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Origin/1st app of the Falcon (Sam Wilson) & Redwing; Colan/Romita cover/art; COMIC BOOK IMPACT rating of 8 (CBI)
Marvel had always been at the forefront of American popular culture, daring to stake out territory otherwise considered taboo or too controversial, as when Stan Lee published a pair of Spider-Man issues without the comics code stamp due to anti-drug imagery. The Black Panther had already broken down barriers as the first Black superhero appearing in a mainstream title, and there had been characters of color in comics previously, of course, but they had either been wince-inducing caricatures, or punted off into "racial" titles meant solely for an inner-city readership segregated from the mainstream. But, by the late 1960s, audiences were ready for a change, and Lee, along with the supremely gifted Gene Colan, developed a character designed to stand on his own as an urban Black hero, sans gimmicks, and paired him with the personification of America itself, Captain America. The result was this instant success, an acknowledged breakthrough in hero comics, which introduced the Falcon, a tough and determined former social worker (though this was later retconned) who proves a formidable ally for our titular hero.