When I think I’m out, they keep pulling me back in! Consider
this a temporary reprieve. With The Falcon and the Winter Solider show
now streaming on Disney + I think it’s the appropriate time to cover Sam
Wilson aka The Falcon in the MC2.
Unlike many past Avenger entries, the Falcon is not seen
or mentioned in the A-Next #7 flashback to the last
days of the original Avengers. While not seen or even mentioned, we
actually get our first hint of Sam Wilson’s alter ego in Spider-Girl
#6. It’s here we have the debut of the Ladyhawks, aka Rosetta
and Regina Morgan the twin
daughters of crime lord Boss Morgan. The Ladyhawks costume is
clearly an homage to the Falcon’s original green costume first seen with
his first appearance in Captain America #117.
Additionally, we also got a mention in the letters page of Spider-Girl
#11 when a fan asked if the Ladyhawks would have to pay royalties to
Sam Wilson for using his motif
We don’t learn of the Ladyhawk twin’s origins until Spider-Girl
#60, and it’s there that we discover their father was responsible for the
death of The Falcon. Following this, Rosetta and Regina
decided to use their (apparently) deceased father’s estate to make amends and
wage a war on crime.
This is further reiterated in Amazing Spider-Girl #7
where we learn that Boss Morgan remains alive and criminally active.
When Rosetta confronts her father, her costume’s resemblance to The
Falcon’s is brought up along with the hero’s death which, according to Boss
Morgan, was ‘quite some time ago’.
Meanwhile, over in the Avengers Next #1 we saw the
team battle the magically created ‘zombies’ of
various Avengers throughout the team’s history. Among these Sylene-created
duplicates was a green-garbed fake
Falcon who soon crumbles to dust alongside the others when Sylene
loses focus. It’s worth pointing out that Sylene used stolen stored samples
from the Avengers Compound, suggesting Sam provided these prior
to his death.
While it’s not actually the MC2’s Falcon, I wanted to
mention American Dream’s first encounter with the Sam Wilson of an
altered reality in Captain America Corp #2. Shannon clearly
recognizes and admires the hero from her world and also refers to Sam -and
Luke
Cage
and Peter
Parker- saying they ‘were heroes--Avengers’.
Finally, in the Secret Wars MC2 story featured in the
Spider-Island mini-series, we see a glimpse of Ladyhawk (presumably
Rosetta Morgan) in a new costume, this time inspired by the Falcon’s
later red and white costume. Ironically, despite this Falcon costume
being far more prominent and iconic, this is the only time the red and white colouring
is seen in the MC2 (Spider-Island #4-#5).
Initially I thought the Falcon got a raw deal in the MC2
but looking at the overall impact the winged Avenger has had on this
universe, I think it’s fair to say he’s well served. Yes, Sam Wilson is
dead, but his legacy lives on through the Ladyhawks and their dedication
to fighting crime. Furthermore, while it’s not explicitly stated, I think the Falcon
is well-regarded among the next generation of Avengers, particularly American
Dream who is herself upholding the legacy of Captain
America. There remains a lot of untold stories in the MC2, and the Ladyhawks
origins are the perfect place to detail the events surrounding Sam Wilson’s
demise. Once again, I ask: can we please have a Ladyhawk mini-series?
Until I figure out what happened to Redwing, I remain
frogoat