The Falcon and the Winter Soldier: What’s hidden in plain sight in episode 1

The History of the Wilsons

One of the great things about the premiere episode is that we finally get to see more of Sam’s life and history outside of being an Avenger. We learn his family ran their own Louisiana fishing business that’s been inherited by his widowed sister, Sarah Casper (Adepero Odute). However, because of the Blip and the fact she’s struggling to make ends meat while raising two kids on her own, the business is on the verge of bankruptcy, meaning she may have to sell the main trawler named after their parents, Paul and Darlene. And of course, Sam wants to keep the boat because it wasn’t just his and his sister’s legacy, but also their family’s first home.

While this makes for compelling family drama and social commentary, none of Sam’s backstory in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is in the actual comics. Instead of being born and raised in Delacroix, Louisiana, comic book Sam was born and raised in Harlem, New York. Instead of running a family-owned fishing fleet, Sam’s father was a Baptist minister. And while Sam’s parents and brother-in-law are also deceased, they were all victims of separate incidents of gang violence. Oh, and Sam, angry over his mother’s death became a street hood who went by the name Snap Wilson before Steve Rogers helped turn his life around.

As for Sam’s sister, Sarah doesn’t have two boys in the comics but a son and a daughter. Her son Jody is also a teenager and, like his uncle Sam, was being tempted into a life of crime until Sam convinced him to change his ways. The last time Sarah or her kids appear in the comics is in All-New Captain America, and only in flashback.

So why the changes? Likely for the same reason the MCU Sam Wilson is a member of the Air Force just as Steve Rogers was a member of the Army. By giving Sam a more working class and military background, it makes the comparisons between himself and Steve that much stronger. Which, of course, also strengthens the case for why he’s the rightful heir to the Captain America mantle.