In 1973 I was still a glimmer in my parent's eye.  I grew up reading comics in a time when the X-Men were led by a Black Woman, where Black Panther had one of the better mini-series I have ever read, but still a time when black superheroes were not nearly as prevalent as their numbers could have been considering the high number of African-American comic book fans.  When I look back to the classic comic books of the 1970's and recognize that race relations was one of the chief concerns of Marvel's Captain America series of the time, I am reminded once more of how awesome comic book history looks in retrospect.

Now in the age of Obama, (who I would have voted for twice if I could have gotten away with it), I am an extreme liberal, with only some strong conservative views about the support, treatment, pay, and service our men in the armed forces deserve.  I grew up loving Captain America and learned from those comics the ethics of justice, liberty, and the never ending fight for good over evil not as empty grey areas but as real opposing forces that we must define our daily struggles with.  Captain America is close to Superman status in my private pantheon and I can honestly say I still find the comic inspiring, so take my read of Captain America #161 with that grain of salt if you must, but I think anyone coming to this comic book from critical perspective would notice examples of race positive heroes that were not cliched or comfortable but real and emotive.

The comic book begins with Captain America lamenting the unfortunate loss of his best friend and partner in crime fighting, Sam Wilson, The high flying Falcon.  No the Falcon isn't dead, but he has turned away from Cap in the previous issue where due to an increased strength level that is a result of a mixture of a deadly poison and the supreme soldier formula running through Cap's veins, Cap seems not to be Falcon's peer anymore but his superior.

Captain America searches for the Falcon everywhere, and after a brief interlude where he finds Sharon Carter has gone missing, he just happens to run into the Falcon being held at knife point by six members of a gang. The "Silver Skulls," are answering the call of "Rafe" an African American enforcer who lost his girlfriend "Little Lil" to the masked superhero.  With two men holding the Falcon's arms and four others waiting around for the kill, Cap allows Falcon to fight his own fight and doesn't try to aid or save him in any way.  When the fight is over he enters into a fairly decent attempt at race relations speachifying, declaring that all people are different, that we naturally distrust differences due to misunderstandings, and compares their recent differences in physical strength with differences in race, age, and sex. He wins Falcon back, who then puts Little Lil in place by telling her he is not an "Uncle Tom" as she accuses, and if she wants to be with him she will have to accept that he works with Cap, not in a secondary role, but as a partner.

Okay, let's analyze this a little bit.  First of all we have the eponymous character of the Captain America comic book claiming equality with an unmentioned hero - but that is a minor point.  What we really have is a metaphoric attempt at equating differences in strength levels with differences in race.  Does this wash?  I mean, should we be upset that the white guy is stronger than the other, and yet still demands that they should treat one another as equals?  To an extent this sounds off-kilter, as if suggesting underpriveleged Blacks in New York City should accept that whites in New York City have more economic, political, and social power, but that we should all be equal anyway.  I argue that not until the literal strength of blacks equals that of whites should equality be granted; yes, we have President Obama, Goddess bless him, but inequalities in power cannot be talked away with touching speeches.

Then there is the added caveat that Captain America let the Falcon fight this gang "on his own" to let Falcon see Cap trusted his crime fighting abilities.  Well sure, but isn't this metaphorically a type of victim blaming, similar to calls for minorities to solve the problems in their communities alone, including gang violence and racial discrimination?  Captain America has faith in the Falcon, but he views the fight from a point of elevation, and then responds with platitudes.  Captain America #161 is a fascinating comic book.

Let me just say this: I think Steve Englehart, the writer of this comic book in 1973 is a true genius.  He was tackling issues that other comic books and comic book companies ignored for a few more decades.  He is just dealing with issues so sensitive and problematic that there is almost no direction he could have gone with this one that would not have come off sounding patronizing.  I must emphasize that it reads well, and only upon close criticism does it not hold up as completely racially sensitive, but Englehart was trying back then to do what comics still haven't succeeded in, which is to create African American characters that are compelling, strong, charismatic, and powerful, if sometimes a little stereotyped.  Because, let's be honest, everyone is a caricature in this age of comics.  You can not get a more white bread wholesome American cheese than the Captain America of 1973, but both characters are lovable and work great together.

Before I put everyone to sleep let me close this piece with yet another plea that everyone buy and read the Marvel Essential series of comic books.  Captain America #161 in Captain America Essentials #4 and the whole book is packed with incredible moments that define the character they killed off in the modern era.  Steve Rogers better be back, and I'm talking soon, because he helped make urban African Americans cooler than cool.