WARNING: The following contains spoilers for The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, "New World Order," now streaming on Disney+.

While Captain America's titular old partners might be the most noteworthy Marvel heroes in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, the opening episode of the MCU series has another Marvel hero hiding in plain sight: Joaquín Torres. In the premiere, Danny Ramirez's Lt. Torres serves a fairly realistic role as the ground support staff and chief recon officer for Sam Wilson. After he infiltrates the Flag-Smashers and tries to stop a robbery, he even gets his clock cleaned in a way that's all too human.

Although he may just be called Lt. Torres in the premiere, the end credits to the episode reveal that his full name is Joaquín Torres, which hints at his potential superhero future. During the time that Sam Wilson shed his original identity to serve as Captain America in the comic book Marvel Universe, Joaquín Torres used a desire to protect and serve the community and actual bird-like abilities to take to the skies as a new Falcon.

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As a young child, Torres moved from Mexico to the United States with his mother and grandmother where they took up residence in Sonoita, Arizona. Alongside being a bright student, Torres also gave back to the Mexican community through his work as a Samaritan in which he was cited to have taken an active approach by leaving provisions of food, water, and medicine for those attempting to cross the border into the United States.

Torres was initially teased in 2015's Captain America: Sam Wilson #1, by Nick Spencer and Daniel Acuña, when his grandmother, Mariana Torres, informed Captain America of his disappearance at the hands of the Sons of the Serpent, a terrorist group that abducted male border-crossers for participation in illegal genetic mutation experiments undertaken by criminal scientist, Dr. Karl Malus.

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Torres' first full appearance came later in Captain America: Sam Wilson #3 by Spencer, Acuña, and Mike Choi when, upon investigating the claim, Wilson found Torres at Malus's New York lab where he had suffered experimentation using Redwing, Wilson's avian partner. After defeating Malus, Wilson rescued the now half-human half-bird hybrid Torres and placed him under his care.

It was soon revealed that Torres's mutations - which included enlarged eyes, talon-like hands and feet, and a set of wings - weren't temporary like most others who had undergone such experiments. This was due to Redwing's vampiric abilities which, having granted Torres regenerative healing, halted any attempted regression. Alongside healing wounds, it was also capable of bringing him back from the dead.

An effective means of relaying messages, Torres's psychic link with Redwing saw him save Wilson from falling to his death in Captain America: Sam Wilson #5 by Spencer and Paul Renaud, and later enabled a paralyzed Wilson to share combat instructions with Torres while awaiting back-up in Captain America: Sam Wilson #6 by Spencer and Joe Bennett. It was also in the latter issue that Torres debuted as the new Falcon, following the defeat of Serpent Solutions, a reconfigured version of the classic snake-themed villain team, the Serpent Society.

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When Hydra took control of the country in 2017's Secret Empire event, Torres joined a collective of superheroes and civilians seeking to oppose their reign known as the Underground. Here, he worked alongside Wasp, Ironheart, and the Champions,  a group of young heroes that banded together in response to a shared disillusionment regarding their elders following Marvel's second superhuman Civil War.

Additionally, Torres was a supporting character of Wilson's Falcon in the 2017-2018 Falcon series by Rodney Barnes, Joshua Cassara, and Sebastian Cabrol. He was also featured frequently throughout 2019's Champions series by Jim Zub and Steven Cummings.

Most recently, Torres appeared in 2020's Outlawed #1 by Eve Ewing and Kim Jacinto in which he and several other young heroes - including Ms. Marvel, Ironheart, Nova (Sam Alexander), Wasp (Nadia Van Dyne), and MIles Morales' Spider-Man - were unwillingly sidelined after the passing of the Underage Superhuman Welfare Act which outlawed all heroes under the age of 21.

Even though Wilson has since returned to his role as the Falcon, the sky is the limit for Torres's high-flying hero, especially given his presence in the MCU. With just a few dozen appearances under his belt, this Falcon has already asserted himself as one of the most promising heroes of Marvel's next generation. And now that he's officially part of the MCU, his star will only rise in the coming months.

Directed by Kari Skogland, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier stars Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Emily VanCamp, Wyatt Russell, Noah Mills, Carl Lumbly and Daniel Brühl. New episodes debut weekly on Disney+.

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