Today is Independence Day in the United States, a day that tends to be celebrated by relaxing, perhaps enjoying your beverage of choice with those you love, and, of course: Fireworks! Here at Major Spoilers, we love comics, and we know you do, too, and thus, our fireworks might be a bit different from what you might expect… Welcome to Ten (Or More) Things!
The origin of the modern superhero myth dates back to the late 1930s, a time of world war, and it’s no coincidence that a major upswing in popularity of comic books coincided with America’s entry into the war, and beginning in 1941 with the first patriotic hero (stay tuned for that story), the red-white-and-blue two-fisted hero has become a staple of the comic book industry…
Thus, Whooshman-Bicarbonate Films, in conjunction with ‘An Amateur Comics Historian’, and ‘The Mysterious Dr. Reinstein’, Presents:
TEN TWENTY-FIVE STAR-SPANGLED PATRIOTIC HEROES!
25) SKYROCKET
Her electromagnetic Argo Harness allows her to make her own fireworks as a member of The Power Company…
24) MISTER U.S.
An archetypical hero, whose cyborg enhancements included titanium arches to repair his flat feet…
Yes, really!
23) THE GREATEST AMERICAN HERO
Ralph Hinkley (aka Ralph Hanley) gained his powered uniform from aliens, but accidentally lost the operating instructions. Wackiness ensued…
22) U.S. BILL
The strongman of The Specials may fall short in intellect, but he makes up for it in heart and sheer guts…
21) THE EAGLE (AND BUDDY)
A minor Golden Age hero from Fox Feature Comics, his striped cape was the height of fashion circa 1940!
20) CAPTAIN FLAG
You might have thought I was kidding, but Archie Comics’ Captain Flag followed suit (and striped cape) soon after…
19) THE ALL-AMERICAN (AND SLUGGER)
Astro City’s sporting avenger and his kid sidekick operated in the forties, at the height of the patriotic hero craze…
18) MAJOR VICTORY
As with all the Harry “A” Chesler heroes, Major Victory wasn’t around for long, but his adventures featured some wonderful art…
17) LIBERTY GIRL
Liberty Girl is part of The Front Line, a team of heroes created to fill in the gaps in the ever-expanding Marvel Universe timeline, as seen in ‘Marvel: The Lost Generation.’
16) IRON PATRIOT
After focus groups deemed the named ‘War Machine’ unpalatable, Colonel James “Rhodey” Rhodes changed his look and his name…
15) COMMANDER STEEL
Initially just ‘Steel: The Indestructible Man’, a hybrid of Captain America and the Six-Million-Dollar Man, Hank Heywood received a field promotion and later joined the All-Star Squadron…
14) U.S. ANGEL
A WWII aviator, he was shot down and became an actual angel, giving him abilities which he used to fight evil…
13) BIG CRABB
Noted entomologist Bob Crabb was mutated by aliens into a powerful insect/human hybrid, using his powers to defend the world alongside fellow bug-folk Mikros and Saltarella.
12) PAT PATRIOT
A two-fisted Golden Age hero, Pat didn’t have the staying power of Wonder Woman, but her fashion sense (and her right cross) are impeccable…
11) CAPTAIN AMERICA
A long-time ally of Captain America, Sam Wilson kept his Falcon wings when he stepped up to take over Steve Rogers red-white-and-blue role…
10) FIGHTING YANK
A minor hero from Better Comics, circa 1941, I love his whole costume, especially that it looks like he’s wearing a souvenir t-shirt…
9) FIGHTING AMERICAN
Created by Simon and Kirby after they stopped working on Captain America, his adventures were a more tongue-in-cheek look at nationalistic fervor, years ahead of their time…
8) AMERICAN DREAM
Sharon Carter’s niece, Shannon, possesses the skill (in both combat AND leadership) to serve as Captain America’s successor in Marvel’s future MC2 universe…
7) U.S. AGENT
John Walker was chosen by the government to take over as Captain America, but repurposed Steve Rogers’ uniform as ‘The Captain’ when Steve returned to the red-white-and-blues…
6) AMERICAN EAGLE
Though his original costume was pretty stereotypical, Jason Strongbow is one of Marvel’s most under-utilized cool heroes…
5) AMERICAN MAID
The world of The Tick has hundreds of heroes, but only a few who are truly good at their job. American Maid is the best and most effective of all…
4) MINUTE-MAN
The vast majority of reworked stars-and-stripes flag-inspired uniforms are garish messes, Minute-Man has one of the absolute coolest…
3) THE SHIELD
The original patriotic hero, predating even Captain America himself, Archie Comics’ Shield has a long (if somewhat erratic) history of heroism…
2) CAPTAIN AMERICA
You kids today don’t know how good you have it with your superhero adaptations, as when I was a kid, Captain America had a Flexible Flyer for a shield and a spandex leotard costume.
1) MISS AMERICA
She’s beauty, she’s grace…
She’ll punch you in the face. That’s pretty much what you need to know…
Feel free to follow along (@MightyKingCobra) for more Ten Things madness on Twitter, including a little something to accompany this list! As with any set of like items, these aren’t meant to be hard and fast or absolutely complete, but for the record, I tried. Either way, the comments section is Below for just such an emergency, but, as always: Please, no wagering!
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2 Comments
Came here late to give you grief for missing one. Especially since its Astro City. I’d submit Old Soldier
A great call!
Of course, “missed” is relative. Remember the part where I said there was a little bit more on my Twitter?
https://storify.com/MightyKingCobra/ten-times-ten-patriotic-super-dupers
I recommend #82. :)