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Cover: John Buscema & John Verpoorten

The Avengers #87

Name: The Avengers #87
Brand: Marvel
Availability: InStock

Apr 1971 · Marvel · 0.15 USD

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“Look Homeward, Avenger!”

★ 1st appearance — T'Chaka

About this Issue

Avengers #87 delivered the first full, dedicated origin story for T'Challa, expanding far beyond the brief background Stan Lee and Jack Kirby sketched in Fantastic Four #53 (1966) to give Black Panther — one of comics' earliest Black superheroes — a rich personal mythology: the murder of his father T'Chaka by Klaw, his education abroad, the sacred trials of Wakandan leadership, and the power-granting heart-shaped herb. The issue also introduced the heart-shaped herb explicitly by that description for the first time, planting a mythos detail that would anchor every subsequent retelling of the character's origin, including Ryan Coogler's 2018 film. By framing the story as an intimate confession to his Avengers teammates, writer Roy Thomas transformed T'Challa from a capable but somewhat mysterious guest-star into a fully dimensional character whose grief, duty, and identity were laid bare — raising the emotional stakes of the Avengers title at the dawn of the Bronze Age.

"Look Homeward, Avenger!" is a standout issue in The Avengers #87 (1971), featuring a rare narrative moment where the team gathers around the Mansion to draw out the hidden past of their enigmatic teammate. While the cover by John Buscema and John Verpoorten captures the mood with striking detail, the interior story—illustrated by an uncredited artist and typeset by a credited letterer—focuses on a quiet, character-driven moment that opens the door to the deeper lore of Wakanda and the Black Panther.

writer Roy Thomas · artist Frank Giacoia · inker Sal Buscema · letterer Mike Stevens · cover John Buscema, John Verpoorten

ComicBooks.com Value

Our Model is In Beta

Raw (Fine) $67

CGC 9.8 · 18 in census $2,445

CGC 9.6 · 55 in census $901

CGC 9.4 · 92 in census $402*

CGC 9.2 · 97 in census $402

CGC 9.0 · 128 in census $258

CGC 8.5 · 164 in census $195

Show all 22 grades ▾

CGC 8.0 · 123 in census $167

CGC 7.5 · 128 in census $141

CGC 7.0 · 117 in census $125

CGC 6.5 · 104 in census $104*

CGC 6.0 · 82 in census $80

CGC 5.5 · 60 in census $80

CGC 5.0 · 46 in census $80

CGC 4.5 · 41 in census $74

CGC 4.0 · 21 in census $67*

CGC 3.5 · 13 in census $63*

CGC 3.0 · 10 in census $56*

CGC 2.5 · 4 in census $42*

CGC 2.0 none in existence

CGC 1.5 · 1 in census $25*

CGC 1.0 none in existence

CGC 0.5 · 1 in census $20*

* 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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CGC 9 $345 1 listing CGC $200 1 listing Raw — NM $325 1 listing Raw — FN/VF $84.95 1 listing

Raw — FN ▾ $62.52–$123 2 listings

FN $62.52 FN $122.98

Raw — VG+ $60 1 listing

Raw — VG ▾ $41–$90 3 listings

VG $41 VG $47 VG $90

Raw / ungraded ▾ $70–$200 7 listings

Raw / ungraded $70 Raw / ungraded $90 Raw / ungraded $99.99 Raw / ungraded $100 Raw / ungraded $120 Raw / ungraded $125 Raw / ungraded $199.95

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History

Writer Roy Thomas, then Marvel's primary Avengers scripter and Stan Lee's eventual editorial successor, crafted the story as a deliberate expansion of the thin origin material in Fantastic Four #53; artist Sal Buscema drew the interior pages, with Frank Giacoia on inks, while John Buscema and John Verpoorten produced the cover. The issue carries a cover date of April 1971 and was on-sale in February 1971, with Stan Lee serving as editor. Thomas and Buscema even re-drew several panels directly referencing the Fantastic Four #53 sequence to maintain visual continuity while adding new story layers, and the narrative framing device — T'Challa speaking to his fellow Avengers — served the practical editorial purpose of re-introducing the character's background to Avengers readers who had never picked up Fantastic Four.

Trivia · 8 facts

Title of the story: 'Look Homeward, Avenger!' — written by Roy Thomas, with interior pencils by Sal Buscema, inks by Frank Giacoia, and a cover by John Buscema and John Verpoorten; Stan Lee edited.
First (and only) appearance of B'Tumba, T'Challa's childhood friend and son of regent N'Baza, who is revealed as an A.I.M. operative and dies within the same issue.
This is the first issue to describe the Wakandan empowerment herb specifically as 'heart-shaped,' a detail not present in Fantastic Four #53 and one that became the herb's permanent designation in Marvel canon.
The Black Panther's origin had previously been touched on in Fantastic Four #53 (1966); several panels in Avengers #87 were re-drawn from that issue to bridge the two accounts.
The story's framing device — T'Challa narrating his past to assembled Avengers including Vision, Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver, Goliath, Iron Man, and Thor — ends with him facing a choice between his Avengers duties and returning to Wakanda after regent N'Baza's death; he departs the team, remaining absent from the title for approximately a year.
The cover image of the Vision was reused as the title's logo strip on Avengers #93 through #155, reportedly retouched and redrawn by Neal Adams for that purpose.
A full-size reprint was packaged in 2005 with the Black Panther figure from Marvel Legends Series X (The Sentinel Series), marked 'Not For Resale.'
The issue has been collected in: Marvel Masterworks: The Avengers Vol. 9 (2009), The Avengers Omnibus Vol. 3 (2018), Marvel Tales: Black Panther (2019), Avengers Epic Collection Vol. 5 (2020), and Mighty Marvel Masterworks: The Black Panther Vol. 2 (2023).