Falcon #1 Review

Writer: Rodney Barnes / Artist: Joshua Cassara / Marvel Comics After having Sam Wilson serve as Captain America for more than a year, Marvel placed itself in a difficult spot following a decision to return him to his former role as Falcon. The story was that he wasn’t being demoted but just returning to his roots with some newfound perspective. Unfortunately, Falcon #1 fumbles the handoff. In an attempt to regain the trust of the people, Sam takes it upon himself to travel to Chicago to single-handedly take on gang violence. Barnes clearly did at least a little homework in regards to bringing some of Chicago’s reality of gang violence to the page. Sadly, the dialogue leaves a lot to be desired. Teenagers sound like they were ripped out of an awkward YouTube sketch and the adults sometimes talk like they’re straight out of a Blacksploitation flick. Prime example: “Woo! Look at you go! Boy, America picked the right Negro to give wings!” 

The most common themes of the last title — dealing with racial injustices and political corruption – remain true in Falcon. However, the stakes are downsized. Prime example, instead of a corrupt government, we’ve got an evil mayor who’s later revealed to be an out-of-place villain. Before we move on to the biggest issue, let’s take a small detour. Now that Sam’s got a sidekick that’s a symbol of the American spirit, what’s going to happen to his old sidekick? Y’know, Joaquin Torres, a.k.a. the guy who was going by Falcon after being biologica…