. 'Til an RPG knocked Riley's damn ass out of the sky. Nothing I could do. Like I was up there just to watch."

- Steve Rogers and Sam Wilson

Sam Wilson joined the United States Air Force, after qualifying and passing all the requirements for pararescue he serve two combat tours in the Global War on Terrorism campaign Assigned to the 58th Rescue Squadron, he was a test pilot for the EXO-7 Falcon along with his wingman, Riley. One of his missions involved successfully capturing Khalid Khandil in Bakhmala, Afghanistan. During another mission, Riley was killed after he was hit by an RPG and Wilson could do nothing to save him. After losing his friend, Wilson found that he had a hard time trying to find a reason to continue serving and soon left the military and focused his efforts on helping veterans suffering from combat.

Running Companion
"Don't say it! Don't you say it!" "On your left." "Come on!"

- Wilson and Steve Rogers

Having returned home from the United States Armed Forces, Wilson was hired by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) with the intention of helping people suffering from. While out on a morning jog across Washington, D.C., Wilson soon found his early morning exercise being interrupted by Steve Rogers, who managed to casually run past Wilson several times, teasing him as he went much to Wilson's annoyance. As Wilson had stopped to catch his breath, the two talked about being veterans and similarities while serving in a war zone. Wilson asked Rogers about the differences between living now compared to the 1940s before recommending some music for him to hear to catch him up with the modern day. Their conversation was cut short when Rogers was called away on a S.H.I.E.L.D. mission by Natasha Romanoff, but Wilson told him to visit him at the VA one day so he could impress the women who also worked there before letting him leave. Rogers kept his word and watched a group session with veterans sufferering from PTSD in which Wilson helped the former soldier named Garcia who was suffering from visions of IEDs in the roads. Once Garcia had finished her confession, Wilson spoke to the group about what they kept with them from their war and what they left behind, trying to help them separate their time as the service member from their time being home where they were finally trying to recover. With the meeting over, Wilson met with Rogers who complimented him on his insights. Wilson told Rogers about his time at war and how he had lost his friend Riley during a battle to capture Khalid Khandil but had found a new purpose in his life by helping veterans readjust to being back home. Rogers told Wilson that he was struggling with the idea of what to do with himself if he was not a soldier, but Wilson assured him that he could do whatever he wanted to do.

Helping the Fugitives
"I thought you said you were a pilot." "I never said pilot."

- Captain America and Sam Wilson

While on the run from the undercover members of HYDRA now within S.H.I.E.L.D., Steve Rogers and Natasha Romanoff sought refuge with Wilson, which he offered them without a second thought. While at his home, Wilson made the pair breakfast and allowed them to use his shower. Despite his own choice to leave the United States Armed Forces, Wilson felt that being called upon by Captain America meant he had to return. When Wilson learned of the full details of Rogers' and Romanoff's predicament, being betrayed by Alexander Pierce who had order the assassination of themselves as well as Director Nick Fury, Wilson offered his assistance in their mission. Although Rogers was reluctant to accept, Wilson insisted before revealing to them that he was part of a military project that tested a new form of winged jetpacks that they could steal and use during their new mission. Having retrieved his old wings from Fort Meade, Wilson traveled with both Rogers and Romanoff to find and interrogate HYDRA sleeper agent Jasper Sitwell. Wilson called Sitwell on the phone after his meeting with another HYDRA agent Senator Stern, and threatened to have him shot if he did not do exactly as instructed; he ordered him to go to the roof of a nearby building where he would be questioned by both Rogers and Romanoff about HYDRA. Sitwell denied any knowledge of HYDRA's takeover of S.H.I.E.L.D.; in order to get the answers they needed from him, Romanoff resorted to kicking Sitwell off the building. Wilson flew in, caught him, and brought him back to the top of the building. This fall scared Sitwell so much he revealed to them that Alexander Pierce planned to use the Project Insight to assassinate anyone who was a threat to HYDRA the moment the Insight Helicarriers were launched.

Encounter with the Winter Soldier
"Go, I got this!"

- Sam Wilson to Steve Rogers

Having learned of Alexander Pierce's sinister plans of a world wide massacre, Wilson drove Jasper Sitwell towards the Triskelion, where they planned to use Sitwell's clearance to gain access to and shut down Project Insight before Pierce could activate it. Sitwell however insisted that this concept was a terrible idea but Wilson ordered that he keep quiet while they were driving there and while Steve Rogers and Natasha Romanoff continued to discuss the fine details of their new plan. However they were ambushed by the Winter Soldier, who landed on the roof of the car and ripped Sitwell out of the window. Sitwell was killed but the others managed to escape despite the Soldier ripping the steering wheel out in an attempt to cause a fatal crash. Once they had recovered, a fight then erupted in the streets. Wilson gave Rogers and Romanoff cover with a machine gun who had stolen from one attacker and fought off the other HYDRA assassins. Eventually Wilson managed to defeat the unit of HYDRA soldiers and went in search of Steve Rogers and Natasha Romanoff, taking his own EXO-7 Falcon Suit with him. Wilson discovered Captain America battling the Winter Soldier and flew in to help, kicking the Winter Soldier out of the way before he could shoot Rogers. Romanoff then fired a granade launcher at him which caused him to flee. Before they could get away however, Rogers, Romanoff and Wilson were then surrounded and captured by some of HYDRA's infiltrators within S.H.I.E.L.D., led by Brock Rumlow and Jack Rollins, and they were put in the back of a van to be executed later.

Meeting Nick Fury
"Look, whoever he used to be, the guy he is now, I don't think he's the kind you save. He's the kind you stop." "I don't know if I can do that."

- Sam Wilson and Steve Rogers

Under the watchful eye of HYDRA soldiers, Wilson and the others were taken away where Brock Rumlow intended to have them all executed. As they drove along, Wilson noted to the guard that Natasha Romanoff was losing too much blood from her wound and needed a doctor. To his surprise however, the guard used a Taser Rod to attack their other guard before revealing herself to be Maria Hill who then used the Mouse Hole to rescue them. Having gotten away from their HYDRA kidnappers, Hill then brought them inside the S.H.I.E.L.D. Dam Facility where Romanoff got some medical attention before Hill revealed that Nick Fury was there, still recuperating from a recent assassination attempt. Once it had been established how Fury had just survived his recent attack by using something call Tetrodotoxin B, together focused on their work to stop HYDRA's plans, discussing Alexander Pierce's betrayal and they worked out a plan to get aboard the Project Insight Helicarriers and reprogram them to target each other. When Rogers told Fury to destroy S.H.I.E.L.D. Wilson stood by his friend's idea. Knowing that their plans to stop Pierce would undoubtedly be met with the full force of HYDRA, Wilson later talked with 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 despite their friendship in World War II. Rogers however remained convinced that he could save his friend and proclaimed that he would find a uniform to fight this battle in.

Battle at the Triskelion
"Cap, how do we know the good guys from the bad guys?" "If they're shooting at you they're bad."

- Falcon and Captain America

Wilson, Captain America and Maria Hill broke into the Triskelion and took over the control room. Once there Rogers then informed every S.H.I.E.L.D. agent of HYDRA's infiltration into their organisation and Alexander Pierce's true plans for Project Insight; Rogers urged them to stand against the enemy, when he was finished. Wilson jokingly asked if he had practiced the speech or simply made it up as he went along. With the Project Insight Helicarriers being launched and the few remaining S.H.I.E.L.D. agents being led by Sharon Carter in their fight against HYDRA agents like Brock Rumlow, Wilson and Rogers charged outside and began making their way towards the Helicarriers to complete their plan to destroy them. As they jogged forward, Wilson asked Rogers how they would be able to tell the good guys from the bad guys, due to everybody appearing to be S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, but Rogers calmly just reminded Wilson that only the bad guys would be attempting to shoot him out of the sky. On that note, Rogers jumped off the platform onto a rising Helicarrier while Falcon took off to beginning battling their enemies in the sky. As the battle over the Triskelion then began, Falcon helped Captain America to install the three special microchips that would take away control of the Project Insight Helicarriers from HYDRA. As he flew closer to the Helicarriers, Falcon was attacked by the guns on the ships, using his incredible speed to dodge the explosions before landing on the Helicarrier where he fought the soldiers on the ground who never saw him coming before they were gunned down. Before Falcon could relax however, he was forced to use his EXO-7 Falcon to battle a Quinjet controlled by HYDRA which chased him down, trying to kill him. Dodging the gunshots, Falcon was forced to use all his speed and agility to maneuver around the ship to avoid a series of missiles which had been fired at him. When a hole was blown into the side of a Helicarrier, Wilson was able to get aboard and install one of the microchips. With only one Helicarrier still needing a microchip installed, Falcon was forced to save Captain America from a deadly fall as he was escaping from the gunfire of various HYDRA agents determined to kill him. Falcon quickly caught up with Rogers before he could hit the ground and carried him onto the third and final Helicarrier, noting that Rogers was a lot heavier than he looked which Rogers then jokingly blamed on eating a big breakfast that same morning. However they were immediately attacked by the Winter Soldier who rammed into Rogers, knocking him off the side of the Helicarrier. Falcon dove to save Rogers only to be pulled back by the Winter Soldier who damaged Wilson's flight suit before kicking him off the Helicarrier and forcing him to skydive down to the Triskelion, pulling his parachute just in time before updating Hill and learning that Rogers was still onboard the Helicarrier.

Showdown with Brock Rumlow
"Order only comes through pain. Are you ready for yours?" "Man, shut the hell up!"

- Brock Rumlow and Sam Wilson

Refocusing his mission on protecting Nick Fury, Wilson encountered and attacked Brock Rumlow inside the Triskelion as Rumlow was on his way to challenge Black Widow and Fury in order to try and rescue his commander, Alexander Pierce so they could escape during the chaos of the battle. Wilson hid behind a door and attacked Rumlow, only to then be quickly overpowered and knocked down to the floor by Rumlow. As Wilson slowly got back onto his feet, Rumlow removed his jacket and then explained to Wilson that his punishment for going against HYDRA would now cause him great pain, as that was the only way HYDRA believed the would could gain order. As Rumlow continued to rant about HYDRA's grand schemes, Wilson got back onto his feet and told his rival to shut up so they could begin fighting. The two soldiers engaged in hand to hand combat. As their fight reached it's conclusion, Rumlow managed to gain the upper hand during the fight, using his own slightly improved combat techniques to get the advantage before throwing Wilson across the room and taunting him. Their battle was then cut short when Wilson spotted the final Project Insight Helicarrier heading straight towards the Triskelion behind the confident Rumlow, having been successfully reprogrammed and destroyed in the battle. Now using his head start to his advantage, Wilson ran for his life while Rumlow was buried by building's debris. Wilson was forced to jump from the 41st floor of the building where he was caught by a S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicopter piloted by Nick Fury and Natasha Romanoff. Although Wilson berated the pair for almost killing him with the helicopter's blades, they soon turned their attention to escaping the explosions and finding Captain America. Rogers was found unconscious near the ruins of the Triskelion and hospitalized after his fight with the Winter Soldier had left him almost beaten to death and with a gunshot wound in the stomach. Wilson stayed beside his bed until he recovered and he had previously recommended to him. When Rogers awakened, the first words he said to Wilson were "On your left" causing Wilson to smile with amusement.

Nick Fury's Departure
"You're going after him." "You don't have to come with me." "I know. When do we start?"

- Sam Wilson and Steve Rogers

At the fake gravesite for Nick Fury, Wilson greeted the former leader of S.H.I.E.L.D. who explained that he would be travelling to Europe to seek out the surviving members of HYDRA, with Fury asking Wilson to join him on his mission to exterminate HYDRA. Wilson refused however, stating that he was more a soldier, not a spy, which Fury accepted. They all said their goodbyes to Fury, who asked them to still keep his survival a secret before they were joined by Natasha Romanoff, who gave Steve Rogers the file on the Winter Soldier. Wilson confirmed that Rogers would be going after his oldest friend and agreed to help Rogers in his search for Bucky Barnes. During their search, Rogers was called to rejoin the Avengers and battle HYDRA, leaving Wilson to hunt for Barnes around the world on his own.

Avengers Party
"I'm not actually sorry. I'm just trying to sound tough. I'm very happy chasing cold leads on our missing persons case. Avenging is your world. Your world is crazy." "Be it ever so humble."

- Sam Wilson and Steve Rogers

Wilson was invited to a party held at Avengers Tower to celebrate the Avengers' successful battle against HYDRA which led to the seeming defeat of HYDRA, the capture of their main leader Baron Wolfgang von Strucker, and the Scepter they had been hunting ever since the Battle of New York, ending up in the safe hands of the Avengers. During the party Wilson was introduced to and shook hands with Tony Stark and later played a game of pool with Steve Rogers while drinking. Wilson and Steve Rogers late spoke about the battle; Wilson jokingly wanted to know why he had not been invited to assist in the fight as he had been helping Rogers in the search for Bucky Barnes for the last few months, but when Rogers attempted to apologize he still assured Rogers that he was not massively interested in joining the Avengers at that point. They went on to discuss Rogers finding an apartment in his home town of Brooklyn.

Joining the Team
"Avengers A..."

- Captain America

In the wake of Clint Barton's decision to retire and Tony Stark's demotion to non-combatant, as well as the departure of Thor, Wilson was recruited into the new Avengers' roster alongside the Avengers other allies, Vision, James Rhodes and Wanda Maximoff. Wilson arrived at the New Avengers Facility with his new uniform complete with upgraded mechanical wings. The new Avengers began their training under the leadership of Captain America and Black Widow ready to take on any future world threatening events.

Duel at New Avengers Facility
"Who the hell are you?" "I'm Ant-Man." "Ant-Man?" "What, you haven't heard of me?"

- Falcon and Ant-Man

At the New Avengers Facility, Wilson detected an intruder in the base and decided to investigate. Flying onto the roof, Falcon spotted a man wearing a suit that seemed to make him the size of an ant. Once it was made clear that Wilson could see this man despite his size, the man regrew and introduced himself as Scott with the code-name Ant-Man, noting that he was a big fan of the Avengers, which Falcon appreciated but remained serious about the situation. Wilson demanded to know why Ant-Man was at the facility; the man claimed to simply be needing to borrow a Signal Decoy from them which he intended to use to save the world, noting that Falcon and the Avengers should understand what that was like. Believing that Ant-Man was a sort of spy, Falcon attempted to arrest him and bring him inside for question, only for Ant-Man to shrink and punch Falcon with a surprising amount of force, resulting in the pair beginning to fight and being knocked off the facilities rooftop where Falcon drew his twin guns and attempted to shoot the intruder. During their battle, Falcon struggled to keep up with Ant-Man who used his powers of shrinking to remain almost undetectable, however Falcon was able to use his googles to track him and deliver punches that forced Ant-Man to regrow. When Ant-Man managed to get away from the Avenger and flew inside the facility on the back of an ant, Falcon followed Ant-Man inside the Facility until Ant-Man managed to shrink down and disable the EXO-7 Falcon from the inside, all the while still apologizing to Falcon for doing it before causing the suit to malfunction and drop Wilson down from the sky. Falcon hit the ground hard and by the time he managed to recover from the fall, with his suit was damaged, Ant-Man had escaped with the device and Falcon was unable to track him. Forced to accept defeat, Wilson then said through the comm link it was important to him that Captain America must never know about this embarrassing failure. Falcon then later joined the Avengers in battling HYDRA who had collected parts of the destroyed Ultron Sentries and created a giant robot called Ultimo. Wilson joined the Avengers to an attack and together they managed to destroy Ultimo.

Search for Ant-Man
"Yeah, this dude sounds like a badass, man!"

- Luis to Scott Lang

Seeking another hero who could assist them in their mission, and having heard of him using his own abilities to stop the sale of a new super-weapon called the Yellowjacket Suit which was almost handed over to HYDRA by Darren Cross, Wilson began seeking out Ant-Man, despite only knowing his first name to be Scott. Eventually Wilson came close to finding him through Luis, a friend of a friend of Ant-Man who agreed to help him, passing on the knowledge that he was seeking out Ant-Man through a network of people until it finally reached Luis.

Attack on the IFID Headquarters
"Eyes on target, folks. It's the best lead we have on Rumlow in six months. I don't want to lose him." "If he sees us coming there won't be a problem, he kind of hates us."

- Captain America and Falcon

The Avengers tracked Brock Rumlow in Lagos, Nigeria. Falcon took position on the roof of a building, using the newly designed Redwing to check over the city while communicating to the Avengers, noting how much Rumlow wanted them all dead. Before long Falcon looked into a suspicious van heading towards the IFID before it crashed into the building. As the Avengers charged forward, Falcon brought Captain America to the scene and dropped him into the centre of the conflict, where he was able to use his shield to then take out the majority of the mercenaries. Falcon meanwhile used his speed to catch three other mercenaries off guard, crashing into them before shooting the third and knocking him off the bridge, noting to the team of the number of Rumlow's mercenaries who were left to fight. While Captain America charged into the building to investigate the attack, Falcon then aided Scarlet Witch in fighting numerous hostiles provided her cover when she cleared out the toxic gas that had been unleashed within the building. Falcon blocked all of the mercenaries bullets with the wings of the EXO-7 Falcon and firing missiles down at them. Captain America meanwhile confirmed that Crossbones had indeed stolen a biological weapon from the facility. During the chaos of the battle Crossbones and a few of his men ran into the town center hoping to evade the Avengers, however Falcon was able to use his speed to easily keep track of them, causing them to crash their car and attempt to escape on foot by splitting up into the crowds. Falcon subdued one of them only to realize and alert his friends that the mercenaries had split up on a wild goose chase, meaning that another still had the weapon. Once Black Widow attempted to subdue two of the hostiles one of them threatened to drop the virus if she did not drop her gun while the other held her at gunpoint. However, Wilson saved Romanoff by using Redwing to shoot both mercenaries while Romanoff caught the bio-weapon. Falcon insisted that she thank the drone, Romanoff refused. Falcon was asked by Rogers to call the firefighters, after Maximoff caused a blast that killed civilians.

Sokovia Accords
"So let's say we agree to this thing. How long is it gonna be until they Lojack us like a bunch of common criminals?"

- Sam Wilson

In the direct aftermath of the disastrous mission in Lagos, the newly appointed Secretary of State, Thaddeus Ross came to visit the New Avengers Facility. Ross presented all the Avengers with the Sokovia Accords putting them under the direct command of a panel of the United Nations, explaining the decision was based on the aftermath of many of their recent missions causing massive loss of life and property damage. Wilson and James Rhodes argued about the document. Rhodes claimed that 117 countries had signed the Accords and they could not ignore it as this was different to the World Security Council. Wilson said that after they would signed it, they would probably be put in prison as criminals while Vision argued the Accords were factual. The Avenger debate was stopped after Steve Rogers received a message that Peggy Carter had died. Wilson accompanied Rogers in Agent Carter's funeral in the United Kingdom. While there, Wilson noticed that Sharon Carter was given a speech where revealed herself as Peggy's niece. Wilson listened to Carter's speech in which she described her time growing up with the head of the Strategic Scientific Reserve and described the lesson had learned from her aunt, which made both Wilson and Rogers think more on the Sokovia Accords. With the funeral over, Wilson allowed Rogers and Carter time alone to catch up however, a bomb was set off outside Vienna International Centre where the Accords were currently being signed. Wilson informed that to Rogers and with Carter, they watched the news report which informed them that King T'Chaka of Wakanda had been killed in the blast and that the authorities suspected the Winter Soldier was responsible for the attack. The three then travelled to Vienna to investigate. Once Rogers had returned from a conversation with Natasha Romanoff, Wilson asked him if she had told him not to interfere, but Rogers said Barnes would have done the same for him, with Wilson noting that maybe in 1945 that was the case. Carter told them Barnes was in Bucharest, but the Joint Counter Terrorist Centre's leader, Everett Ross was also after him with orders to kill on sight.

Finding Bucky Barnes
"Who the hell is the other guy?" "I'm about to find out."

- Sam Wilson and Steve Rogers

In Bucharest, Falcon observed the area for the Joint Counter Terrorist Centre soldiers. As Steve Rogers talked with Bucky Barnes inside his apartment, Falcon updated him on the soldiers positions. Rogers and Barnes fought against the soldiers and escaped, but Black Panther arrived and tried to kill Barnes. Falcon was asked to take care on the helicopter that was shooting at them, so Falcon smashed into the side of it. The fight continue through the road tunnel, with the Joint Counter Terrorist Centre chasing the the three with their vehicles. Falcon flew after his allies and using the EXO-7 Falcon's incredible speed and agility, quickly caught up with them, so Rogers asked Falcon to help him shake Black Panther, who was refusing to give up in his quest to kill Barnes. Falcon flew through the tunnel and catch Panther in mid air, only for Panther to use it to his benefit. As Black Panther used Falcon's speed to catch up with his prey, Falcon was forced to brake when Barnes used his grenades to explode the tunnel entrance, launching the Panther forward. Black Panther caught Barnes but was stopped from killing him by Rogers before the Joint Counter Terrorist Centre arrested them all with the help of War Machine. As he removed his helmet, Falcon discovered that Black Panther was T'Challa, prince of Wakanda.

Held by Everett Ross
"We looked for the guy for two years and found nothing." "We didn't bomb the UN. That turns a lot of heads."

- Sam Wilson and Steve Rogers

While the Joint Counter Terrorist Centre agents brought the four now captured heroes to their main headquarters, Wilson mocked T'Challa over his uniform, jokingly asking if it meant he liked cats, all despite the efforts of Steve Rogers to make him stop. T'Challa explained his suit is made of Vibranium and his reasons for attacking Bucky Barnes was due to Barnes seemingly killing his father during a recent terrorist attack. As they arrived they were greeted by Sharon Carter, who introduced them to the head of the JCTC, Everett Ross who was waiting for them. Ross informed the group that their gears were confiscated until further notice, causing Wilson to grumble that he better would not see anybody else using the EXO-7 Falcon while he was waiting to get it back. As they walked through the facility's hallways, they eventually came across Tony Stark, who was speaking to Thaddeus Ross and made it clear that there would now be serious consequences for their actions, noting that Wilson would not get his wings back, much to his dismay as he called the decision completely cold hearted. Wilson joined Rogers and Carter as they watched the interview of a contained Barnes by the psychoanalyst, Theo Broussard, with Carter handing Wilson the receipt for his suit. As they were all watching the interrogation, Rogers suspected an ulterior motive behind releasing Barnes's picture to the public, although Wilson reminded him that they had looking for Barnes for two years, but Rogers noted that they had not bombed the United Nations which drew attention. Suddenly, the power across the headquarters was cut out, igniting panic across the base. Wilson and Rogers quickly hurried down to the interrogation room, finding the psycho-analyst on the ground without Barnes. While Rogers questioned the analyst over who he really was, Barnes revealed he was free from his cell and ambushed Wilson, attempting to break his neck with his prosthetic arm before knocking him out before then fighting against Rogers. As Wilson woke up, he spotted that the psycho-analyst was making his escape, Wilson called after him only for the man who begin running away from the Avenger. Wilson ran after him and followed him up the stairs until they made it outside, all the while with a fight breaking out between the Winter Soldier and the other Avengers. However, Wilson lost the analyst outside the building where he had disappeared into the crowds of people running for their lives.

On the Run
"This would have been a lot easier a week ago." "If we call Tony..." "No, he won't believe us." "Even if he did..." "Who knows if the Accords would let him help."

- Steve Rogers and Sam Wilson

With their battle now over, Wilson and Steve Rogers then took the unconscious Bucky Barnes to an abandoned building where they then subdued him by trapping his Prosthetic Arm in a vice. Once Barnes awoke, they questioned if he was under the brainwashing of the psycho-analyst, who was really Helmut Zemo. Barnes revealed he was safe by noting key facts about his and Rogers' childhood and Rogers' mother, although Wilson was skeptical. They then deliberated their course of action; telling Tony Stark or all the others would get them back where they started, but doing otherwise could also make them wanted men. Barnes explained that he now believed that Zemo would be traveling to the HYDRA Siberian Facility that had housed him while he was still working for HYDRA, as he suspected Zemo would try and reactivate the other Winter Soldiers to create chaos. Considering what Barnes had told them, Rogers said to Wilson that they would be alone in the fight, however Wilson insisted that this was not quite true as he knew a guy who could assist them in stopping Zemo's plans. With the help of Sharon Carter, the group went on the run. Carter met them and revealed that she had gone behind Everett Ross' back and gave them all their equipment back. While Rogers spoke with Carter, Wilson remained in the car with Barnes, rudely refusing to move his seat to give Barnes more leg room. When Rogers kissed Carter as she left, both Wilson and Barnes smiled at their friend's success with the beautiful Carter, much to Rogers' great embarrassment. Wilson, Rogers and Barnes then met with Clint Barton and Wanda Maximoff near to Leipzig/Halle Airport. Barton also recruited Scott Lang, who greeted Rogers and apologized in front of Wilson to the duel they had, while Wilson said it was a nice audition, but it would not happen again. The group all suited up in their own uniforms and made their way to the Flughafen Leipzig-Halle Airport where they would depart to Siberia on a Quinjet to stop Zemo's plan.

Clash of the Avengers
"I don't know if you've been a fight before but there's usually not this much talking." "Alright, sorry, my bad."

- Falcon and Spider-Man

While Captain America allowed himself to be cornered and disarmed by Iron Man's team of heroes, Falcon took position further away from the confrontation and scanned the airport. Falcon quickly found the Quinjet that Iron Man's team had arrived with in Hangar 5 using Redwing's lenses and alerted Captain America, revealing to Iron Man's team the rest of the various rebels as they all began running towards the Quinjet. Falcon and Winter Soldier then made their way towards the hangar, until Spider-Man followed them, with Falcon noting that all heroes had gimmicks. Spider-Man attacked with a kick on Falcon and the two started to battle in the airport's terminal. Falcon fought Spider-Man in the air while Barnes tried to throw heavy objects at him. Spider-Man managed to bring Falcon to the floor by webbing his flight-pack and Wilson flung into a post store. With Falcon webbed up to a hand rail Spider-Man asked if his wings were made from Carbon-Fibre, to which Falcon asked if the webs came out of him. Spider-Man lunged towards Falcon to knock him down onto the floor, only for the kick to be eased by Barnes. Spider Man webbed the two to the floor, but before he could do any more damage, Falcon then controlled Redwing to take Spider-Man outside of the terminal and stop fighting. Having regrouped with his team Falcon and his team ran towards the Quinjet Hangar in order to escape, only to be stopped by a laser beam blasted by Vision, who implored the team who were against the Sokovia Accords to surrender now before it was too late. They refused and the two opposing sides charged towards each other, picking up an individual fight with Falcon tackling War Machine in the air. When Vision tried to attack Falcon, he was stopped by an electric arrow fired from Hawkeye, helping Falcon to fly away. Falcon was later chased down by both Iron Man and War Machine who used their weapons to try and knock him out of the sky, to which Falcon asked Hawkeye for some assistance. Hawkeye teamed up with Ant-Man to aid Falcon and stop Iron Man, firing him in his Ant-Man Suit from a scatter arrow into the Iron Man Armor, therefore stopping the rival team leader from chasing down Falcon further as Ant-Man disabled it from the inside.

Winning a Losing Battle
"This isn't the real fight, Steve." "Alright, Sam, what's the plan?" "We need a diversion, something big."

- Sam Wilson and Steve Rogers

When Captain America's team realized that not all of them could win and get to Siberia, Falcon, chased by War Machine, suggested a distraction or diversion to be made so Captain America and Bucky Barnes can reach the Quinjet and Ant-Man volunteered to do it. He told them to wait for the signal and jumped onto War Machine's back. All of a sudden Ant-Man grew to an enormous size and caught War Machine behind Falcon, signaling the diversion. Falcon was chased by Iron Man as he flew in Ant-Man's direction. He quickly disengaged his wings to perform a freefall and launched Redwing, which flew directly into Iron Man's helmet, stunning him as Falcon re-activated his wings and flew off. After Captain America and Winter Soldier made it to the Quinjet, Iron Man and War Machine were behind them attempting to stop their mission. Falcon flew after them but as he saw Vision's laser beam getting closer to him, he avoided it. The beam, however, hit War Machine's Arc Reactor, disabling the suit. Rhodes fell helplessly thousands of feet onto the ground, despite Falcon and Iron Man's efforts to save him. Although he survived but Rhodes was left paralyzed. Falcon was shocked for his mistake, he told Stark that he was sorry but Stark, enraged, fired a repulsor blast at Falcon, knocking him unconscious and signalling the end of the clash, with Falcon then being put under arrest under the direct orders of Secretary Thaddeus Ross as well as Stark.

The Raft
"You're the good cop now?" "I'm just a guy who needs to know where Steve went." "Well, you better go get a bad cop, because you would have to go Mark Fuhrman on my ass to get information out of me."

- Sam Wilson and Tony Stark

Wilson, Clint Barton, Wanda Maximoff, and Scott Lang were then all captured and taken to the Raft to be imprisoned. Tony Stark visited them there, and Wilson asked about James Rhodes' status. Stark asked where Steve Rogers had gone, but Wilson refused to tell him anything. Stark then knocked out the audio feed and revealed to Wilson that he was trying to help Rogers. Wilson agreed to tell him only if Stark would go as a friend, so he said he was in Siberia and Stark left to investigate.

Escape from the Raft
"My faith is in people, I guess. Individuals. And I’m happy to say for the most part, they haven’t let me down. Which is why I can’t let them down either. Locks can be replaced, but – maybe they shouldn’t."

- Captain America's letter to Iron Man

Having infiltrated the Raft, Rogers freed Wilson along with Clint Barton, Wanda Maximoff and Scott Lang from their imprisonment as Wilson looked at Rogers and smiled. After being freed by Rogers, the group celebrated their new freedom, with Barton, Maximoff and Lang leaving to return to their homes, while Wilson opted to remain with Rogers. Once free, Wilson and all of the others they helped Black Widow to bring down a terrorist organization armed with Chitauri weaponary.

Personality
"Don't look at me, I do what he does, just slower."

- Sam Wilson to Nick Fury

Sam Wilson is one of Captain Steve Rogers' most stalwart friends and allies. Both men found a kindred spirit in each other when they discovered they both shared common life experiences and had similar values. Sam Wilson and Rogers both fought in the military, had to cope with the deaths of friends during war, and had to adjust to life outside of war. For Wilson, he found purpose in helping military veterans adjust to civilian life. This earned Rogers' respect, and in turn Wilson admires Captain America and the ideals he represents. Their commonality helped the two to forge a bond that led Wilson to aid Steve Rogers in many of his heroic exploits. During these exploits, Sam Wilson becomes a hero in his own right, whether it be when the two are fighting shoulder to shoulder together during a mission to save the world or aiding Rogers with a personal matter, such as helping him find the Winter Soldier.

In contrast to Rogers' pensive no nonsense attitude, Wilson often displays a more brazen attitude and a strong sense of humor, often makes cheeky comments; he jokingly tells Rogers to come by the VA to make him look good in front of a girl at the desk, and nods in approval when Rogers and Sharon Carter kiss. However, he shows a far more serious side to himself when in battle, preferring to buckle down and get the job done; he bluntly remarks that people fighting don't usually talk much when Spider-Man starts admiring Wilson's EXO suit during a battle, and tells Brock Rumlow to shut up when he taunted him prior to the two having a fist fight.

Unlike many of his teammates, Wilson doesn't hold grudges and believes in forming his own opinions of others instead of going by what others think. He respects Scott Lang following their initial meeting despite much of the public believing him to be nothing more than a common criminal, and following their battle at Leipzig airport is the only one of Rogers' captured teammates who doesn't show any ill will toward Tony Stark when he visits his former teammates and admits to Wilson that he was wrong, suggesting the two of them both understand why the other did what they did and still hold some mutual respect for one another.

Powers
EXO-7 Falcon "It's OK; he can't see me." "I can see you!" "He can see me."
 * Flight: Using his specialized winged jetpack, Sam Wilson is able to fly faster than the speed of a jet, but with an enhanced degree of maneuverability and agility similar to that of an actual falcon. He was able to avoid automatic fire from an Insight Quinjet and the shots of the Insight Helicarriers' main weaponry. Besides enhancing Falcon's mobility, the EXO-7 Falcon can also increase the force generated by some of Falcon's physical strikes via the increased momentum and acceleration created by his jetpack. While flying, he was able to lift up and carry off people like Jasper Sitwell and Captain America.

- Ant-Man and Falcon


 * Enhanced Vision: The EXO-7's goggles allow Wilson to view in multiple spectrums and see objects that are either far away or too small to see for the naked eye.

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

- Sam Wilson


 * Expert Acrobat: In order to withstand the equilibrium shifting caused by flight, Wilson is an expert acrobat. Many times during his battle with HYDRA, Wilson had to couple his acrobatic skills with his flight maneuvers to avoid being shot from the sky.
 * Expert Marksman: Wilson is a very accurate marksman skilled in sharpshooting, as he has shown with his retractable sidearms and expertise with U.S. military firearms.
 * Expert Martial Artist: As a former member of the United States Armed Forces, Wilson is highly trained and skilled in hand to hand combat. Wilson's fighting style include a combination of firearm improvisation, flight maneuvers such as swooping and aerial grappling, and modern army combatives. Wilson's modern army combatives derive elements from Muay Thai, American Boxing, and Taekwondo. He was able to subdue HYDRA operatives and hold his own against STRIKE leader Brock Rumlow, though he was unable to defeat him.
 * Expert Tactician: Wilson has shown capabilities in planing special operations, as he was able to help Captain America and his team strategize the plan to destroy the Insight Helicarriers and unmask HYDRA. He was able to react and respond to Ant-Man's unprecedented appearance and was able to perfectly counter his unique attacks after only viewing them momentarily.
 * Master Pilot: Wilson displays the utmost skill when flying with his EXO wings; he can perform many advanced and complicated maneuvers while in midair.

Weapons

 * : Falcon carries two of these machine pistols in the holsters of his EXO-7 suit. The mechanical aids in Falcon's forearms provide speedy unholstering and assembly of the machine pistols. He used them against Quinjets and crew members during an assault on the Project Insight Helicarriers. He also resorted to use them to defend the New Avengers Facility from Ant-Man when he infiltrated the compound, attempting to shoot at him believing the intruder was hostile.
 * Dual Barrel Wrist-Mounted Machine Gun: The left gauntlet of Falcon's redesigned uniform utilizes a wrist-mounted dual emission machine gun controlled via clenching a fist. Falcon utilized this firearm against Ant-Man.
 * Wrist-Mounted Miniature Rocket Launcher: Falcon utilized a wrist-mounted miniature rocket launcher on his right bracer against Spider-Man during the Clash of the Avengers.
 * : An assault rifle that Wilson obtained from one of the HYDRA mercenaries accompanying the Winter Soldier. Wilson used it to cover for Steve Rogers and Natasha Romanoff after being ambushed by the mercenaries in Washington, D.C..
 * : Falcon utilized a knife to cut off the strap of a HYDRA operative's M4A1 Carbine during the fight against the HYDRA mercenaries.

Other Equipment
"It's okay; he can't see me." "I can see you!"
 * EXO-7 Falcon: Prototype jet-pack with wings that enables the user to fly. The wings can also be used as defensive and offensive weapons, as they are highly flexible and bulletproof. It also stores miniature guided missiles that seek out targets predetermined by Redwing.

- Ant-Man and Falcon


 * Magnification Goggles: Falcon has a pair of protective goggles that not only protect his eyes during high speed flight, but also possess telescopic and microscopic vision, allowing him to see even a shrunk Ant-Man.
 * Redwing: A Drone mounted on the EXO-7 Falcon's back that assists Falcon during missions to survey an area for enemies, which allowed Falcon to confirm Crossbones' location before his attack. During combat missions Redwing is fitted with twin cannons that extend from both wings as well as a projectile grappling handcuff line on its underside, which Falcon used against Spider-Man to throw him out of a window.

Allies

 * Riley † - Wingman
 * Avengers - Former Teammates
 * Captain America's Team
 * Steve Rogers/Captain America - Partner, Close Friend and Former Leader
 * Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch - Former Teammate
 * Clint Barton/Hawkeye - Former Teammate
 * Iron Man's Team - Temporary Enemies
 * Tony Stark/Iron Man - Ally turned temperary enemy
 * Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow - Friend and Former Teammate
 * Vision - Former Teammate
 * James Rhodes/War Machine - Former Teammate
 * T'Challa/Black Panther - Situational Enemy
 * Peter Parker/Spider-Man - Situational Enemy
 * S.H.I.E.L.D.
 * Nick Fury
 * Maria Hill
 * Scott Lang/Ant-Man - Temporary Enemy turned Recruit
 * Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier - Enemy turned Ally
 * Sharon Carter

Enemies

 * HYDRA
 * Jasper Sitwell †
 * STRIKE
 * Jack Rollins
 * Project Insight
 * Russo †
 * Ultimo †
 * Khalid Khandil
 * Brock Rumlow/Crossbones †
 * Thaddeus Ross
 * Helmut Zemo
 * Joint Counter Terrorist Centre
 * Everett Ross
 * ISIS

Trivia

 * In the comics, Sam Wilson is the uncle of Jim Wilson and a Harlem native who moved to California and became a drug dealer, though this fact was revealed to be a collection of false memories planted by the Red Skull. After he suffered a plane crash, he was genetically altered with the ability to speak telepathically with birds. Wilson would also eventually took over the mantle of Captain America.
 * Falcon's first suit in Captain America: The Winter Soldier is more similar to the suit of his Ultimate comics variant than that of his Mainstream Universe version. His second suit was given some red and white coloring as a nod to the costume from the mainstream universe.

Behind the Scenes

 * Anthony Mackie was extremely disappointed to discover that the suit he would be wearing in Captain America: The Winter Soldier would not resemble the red spandex suit from the mainstream comics.
 * Aaron Toney was a stunt double for Anthony Mackie in the role of Falcon.
 * Delpaneaux Wills, Qualen Bradley and Simon Adegbenro were stand-ins for Anthony Mackie in the role of Falcon.
 * Anthony Mackie notes that after Captain America: Civil War, Falcon possesses a grudge with heroes like Iron Man and Black Panther.