Falcon #2 (December 1983)

Hello, and welcome once again to Classic Comic Showcase! This time, we are going to continue our look at the Falcon's 1980s miniseries because, well...why not? If you want to read my review of the first issue, it can be found right here.

The Falcon miniseries started off kind of...meh. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't the greatest, either. It did do its job in establishing the solo Falcon's status quo, though. Hopefully, this issue will be a bit more fun as we get to see Falcon fight a Sentinel.

"Legion"
Writer: Jim Owsley
Pencils: Mark Bright
Inks: Mike Gustovich
Letters: Rick Parker
Colors: Christie Scheele
Editor: Larry Hama

The cover is pretty cool, I love it! It's got a Sentinel front and center holding up a beaten Falcon. It really does give a sense of menace and the idea that ol' Sam Wilson is in deep, deep trouble. The cover also shows a brand-new masthead logo. I do like it, but it does seem a bit inconsistent. The last issue had a graffiti-style logo, so I was hoping they'd stick with it. Ah, well.

The comic starts with Falcon taking a nice, relaxing flight. If I had his wings, I'd fly everywhere, too.

"Top of the world, Ma!"

Falcon is so busy enjoying himself, he accidentally causes a skydiver's parachute to spill, and he rescues her.

"Falcon, I told you! File a flight plan with the FAA! You'll get grounded again!"

He learns from the skydiver that the wind blew her off course, as he helps her to the ground. She introduces herself as Rachel, and he tells her his name. Yeah, Sam, tell a stranger your secret identity. He flies off over a community landfill, where something is thinking the word "MUTANT" over and over again.

Later, in an apartment, Tork wakes up Sam by beating a pan, and it's funny.

"Tork, man! I got an alarm clock! I keep telling you! You don't need to do that!"

Sam gets ready to start a day of work, listening to Tork rant about his job and about the Falcon having the "personality of a brick". You'd think considering that Sam and Tork clearly have known each other for some time, and Sam has worked with him as the Falson, Sam would tell him about being the Falcon.

Sam meets with a street gang known as The Legion. TITLE DROP! Sam had manged to reform the gang from a violent bunch of criminals to essentially a Neighborhood Watch/Guardian Angels type of group. The group wants to do a solidarity march, and they want Falcon to convince the authorities to allow it. Falcon agrees to set it up. He walks by a landfill, but then...

...THE SENTINEL.

"WOULD YOU LIKE TO TAKE A SURVEY ABOUT YOUR DEATH, MUTANT?"

A surprised Falcon is easily caught and gassed unconscious.

Meanwhile, Tork is wondering where Falcon is, and decides to go home. Falcon wakes up in what appears to be a lab, and he quotes Shakespeare as he wakes up.

"Zzzzzz...no, Juliet...I don't want to drink that with you..."

He notices the sun is rising, and he realizes his appointment with Tork and The Legion. He flies out of there, only for he Sentinel to discover him and chase after him. A minor issue I have here is that Falcon seems completely unfamiliar with the Sentinels. These things have rampaged and fought the X-Men in cities before this mini, so it is funny that Falcon would not have been at least been able to recognize them.

The Legion's parade goes on, until Xeon, one of the leaders, is confronted by your stereotypical dumb bigot cop. Dumb Cop tells Xeon he does not believe The Legion are the good guys now, and shoves him aside. Another Legionnaire kicks Dumb Cop, and a rookie cop panics and draws his gun. Tork sees this and tries to stop the rookie, but is too late. The Legionnaire is dead, and Xeon loses it.

"KHAAAAAAAAAN!"

Falcon tries to lose the Sentinel, but it's able to keep up with him. Falcon flies through a forest and towards a conveniently placed US Army artillery range. In an amusing bit, Falcon calls the Sentinel "Gigantor". The artillery's missiles do their job and blast the Sentinel.

"AAAARGH! RIGHT IN THIS UNIT'S BUTT PLATE!"

Falcon flies down and tells the soldiers to keep shooting at it. Back in the city, The Legion's parade has degenerated into a riot, and what does Tork do? Does he try to keep things calm? Nope, he just sits on a ledge.

"You know, that cloud looks like a bunny."

Way to do your job, Tork. Being real helpful there, pal.

Falcon and the Army's missiles managed to damage the Sentinel, but the chase is still on. Sam tries to get the Sentinel to stop as its "war is over". The Sentinel itself explains it is following its programming, as it's programmed to capture and secure mutants to protect humanity. It explains it was one of the same Sentinels that was destroyed by the X-Men in X-Men #98 (April 1976). In that comic, the Sentinels attacked the X-Men in Manhattan while they were celebrating Christmas.

After its destruction, the parts ended up in the landfill. Why couldn't the feds or SHIELD have taken the remains? Anyway, it turned out the Sentinel's brain still worked, and upon detecting the Falcon, it reassembled itself and attacked. Okay, WHY DIDN'T ANYONE CHECK TO SEE IF ANY PARTS OF THE SENTINEL WAS STILL WORKING AFTER CYCLOPS BLASTED IT OFF A 112-STORY BUILDING?!

"Plot convenience assembling powers, activate!"

The Sentinel then tries to crush Falcon, so he psionically summons Redwing the falcon. The bird flies inside the Sentinel and starts ripping out wires, and it manages to shut the Sentinel down.

Back in New York City, the riot is still raging. A woman emerges from a limo (yeah, smart thing, leaving a car during a RIOT), and one of The Legionnaires is a bout to shoot her, but stopped by Falcon. Xeon gets in Falcon's face, blaming him for the riot and the death of his friend. The woman, who turns out to be Rachel, the same skydiver that Falcon saved in the beginning of the issue, asks how he's going to win back the gang's trust. Sam walks away, saying "Slowly."

This issue is...not a bad one. Sam's battle with the Sentinel was fun to watch, especially since we got to see Sam being resourceful and smart in trying to fight a giant robot designed to fight a team of mutants. That was the fun part of this issue. It was also pretty sad to see The Legion's peaceful march degenerate into a riot. Things never go completely right for a superhero, do they? Although I can't help but feel the ball was dropped somewhere and this riot could've been prevented.

My other big complaint is the same as last issue. There's no overarching story. It would've been nice to see Falcon dealing with an over-arcing threat, but no. Another one-shot story.

This issue has a new artist, Mark Bright. He did Iron Man's art before this, and he does spectacular art work for this issue, especially since we see Falcon actually fighting a monsterous robot. I don't have any real complaints about it.

This issue isn't bad at all. It's weak points are overshadowed by basically this: Falcon vs. Giant Evil Mutant-Destroying Robot.