Let's take a look at Startling Comics #10, which had the first appearance of the unfortunately-named Fighting Yank! No, not that kind of yank, ya perverts! We're talking about those who stood up in our country's early days to create a land where all white landowners were created equal.
Apparently, it's not cool to look like your ancestors. Which means most of us are screwed, especially poor Bruce Carter:
But a ghost of your ancestor coming out of his own portrait? Well, I think Joan should have stuck around for that one.
Anyhoo, the ghost tells Bruce to go do stuff, and Bruce does:
I'm sure that cloak was all kinds of springtime fresh. But you should always do what a ghost tells you to do, because the odds are pretty good you're going to get super-powers out of the deal. This is what happened to Bruce, who said he felt like he had "T.N.T" in his veins. I'm not certain Bruce could have passed a urinalysis test at this point, but he seemed pretty excited.
Naturally, he had to dress in a tri-corner hat:
Man, it took a long time for Joan to get out of Bruce's driveway, didn't it? He had enough time to go up to the attic, find the secret room, open the trunk, put on the cloak, get all wound up about it, and put together that awful outfit. Granted, that's about as quickly as my Beloved moves when I'm trying to go anywhere with her, but it seemed like she should have had more hitch in her giddy-up.
Go get 'em, Yank!:
Of course, Bruce just tore a man-sized hole in his own Sheetrock. Note to self: When making a dramatic entrance, consider the damage that will be done to one's own home before taking action.
I would be remiss if I didn't point out the similarities the Fighting Yank had with a Marvel Comics character who debuted in March of 1977. See if you spot any similarities between the Fighting Yank and the Spirit of '76:
I must also point out that, like the Fighting Yank, the Spirit of '76's cloak was bulletproof. Although based on this picture from Invaders #14, from whence he first appeared, '76 should have been mortally wounded since he was taking chest shots with his protective cloak flapping ineffectively behind him.
But this post is about the Fighting Yank, not the Spirit of '76. Although if we were talking about the Spirit of '76, I would play this bitchin' song from the Alarm's 1985 album Strength in the background:
They just don't make real music anymore. I know I sound old, but the truth is what it is.
Anyway, back to the Fighting Yank.
He wasn't particularly cool, although his revival in Project: Superpowers upped his Awesome Quotient. But his supporting cast was exceptional. For starters, his designated
And apparently, we could look forward to the appearance of his ancestor's corpse when things got dull:
You and I both know that it would have been a much better read if it had just been the corpse going around killing Nazis, but you can only inflict too much awesomeness on the public at one time or they'll start writing angry letters.
See you Monday!
Posts
7 comments:
The ghost of the Yankee dude's grandfather is creepy especially the last panel where he brought down the judgment.
"For the enemies of America -- DEATH!" Very nice. Someone saying that in a comic nowadays would be a villain instead. Damn hippies!
I wouldn't complain too much about the restricted franchise,since it was wider than in other countries. There was the much more serious matter of slavery,however.
The Fighting Yank was brought back as part of Wildstorm/ABC's Terra Obscura project, spearheaded by Alan Moore. In that one, Bruce Carter died and passed the mantle onto his daughter, who of course was a hot chick. So Bruce was the ghost, and the daughter was the Yank. Terra Obscura was pretty decent, but the character wasn't particularly interesting.
You know, when I think of a music video that celebrates how awesome America and its yankee doodle superheroes are, I think of this one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OmGFVLZC3os
Well! If Great great Grandpa there had been dead DURING the Revolutionary War, apparently,he could have won it all by himself!
Never mind what side(s) you like in the current political climate, shouldn't a superhero looking for enemies of America go straight to Washington, DC and raise some hell?
Post a Comment