Home › Fantastic Four › #119

Cover: John Buscema & Joe Sinnott

Fantastic Four #119

Name: Fantastic Four #119
Brand: Marvel
Availability: InStock

Feb 1972 · Marvel · 0.20 USD

☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join free

“Three Stood Together!”

About this Issue

Fantastic Four #119 occupies a singular place in Marvel history as the one and only issue in which T'Challa operates under the name "Black Leopard" — a deliberate, editorially mandated rechristening born directly out of the charged political climate of early-1970s America and Marvel's desire to distance its character from the Black Panther Party. The name change lasted only this single issue before T'Challa quietly shed it, making FF #119 a living document of how real-world politics can bend the course of a superhero's identity. Beyond the name controversy, the story itself is notable for using a thinly veiled apartheid-era African nation called Rudyarda as its setting, weaving pointed social commentary — segregated doors, pass-law arrests, racial curfews — into mainstream Bronze Age superhero action at a time when such direct engagement with civil-rights issues was still uncommon in the genre.

In "Three Stood Together!", the Fantastic Four face an unexpected alliance as the Human Torch and the Thing join forces with the enigmatic Black Panther in a high-stakes mission to uncover a secret that could threaten the world. With a mysterious new villain looming, the team must navigate danger and uncertainty, all rendered in dynamic art by John Buscema and Joe Sinnott, and lettered by Artie Simek. The cover by John Buscema and Joe Sinnott captures the intensity of the moment, a 20-cent marvel from 1972.

writer Roy Thomas · artist John Buscema · inker Joe Sinnott · letterer Artie Simek · cover John Buscema, Joe Sinnott

ComicBooks.com Value

Our Model is In Beta

Raw (Fine) $14

CGC 9.8 · 9 in census $1,367

CGC 9.6 · 28 in census $169

CGC 9.4 · 52 in census $144

CGC 9.2 · 25 in census $85

CGC 9.0 · 14 in census $71

CGC 8.5 · 15 in census $58*

Show all 19 grades ▾

CGC 8.0 · 18 in census $49

CGC 7.5 · 6 in census $46*

CGC 7.0 · 11 in census $38

CGC 6.5 · 4 in census $33*

CGC 6.0 · 7 in census $26

CGC 5.5 · 4 in census $26*

CGC 5.0 · 7 in census $26*

CGC 4.5 · 3 in census $24*

CGC 4.0 none in existence

CGC 3.5 · 3 in census $20*

CGC 3.0 none in existence

CGC 2.5 · 1 in census $20*

CGC 2.0 none in existence

* estimate — limited direct-sales data at this grade

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

This exact issue on ebay

CGC 9.2 $120 1 listing CGC 9 $100 1 listing CGC 7.5 $53.99 1 listing CGC 6 $73 1 listing CBCS 6.5 $190 1 listing Raw — MINT $57 1 listing Raw — NM $75 1 listing Raw — VF/NM $65 1 listing Raw — VF+ $44.99 1 listing

Raw — VF ▾ $25–$45 5 listings

VF $25 VF $29.95 VF $35 VF $45 VF $45

Raw — VERY FINE ▾ $24.99–$45 2 listings

VERY FINE $24.99 VERY FINE $45

Raw — FN/VF ▾ $19.83–$30 3 listings

FN/VF $19.83 FN/VF $20 FN/VF $30

Raw — FN+ ▾ $12.71–$46.3 3 listings

FN+ $12.71 FN+ $23.49 FN+ $46.3

Raw — FINE $15 1 listing

Raw — FN ▾ $14.99–$30 5 listings

FN $14.99 FN $18 FN $21.17 FN $25 FN $30

Raw — VG ▾ $18.99–$24.99 3 listings

VG $18.99 VG $19.99 VG $24.99

Raw / ungraded ▾ $3.55–$56 36 listings

Verified matches for Fantastic Four #119 · eBay asking prices, seen 47 days ago

More listings for this title

The Fantastic Four Comic Book Issue #119 February 1972 $9.99 Marvel - Fantastic Four (1972) #119 - Black Panther Appearance Comic Book $19.99

Related listings we couldn't confirm as this exact issue · 2 total · seen 47 days ago

🏪 Real comic shops near you sell this issue on eBay — from our directory:

World's Best Comics and Toys · Sacramento, CA1 on eBay ↗

Listings on eBay · clicking supports ComicBooks.com

Read it digitally

Marvel Unlimited Marvel’s subscription reader ▸ Amazon Kindle Buy the digital edition ▸

Opens a search on each platform — digital availability varies by title.

Sell my copy

Have this issue — or a whole collection? Get a fair offer from us, skip the marketplace fees and the hassle.

We Buy Collections ▸

Fast, fair offers · we handle grading & shipping

History

Editor-in-chief Stan Lee directed writer Roy Thomas to introduce the "Black Leopard" name change, and Thomas, who was openly unenthusiastic about the decision, nonetheless executed the directive in this issue. Thomas scripted the story; John Buscema provided pencils and cover art, with Joe Sinnott on inks and Artie Simek on letters — a rock-solid early-Bronze Age FF production team. The issue carries a February 1972 cover date (released November 1971) and also debuted a new Fantastic Four cover logo design with this printing. A British price-variant edition was produced for UK distribution, and some copies of that variant are known to carry a distinctive printing error in which a red area of the cover reproduced in yellow instead.

Trivia · 8 facts

Only appearance of T'Challa operating as 'Black Leopard': the name was used solely in this one issue; T'Challa reverted to the Black Panther name when he rejoined the Avengers in Avengers #105.
The name change was an editorial directive from Stan Lee, who wanted to separate the character from the Black Panther Party political organization, which was at peak national notoriety in the early 1970s; writer Roy Thomas confirmed in interviews that he complied despite personal objections.
In-story, T'Challa explains the change to Ben Grimm by acknowledging the name's 'political connotations' in America — neither condemning nor endorsing those who had taken it up — establishing his position as a sovereign law unto himself.
The story is set in a fictional, apartheid-coded African country called Rudyarda, where T'Challa was arrested incognito for failing to carry the mandatory identification papers required of Black residents — a direct allusion to apartheid-era South African pass laws.
Villain Klaw (Ulysses Klaue) is the antagonist, revealed to be behind the theft of the Vibrotron (a device capable of amplifying Vibranium's power); the Thing defeats him by physically crushing his sonic blaster.
First appearance of A.U.N.T.I.E. (Automatic-Neuro-Robot in charge of Tidying-Up with Increased Efficiency), a minor but novel robot character introduced in this issue.
Creative team: script by Roy Thomas, pencils and cover by John Buscema, inks by Joe Sinnott, letters by Artie Simek, edited by Stan Lee.
The issue has been reprinted in multiple collected editions, including Essential Fantastic Four Vol. 6 (2007, black-and-white), Marvel Masterworks: The Fantastic Four Vol. 12 (2010), Marvel Visionaries: Roy Thomas (2006 and 2019 editions), Marvel's Voices: Legacy (2021), and Fantastic Four Omnibus Vol. 4 (2021).