Falcon Costume – A DIY Guide

Joining the forces of Captain America in the most recent installment of Marvel’s cinema-graphic Universe in The Winter Soldier, Samuel Thomas Wilson, played by actor Anthony Mackie, flew (literally) into the action as the Falcon. Entering the big screen, this character draws in the more mature, darker elements of war torn veterans, introducing the very real condition of PTSD to Captain America by including him in therapy sessions in a VA hospital setting. In this adaptation, Sam meets Cap during a comical jogging scene and they become fast allies in the fight against Hydra. A member of the United States Air Force Pararescue division, Sam tells Cap that he can “fly” very well. Later in the movie his epic winged flight suit is revealed making this character a cosplay dream.
As a comic character Sam Wilson pioneered racially diverse superheros in Marvel Comics, being the first widely known African-American hero introduced in 1969. Having a nephew who was openly HIV positive, the Wilson family has inspired inclusion in Marvel comics for decades. Continuing with his accolades, Falcon was named 96th on IGN’s list of Top 100 Comic Book Heroes of All Time. Growing up in Harlem, Sam strayed down a criminal path after his father, a minister, was killed intervening to stop a fight. Initially rejecting his parents faith, Sam was given books on comparative theology by his parents before his fathers death. With an early inclination to everything avian, Sam was known to train pigeons and had the amassed the largest pigeon coop in his Harlem. Though the initial home location has been changed with different variations of the character, Sam Wilson’s connection with birds of prey is consistent, connecting his initial origin story of being altered by Hydra’s Cosmic Cube to have “super-normal mental link” with a falcon named Redwing.