The following contains major spoilers for Captain America: Symbol of Truth #7, available now from Marvel Comics.

The past few months have seen Sam Wilson dragged into a sprawling conspiracy, face off against the Black Panther behind Wakandan borders, and get caught in the middle of more than one international incident. All the while, his partner has been unraveling a mystery of his own, and somehow things have gone even worse for the Falcon. Not only has Joaquín Torres undergone yet another shocking transformation, it might be the one that leaves nothing but the Falcon behind.

While the titular hero of Captain America: Symbol of Truth #7 (by Tochi Onyebuchi, Ig Guara, Jesus Aburtov, and VC's Joe Caramagna) is busy delving into the assassination of the Mohanndan Prime Minister, his partner is still reeling from his own misfortune that day. During the chaos, the Falcon was injected with a mysterious red liquid by someone posing as emergency services. Initially, whatever this serum was left the hero in a near comatose state, although it hasn't taken long for its full effects to take hold. Apart from the pulsing veins that have spread over his body, the Falcon has just awoken from his slumber with bright red eyes, massive claws and fangs, and an insatiable hunger that points in one particularly horrifying direction.

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Captain America's Newest Falcon Just Became a Monster

captain america symbol of truth 7 falcon what is happening

After finally waking up, Joaquín is overcome by an insatiable hunger that matches his monstrous new visage. It's obvious enough that Joaquín himself has no idea what is happening to him, but all signs so far point towards something vampiric in nature that he should be intimately aware of. This would line up with his symptoms, as well as the red liquid he was injected with. It would also make him one of the most dangerous threats that Captain America has ever faced, especially if this has unleashed the beast that has lurked within the Falcon this entire time.

In his first full appearance in the pages of 2015's Captain America: Sam Wilson #3 (by Nick Spencer and Daniel Acuña), Joaquín had only recently been rescued from the clutches of Doctor Karl Malus, who had spent countless hours subjecting him to grotesque experiments. As a result of these procedures, Joaquín was transformed into a human-falcon hybrid using the blood of Sam's avian partner Redwing. While this would ultimately lead to Joaquín becoming the next Falcon for himself, it also imparted upon him a unique case of vampirism thanks to Redwing having been bitten during a previous battle with Baron Blood.

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The Falcon's Vampirism Could Spell Disaster for Captain America

captain america symbol of truth 7 falcon hungry

These unusual circumstances left Joaquín unable to transform back into his human state while also leaving him immune to many of the weaknesses inherent to vampires. At least, that was the case until now. Assuming the Falcon's latent vampirism has been brought to the surface, there is no telling how much damage he could do, or what if anything can be done to stop him. Unlike other vampires, Joaquín has never had to worry about feasting on human blood or stepping out in the sunlight.

Now it is clear that the former has completely changed without any indication as to the latter. With any luck, Sam and his other allies will find a cure for Joaquín's condition before he does any irreparable harm. Despite not having been on anyone's radar recently, Malus is still very much a part of the Marvel Universe, and he hasn't exactly gone underground. If nothing else, they at least have some idea of where to start when it comes to looking for answers.