MARVEL PREMIERE was something of a mixed bag as a comic book purchase. While early on it had been dedicated to the adventures of Iron Fist, and before that Doctor Strange, it had turned over time into a SHOWCASE-style try-out series for new concepts (and occasionally a place to wrap up outstanding plotlines from a series that had come to an end, as in the case of the Man-Wolf issues.) I had begun picking the book up for its two-issue try-out of the new Ant-Man, a storyline that really clicked with me. And so, seeing that the newest issue was focused on the Falcon, a character I knew from reading CAPTAIN AMERICA, I figured that I’d continue to buy the book and picked it up. This nice cover by Frank Miller probably helped with that decision.
This story has a unique history behind its creation. It was initially conceived of as a stand-alone fill-in issue of CAPTAIN AMERICA AND THE FALCON during the period when Steve Gerber was both writing and editing that series. For a bunch of reasons, it wound up not appearing in that title, but it was still drawn by that series’ regular artist Sal Buscema. Over on his terrific blog, writer Mark Evanier told the entire story of how this issue came to be a couple of years ago. I’ve linked to the appropriate entry below so you can get it right from the horse’s mouth.
The story, which Evanier says he plotted in about three hours under emergency conditions, involves the Falcon attempting to apprehend the murderer of a slain diplomat, a killing committed by a patriotically-costumed villain called the Silencer. The killing appears politically motivated, for the diplomat, Sigjid Roskoff, was an outspoken critic of the United States, and he’s insulting to both the Falcon and Sam’s absent partner Captain America when Falc shows up to act as his bodyguard. When the Silencer attacks, the Falcon isn’t able to save Roskoff’s life. But he’s fascinated by a code he finds hidden within the note the Silencer made Roskoff write before his death, renouncing his anti-American views.
Evanier builds the central mystery of the story around that hidden clue–certain letters in the note have been underscored with a dot: O-T-T-F-F-S-S-E-N. This wouldn’t be the only time that Evanier would build a story around a mystery trope; in the 1980s, he wrote a short-lived series called WHODUNNIT for Eclipse Comics, the premise of which was that each issue contained a mystery that could be worked out through clues planted in the story, and there was prize money offered for the first reader to solve each issue’s story. I wasn’t sharp enough when I first read this story to figure out this clue, but I clicked to it instantly while typing it out for the first time here.
Anyway, Falcon tries to figure out the clue as well, but he’s completely stumped. J. Jonah Jameson plays it up in the pages of the Daily Bugle, making a bit of a contest out of it to spike readership. So we wind up getting a bunch of different possible solutions throughout the story, including On The Top Front Fence Some Soldiers Eat Nuts and Oliver Twist Took Fanny Flag Snow Skiing Each Noontime. Falcon also checks in with Captain America, who makes a brief appearance to provide him with some backstory about Roskoff as well as some moral support. But ultimately, the clue doesn’t lead him anywhere–Falcon locates the Silencer again when the villain attacks a free speech rally in Central Park. This leads to a short action set piece where the Silencer is able to elude his pursuer by throwing a live grenade towards the crowd, causing the Falcon to divert his course in order to catch it and hurl it away.
One thing the Falcon learns in his encounter with the Silencer is that the man’s nerve ray paralyzes the vocal cords of its target, rendering them unable to speak for a period of time. Sam figures that the killer won’t be able to resist making an appearance at the rally that Roskoff was supposed to speak at, where his fellow countryman Count Barzon will be subbing in for him. So Sam attends incognito, and he’s ready to jump into action when the Silencer makes his appearance. Unfortunately, in the time it takes for Falc to suit up, Barzon pulls a concealed weapon and guns down the Silencer, claiming this to be justice for what the man did to Roskoff. The authorities seem to agree, and tell Falcon that they consider the matter closed. But Sam is still bothered by that code in Roskoff’s final message.
Do you have it worked out yet? Well, let’s get to the finale. The man in the Silencer costume turns out to be a random low-level thug, and a comment from Falcon’s girlfriend Leila unlocks the meaning of Roskoff’s last message for him. It’s actually Count Barzon who is the real Silencer. He’d taken the contract to assassinate Roskoff on behalf of the Bodavian Freedom Party, then hired a stand-in to attack him wearing the Silencer costume so that he could kill him and divert suspicion away from himself. And Roskoff’s clue? Unable to speak at the moment of his demise, Roskoff indicated the letters O-T-T-F-F-S-S-E-N, short for One Two Three Four Five Six Seven Eight Nine. In other words, the count. And that’s the bit that I remember the best about this story.
The Tom Brevoort Experience 