In the new MCU series The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, Sam Wilson performs many stunts with his wings and restricts bullets. What is the metal or material which is used to make his wings?
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2The suit in F&TWS is an upgraded version (or at least painted version) to the previous one and we have no information on it really. We don't even know that much on the initial one (if it is different). Also note that the "initial" wings have also been seen doing similar stunts.– TheLethalCarrot ♦Commented Apr 9, 2021 at 21:43
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10If you have to ask, the answer is "vibranium"...– Harper - Reinstate MonicaCommented Apr 10, 2021 at 1:52
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4It's comicbookimaginationarium– DavidwCommented Apr 10, 2021 at 16:44
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1The generic term for such a material is Unobtainium, by the way: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unobtainium. The only thing that can resist it, is plot armor.– BoldewynCommented Apr 11, 2021 at 20:25
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@Harper-ReinstateMonica I'm aware this is somewhat tongue in cheek but I'd like to point out that the majority of the wings aren't made from metal. Also they were made before proper contact was made with Wakanda so they wouldn't have had access to Vibranium anyway.– TheLethalCarrot ♦Commented Apr 12, 2021 at 9:36
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2 Answers
I'll answer as best I can with the information available to me at the moment and that is simply that we don't know. The wiki page for the EXO-7 Falcon wings says "impact-resistant carbon fiber material" but offers no citation to back this up. There isn't really anything in the films themselves as to what they could be. We do see the file on the EXO-7 Falcon in Captain America: The Winter Soldier but only the cover as far as I know.
The only indication we get is Peter's educated guess but Sam doesn't answer him as, y'know, they're in the middle of a fight:
Peter Parker: Oh god. Hey buddy, I think you lost this! Those wings carbon fiber?
Sam Wilson: Is this stuff coming out of you?
Peter Parker: That would explain the rigidity-flexibility ratio, which, gotta say, that's awesome, man.
Sam Wilson: I don't know if you've been in a fight before but there's usually not this much talking.
Captain America: Civil War
There is some more information in Marvel's Captain America: The Winter Soldier: The Art of the Movie. Essentially the wings are made of some metal for the frame, a "sailboat kind of material" and tines for support, as Josh Nizza says below. However, precisely what materials the suit is supposed to be is never stated.
"We did a lot of explorations of what his wings would look like," Nizzi explains. "Are they a glider suit? Are they mechanical wings? How bird-like are they? Do they look like wings from an airplane? There were tons of different explorations. Ultimately, what was decided on was a mix of different levels of flexibility in the armature, almost with a sailboat kind of material. And then we added some additional tines in there, but the big reference was sails from sailboats."
[...]
"The wings are a mix of different materials, so they look like the could be layered," Nizzi continues. "They needed to be really thin to look like they could collapse into his backpack. The actual armature is very small, and the fabric-like material is stretched over other stuff and has different levels of rigidity."
Marvel's Captain America: The Winter Soldier: The Art of the Movie
It's worth noting that you can certainly see the different materials of the wings when you look closely into them. Note that the second image is the same suit but just repainted as far as I can tell from when he joins the Avengers.
Click images to enlarge.
Since this question was asked and the season has now ended we have seen that Sam now has a new suit and set of wings courtesy of the Wakandans. Given that they are Wakandan made we can be reasonably sure that they are made at least partially from Vibranium.
I think it is worth noting that the EXO-7 Falcon wings seen in Falcon and the Winter Soldier are clearly an upgraded version at the very least. The main supporting structure and the overall shape is different, however, it isn't clear if this is a completely new suit or just an altered one. What we can sort of make out though is that the wings still consist of metal supporting frame, fabric-like material for the most part with supporting tines throughout. As such the overall materials used in the construction don't seem to have changed.
Lastly, I just want to point out that we do see Sam performing similar acts with his original wings as he does with the new ones. He uses them as a shield a couple of times to stop incoming projectiles so the strength doesn't seem to have changed.
answered Apr 9, 2021 at 22:04
In the original comic-books, the Falcon's wings were made of titanium (for strength) and mylar (for lightness). It's certainly possible that this carried over into the films.
Weapons: The Falcon is able to fly by means of his jet-powered glider wings which extend beneath his arms from his wrists to his waist. Made of lightweight titanium ribbing and mylar, the wings are covered with wafer-thin, high efficiency solar power receptors which convert sunlight into electricity that powers an array of miniature high-speed electro-turbine fans.
Purely for the record, the most recent incarnation of Falcon's suit incorporates hard-light holographic tech.
His current costume is synthetic stretch fabric lined with protective steel alloy mesh and housing a pair of holographic, solid-light (“hard light”) wings stored within an electronic backpack. The backpack’s mentally controlled systems allow Sam to dissipate and re-form the wings almost instantly at will. The hard-light wings are faster and more maneuverable than his original wings.
