Captain AmericaCaptain America #321 was the best selling issue due to its cover showing Cap bustin' caps, wielding a firearm. Writer Mark Gruenwald said they received a lot of fan mail wanting Cap to be depicted more like an anti-hero. These fans wanted a new Cap more akin to Punisher or Wolverine. Gruenwald reasoned this would be inconsistent with Steve Roger's principles and was not the direction to take the character in.

Instead, he created a separate character that would satisfy fans and provide a juxtaposition between the two characters. John Walker (later U.S. Agent) was that character, and he was intended to ultimately highlight who Captain America is by showing who he is not.

An Anti-Hero

U.S. Agent is not a villain, he is a hero with some big character flaws. However you may feel about Steve Ditko's Mr. A philosophy of a hero needing to be pure, one cannot deny it makes for interesting storytelling.

I am very much looking forward to how the MCU explores this character starting with the Falcon and The Winter Soldier later this year. Particularly in exploring this character's view of what constitutes patriotism versus Cap's at the same time we are having an election. I trust that Marvel Studios will be fair and not heavy-handed one way or another. I.e. I trust they will not portray Sam Wilson as a far-left democrat and John Walker as a far-right republican. Or at least if they happen to lean that way, I'd hope they can manage to show the strengths and weaknesses of each and not turn it into a metaphor of Biden vs Trump.

Here are the key issues to invest in if you believe this character has the potential to be a breakout star as I do:

 

Captain AmericaCaptain America #323

This issue has the first appearance of John Walker, where he is introduced as the Super-Patriot and begins challenging Captain America. The FMV of this book in 9.8 is at $170 with a fairly wide range of prices as high as $300 last October to as low as $124.

Captain America #333

This issue features John Walker taking the helm as Captain America. He holds this title from #333-350. That is 17 issues where he is at the helm as the title's namesake. 9.8's have an FMV of $160 with a high in January of $250.

Captain AmericaCaptain America #354

This issue is where John Walker takes on his new and lasting persona as U.S. Agent. This book has an FMV of $280 in 9.8. This is greater than John Walker's first appearance in Cap 323. The usual pattern seems to be the character's first appearance is the more preferred over the donning of their superhero moniker if the two are separate. For example, James Rhodes in Iron Man #118 is preferred to War Machine in Iron Man #282. I suppose in this case these issues are close enough together that the U.S. Agent first appearance beats the John Walker first appearance. We'll see as time goes on, but as of now, the market prefers this one. On the other hand, if you can get Cap 323 in 9.8 for around $150 and U.S. Agent breaks out, then #323 may see numbers similar to #354 when that one goes up.

In Closing

There are obviously way more high-grade copies out there than the CGC census indicates. The census probably is where it is because no one foresaw the potential value in this character before. Captain America 323 and 354 are most likely the ones to see the most movement in the near future. Though, it may not matter if there are two thousand more 9.8's of each. Yes, these are Copper Age books, but Cable, Deadpool, and Gambit are some examples of what is possible if a character becomes sought after.

Do you guys see similar potential in U.S. Agent? Let me know in the comments below.