<P> Created by writer - editor Stan Lee and artist Gene Colan, he came about, Colan recalled in 2008, </P> <P>... in the late 1960s (when news of the) Vietnam War and civil rights protests were regular occurrences, and Stan, always wanting to be at the forefront of things, started bringing these headlines into the comics...One of the biggest steps we took in this direction came in Captain America . I enjoyed drawing people of every kind . I drew as many different types of people as I could into the scenes I illustrated, and I loved drawing black people . I always found their features interesting and so much of their strength, spirit and wisdom written on their faces . I approached Stan, as I remember, with the idea of introducing an African - American hero and he took to it right away...I looked at several African - American magazines, and used them as the basis of inspiration for bringing The Falcon to life . </P> <P> He was introduced as an unnamed former resident of New York City's Harlem neighborhood, who had adopted a wild falcon he trained and named Redwing . (His own name, Sam Wilson, was not given until page five of the following issue .) When a group of men on an island "in the tropics" wanted a hunting falcon, Wilson answered the ad, only to discover that the self - dubbed "Exiles" were former Nazis in league with the supervillain the Red Skull . He escaped, but remained on the island to organize the natives to confront the Exiles, who had turned them into serfs . At the urging of Steve Rogers, whom he later learned was Captain America, Wilson took on the costumed identity of the Falcon and underwent training with Rogers in order to better inspire the villagers and lead the fight . </P> <P> Through most of the 1970s, the Falcon and Captain America were a team in New York City, and the series was cover - billed Captain America and the Falcon from issues #134--192 and 194--222 (February 1971--June 1978), though still copyrighted as Captain America . In issue #186 (June 1975), writer Steve Englehart retconned aspects of the Falcon's past . Originally depicted as a former social worker, motivated by a desire to better the lives of inner - city youth, the Falcon was revealed as a mob - connected thug whose memories were altered by the reality - warping Cosmic Cube . </P>

What was sam wilson before he became falcon
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