Avengers: Doomsday Spotlights, Part 19—Joaquín Torres

Joaquín Torres is a new and recent addition to the MCU, as well as another part of the next generation of heroes. Introduced in “Falcon and the Winter Soldier” as a captain and intelligence officer, he spent parts of the show assisting Sam Wilson by providing information on the Flag-Smashers’ operations and offering advice on how to respond. But in “Captain America: Brave New World,” we see that he has inherited Wilson’s Falcon mantle and suit. Not only did he continue offering his intelligence officer services, but his sunny disposition and adequate combat skills greatly assisted Sam as they worked to take down the Leader. Even when he was shot down and left in near-critical condition for the rest of the movie, Joaquín proved himself not just as a successor of the Falcon but as a true hero. 

Origins

Full disclosure: I had no idea this was a real Marvel comics character. I never heard of this guy, so I presumed this was just a new character that Disney and Marvel introduced for the sake of having a side character. However, I would soon find out that Joaquín has been in Marvel comics since 2015, but his story would not be as fleshed out as that of other Marvel characters. 

Regardless, what little we do know still proves he is just as much a true hero as his MCU counterpart. Born and (briefly) raised in Mexico, Joaquín moved with his mom and grandma to Arizona, where his early acts of heroism would begin. Mirroring his future idol, Sam Wilson, Joaquín thrust himself into humanitarian efforts, helping deliver food, water, and basic supplies to migrants crossing the desert. But unfortunately, as is often the case with Marvel heroes, no good deed goes unpunished. His efforts eventually drew the attention of the extremist group Sons of the Serpent, who abducted him during one of his aid missions and turned him over to the scientist Dr. Karl Malus. Malus used genetic material from Sam Wilson’s falcon, Redwing, to forcibly alter Joaquín’s biology, giving him wings, claw-like limbs, and a connection to Redwing that would later extend to Sam as well. The same experiment also left him with an accelerated healing factor, tied to earlier modifications in Redwing’s biology. But after receiving a tip from Joaquín’s family, the youth was finally rescued through the combined efforts of Sam Wilson and Misty Knight. 

However, despite finally escaping such a horrible situation, life did not get any easier for Joaquín. Due to his new healing factor, Joaquín’s transformation was essentially irreversible. Remarkably, though, this would not sink his spirits. Instead, he went out into the world to test his abilities and get accustomed to his new life. But during a test flight, locals and authorities mistook it for a supervillain/monster attack and arrested him, then placed him under the watch of Demolition Man. But shortly after, his psychic connection to Redwing allowed Joaquín to sense that Sam Wilson was in danger. Nearby, Sam was struggling against the Serpent Solutions and was falling from a deadly height, so Joaquín escaped and saved Sam’s life. Finally, Joaquín would get the respect he deserved, as he became Sam’s sidekick for a while as the new Falcon. After a while, he would eventually move on and join a team of heroes known as the Champions, alongside young heroes such as Ms. Marvel, Ironheart, and Miles Morales. Overall, Joaquín’s story is not as fleshed out as other characters, but Marvel still takes what little we have and uses it to portray Joaquín as a true hero to his core. 

Powers, Abilities, and Weaknesses

Sam Wilson may have been the first Falcon, but Joaquín truly inherited the mantle in more ways than one. While Sam is an efficient hand-to-hand fighter, he has to rely on his technology for aerial combat or reconnaissance. Joaquín, on the other hand, isn’t held back by such limitations, thanks (in a twisted sense) to the experiments conducted on him. Because Dr. Malus used Redwing’s falcon DNA, Joaquín grew biological bird wings large enough to help him fly. Without the risks of fuel or EMPs, one of the few limitations to Joaquín’s wings is his own physical energy. Plus, with a falcon’s instincts already embedded in his DNA, attacking or dodging mid-air comes a lot more naturally to Joaquín, sharply increasing his reaction time. And to further embody his new falcon attributes, Joaquín also possesses enhanced vision (resulting in his eyes enlarging), allowing him to lock onto targets or process his environment much faster than Sam’s already impressive spatial awareness. This especially comes in handy when Joaquín performs his own reconnaissance, as the enhanced vision helps him quickly identify the tiniest of details and map out escape/attack routes. Finally, the experiment also armed Joaquín with a falcon’s greatest weapon: its talons. The bird’s claws are already sharp enough to pierce the skin of its prey, so imagine the insane combat potential when such weapons are biologically grafted onto a full-grown man’s hands and feet. They may not be as efficient as Wolverine’s adamantium claws, but they still get the job done just the same. 

However, talons and wings aren’t the only things Redwing unknowingly gave him. In fact, the bird’s DNA contained a couple of extra surprises that aren’t even related to falcon-like attributes. For instance, as mentioned previously, Redwing’s psychic link to Sam Wilson has also been transferred to Joaquín. This means that not only can Joaquín sense whenever Sam is in danger, but he can telepathically communicate with him. Further, sharing a mind with Sam allows Joaquín to see what Sam sees and vice versa. These two traits make for a lethal combination because sharing your partner’s sights and thoughts offers insanely quick reaction time, clearer, more effective communication, and, ultimately, a chance to fight and operate in sync. Of course, Joaquín can’t share this same trait with other heroes. However, he can still act as a relay between Sam and other heroes, no matter where either is located. But by far, the strangest ability Redwing transferred to Joaquín is his healing factor. This is because, during a fight between Sam Wilson and a vampire named Baron Blood, the creature bit Redwing and unintentionally gave him a healing factor. With Joaquín, the healing factor operates the same as anyone else: it can heal any physical or internal damage at an accelerated rate, but at the same time prevents him from ever becoming fully human again. Regardless, this allows him to do more than bounce back after a hard blow. While Sam can push himself through a fight through sheer will alone, Joaquín can push himself through his enhanced biology. 

But of course, just like Sam, Joaquín’s true power comes from his more natural abilities rather than his falcon ones. In this case, his hand-to-hand fighting skills. This is very important because, while it’s impressive to possess superpowers, it’s ultimately meaningless if you don’t have at least a somewhat disciplined mind to wield them properly. Therefore, just as Steve Rogers taught Sam, Sam also trained Joaquín after taking him under his wing (pun unintended). In fact, Sam not only trained Joaquín in physical combat but also aerial combat, which added to his pre-existing aerial instincts and honed them very efficiently. Of course, Joaquín was eager to learn, enthusiastically incorporating what he learned into his fights with any bad guy he came across. However, that presents a significant problem. Even though Joaquín is a good fighter, wields an arsenal of useful abilities, and is more than willing to learn and fight, none of these traits account for his youth and inexperience. Sam had decades of training under Steve, serving as a hero, becoming the next Captain America, and becoming one of Marvel’s greatest leaders. Joaquín, on the other hand, came into the game relatively later than most other heroes. While this isn’t a huge issue, his incomplete training makes him fight a bit more improvisational and enthusiastically than a disciplined fighter like Sam. 

Greatest Feats

Regardless, it’s this same spirit that truly defines Joaquín as a character. He’s not just a hero with cool powers; he’s just someone who genuinely wants to help others, but the powers just came along with it. Such a young individual with true moral ideology made him a prime candidate for the nearly spiritually crushed Champions team. By this point, the group of young heroes (consisting of Ms. Marvel, Miles Morales, Ironheart, among others) had suffered a couple of devastating events: the disastrous aftermath of Civil War II—between the heroes on Iron Man’s side and those of Captain Marvel—and the loss of one of their founding members, Viv Vision. Therefore, the group strove to take their hero duties more seriously and expand their roster, which led them to Joaquín. When he first met the team, he was already assisting another hero, Patriot, with the same humanitarian work he once did before his abduction. But after seeing and hearing what the Champions stood for, Joaquín eagerly accepted their offer and became their newest member for a while. What makes this moment so iconic isn’t a starry-eyed young hero joining a team for the thrill of it, but it’s actually twofold. First, Joaquín was already motivated to help migrants and anyone in need, anyone right in front of him. The Champions consisted of superpowered youths with the same mindset, which was only boosted by the tragedies they endured. That’s why joining the Champions feels like the culmination of Joaquín’s character: because his heart and ideology were expanded and realized by popular but similarly minded individuals. The second part of this is that Joaquín now has the opportunity to step out of Sam’s shadow and become his own hero. Even though this specific issue where he meets the Champions came out a year after his introduction, he still had a reputation of being Sam’s sidekick, which isn’t an easy thing to shake off. But by joining a new team, mostly without his mentor’s supervision, Joaquín can define his own hero identity. Like a baby bird leaving the nest, Joaquín can go out and discover the best way for him personally to make the world better, and the Champions became that first step. 

And there would be no better time to realize that goal than the day when America and its heroes fell. Captain America, the embodiment of American ideals, freedom, and true heroism, revealed himself as a devout agent of HYDRA. Skillfully manipulating events from behind the scenes, he usurped control of America and allowed HYDRA to dominate the country, arresting heroes and anyone else who didn’t get on board. In fact, Steve trapped New York City and most of its heroes in a shadow dome, leaving the superhero community even more poorly outnumbered, defenseless, and despirited than they already were. However, even in the face of hopeless opposition, Joaquín wouldn’t give up. With several civilians and whatever few heroes remained, including Sam Wilson (who gave up the Captain America mantle), Joaquín joined a resistance movement known as the Underground. But contrary to what one might expect, Joaquín didn’t fight some grandiose battle against Steve or anything like that. Nevertheless, his role in the conflict is just as vital. Joaquín dedicated his time and service to helping people who were oppressed or trying to escape from HYDRA, although the comics wouldn’t fully elaborate on how he helped them. Regardless, the fact that he put his own life on the line to help these people in one of the most dire of situations is truly an admirable quality. What’s more, he did so during a time when anyone else would’ve given up and wallowed in despair, which shows a lot of strength for a hero who’s only been in the game for about a couple of years by this point. But what’s truly admirable is how he went back to his roots in this story: from helping immigrants to helping other people who want to escape one of the worst regimes to ever exist. Personally, I find it very poetic and find it a shame we didn’t get more stories about this character earlier than 2015. 

For this last feat, Joaquín doesn’t join a new team or help immigrants, but he faces the greatest enemy that many characters in this article series have faced: themselves. In 2022, long after the good version of Steve was restored and Sam took up the mantle of Captain America again, Joaquín accompanied his old mentor on a mission. A villain named the White Wolf had a complicated Vibranium smuggling operation in place, but the pair were able to stop his plans. However, the White Wolf wasn’t done with them yet. While killing the leader of his own homeland, Wolf also injected an unknown substance into Joaquín, which rendered him unconscious. However, things got worse as the compound also triggered and awakened hidden vampiric traits inside his DNA, essentially transforming him into a vampire. Unfortunately, Joaquín didn’t get a handle on his primal urges in time, as he attacked some of the staff at a hospital he was put in. But thankfully, he regained control enough to retreat to his grandmother’s farm, where he satisfied his vampiric hunger with the farm animals. Even with this setback, Joaquín didn’t stay out of the fight for long. Despite feeling hurt and abandoned by Sam, as well as fighting the monster within himself, he still came back to help Sam finish off White Wolf. Even so, this absolutely cannot be understated: a young, inexperienced hero did not let his condition erase who he is. Sure, he lost control for a second, but he owned up to it by taking all those steps to control himself and finish the job, just like Sam once did when he was also turned into a monster. Even so, one of the most defining moments of this story is when Joaquín is offered a cure. While it would cure his vampirism, there was a chance that it would completely strip Joquín’s powers away. Despite that, though, Joquín bravely chose the right thing over what he was afraid to lose. Joquín would be cured and even keep his falcon abilities, but just imagine if the cure did work all the way. Even though it didn’t, it showed that Joquín was willing to take that chance, one that not a lot of heroes would willingly decide. 

Conclusion

For the first time in a while, the comic book and MCU counterparts of Joquín Torres are very similar (at least in terms of personality). Obviously, the biological wings and talons set him apart from the Air Force-turned sidekick of Anthony Mackie, but it’s always refreshing to see the MCU becoming more comic book accurate. Although I’m not sure how big of a role Danny Ramirez will play in the fight against Doom, one thing’s for sure: in such a cataclysmic event, I believe that one can never have too many positive and funny individuals by their side.