Marvel Legacy: Rodney Barnes To Have Falcon Wrestle With Demons In New Series

Sam Wilson is officially leaving Captain America's shield behind and returning to his original superhero series in Falcon #1, launching a brand new series spinning out of the story featured in Marvel Legacy #1.

Peabody and AFI Award-winning writer and producer Rodney Barnes (The Boondocks, Everybody Hates Chris) will be joined by artist Joshua Cassara (Secret Empire: Uprising, The Troop) in bringing Sam Wilson into the next chapter of his life.

"At the moment, Sam is in a state of transition," Barnes tells ComicBook.com. "He feels guilty about his relationship with Steve Rogers and wonders if he didn't pick up clues as to what team Steve was really playing for what else has he missed? So he's backing away from the limelight for a spell and taking a more grass roots approach to making the world a better place.

"He needs a break and some distance between himself and the role he's played as of late. He's disappointed in Steve Rogers and in himself for not seeing the signs sooner. This is a time for resetting the table."

Part of resetting the table for Sam includes taking on a new sidekick in Marvel's new Patriot, who is vital to keeping Sam on-mission.

"The Patriot helps Falcon connect with the Millennial mindset of today's world," Barnes explains. "Sam typically deals with his own peer group who sees the world much like he does. Shaun is an optimist and this helps to balance the sense of self-doubt Sam's going through. There are some similarities in Sam's relationship with Rayshaun to the one he had with Joaquin Torres, but Sam was in a different place then. Much more the typical authoritarian. Here he's second guessing himself and Shaun isn't afraid to point that out."

Barnes also plans to shake things up by taking Falcon out of his normal comfort zone. Sam will be dealing with the magical side of the Marvel Universe and his first opponent in Blackheart, the son of Mephisto.

"Genre wise there's a blending of urban street sensibilities with dark magic. Sam's never been to the place we're taking him and it's going to take more than muscle to overcome the obstacles in his path," Barnes teases. "My hope is that taking Sam out of his typical environment will cause him to use wits of a different sort. The fight now is from the inside out. And since he's soul searching it felt kind of cool to put him in the spiritual realm. Blackheart was a character I've appreciated for a long time. I felt his frustration at being a second stringer on the demon totem pole so why wouldn't he take his shot at shaking up the world? If a bad kid won't listen to his parents surely a Demon son wouldn't take well to conformity either."

Sam may be walking through hellfire, but by the end, Barnes is hoping that he'll have found his definitive place in the Marvel Universe without carrying the mantle of Captain America.

"By the end of my run, my hope is that Sam will be clear minded and focused as to his place in the Marvel Universe," Barnes says. "He's worn a lot of hats over the last few years and that's sort of disrupted his sense of self. The plan is to restore that. I'd say the tone is more personal and intimate. Often times superheroes become so connected to the missions at hand that they forget there's a real person under the costume."

Check out the Jesus Saiz's full cover and the solicitation text for Falcon #1 below. Look for the new series in comic book stores when Marvel Legacy launches this fall.

FALCON #1
Written by RODNEY BARNES
Penciled by JOSHUA CASSARA
Cover by JESUS SAIZ

TAKE FLIGHT!
Continuing directly out of the pages of MARVEL LEGACY #1!

Sam Wilson – winged warrior, avian Avenger and one-time sentinel of liberty – takes to the skies again, reborn and recommitted as the fighter for freedom, THE FALCON!

Engaged in an all-new assignment while training his new partner THE PATRIOT, Sam Wilson soars high and sees all. But Sam's new mission finds him on a collision course with an enemy way out of his weight class—the demonic BLACKHEART! From the stratosphere to the streets, the Marvel Universe now has a high-flying hero circling above them ready to strike!