Sam Wilson (film)

Sam Wilson aka the Falcon, is a is character appearing in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name.

History
Samuel Thomas Wilson was born in Delacroix, Louisiana, to Paul and Darlene Wilson, who operated a fishing business. The oldest of two siblings, he also had a younger sister, Sarah. When their parents died, Sarah inherited the family business while Sam joined the Air Force. Sam eventually becomes a pararescue jumper for the 58th Rescue Squadron, which sees action in Afghanistan. The 58th find themselves at a considerable disadvantage, as Taliban snipers are able to easily hide in the mountainous terrain and shoot down approaching EVAC choppers with RPG-7s. Tony Stark proposed his own solution in the form of the Exo-7 Falcon flight harness. Designed to be operated by one person, it could support the weight of two just long enough to get a wounded soldier to safety. Under Stark's reasoning, the operators of the harness would be too small and fast for the rocket snipers to target (especially if they were operating under the cover of darkness). Sam performed several successful rescue operations using an Exo-7 prototype, but after his wingman was shot down he felt he could no longer continue. He retired from active service and moved to Washington DC, where he became a trauma counselor.

Two years after the Battle of New York, Sam is going for a morning run through the streets of DC when he meets Steve Rogers, aka Captain America, who is running the same route and outpacing Sam by a considerable margin. Steve and Sam quickly become friends as they share their experiences as veterans of the Armed Forces.

Later that week, Captain America and Black Widow discover H.Y.D.R.A has compromised S.H.I.E.L.D. along with the CIA and FBI, and it is effectively impossible for them to determine who amongst their usual contacts is corrupt and who isn't. Cap puts Sam's name forth as someone they can trust. Sam agrees to help after his mothballed flight harness is returned to him. He helps them capture and interrogate a corrupt agent, Jasper Sitwell, who gives up some information before being assassinated by the conspiracy's primary catspaw, the Winter Soldier. The three of them barely escape the cyborg assassin, but not before Cap recognizes him as his old World War II buddy, James "Bucky" Barnes.

The HYDRA conspirators eventually initiate their endgame: A coup attempt which resulted in a massive attack on Washington DC. Sam, as Falcon, acquitted himself well during this battle, fighting his way to the Commander of the HYDRA Strike Team, Brock Rumlow, and defeating him in a one on one duel. Sam's flight harness suffered irreparable damage in the battle, but Stark replaced it with an armored wingsuit that included a reconnaissance drone, which Sam dubbed Redwing. He agreed to help Cap track down Barnes and restore his sanity.

Cap reteamed with the Avengers when a HYDRA cell that Deathlok had been tracking proved to be far more heavily fortified than previously thought. Sam arrives at the Avengers Mansion as a guest for a party thrown not only to celebrate the victory. Cap invites Sam to joins the Avengers, but he declines - he would prefer to focus on pursuing Barnes and Rumlow, who had escaped custody and resurfaced as the masked terrorist Crossbones. Sam ultimately does agree to join after Battle of Sokovia, alongside War Machine, Scarlet Witch, and Vision - replacing Iron Man, Thor, Hulk, and Hawkeye, who had taken sabbaticals for various personal reasons.

Falcon faces his first super-powered opponent when the security systems at the Avengers Mansion detect some anomalous readings. When he investigated, he found a man in a suit of insectoid themed armor attempting to sneak into the mansion. The thief, calling himself Ant-Man, managed to fight off the Falcon, largely due to Sam being caught completely off guard by his opponent's size shifting abilities. Frustrated at being beaten by an opponent whose powers defied everything he knew about human physics, Falcon now found himself pursuing three fugitives, though he did not tell his fellow Avengers about the Ant-Man.

A few months later, Crossbones was sighted in Lagos, Nigeria, running with terrorists attempting to secure a biological weapon. As their individual attempts to capture him over the past six months had failed, Captain America and Falcon bring Black Widow and Scarlet Witch as reinforcements. After being cornered and overpowered by Captain America, Crossbones detonates the explosives in his belt. Scarlet Witch attempts to use her telekinetic powers to divert the explosion to the top floor of an abandoned building, but the yield is so powerful that construction workers renovating the neighboring property are killed. The Avengers assist the fire and relief teams.

After returning to the mansion, the Avengers receive a visit from Stark and Secretary of State Thaddeus Ross. Ross explains that the Lagos Incident, coupled with the Battle of Sokovia six months earlier, has sparked a huge public demand for heavier regulation of the role of super-powered individuals in combat. A United Nations conference, the Sokovia Accords, will be held to discuss what those regulations would entail. Cap and Falcon are leery of these regulations, noting the unfortunate implications they entail. However, most of their teammates suggest further oversight.

The Sokovia Accords are bombed in an act of terrorism that appears to have been orchestrated by the Winter Soldier. Cap suggests that Barnes has been framed, and Falcon is among the first to believe him. They track Barnes to Romania, but they are attacked by Black Panther. The fight spills into the street, where they are arrested by War Machine for violating the Sokovian Accords. While en route to the Joint Counter Terrorism Center in Berlin, Falcon asked the Black Panther if he liked cats. Black Panther explains that the mantle of Black Panther is passed down from one Wakandan king to the next: Since his father was killed in the bombing, he is the new king.

When the real bomber sabotages the facility and enables Barnes to escape, Falcon tells Cap about Ant-Man and suggests he might be able to help.