Captain America #117
The Coming of… The Falcon!
Having swapped bodies with Captain America using the Cosmic Cube, the Red Skull has teleported Cap to the island of the Exiles in the hopes they will kill his foe.[1] The Exiles are patrolling their island plotting to get revenge against the Red Skull. The Skull, then ensures that his former allies see Captain America. Although he is outnumbered, Captain America is able to hold his own against the Exiles, but this may not last long since the Red Skull’s body has slower reflexes than his own.
Watching this through the Cosmic Cube, the Red Skull gloats how easily it was to manipulate the Exiles. However, the tide of the battle quickly changes when a falcon swoops down and begins attacking the ex-Nazi Exiles. The bird of prey causes enough of a distraction for Captain America to escape into the island’s jungle. It’s only now that Cap realizes that the Red Skull actually wears a mask and takes it off. Fearing that the Exiles might know what the Skull looks like without his mask, Cap then begins working with clay from the ground to alter his features.
The r-eal Red Skull is unaware of this development because he has decided to use Captain America’s body to his advantage. He gets a free cab ride up to the city’s fanciest hotel where he gets a room for the night. This spectacle draws members of the press who begin interviewing and taking photos of “Captain America”. The Skull is amused by this and this media attention inspires him to ruin Captain America’s reputation before he ultimately destroys his foe. At that same moment, as the secret headquarters of Advanced Idea Mechanics, their leader MODOK has his team of scientists working on a way to neutralize the Cosmic Cube. This is because MODOK has decided that if AIM cannot have its creation, they will make sure nobody else can use it.[3]
Back on Exile Island, Captain America has finished disguising his face and begins looking around. He finds the man who trained the falcon to save his life. He learns that is man, Sam Wilson, is a native of Harlem who grew up with an affinity for training pigeons. While on vacation in Rio he first encountered falcons and was taken away by the birds of prey. He then learned the craft of falconry. He then introduces Captain America to his pet, Redwing, with whom Sam has developed a unique bond with the bird. He later answered an advertisement looking for trained falconers. He learned later that his employers were the Exiles and after discovering they had enslaved the island’s natives he decided to help them liberate their home.[4] Hearing all this prompts Captain America to suggest training Sam and coming up with a costumed identity for him. Wilson likes this idea and while the Exiles continue to hunt for the “Red Skull”, the villagers work quickly to create Sam’s new outfit. With his costume complete, Sam Wilson is transformed into the Falcon.
Recurring Characters
Captain America, Falcon, Red Skull, Exiles (Baldini, Cadavus, General Ching, Gruning, Iron-Hand Hauptman, Krushki), AIM (MODOK), Redwing
Continuity Notes
Cap and Red Skull’s body swap will remain in effect until next issue.
The Exiles are all unidentified. They will all be partially named when they appear again next issue. Their full names are revealed elsewhere as detailed below:
Franz Cadavus, Eric Gruning and Jurgen Hauptmann’s full names are revealed in Marvel Atlas #1 in the Germany entry.
Angelo Baldini, Ivan Krushki and Jun Chang’s full names are revealed in the Exiles entry in Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z #4.
The Cosmic Cube was created by AIM but they soon lost it after it was stolen by the Red Skull. See Tales of Suspense #79-81. MODOK was last seen in Tales of Suspense #93-94, and was believed to be destroyed when AIM’s hideout blew up. His survival is not explained until Captain America #119.
Sam Wilson’s origins are somewhat muddled due to the Red Skull’s use of the Cosmic Cube here. As detailed in Captain America #186, and 276-278, Sam Wilson’s past was apparently a lie and that he was actually a gang banger named “Snap" Wilson that was made into an altruistic person by the Cosmic Cube. This was because the Red Skull wished to create someone that Captain America could implicitly trust in order to have a useful spy. As it turns out, the whole Snap Wilson persona was the fabrication created by the Cosmic Cube and was told to Wilson later to sew doubt in his abilities. See All-New Captain America #3. For more on these contradictions, click here.
