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Cover: John Romita

Captain America #164

Name: Captain America #164
Brand: Marvel
Availability: InStock

Aug 1973 · Marvel · 0.20 USD

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“Queen of the Werewolves!”

★ 1st appearance — Nightshade

About this Issue

Captain America #164 marks the first appearance of Tilda Johnson — Deadly Nightshade — one of Marvel's earliest Black female supervillains and a character of lasting importance across multiple corners of the Marvel Universe. A teenage self-taught genius who weaponizes biochemistry and artificial lycanthropy, Nightshade was a striking creative choice for 1973: she operates as an autonomous scientific mastermind rather than a henchwoman, and her race and gender combination stood out sharply against the demographics of Bronze Age villainy. The issue also serves as the opening chapter of Steve Englehart's Yellow Claw arc, bringing back an Atlas-era antagonist absent from in-continuity stories since his self-titled 1950s series, and is the narrative trigger for the politically charged run that would culminate in the celebrated Secret Empire storyline.

In "Queen of the Werewolves!", Falcon turns to Captain America for help when an old friend reaches out with a desperate plea—leading the duo into a chilling confrontation with a pack of werewolves under the control of a mysterious, captivating young woman. Written by Steve Englehart and Alan Weiss, with art by Alan Lee Weiss and John Romita, and colored by Jim Starlin, this 1973 classic features a striking cover by John Romita that captures Cap at the mercy of Nightshade and her supernatural army.

writer Steve Englehart · writer Alan Weiss · artist, inker Alan Lee Weiss · artist John Romita · colorist Jim Starlin · letterer John Costanza · cover John Romita

ComicBooks.com Value

Our Model is In Beta

Raw (Fine) $16

CGC 9.8 · 22 in census $436

CGC 9.6 · 36 in census $195

CGC 9.4 · 46 in census $144

CGC 9.2 · 19 in census $116

CGC 9.0 · 23 in census $102

CGC 8.5 · 23 in census $68

Show all 16 grades ▾

CGC 8.0 · 15 in census $50

CGC 7.5 · 12 in census $50

CGC 7.0 · 8 in census $44

CGC 6.5 · 10 in census $42*

CGC 6.0 · 7 in census $41*

CGC 5.5 · 3 in census $32*

CGC 5.0 · 2 in census $30*

CGC 4.5 · 2 in census $27*

CGC 4.0 none in existence

CGC 3.5 · 1 in census $21*

* estimate — limited direct-sales data at this grade

Our model’s value — refined as new sales data arrives · CGC census counts shown where available

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Verified matches for Captain America #164 · eBay asking prices, seen 29 days ago

More listings for this title

FN $10.63 FINE $23.95 VG $42.98 CGC 5 $149.99 Captain America $5.99 Captain America and The Falcon: Secret Empire comic book $9 Captain America and The Falcon #164 Marvel Bronze Age 1973 Nightshade $9.97 Captain America and the Falcon: Secret Empire Paperback $11.2

Related listings we couldn't confirm as this exact issue · 18 total · seen 29 days ago

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History

Writer Steve Englehart, already transforming Captain America from a near-cancelled title into Marvel's top seller, described issue #164 as the start of a new epic within his run. Regular series artist Sal Buscema stepped aside for this issue, replaced by Alan Weiss — who co-plotted the story alongside Englehart and provided both pencils and inks — while rising star Jim Starlin handled colors, an unusual assignment for a creator better known as a penciler. John Romita Sr. retouched a number of Cap's facial close-ups on the interior pages (confirmed by Weiss himself), and Romita also painted the cover, creating a noticeable stylistic tension between at least two distinct hands inside the book. Roy Thomas served as editor-in-chief over the issue.

Trivia · 7 facts

First appearance of Tilda Johnson, a.k.a. Deadly Nightshade / Nightshade / Dr. Nightshade (Marvel Earth-616), in 'Queen of the Werewolves!' — a self-taught teenage genius from Harlem who creates a lycanthropy-inducing serum for the Yellow Claw.
First in-continuity appearance of the Yellow Claw (Plan Chu) since his own Atlas Comics self-titled series ended with issue #4 in April 1957; a robot stand-in had appeared in Strange Tales in the late 1960s but this is the character's own physical return.
The Falcon (Sam Wilson) is transformed into a werewolf by Nightshade's serum — the first time the character undergoes that transformation — and must be physically restrained by Cap until sunrise breaks the spell.
Story credited to: writer Steve Englehart; penciler/inker Alan Weiss (who co-plotted); colorist Jim Starlin; letterer John Costanza; cover art by John Romita Sr. John Romita Sr. also retouched interior Cap faces, confirmed by Alan Weiss.
Nightshade later reformed and became the hero Nighthawk, joining the Avengers lineup in 2017; over her publication history she has clashed with Captain America, Falcon, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, Black Panther, and the Hulk.
The character was adapted for live-action in Marvel's Netflix series Luke Cage Season 2, portrayed by Gabrielle Dennis; a separate MCU-adjacent version appeared in Black Panther (2018), portrayed by Nabiyah Be under the name Linda.
The issue has been collected in: Marvel Masterworks: Captain America Vol. 8 (2016); Captain America Omnibus Vol. 3 (2021); Captain America Epic Collection Vol. 5 — The Secret Empire (2023); and international editions from Editoriale Corno (Italy) and Editions Héritage (Canada/France).