Captain America #117(cover September 1969, on newsstands on June 10, 1969, 15¢) — “The Coming of the Falcon!” », Stan Lee on screenplay, Gene Colan on drawing, Marvel Comics. The issue introduces Sam Wilson, considered the first African-American superhero published by a major publishing house.
Some first appearances are worth what they say. This is also valid for what it represents: the arrival in the pages of a major publisher of a black American hero, without a qualifier in his code name, presented from the outset as a partner and not as a sidekick.
For the collector, this historical dimension is not an extra soul. It constitutes a real part of the demand, and it explains that this number behaves differently from other keys of its period.
A first that must be located precisely
The phrase “first black superhero” circulates a lot and deserves to be qualified, because precision makes all the difference here.
A major black hero had already existed with the same publisher since 1966: an African sovereign, reigning over a fictional nation. Sam Wilson is American— New Yorker, from a real neighborhood, with a job and a family. It is this nuance which establishes the established formula: the first costumed vigilante African American of the general public comic book.
A second nuance is just as important. Its code name has no mention of color. At a time when several black characters arrived in the summaries with a qualifier attached to their identity, this choice has an impact that has not escaped readers.
These details are not a matter of historian's coquetry: they define exactly what makes the number valuable, and a seller who confuses them describes poorly what he is offering.
The collector will remember that this issue is sought after for three cumulative reasons: the entry onto the scene of a character who has come of age, its historical significance, and its belonging to a central series of the publisher.
The context of 1969
The number appears on June 10, 1969 , at the price of 15 cents. This price precisely locates the object: the increase compared to the 12 cents practiced during most of the decade is recent, and it constitutes a useful dating benchmark in the face of an imprecise announcement.
The series itself was going through a research phase. The main character, a hero from another era, was struggling to find his place in a present that no longer resembled him. Adding a partner rooted in contemporary America responded to an editorial problem as much as an intention.
We must also remember what the target readership was. The comics were still sold massively on newsstands, to an audience of children and adolescents of all origins, in cities where the questions asked by this character were daily. The editorial gesture was immediately readable.
Lee and Colan
Stan Lee signs the script, Gene Colan the drawing. The association deserves attention, because the designer brings something very identifiable here.
Colan works in volumes and shadows rather than sharp outlines. His style, often described as cinematic, favors unusual angles, moving figures and expressive faces. This approach particularly serves a character whose main attribute is flight: the aerial scenes gain a fluidity that few of his contemporaries achieved.
It also has a consequence on the object itself. Colan's plates rely on dark flat areas and gradients, which do not support sloppy printing. On the worst printed copies of the period, certain boxes lose legibility - a point that fans of this designer know well.
The story
The plot takes place on an island where the main hero, trapped in a plot, meets an inhabitant from New York, a trainer of birds of prey. From this meeting an alliance is born, then a costume, then a name.
Two elements are worth noting to anyone discovering the character. First, he didn't no power at this stage: no accident, no mutation, no serum. His skill is an acquired, human know-how. Then, his link with a falcon is a complicity in training rather than a supernatural ability.
This choice of writing, going against the grain of the spectacular origins of the time, anchors the character in a realistic register that his successive authors have largely preserved. True wings and autonomous flight will come later; the founding number offers a hero whose legitimacy rests on what he knows how to do.
This bias has a consequence that readers coming from the adaptations immediately notice: the character from the first years bears little resemblance to the one they know. Anyone who buys this issue hoping to find the man with mechanical wings risks disappointment. Better to approach it for what it is — a document of how a publisher in 1969 chose to present its first African-American hero, relying on skill over spectacle.
What the character has become
The subsequent trajectory explains much of current demand, and it is unusual.
The partner first rose in rank to the point where his name joined that of the main hero in the very title of the series – a rare editorial promotion, which lasted for years.
Much later, he took over the main identity, shield included. A character introduced as a supporting role in 1969 thus found himself wearing his publisher's most emblematic title, which mechanically brought attention back to his original number.
Added to this is the audiovisual exhibition of recent years, which has brought the character before a very large audience, foreign to the traditional readership. On this corpus, each wave of adaptation can be read in market activity.
Coverage and its weaknesses
The cover image announces the arrival of the newcomer explicitly, placing him on the same level as the title hero rather than behind him. It is a layout decision that constitutes a declaration of intent.
On the material level, two areas concentrate the problems. THE top headband first, where the logo and the price appear: this is the part that rubbed against the other copies in the displays, and it is frequently worn out even before the first reading.
Le straight edge then, opposite the back. On the stapled comics of this era, this is the side that you grab to open, and it accumulates the little folds in a fan shape. A copy with a clear edge has been little handled, which says a lot about the rest.
A third benchmark usefully serves as a quick test: the sharpness of the title logo, printed in vivid flat areas. On a tired copy, its edges blur and the colors fade long before the rest of the cover betrays its age. This is a convenient indicator because it appears on all ad photos, even the most basic ones.
A practical tip for judging by photo: ask for an image taken slightly at an angle rather than from the front. Low lighting reveals the creases and chafing that an often flattering full-frontal photo completely hides.
What this issue says about its times
Placed in the production of its publisher, this issue illustrates a turning point that collectors of the period know well.
The previous decade had seen the birth of a generation of characters built on a founding accident: an injection, a ray, an exposure. The process was running out of steam. The authors then turned to heroes defined by their environment, their profession or their social situation – people that the reader could come across.
This shift produced a series of creations where the costume matters less than the anchor. It also explains why these characters have aged better than many of their predecessors: a hero defined by an accident depends on a plot discovery, a hero defined by his environment can be rewritten indefinitely.
For the collector, this reading has concrete utility. It helps to identify, among the numerous creations born at the turn of the 1960s and 1970s, those which had a chance of lasting - and these are precisely those whose first appearances gained recognition.
What to look at before buying
The comics of 1969 occupy an intermediate position: more robust than those of the 1950s, more fragile than those of the following decades. Four checks are necessary.
Holding the staples. After more than half a century, rusting and enlargement of holes are common. A cover that gapes at the back indicates a limited rating.
Browning. The paper from this period darkens through the edges. Request a view of the closed page block, in profile: this is the quickest way to assess acidification.
Registrations. Newsstand copies often have a child's name or a dealer stamp. This does not prohibit anything, but must be reflected in the price.
The integrity of the number. The advertising pages featured coupons. A single amputated page downgrades the copy, and nothing indicates this on a cover photo.
Where to get into character
Three entry points exist, and they do not require the same commitment.
La first appearance remains the reference piece, and it is the only one that cannot be replaced. If your goal is to own the origin, there is no alternative.
The episodes published when his name joins that of the main hero on the cover constitute a second path, much more accessible. They provide most of the narrative material and are easily found in good condition.
La recovery of the main identity, much more recent, forms a third track. These issues are contemporary, therefore plentiful and inexpensive, but they correspond to what the public knows from the adaptations - a useful discrepancy to know if you are buying as a gift.
To place this number in the character's career, consult ourFalcon key numbersand thecharacter story.
Questions buyers ask
Captain America #117, bearing the date September 1969 on the cover and sold from June 10 of the same year, for 15 cents. The story is titled “The Coming of the Falcon!” »: Stan Lee wrote the screenplay, Gene Colan the drawing, at Marvel Comics.
The correct phrase is “first African-American vigilante”. A major black hero had already existed with the same publisher since 1966, but it was an African sovereign. Sam Wilson is American, New Yorker, with a job and a family — and his code name does not include any mention of color, which was not the norm at the time.
No, and that is a deliberate writing choice. No accident, no mutation, no serum: his skill is human know-how, that of a trainer of birds of prey, and his link with the falcon is training. Real wings and autonomous flight will come later in release.
Three motifs combine: a first appearance of a character who has become of age, a recognized historical significance, and belonging to a central series of the publisher. Added to this is the effect of recent adaptations, which have brought to him an audience unrelated to the traditional readership.
Four in priority: rust and enlargement of staple holes, browning of the paper visible on the edge of the page block, pen inscriptions or dealer stamps common on newsstand copies, and the integrity of the issue — a page with a cut coupon downgrades the copy without anything showing it on the cover.
Stan Lee on screenplay and Gene Colan on drawing, in Captain America #117. Colan's style, built on volumes and shadows rather than sharp contours, particularly serves a hero whose central attribute is flight: his aerial scenes possess a fluidity rare among his contemporaries.
By the episodes where his name appears on the cover alongside that of the main hero: they contain most of the narrative material, are easily found in good condition and cost a fraction of the original issue. The much more recent episodes, where he takes over the main identity, are even more accessible.
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