Falcon (Samuel Thomas "Sam" Wilson) is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was introduced by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Gene Colan in Captain America #117 (September 1969), and was the first African-American superhero in mainstream comic books.[1][2] As the superhero Falcon, Wilson uses mechanical wings to fly, and has limited telepathic and empathic control over birds. Following Steve Rogers's retirement, Wilson becomes the newest Captain America in All-New Captain America #1 (January 2015) and leader of the Avengers. Wilson's deceased nephew was the Incredible Hulk's sometime-sidekick Jim Wilson, one of the first openly HIV-positive comic-book characters. Jim Wilson's father Gideon Wilson would go on to join the Gamma Corps. Sam Wilson as Falcon and Captain America has made several media appearances, such as the Marvel Cinematic Universe films Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014), Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), Ant-Man (2015), Captain America: Civil War (2016), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), Avengers: Endgame (2019), and the television series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (2021), in which the character is portrayed by Anthony Mackie.