This article contains spoilers for Captain America: Symbol of Truth #4
As his wings as the Falcon are an important symbol of the character and have stayed with him even after losing his Falcon moniker. But in Captain America: Symbol of Truth #4, Wilson reveals his other iconic design association: his ability to talk to birds...and command them to attack.
Both Sam Wilson and Steve Rogers star in their individual ongoing series from Marvel: Rogers takes the lead in Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty and Wilson is the titular hero in Captain America: Symbol of Truth. While Steve Rogers' journey takes him to to learn about Captain America's signature shield, Sam Wilson's story tackles more modern subject matter: dissatisfied Americans, having experienced racial prejudice their entire lives, emigrate to Wakanda via a new exchange program to look for a better future. Wilson seeks to enter the country to find stolen vibranium and unravel a conspiracy - but he's intercepted before his mission can even begin.
In Captain America: Symbol of Truth #4, written by Tochi Onyebuchi with art by R.B. Silva & Ze Carlos, Captain America finally journeys to Wakanda and is met by Wakandan guards. Wilson (not in his Captain America uniform and hoping he'll go unnoticed in the crowd) is led to a clearing where he is confronted by Crossbones, currently working for Black Panther's white adopted brother Hunter. Crossbones has Wilson on the ropes, but he summons the native birds to attack his enemy - and finally learns that the entire plan was a set-up from the start; Crossbones intended to frame Captain America for a terrorist attack.
Sam Wilson does indeed have the power to communicate with birds, but there are some limits imposed on his ability. He cannot read their minds nor carry on a conversation with them (unlike the mutant Cypher, for example), but he can command them to fly in a general direction or attack an enemy. Despite his powers suggesting otherwise, Sam Wilson is not a mutant; the power was obtained after the Red Skull used the all-powerful Cosmic Cube in Captain America #186 in 1975 and ended up unintentionally making Captain America even more powerful than before.
Sam Wilson's unique telepathic ability is rarely seen in the comics, and the character is known for not being a super-soldier (especially when compared to Steve Rogers). The MCU excludes this power altogether, and substitutes Sam's pet falcon Redwing for a drone named Redwing instead. Nevertheless, the comics have finally brought back Sam's least-used superpower, and this Captain America proves his worth with an ability that even Steve Rogers does not possess.
