The Falcon & The Winter Soldier: 10 Things You Didn’t Know About Joaquín Torres

While audiences are extremely familiar with Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson in the role of The Falcon, now that the Avenger may be finally suiting up as the new Captain America someone else may be taking on the mantle. Joaquín Torres has been introduced in the first episode of The Falcon And The Winter Soldier. 

The character is a more recent addition to the comics, but his debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe could certainly mean big things for the future of the franchise. His own time as The Falcon may be inbound, but first, there’s plenty to learn about this comic book vigilante from the source material.

10 A Young Immigrant

Torres is actually an immigrant in America. While he is now well known for being an Arizonian, he originally moved from Mexico when he was six years old. Despite living in the United States for the majority of his life, he hasn’t forgotten his heritage.

Joaquín is certainly very proud of his Mexican culture and continues to try and help those who are making their way to the States. Indeed, he has been seen helping other immigrants at the border countless times, with his actions leading to him being captured by The Sons Of The Serpent.

9 Rescued By Cap

Although fans may have wanted to see the original MCU Falcon and the current comic book Falcon interact on screen, they perhaps would have expected their first meeting to go differently. After all, the comics don’t see Torres as an intelligence agent and military man.

Instead, the source material sees Falcon actually rescue Joaquín from his capture at the hands of The Sons Of The Serpent. He had become a test subject for the mad experiments of Karl Malus, with Sam Wilson’s Captain America putting a stop to the atrocities.

8 A Redwing Hybrid

The MCU version of Redwing is actually a robot that Sam has a strange affection for. While there are fan theories that suggest this robotic buddy could get some AI added down the line, in the comics Sam is actually paired off with a real bird.

It is Redwing that Malus uses in his experiments with Torres. The mad scientist combines the DNA of the two, mutating the young vigilante into a strange mixture of man and bird. It’s this experimentation that ultimately gives him his powers though.

7 Psychic Connections

Because of this link to Falcon’s bird, Joaquín Torres and Redwing actually have a psychic connection with one another. It’s a strange link, but one that really came in handy on a number of occasions. Indeed, information can even be passed through Redwing to Torres.

What’s more, Torres knows whether Sam is in danger based on Wilson’s own link to his pet bird. That means that he can come to his aid at any time, making him an incredibly useful ally in the field. It certainly doesn’t hurt for Joaquín’s reputation to be connected to one of Marvel’s most famous animals.

6 A New Falcon

The Falcon is perhaps nearing the end of the road in the MCU, as he grapples with the possibility of picking up the shield. There might therefore be a space to be filled when it comes to picking a new Falcon and the comics luckily have the answer.

Torres becomes the next Falcon, even joining Wilson in battle countless times as his sidekick. The MCU suit is far more mechanical than what’s seen in the source material, with Torres’ own powers aiding him greatly. He wears a green costume and went through a number of name suggestions before settling on Falcon including Whirling Birdy, Squawkman, and Furious Feather.

5 Getting Arrested

When first developing his powers Falcon was having a great time flying across his city. While it may have been a useful way to break in his abilities and get some quick experience, he didn’t think about the impact it was having on everyday citizens.

Torres was unfortunately arrested because he was causing absolute chaos. In The Falcon And The Winter Soldier, he holds a very official role, but as the comic kid who just wanted to stretch out his wings, he finds himself on the wrong side of the law.

4 First Big Fight

Joaquín’s first really big fight was against the Serpent Society. The organization is certainly one of Captain America’s most dangerous set of rogues and plenty have been preparing for their potential appearance in the MCU, perhaps even on the latest Disney+ show.

It was once again through the mental link to Redwing that Falcon knew to come to the aid of Sam after the latest Captain America had been captured by these villains. He was successful in his mission, certainly proving his worth in battle.

3 The Underground Resistance

A must-read set of comics for any fan of the Captain America side of the Marvel Universe is the Secret Empire narrative which saw Steve Rogers turn out to be a supposed Hydra sleeper agent. Torres played a vital role during this villainous uprising.

Acting like the true hero he is and harking back to his days of helping Mexican immigrants, Falcon aided those trying to escape the evil regime, working with an underground resistance. It was a noble role for him to play and is reflected in his efforts to infiltrate the Flag Smashers in The Falcon And The Winter Soldier. 

2 Member Of The Champions

There was once the Young Avengers, The Initiative, and Avengers Academy, but after all of these teams and concepts crumbled what instead rose from the ashes was The Champions. This is a group of Marvel’s youngest heroes who have banded together to fight injustice.

From Miles Morales to Kamala Khan, some of the most popular modern heroes have found themselves as part of the team. Falcon plays a vital role in the group and it’s extremely possible that his Disney+ debut could be leading to a version of the team alongside Stature, Ms. Marvel, and Hawkeye, amongst others.

1 Regenerative Powers

Strangely enough, one of The Falcon’s powers is actually based on his ability to heal. Torres has been found to have regenerative gifts, which seems odd because he was only bonded to Redwing; but this fictional bird holds a secret.

Supposedly, Redwing is actually vampiric, meaning that Torres has inherited some of those gifts as well. It’s part of the reason he is stuck in his physical transformation, but at the very least his wounds are treated incredibly efficiently.

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