If you鈥檝e already seen (one time or five times鈥攚e鈥檙e not judging), you probably got some great looks at Anthony Mackie鈥檚 Falcon, cruising through the sky in his new and improved flight suit. But if you鈥檙e a true Marvel Comics nerd, you may also have noticed that he鈥檚 missing several qualities that are key to the original hero's identity.
Sam Wilson, under the alias the Falcon, made his first comic book debut in the '60s in Captain America Volume 1; 117, appropriately titled . And it's a good thing that he did: Wilson swooped in to save the protagonist's life as he battled the vengeful Red Skull. Not only is Wilson the first African American superhero in mainstream comics, he's also a skilled gymnast, an expert in hand-to-hand combat, and, most importantly, an avid bird lover.
So yes, the motion-picture version of the Falcon is pretty cool (not to mention, very handsome)鈥攂ut he still lacks a certain avian flair. Here鈥檚 a look at why Mackie鈥檚 Wilson isn鈥檛 quite as badass as his comic book counterpart.
No Nifty Birds-Eye View
For starters, the original Falcon has one of the best superpowers out there: the ability to communicate with birds. Although he doesn鈥檛 fly around chirping and tweeting at his winged buddies, he's able to forge a with them. That means he can read their minds and even see snapshots of their aerial views鈥攁 useful skill when trying to stalk villains or rescue people from imminent death. In the past that he has 6 billion pairs of eyes in the U.S. skies alone.
The Falcon from the films wasn鈥檛 given this talent鈥攂ut perhaps it鈥檚 for the best. With all the bombs, gun blasts, and star-encrusted shields zooming around, it鈥檚 good that birds weren鈥檛 caught in the middle of the civil war.
No Real-Life Raptor Sidekick
In the illustrated Marvel world, Wilson has : Redwing, a crimson-colored pet falcon. He and Redwing share a telepathic link, thanks to some strange mojo pulled by the villain Red Skull. Although Redwing does make a few appearances in the movies, he鈥檚 shown as a robotic drone; his feathers have been replaced with steel plates and his talons are now complex multipurpose gadgets. This militarized version of Redwing is helpful when Wilson needs a second pair of eyes鈥攂ut without any psychic powers, he can only see through it by donning a pair of red-tinted, high-tech goggles.
No Animal-Taming Skills
Best of all, the comic book character is also an excellent bird trainer. As a kid, Wilson had a natural attraction to birds, and was particularly drawn to pigeons (unlike most New Yorkers). He even owned at one point. Over time he became a master bird whisperer and could train any wild avian, no matter how fierce. But the Falcon in the movie doesn鈥檛 keep company with pigeons鈥攏or can he train any avian allies. True to his feathered roots, however, he does get into a lengthy battle with a cat (okay, a man dressed like a cat, better known as the Black Panther).
Civil War is a beautiful ride鈥攜et it鈥檚 clear that Cap gets all the glory, and that Falcon just serves as his trusty accomplice. But hey, at least they got the suit right.