Given the uniquely "iconic" status of the Star-Spangled Sentinel -- both within the fictional milieu of the Marvel Universe itself, and within the wider consciousness of the fan readership at large -- it seems only right that the first black super-hero ever to share cover billing in a monthly comics series made his debut in the same title wherein The Last, Best Soldier of the American Ideal regularly held forth on such topics as Equality Under Law and Racial Tolerance. The only thing even mildly astonishing concerning the entire affair, in fact, is that it took the writers so long to hook up the good Captain (who has had, over the years, nearly as many partners as Elizabeth Taylor) with the aforementioned Mr. Wilson in the first place.

During the first (and best) "Cosmic Cube" storyline, back in the early '70's -- in the course of which, Captain America found himself an unwilling "house guest" within the body of hated arch-foeman, "the Red Skull"; while the Skull, in turn, enjoyed the comparative benefits of the Captain's own battle-honed physique -- the costume-less, identity-less "Cap" found himself on a remote and (putatively) deserted island. It was here that he first encountered inner city expatriate Sam Wilson, whilst the latter was busily attuning his inner self with the tranquility of his forest surroundings, in general)... and with the magnificent feathered raptor he came to call "Redwing," in particular [see pictures, below].

The two men -- so remarkably simpatico in every important regard -- quickly forged an inseparable bond of friendship, and resolved to aid each other, in equal measure. Sam Wilson would attempt to help Captain America regain his own physiognomy and identity, once more... and Sam, in turn, would benefit from personal, one-on-one hand-to-hand combat training from the single greatest warrior the Marvel Universe had ever known.

That the resultant partnership was an eminently successful one is, too, an inarguable aspect of the canon: not only was the Cube-wielding Skull soundly thrashed by both men, in unison [see cover, below]

... but: a few months after that, the duo elected to make their impromptu partnership full, complete... and permanent.

Sam Wilson lost precious little time in establishing himself as being fully worthy of the Captain's time, trust and attentions, as he immediately made it his business to cut a wide and remorseless swath through the heretofore-neglected (at least, by the Marvel "super-hero" community at large, in any event) New York City underworld. Drug traffickers... numbers runners... flesh peddlers and loan sharks were the Falcon's particular betes noires of choice. It wasn't long before the codename of "the Falcon" became more than simply the second half of a double-billing which would, otherwise, have inevitably begun with the words: "Captain America and..." [see pictures, below]

... which is not to say, of course, that the character ever got "cheated" out of his fair share of super-villain dust-ups and what-not, during his tenure as cover-credited co-star (as the accompanying cover reproduction below makes abundantly clear).

What was most refreshing about all of this, of course, was the entirely unselfconscious manner in which the two men regarded one another as equals, in each and every aspect of their relationship (both "on the job" -- as it were -- and otherwise).

However: it was, again, the "neighborhood," itself -- and the denizens dwelling therein -- which was Sam Wilson's chiefest concern, throughout.

Inevitably (as it often turned out), all the low and dirty roads in said neighborhood wound up twisting their way (or so it seemed, at any rate) through the alleyways and tenements and directly towards the mahogany-paneled (and -- doubtless -- steel-reinforced) penthouse door of the crimelord known only as "Boss Morgan."

The overweight (and studiedly self-polished) Morgan was the classic, archetypal entrepreneur- turned-velociraptor; a man who -- as the Falcon so scathingly put it -- "... take a kid's dinner as payment for a numbers ticket!" Their run-ins were as memorable as they were frequent, with the imperturbable racketeer constantly reminding Sam that there would always be "a place for you on my payroll," should the latter man ever "wake up and smell the money to be made in this business."
In an effective "twist" upon the super-hero comic book norm, the Falcon's presence within the neighborhood -- indeed, his very existence -- was the subject of much controversy amidst the residents themselves.

Not everyone appreciated, for instance, his close and ongoing relationship with the white, Aryan-esque Captain America, and dismissed the hero as simply a "sell-out" and "an Uncle Tom." So far as these individuals were concerned, the (seemingly) simple notion of two men on different sides of the racial divide being "color blind" towards one another was as unspeakable an affront as would be the meanest race-baiting and jingoism.

While such voices were distinctly within the minority, in this matter... it often must have seemed to Sam Wilson, nonetheless, that the twin banners of The American Ideal and Racial Solidarity were two which could not be carried into battle simultaneously.

The Falcon: PAGE TWO

The Silver Age CAPTAIN AMERICA
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