Issue(s): Marvel Two-In-One annual #6
Cover Date: 1981
Title: "An Eagle from America! / The American Eagle! / Never break the chain! / --The dinosaur graveyard"
Credits:
Doug Moench - Writer
Ron Wilson - Penciler
Gene Day - Inker

Review/plot:
This annual introduces a character called the American Eagle.

He was created by Ron Wilson, frequent penciler on this title. If he's an attempt at adding diversity by creating a Native American character, he's something of a disappointment. It's true that whenever you first introduce a character from another country, they generally have a theme and powers that are overtly based on the country... (Captain Britain, Red Guardian, Guardian, Shamrock, etc.). So you might expect the same for the first Native American super-hero. Except this isn't the first Native American super-hero. We've already had Red Wolf and Shaman. So it's time to get beyond the feathers and animal hides and medicine bags and create a character that happens to be Native American but got exposed to cosmic radiation or whatever like everyone else.

Anyway, his origin involves an ancient tribal legend about two sons who had a dispute about who would be granted a great power, and they fought over it...

...and one of them won and was granted power, and he used it to fight off white invaders, and when the battle was over, he disappeared.

Now, in modern times, there are two brothers, one who wants his tribe to deal with the whites and one who doesn't, and when Klaw shows up to demand the tribes' resources, the modern brother betrays the tribe, and the two brothers fight inside a mountain and both brothers gain powers.

The good brother tracks down Klaw and his men in the Savage Land...

...and of course runs into Ka-Zar.

Ka-Zar thinks the American Eagle is in the Savage Land hunting unicorn (!)...

...but they eventually sort things out.

The Thing, brought in by Wyatt Wingfoot, shows up as well.

The American Eagle is hella strong.

Thing-level, apparently, if this arm wrestling match proves anything.

The good guys eventually catch up to the bad guys and they fight. The fight isn't very inspired. Everyone fights their traditional opponent. The Thing fights Klaw. Klaw never does anything really interesting with his living sound powers. American Eagle fights his evil brother (who dies in the battle).

And poor Ka-Zar and Zabu get stuck fighting dinosaurs, like they do every day.

By the way, if you're wondering how Klaw got free after his last fight, you can blame the Project Pegasus cleaning lady.

American Eagle managed to show up in a bunch of crowd scenes in the 1980s (Contest of Champions, the Hulk's pardoning ceremony, the Wraith War) and then a few random issues of Marvel Comics Presents before fading into obscurity.

Nothing particularly great about this issue despite what should be a solid creative team.

Quality Rating: C-

Historical Significance Rating: 1

Chronological Placement Considerations: The MCP places this between FF #231-232. This should take place before Ka-Zar gets wrapped up in the events of his own new series. As Jake notes in the comments, the MCP have this before Marvel Fanfare #1 and Ka-Zar the Savage #1.

References:

• There's no footnote but Ka-Zar recognizes the FF's pogo plane and says that they are friends. Ka-Zar knows the Thing from Marvel Two-In-One #16-17 but didn't see the Pogo Plane in that story.
  
• Klaw was last "discombobulated" in Marvel Two-In-One #58.
  
• I've subsequently learned that we've previously seen that the Savage Land has unicorns in Astonishing Tales #4.

Crossover: N/A

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: N/A

American Eagle was supposed to debut in 1976 or 1977(according to Marvel's Foom magazine), but never did due to unknown reasons. Some of the interior art(and part of the cover) actually dates to back then.

"Never Break the Chain" may refer to the Fleetwood Mac song.

American Eagle did reappear in Thunderbolts under Warren Ellis. The references then to his costume here were not complimentary.

Mark's first point could explain why the Squadron Supreme's American Eagle was renamed Cap'n Hawk in THE AVENGERS #148: the new character was in the works, and the other's name was changed to clear the way for him. But it may be the AVENGERS issue came out too early for this to be the case; it reportedly went on sale in Mar. 1976, so for my theory to be true the new character would have had to have been in the works by early that year.

The GCD tells me there had been three previous American Eagles from other companies. (I must tip my hat to Mark again here: I looked this up because of one of his comments on AVENGERS #85-#86.) The first was a Golden Age patriotic hero who appeared in comics from Standard. The second was a Native American warrior who starred in PRIZE COMICS WESTERN in the 50s. Many of the instalments were pencilled by John Severin and inked by Bill Elder. The third was a WWII fighter pilot who briefly appeared in the 60s in Charlton's FIGHTIN' AIR FORCE.

Ron Wilson's character somewhat resembles the Prize hero, as he also wore an elaborate war bonnet. But he was a 19th century character and not a superhero. The Bronze Terror, the star of "Real American" in DAREDEVIL COMICS, was a superhero who wore a war bonnet and skull mask and protected Native Americans in the present day.

Anyone else notice that Doug Moench usually has Klaw talk like a street thug rather than using his usual megalomaniac supervillain speech patterns?

This can't be in the middle of the first few issues of Ka-Zar's series. He is off in Pangea in a connected storyline. The MCP has it before Marvel Fanfare #1.

Thanks Jake. Moved it.

The Ka-Zar panel at the start of ch. II is probably a homage to the cover of DAREDEVIL #12 or KA-ZAR (1970 series) #2.