Sam Wilson is a hero through and through even when it all falls down. He came from a rough background and turned to the streets before changing his life. He often confides in his brother Gideon who is a preacher in Harlem. But, nobody seems to remember that Gideon himself had a tenure as a hero.
Although he looks a lot older, Gideon is the younger brother to Sam Wilson and was basically raised by Sam after the passing of their father. Sam turned to the streets for answers when their father passed, but Gideon turned to the church and devoted his entire life to the church. He became a minister and started a family of his own including his son Jim. Jim was a rebellious kid and gave him trouble when he decided to move to LA and cut himself off from the family.
While Jim was in LA, Gideon prayed for him every day. What he didn't know is that Jim had become good friends with The Hulk and Rick Jones becoming part of their trio. He'd also become friends with Falcon although he didn't know Falcon was his uncle Sam. While Gideon was afraid his rebellious son was doing wrong he was doing good. Jim had created a clinic that cared for people with HIV after he became infected. This was big because it was written at a time when the country was suddenly being hit hard and there was the stigma that only gay people got HIV. It was never stated if Jim was gay or not, but the people at his clinic weren't only gay men but also straight men, women, children and people from all demographics.
Jim reconciled with his father and the family once he managed to learn Falcon was Sam Wilson and that Sam had always been watching over him. However Jim and his father soon had another falling out when Jim wanted to move to Mexico. When in Mexico, The Hulk had a large battle and Jim died. While Jim actually died due to HIV, Gideon blamed The Hulk for this. Because of that he left the priesthood.
He joined the military and underwent radiation treatments until he had powers similar to that of Doc Samson. While Doc Samson becomes more powerful as his hair grows longer Gideon becomes weaker as his hair grows longer. If you've heard the jokes about black men being powered up by a haircut, it's literally true for Gideon. The downside of his power is that he could never become stronger than he was when he removed all of his body hair.
Soon afterwards he would join the Gamma Corps. A group of people that had all undergone the same treatments and also wanted revenge against the Hulk for various reasons. The groups goal was to hunt down and murder Hulk. Initially the group began by hunting down Hulk like people such as Benjamin Tibbits better known as Flux before they murdered him. Their first encounter with The Hulk didn't come until World War Hulk.
During the event they managed to not defeat Hulk but capture him as well. When speaking with him they learned that his actions had not truly been the cause of their problems. Gideon for instance admitted he knows Hulk didn't kill Jim and that Bruce was a good friend to him as Sam had said. He was just lashing out because he felt that he had failed as a father to raise his son properly.
Instead the group turned their sights to the real problem, the Illuminati. When Hulk had been defeated they pledged to take up his goal of killing the Illuminati and planned to hunt down each member. The first member they came upon was Tony Stark, or so they thought. In reality they had been lured into a trap by Iron Patriot, Norman Osborne. They capture him and as he pleads his case he offers them a role hunting down unregistered superheroes during Civil War and they accept.
After Civil War the group disbands. Unlike previously when they were hunting others down, they become the hunted. The group is being hunted by a rogue Hulk AI program that planed to kill them all. They were saved by Doc Green, Bruce Banner's intelligence with Hulk's body. Afterwards they were depowered by Doc Green so that mistakes like this wouldn't happen anymore.
Gideon soon returned to Harlem where he became a preacher once again. He now runs Alcoholics Anonymous meetings out of his church as well. He's become a recurring character in Sam Wilson's stories as he's one of the few people Sam trusts enough to tell everything too.
Powers and Abilities
- Super Strength
- Enough to challenge various forms of The Hulk
- Trained with advanced military arsenal
- Skilled negotiator
- Avengers leader on speed dial
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Black Superheroes
