"BIG BIRD"

Real Name: None

Identity/Class: Genetically-engineered creature

Occupation: Servant of Arnim Zola

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: Arnim Zola

Enemies: Falcon (Sam Wilson), unidentified S.H.I.E.L.D. agents

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: "Big Bird" (as called by Falcon)

Base of Operations: Its nest, somewhere in "the rugged badlands of South America"

First Appearance: (Shadow only) Captain America I#209 (May, 1977); (full) Captain America I#210 (June, 1977)

Powers/Abilities: The gargantuan "Big Bird" was a winged semi-humanoid creature that could fly, and likely had great strength (Class 10 or higher); however, it was vulnerable to gunfire.

Height: 30' (see comments)
Weight: Unrevealed
Eyes: Unrevealed
Hair: White (see comments)

History:
(Captain America I#208 (fb) - BTS) - At some point, "Big Bird" was created by geneticist Arnim Zola (see comments).

   Under unrevealed circumstances, the gigantic creature was released, and it made its home in a mountainous region of South America, where it built its nest.

(Captain America I#208) - When Captain America (Steve Rogers) was abducted by agents of the Swine, the Falcon flew south in search of his missing friend. The Falcon's quest eventually took him as far as South America, and while flying above some massed mountain peaks, he spotted what appeared to be a huge nest.

(Captain America I#209) - Landing in the gigantic nest, the Falcon suspected its builder probably had some connection to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s File 116; but then he found himself on the horns of a dilemma -- if he stayed around to investigate further, he would only delay his search for Cap.

   Suddenly, a mammoth shadow ("Big Bird") darkened the sky, and the beat of giant wings created a windstorm in the air. But then the shadow vanished -- it seemed that an intruder in its nest was not a welcome sight, even to a giant. The Falcon soared to give chase, and he spotted the silhouette of a huge wing-tip on a cliff wall as the dark form flew to the peak of a mountain. Suddenly, the air was filled with flying boulders, as a deadly avalanche was aimed directly at the Falcon.

(Captain America I#210) - Taking shelter beneath an outcropping, the Falcon realized that something big on the crest of the cliff was tossing the rocks at him -- obviously, his unseen foe didn't like curiosity-seekers. But when the rain of rocks seemed to have passed, the Falcon saw it as his chance to get a closer look at his mysterious assailant, so he streaked skyward ("Here comes company, Big Bird--!")...

   When he reached the crown of the cliff, the Falcon was shocked as he finally caught sight of his gargantuan foe.

(Captain America I#213 (fb) - BTS) - Details of the Falcon's encounter with "Big Bird" are largely unrevealed, but he was rescued by a team of S.H.I.E.L.D. operatives who killed the creature with their weaponry (see comments).

(Captain America I#213 - BTS) - While visiting the recuperating Captain America in a S.H.I.E.L.D. hospital, the Falcon briefly mentioned his encounter with "Big Bird," and that "the hassle hardly got started before that thing was totaled by heavy fire".

Comments: Created by Jack Kirby.

Although Arnim Zola was never actually depicted as creating "Big Bird," two captions in Captain America I#210 confirmed his connection to this monster.

While visiting the hospitalized Captain America, the Falcon mentioned that "Big Bird" was thirty feet tall; he also mentioned that he had wandered "into what S.H.I.E.L.D. had listed as a suspected area," presumably implying that the agents were already nearby and aware of "Big Bird's" existence as part of their investigations for File 116.

"Big Bird" appeared to have fur rather than feathers, so maybe it was an avian/mammal hybrid.

I remember reading these stories as a twelve year-old kid when they originally came out -- I was a fan of Kirby's monsters, and after I saw the full-page depiction of "Big Bird" (see Main Image), I was hoping to see more of it in action in the subsequent issues. But alas, that one image would be all we ever got to clearly see of this creature -- you can only imagine my younger-self's disappointment when I read that it got killed behind-the-scenes ("What a rip-off!").

Profile by Ron Fredricks.

CLARIFICATIONS:
"Big Bird" has no known connections to:

"Big Bird's" nest has no known connections to:

"Big Bird's" nest

The home of "Big Bird," it was located somewhere in a mountainous region of South America.

The gigantic creature used the trunks of large trees to construct it.

--Captain America I#208 (Captain America I#208-209

images: (without ads)
Captain America I#210, p9, pan1 (Main Image - "Big Bird"; Falcon (right))
Captain America I#208, p8, pan5 (Falcon flying over "Big Bird's" nest)
Captain America I#209, p15, pan3 (Falcon inside "Big Bird's" nest)

Appearances:
Captain America I#208 (April, 1977) - Jack Kirby (writer/pencils/editor), Frank Giacoia (inks), George Roussos (colors), Jim Novak (letters), Archie Goodwin (consulting editor)
Captain America I#209 (May, 1977) - Jack Kirby (writer/pencils/editor), Frank Giacois (inks), George Roussos (colors), Jim Novak (letters), Archie Goodwin (consulting editor)
Captain America I#210 (June, 1977) - Jack Kirby (writer/pencils/editor), Mike Royer (inks), George Roussos (colors), Mike Royer (letters), Archie Goodwin (consulting editor)
Captain America I#213 (September, 1977) - Jack Kirby (writer/pencils/editor), Dan Green (inks), George Roussos (colors), Joe Rosen (letters), Archie Goodwin (consulting editor)

First Posted: 03/22/2022
Last updated: 03/22/2022

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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