though i’ve never liked the beak… i LOVE it! having just read his introduction in essential cap vol 2, this is even timely to my reading.

Man, Joel really nailed this one. The tendency is to go with longer wings on a character like this, but I think reigning that impulse in has really worked in Joel’s favor. The zip-front and the wrist-latches are good elements that ground the suit in reality. And obviously, a major strength here is that he’s pulled that strong wingish/’f’ element from the Gene Colan design and made it bolder, and even echoed it in the boots.

Falcon’s costumes from the last few years have been so generic and safe, and I think this is a serious more iconic look. Great job, Joel. :)

Uh, don’t mean to be a Nitpickly Nerd but that link wasn’t to a Gene Colan page, nor was that the original Falcon costume design.

You can find it right here. I would have linked to the cover of his actual first appearance, but the large scan is a really shitty one.

Otherwise, nice redesign, if a little bit reminiscent of that He-Man flying bird guy, whose name escapes me…

Gah, thanks for the heads up, J.B. We knew it wasn’t the original design, but the wording somehow got slipped in there, and dur, that’s a Sal Buscema page. Thanks man, I’m editing that now.

The suit looks great. Sleek, elegant, and sexy. And fast. It looks like it was meant to move at high speeds. If Marvel doesn’t use it for the Falcon, the US Olympics team should adopt it for their ski jumpers.

The chest emblem looks distinctly contemporary, but retains just a hint of the 70s (it kinda looks like the hood of a Trans Am {in a good way}).

The one area I take issue with is the wrist cuffs. I like the idea of really considering how the wings attach to his arms, but these look a little clunky to me. I think they’d impede hand movement, and, generally, seem like a first thought.

I agree that it would be great to see the back of this design.

I’ll always have a soft spot for that green and gold monstrosity that he originally wore. This design kicks tail!

Thanks for the comments and praise, guys!

Here’s the back of the flight pack…I’d forgotten to scan it from last week.

http://www.joelcarroll.com/art/falcon2.jpg

This is really fantastic! It looks very classic and timeless! I’d love to see something done with this character beyond his occasional guest appearances!

I think the “beak” should be able to pop off and he could throw it if he had to…

ala the bird out of the Mach 5 on Speed Racer!

Go! Go! Falcon!

Love it!

Especially the bare shoulders, neckline and zipper. He really feels athletic.

This captures the classic lines of the original with some seamless tweaks for functionality ; ala the beak. Every detail reinforces each other; the chest design mirrors the boots and the colors play off each other well. Great design, simple and direct. I love the smaller wings.

I like this a lot. It’s hokey, but it takes hokey on it’s own terms and makes it look good and modern.