Jason Strongbow, a representative of the Navajo tribe of Indians, attempted to stop a mining company from excavating a mountain sacred to the tribe by obtaining a court order. Failing in that, he led a peaceful protest group at the mining site. When the night watchman panicked and shot a protester, Strongbow followed him into the mine. There he discovered that the mining company was in league with Klaw, the master of sound, who sought uranium to fortify his sonic powers. He also found his brother Ward, who did not share his ideas of preserving the tribal grounds and soon allowed their argument to erupt into violence. During their fight Klaw appeared and blasted the brothers with his sonic blaster. The bombardment of sonic energy and the exposure to an unknown isotope of uranium found in the mine combined to mutagenically enhance the strength and senses of the Strongbow brothers. Klaw, who had contracted the mining company to acquire uranium with which he hoped to fortify his powers, fled with his hirelings to the Savage Land in Antarctica, where Klaw hoped to acquire Vibranium.
Strongbow emerged from the mine and was hailed as a champion of his tribe. Taking the flight of a nearby eagle as an omen, Strongbow fashioned for himself the costumed identity of the American Eagle. Learning that his brother had gone to the Savage Land with the mining company, he set out in pursuit In the Savage Land, the American Eagle was met by Ka-Zar, the Thing, and Wyatt Wingfoot. The four of them opposed and defeated Klaw and his hirelings. In the course of the battle, Strongbow's brother Ward, who had allied himself with Klaw, was killed by one of the miner's bullets. American Eagle has since returned to his people to be their champion.
Recently, American Eagle has once again been seen in action while he attempted to convince Steel Spider not to keep such a high profile, due to his unregistered status and the outcomes of the Civil War. The Thunderbolts shortly arrived on the scene to arrest Steel Spider, and despite the best efforts of American Eagle and Shadowoman, were successful in their efforts. Although American Eagle was unable to prevent Steel Spider's capture, he was able to ensure that Bullseye wouldn't hurt anyone ever again beating him up so badly that he was rendered paralyzed from the neck down. American Eagle then made his escape and hasn't been seen since.
