Lt. Falcon

Lt. Falcon (originally just Falcon) is a fictional character from the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero toyline, comic books and cartoon series. He is a green beret with the G.I. Joe Team and debuted in 1987.

Profile
His real name is Vincent Falcone, and his rank is that of 1st Lieutenant O-2. Falcon was born in Fayetteville, North Carolina.

As a Green Beret, his primary function is special operations. His father was also a Green Beret, who served with the 10th SFGA (Special Forces Group Airborne), making Falcon a second generation Green Beret. Falcon briefly served with the 5th SFGA's "Blue Light" counter-terrorist unit as an "A" Team executive officer. He has been cross-trained in demolitions, and is fluent in Spanish, French, Arabic, and Swahili. Falcon is also an expert with most NATO and Warsaw pact small arms.

Falcon has an overwhelming friendliness, and can usually sway even the strongest isolationist into joining the fight. This excessive personality often leads to friction with his commanding officers. He is sometimes referred to as the younger half brother of Duke, which has more than once resulted in heated disputes. The hostility between the two has only increased, given that Duke has often used his influence to bail Falcon out of trouble. But Falcon has redeemed himself, and his specialized training has led to him heading up the G.I. Joe Night Force.

Toy history
The original Falcon action figure was released in 1987. It sports the familiar green beret headgear, and olive green fatigues with tiger stripes and is armed with shotgun, knife, backpack and antenna. Two more versions came out, both made from repaints of the same original mold. The second is a Toys 'R' Us exclusive Night Force two-pack released in 1988, where he was renamed Lt. Falcon and packaged with Sneak Peek. It sports a black beret, black top fatigue with grey sleeves, brown pants and black boots. The third version is from the 1991 Super Sonic Fighters subset of the toyline. It sports a green beret again, and the fatigues have an urban design. The action figure carries a portable helicopter backpack that can emit four different sounds.

A fourth all-new sculpt Falcon figure was planned for release as part of the 4th wave of the G.I. Joe "Direct To Consumer"/Toys "R" Us line but was canceled along with the other figures in that wave. In 2009, this version was released by G.I. Joe Collectors' Club.

In 2008 Hasbro released a new sculpt of Falcon for its 25th anniversary line, in a two pack with Nemesis Immortal (originally Nemesis Enforcer). The figure pack also included an original comic, issue #8 titled Lt. Falcon vs. Nemesis Immortal: Showdown at the Top of the World, written by Larry Hama and featuring both characters. The story takes place in the Himalayas, the same location as G.I. Joe: The Movie. Lt. Falcon carries a wounded Dusty to their extraction site, concerned that Nemesis Immortal is still around. As the story continues, it focuses on Lt. Falcon battling Nemesis Immortal, so that the Joes can escape.

G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero - Marvel Comics
In the Marvel Comics G.I. Joe series, he first appeared in G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #60 (June 1987). Falcon and several other soldiers are tricked into beilieving they are now part of the Joe team. They ends up in a confrontation with General Hawk and the Dreadnoks. Ultimately it was all a plan to destroy Cobra Island with a giant missile. The weapon is destroyed. Due to his heroic actions, Falcon and the other soldiers are officially accepted into the Joe team. Later on, he is involved in several major events in the comics. During the Cobra Civil War he is the leader of a recon team for the Joes. The team is responsible for many incidents, including securing the manned tower at the Cobra airfield. Falcon witnesses the death of most of the Oktober Guard. Falcon is also involved in deadly mission in the fictional country of Trucial Abysmia in which several Joes are killed by a Cobra S.A.W. Viper. Falcon and the survivors escape in a Cobra Rage tank. This vehicle is destroyed by Cobra forces, killing Breaker, Crazy-Legs and Quick-Kick. Duke, Cross-Country and Falcon are the only survivors. This is just prior to Cobra's invasion of another fictional country, Benzheen. Lt. Falcon left G.I. Joe after it was disbanded.

Reinstatement - Devil's Due Publishing
Before G.I. Joe was reinstated, Lt. Falcon has become a military consultant for various Hollywood productions. He would take part in missions if he was needed. He later got involved in the second major invasion of Cobra Island in G.I. Joe #25 (Devil's Due Productions). His last mission prior to a second disbandment of G.I. Joe was a recon mission in fictional Badhikstan. By rejoining the Joe Team Falcon received a pay raise to O-3 or Captain.

America's Elite
Falcon became a reservist after Joe Colton reorganized the team. During the "World War III" storyline, he joined Vorona in teaming up with her old comrades in the Oktober Guard to battle Cobra in Chechyna and Russia.

G.I. Joe: The Movie
In animation, Lt. Falcon first appears in G.I. Joe: The Movie, voiced by Don Johnson. He is depicted as a new hotshot Joe in training. He is cocky and irresponsible, and is revealed to be the half-brother of G.I. Joe's second-in-command Duke. He attempts to become romantically involved with fellow "Rawhide" Jinx, which distracts him from his duties, and allows Cobra forces to compromise G.I. Joe security and rescue Serpentor. After being sent to the "Slaughterhouse" where he is put under the punishing supervision of drill instructor Sgt. Slaughter and his "Renegades," Lt. Falcon leads the final assault on Cobra, and is instrumental in defeating them.

Lt. Falcon was originally meant to replace Duke's leadership role in the cartoon after Duke was killed protecting him from Serpentor, but that idea was scrapped due to the uproar of Optimus Prime's death in The Transformers: The Movie. Consequently, the two characters were identified in the movie as siblings. In earlier drafts, Lt. Falcon was penned as the son of General Hawk.

DiC
He appeared again in another G.I. Joe animated series produced by DiC in the 2-part episodes "Long Live Rock N Roll", "The Greatest Evil." His portrayal is less flattering as he succumbs to drugs provided by the drugdealer Headman. Led by Duke and a vengeful Crimson Guard who has a drug-addicted sister, it took the combined forces of G.I. Joe and Cobra to defeat Headman's private army, the Headhunters.

Renegades
In G.I. Joe: Renegades, Lt. Falcon is homaged as Duke's younger brother Vincent Hauser. When Duke returns fearful for his family due to threats from Cobra, Vincent warns Duke to stay away from him and their parents. Unlike his mother and eventually his father, Vincent doesn't believe Duke is innocent and turns him and the Joes over to Flint when they come over to Duke's house for a rare home-cooked meal. Despite this, Duke defends his actions due to his concern for the family.