Marvel followers first met Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) because the Falcon, however these days he is Captain America — on each the display and the web page. Sam will take the lead within the subsequent Marvel movie, “Captain America: Courageous New World,” which isn’t unhealthy for a former sidekick character.
Created by Stan Lee and artist Gene Colan in 1969, Falcon is commonly thought-about the primary African-American superhero. (T’Challa, the Black Panther debuted a yr earlier, making him the primary Black superhero, however he’s from Wakanda.) By the late Sixties, the Civil Rights Act was the legislation of the land and segregation (although not racism) was a factor of the current previous. That decade, Marvel Comics determined to get with this system and commenced slowly introducing Black supporting characters.Â
“Sergeant Fury and his Howling Commandos” first shipped to newsstands in 1963 and featured a Black soldier, Gabe Jones, in the principle forged. Subsequent got here characters like Joe “Robbie” Robertson, editor of the Each day Bugle in “Superb Spider-Man.” After which Black Panther opened the door for precise Black superheroes like Falcon, Invoice Foster/Goliath, and Luke Cage.
Now, Black Panther solely unintentionally shared a reputation with the militant Black Panther Get together, however the frequent names have helped Stan Lee’s fashionable fame as extra of a firebrand than he actually was. In keeping with “Marvel Comics: The Untold Story” by Sean Howe, Falcon took place due to Lee’s actual concern: good publicity. As Howe’s ebook recounted: in 1969, an article ran within the East Village Different, an underground NYC newspaper, that claimed comedian books lacked Black characters. Lee/Marvel responded, in a letter penned by an assistant editor, that they have been making a aware (however gradual) effort to introduce Black characters and itemizing off ones that they already had: T’Challa, the Robertson household, Gabe Jones, Willie Lincoln, the supervillains Centurius and Man-Ape (yeah…), and the Falcon.
Solely, the Falcon hadn’t debuted presently. In keeping with Howe, Lee and Colan swiftly put him in “Captain America” #117, and he then turned the ebook’s co-lead.
Now, in his foreword to “Marvel Masterworks: Captain America” Quantity 4, Colan claimed the Falcon was his concept as a result of he needed to attract a Black superhero:
“I loved drawing folks of each form. I drew as many various kinds of folks as I may into the scenes I illustrated, and I beloved drawing Black folks. I at all times discovered their options fascinating and a lot of their energy, spirit and knowledge written on their faces. I approached Stan, as I bear in mind, with the thought of introducing an African-American hero and he took to it immediately. As for The Falcon’s look, I had in thoughts a really rugged wanting, well-built and tall man. I checked out a number of African-American magazines, and used them as the premise of inspiration for bringing The Falcon to life.”
Who have been the fashions in these magazines? In keeping with each Howe and comedian historian Brian Cronin, it was somebody well-known for a a lot completely different motive right this moment: Orenthal James “O.J.” Simpson.
