Help Wanted: Can we list the American "Flagsuit Characters"?

[Lorendiac]

Okay, with the Fourth of July fast approaching, I'm trying to compile a list of what I call the "Flagsuit Characters." Specifically, characters who seem to have taken the U.S. flag as their inspiration. When July 4, 2007, rolls around, I intend to post the list of all the Flagsuit Characters we can come up with.

To make it onto my final list, a character has to meet a few basic criteria:

1. He (or she) wears a costume that includes red, white, and blue. (The presence of other colors is also acceptable as long as all three of those are included. But if the costume only has two out of three -- red and blue without any white, for instance -- then that doesn't count!)

2. The character obviously wants to be viewed (by the general public) as an exceptionally patriotic American hero. I'm not saying the person must "really" be a hero, or even has to be a citizen or legal resident of the USA, for that matter! I'm just saying that this is the image the character obviously wants to project! If there have been any villains who put on red-white-and-blue outfits in order to fool people into thinking they were heroes for awhile, I'm perfectly willing to count that! (But not if they were just impersonating Captain America, for instance -- only if they invented a fresh identity for the occasion.)

3. He (or she) must have appeared in at least one published comic book story. (I don't want costumed characters who only existed in movies, TV shows, videogames or whatever.

As a few examples of what I don't want:

Rule #1 eliminates Superman. There's nothing white in his standard costume, so he doesn't match the color scheme requirement. (Besides, I don't think the red and blue in his costume were meant to be signs of conspicuous patriotism, so he'd also be disqualified by Rule #2.)

Rule #2 means that Marvel's (long-dead) character La Bandera is disqualified. She wore red-white-and-blue when she debuted in a story arc in Wolverine's series, way back around 1989, but she was not and did not claim to be a U.S. citizen. By the same token, I imagine there are probably several other characters in one comic book universe or another who wear red, white, and blue for reasons that have nothing to do with patriotic loyalty to the USA.

Rule #2 would also eliminate Spider-Man. His costume is mostly red and blue, but the things over his eyes are solid white. That color combo could meet the requirements of Rule #1, and he is certainly a U.S. citizen. However, he doesn't normally go out of his way to stress that he is "the Amazingly All-American Spider-Man" or anything like that, so he is still disqualified by Rule #2. As with Superman, I don't believe Spider-Man chose his color scheme with the American flag in mind. (Probably just said to himself: "Bright primary colors -- that's the way to go! It will look good on television!" :))

And to be fair about it, I have a request: Please, only mention a maximum of three names at once.

(Although if you want to post three names today, and come back and post three more names tomorrow, that's fine! Just space it out, okay? I say this in order to discourage any fan with an encyclopedic knowledge of the subject from posting a list of 20 or 30 such characters, all at once, and leaving practically nothing for anyone else to do!)

Just to start the ball rolling, I'll mention three examples:

1. Captain America (Steve Rogers). A Marvel character.

2. The Shield (Joe Higgins and others). Allegedly the Very First American Flagsuit Superhero Character; he debuted in MLJ's "Pep Comics #1" in 1940. (MLJ eventually morphed into the company we now know as "Archie Comics.")

3. The Torch of Liberty (Paul Gibney), created by John Byrne for a backup feature in his "Danger Unlimited" miniseries for Dark Horse in the mid-90s. The Torch was basically a shameless Captain America knockoff who enlisted in the military right after Pearl Harbor and thus started his career in the WWII era (and stayed active for many years thereafter, evidently).

I can think of a lot more, but I'm going to follow my own rule and stop at three for the time being.

P.S. At the moment, I'm not planning to list every single character who has ever called himself "Captain America." Not unless that character has also had a separate, more "original" identity instead of just trying to be yet another "successor" or "imitator" of Steve Rogers.

[Tommy]

Does Wonder Woman count? She is clearly wearing the American Flag, but I believe at some point, someone came up with a convoluted explanation about how she isn't really wearing it...

[Loren]

Skyrocket (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skyrocket_(comics))

General Glory (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Glory)

Fighting American (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fighting_American)

[Lorendiac]

Does Wonder Woman count? She is clearly wearing the American Flag, but I believe at some point, someone came up with a convoluted explanation about how she isn't really wearing it...

I didn't even think of her. :o What was the "original version" of the origin story of her costume supposed to be? I mean, back in the 1940s, did she claim to be wearing her costume as a tribute to the American flag? I'm not any kind of big expert on the Golden Age/Silver Age Wonder Woman continuity, I'm afraid.

[Jeremy A. Patterson]

Captain Freedom (Harvey)

Commander Steel (DC)

Skyman (Columbia Comics Group)

Flag-Man (Holyoke, later AC Comics)

Miss Victory/Ms. Victory (Holyoke, later AC Comics)


J.A.P.

[Expletive Deleted]

Spirit of '76 (http://www.marvel.com/universe/Spirit_of_%2776), Patriot (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeffrey_Mace), and Super-Patriot/USAgent (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Agent) were all alternate costumed identities of characters who became Captain America.

There's also the new Patriot (http://www.marvel.com/universe/Patriot_%28Elijah_Bradley%29) and his uncle, Josiah X (http://www.marvel.com/universe/Josiah_X) (derivative of Captain America's costume, but different).

There was the villainous Super-Patriot (http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix/suprpat1.htm) and the short-lived Anti-Cap (http://www.marvel.com/universe/Anti-Cap) (ditto Josiah X).

In terms of Cap's sidekicks at various points in time, there's Free Spirit (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_Spirit_(comics)), Jack Flag (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Flag), Battlestar (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battlestar_%28comics%29) and (of course) Bucky (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bucky_(comics)).

From the "Lost Generation" and other points past, there's Liberty Girl (http://www.lostgenerationhandbook.com/libertygirl.htm), Miss America (http://www.lostgenerationhandbook.com/missamerica.htm), and the 1770s Captain America (http://www.lostgenerationhandbook.com/captainamericav.htm).

Would Nuke (http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix/darenuke.htm) count? How about either of the American Eagles, the one currently in THUNDERBOLTS (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Eagle_(comics)) and the Squadron Supreme version (can't find a good picture of that one)?

[Jessica Drew]

The Star-Spangled Kid (DC) - first appearance (in an ad): September 1940; first appearance in a comic: October '41.

Uncle Sam (Quality) - first appearance: July 1940

[foxley]

American Crusader (Thrilling Publications) [had only minimal white in his costume, but enough to qualify]
the Banner (DC) [Batman villain]
Captain Flag (MLJ)

(I missed the 3 characters per post rule when I originally posted, so I've edited it down to 3 and will post over characters in later posts.)

[ragnarok_2012]

Doctor Tomorrow from the late 90's 12-issue mini from Acclaim.

The Comedian from Watchmen.

Flagg from American Flagg (I really should read that series sometime).

[FanboyStranger]

Flagg from American Flagg (I really should read that series sometime).

Thing is, Rueben Flagg gets disqualified under rule #2 since the United States of America wasn't the United States of America. It was a coalition of former world governments and business interests "ruling" the Earth from a base on Mars. The Plex uniform does look based on the American flag, but the badge has three red stars representing Earth, the moon, and Mars, deliberately red in honor of Soviet Russia. Moreover, Flagg would never identify himself as American.

Still, one of the greatest series ever, especially the perfect first year. That hardcover needs to come out soon.

Now, Patriot, originally named Flagg, from Rising Stars, is a different story...

[foxley]

The American and Kid America (Dark Horse)
American Avenger (Timely)
American Eagle and his sidekick Eaglet (Better Publications)

The latter two are obscure golden age characters.

[Schornforce]

Stargirl from JSA

American Maid (Tick) was in an illustrated book or two, but perhaps not a comic book, so I dunno if she'd count.

Major Glory (Dexter's Lab)-- anyone know if he appeared in any of the Cartoon Network comics? I can't remember. I'm pretty sure he would have at least in a cameo, but I'm not certain on that.

Minute Man (Freedom Force)

Liberty Lad (Freedom Force)

Uncle Sam (Vertigo)

There was a Kingdom Come character-- Americommando, I think...

Didn't Citizen V (Baron Zemo) wear a U.S. styled costume in Thunderbolts?

It seems Jessica Drew mentioned Uncle Sam and I never noticed. So I changed him to the Vertigo Alex Ross one.

[Babylon23]

Super-Patriot from Savage Dragon.

[foxley]

These three all come from the Caliber 'Big Bang' universe:

Mr U.S.
Venus
Dr. Stellar

Dr Stellar may be a bit of a borderline case. His costume certainly qualifies but whether he ever wanted to be viewed as an exceptionally patriotic American hero is debatable. However, as he was intended, in part at least, to be the Big Bang equivalent of the Star-Spangled Kid I think he qualifies.

[foxley]

American Knight (appeared in a comic called ActionFolksinger)
American Woman (Antarctic)
Captain Battle and his sidekick, Captain Battle, Jr (Lev Gleason) [one of the few golden age heroes whose sidekick actually was his son]

And yes, Baron Zemo did wear a flag themed costume as Citizen V in 'Thunderbolts' and this variations of this costume and the flag motif were kept by the subsequent incarnations of Citizen V (Dallas Riordan and John Hawkins III [I think])

[Loren]

Hmmm. Do the starring heroes from Captain Confederacy (http://www.internationalhero.co.uk/c/capconun.htm) fit the criteria?

At the very least, the heroine Union Maid is definitely a US flagsuit character.

And while I'm at it, let's not forget Agent America (http://www.internationalhero.co.uk/a/agentame.htm). Even though we probably wish we could.

[ragnarok_2012]

Hmmm. Do the starring heroes from Captain Confederacy (http://www.internationalhero.co.uk/c/capconun.htm) fit the criteria?


I think Captain Confederacy should count, personally.

[tangentman]

Lorendiac: YES, Wonder Woman intentionally wore colors associated with the American flag during the Golden Age. In fact, Diana's goddesses outright declared their support of the American cause in WWII. Wonder Woman's costume clearly showed solidarity with America, or at the very least, the American principles of freedom and democracy.

[foxley]

American Dream (Marvel) - Captain America's protege from A2

Captain Americat (Marvel) - the anthropomorphic cat version of Captain America from Spider-Ham

Americop (Marvel) -Captain America villain

[Schornforce]

Just a couple additions:

Other than traditional Diana Wonder Woman, Artemis and Hippolyta have worn the patriotic uniform.

Also, Super Soldier, the Amalgam of Supes and Cap A would count, I'd think.

[Autonomy]

I found one!

Americommando (http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/09/2326_4_09.jpg)

I remember him from Kingdom Come.

[Shellhead]

The Star-Spangled Kid (DC) - first appearance (in an ad): September 1940; first appearance in a comic: October '41.


Don't forget his older sidekick, Stripesy.

And Sylvester later became Skyman, with a different patriotic costume.

Also, Mr. America:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tex_Thompson

[Chris N]

The Last American, from Marvel's Epic line.

[Mikl C]

I love you so much that you know who La Bandera is!

[foxley]

All-American (Marvel) from the 'New Universe' line. Not to be confused with:

the All-American and Slugger, the Junior Dynamo, a pair of sports-themed patriotic heroes from Astro City.

Also from Astro City, the Old Soldier.

[foxley]

All-American (Marvel) from the 'New Universe' line. Not to be confused with:

the All-American and Slugger, the Junior Dynamo, a pair of sports-themed patriotic heroes from Astro City.

Also from Astro City, the Old Soldier.

[foxley]

Number Nine (Marvel) - character from Daredevil. I only know her from her ANOHOTU entry so I don't know how patriotic she was, but she was unquestionably wearing the flag.

Anti-Cap (Marvel) - another Captain America foe

Captain Amerikid (Marvel) - the X-Babies version of captain America

[Schornforce]

Just because Captain Amerikid was mentioned:

There once was Wonder Tot. Wonder Woman as a toddler (I think)-- wearing the usual kiddie version of her usual outfit.

[foxley]

Commando Yank (Fawcett) - only just qualifies on the colour criterion

the Defender and his sidekick, Rusty (Timely)

the Eagle and his sidekick, Buddy (Fox)

[Lorendiac]

Anti-Cap (Marvel) - another Captain America foe

Captain Amerikid (Marvel) - the X-Babies version of captain America

Question for each of those: Did each guy loudly claim (truthfully or otherwise) to be motivated by patriotic loyalty to the ideals of the USA as he understood them, etc.? Or was he basically just a guy who said "For fun, I think I'll dress up kinda like Captain America and see what happens!"

I don't think I've read any appearances of either of 'em, so I'll appreciate any help you can give me!

[Loren]

Question for each of those: Did each guy loudly claim (truthfully or otherwise) to be motivated by patriotic loyalty to the ideals of the USA as he understood them, etc.? Or was he basically just a guy who said "For fun, I think I'll dress up kinda like Captain America and see what happens!"

In the case of 'Anti-Cap,' yes, he was motivated by patriotic loyalty. He was the product of a Navy super-soldier experiment, and he was essentially a rabid neocon motivated by the Oklahoma City bombing.

I'm not sure if he was ever actually called 'Anti-Cap' within the book, and I don't think he used for himself. He didn't see himself as a Cap villain; he was a patriot with a vastly different ideology than Steve Rogers'.

[Shellhead]

I just thought of two more flagsuit guys... two very different Marvel characters named American Eagle:

1. The first American Eagle first appeared with the Squadron Supreme in Avengers #85. He was a thinly-disguised version of DC's Hawkman, and wore a red-white-and-blue costume with an eagle helmet with his face showing from inside the eagle's beak. The next time the Avengers faced the Squadron Supreme, he appeared as Cap'n Hawk, then more recently as Blue Eagle.

2. The second American Eagle first appeared in Marvel Two-in-One. He is a native american hero, with a red-white-and-blue costume topped by a huge white and red indian headdress. He wielded a crossbow.

[foxley]

Question for each of those: Did each guy loudly claim (truthfully or otherwise) to be motivated by patriotic loyalty to the ideals of the USA as he understood them, etc.? Or was he basically just a guy who said "For fun, I think I'll dress up kinda like Captain America and see what happens!"

I don't think I've read any appearances of either of 'em, so I'll appreciate any help you can give me!

I haven't read the Anti-Cap stories myself, but the following is from a review in thefourthrail.com:

"The "Two Americas" in the story arc's title refer to more than just Cap and his dark counterpart. Priest explores the ideas of two different Americas as well. Leila, the Falcon and Cap stand for the freedoms upon which America is founded. The Anti-Cap stands for the America that demands unquestioning patriotism and obedience from its people, the America that sees an amateur photographer fired for capturing the reality of war, for example. "

As for Captain Amerikid, the juvenile counterparts of Earth 616 heroes (and villains) Mojo created for his X-Babies program seem to have the same motivations as their originals, just expressed in more childish terms.

[foxley]

Continuing on with the list:

the Fighting American (Crestwood/Prize/DC/Awesome) [I think that's everyone this character has been published by]

and his sidekicks Speedboy (Prize/DC) and SPICE (Awesome) - flagsuits in their own right

Fighting Yank (Better Publications) [also appeared in the Americomics universe and Terra Obscura from America's Best Comics. His daughter in Terra Obscura, the Fighting Spirit, lacks the red, white and blue element necessary to qualify]

the First American and his 'partner' [and I use that term very loosely], U.S.Angel (America's Best Comics)

[Lorendiac]

In the case of 'Anti-Cap,' yes, he was motivated by patriotic loyalty. He was the product of a Navy super-soldier experiment, and he was essentially a rabid neocon motivated by the Oklahoma City bombing.

I'm not sure if he was ever actually called 'Anti-Cap' within the book, and I don't think he used for himself. He didn't see himself as a Cap villain; he was a patriot with a vastly different ideology than Steve Rogers'.

I'm not eager to list a man under a name he never actually used for himself. What (if anything) did the Anti-Cap think his name was when he was "on the job"? Did he call himself "Captain America" as many other men have done at one time or another?

[Lorendiac]

1. The first American Eagle first appeared with the Squadron Supreme in Avengers #85. He was a thinly-disguised version of DC's Hawkman, and wore a red-white-and-blue costume with an eagle helmet with his face showing from inside the eagle's beak. The next time the Avengers faced the Squadron Supreme, he appeared as Cap'n Hawk, then more recently as Blue Eagle.

I can't remember much about his "Blue Eagle" look, and I'm not sure I've ever read any stories that had him as Cap'n Hawk. So I'm asking: Did either of those "identities" include costumes that had red, white, and blue in them? All three colors at once? If they did, then I want to list each relevant costumed role separately.

[Loren]

I'm not eager to list a man under a name he never actually used for himself. What (if anything) did the Anti-Cap think his name was when he was "on the job"? Did he call himself "Captain America" as many other men have done at one time or another?

I know he called himself 'Captain America' in the first arc of the series. And as he pointed out to Steve Rogers, he was a Navy Captain, not Army, and thus outranked Steve.

The term Super-Sailor was tossed out at some point, but I think that was the name of the project that created him.

Frankly, somebody who still owns the issues might be of more help. It's possible that in the latter issues he did go under 'the Anti-Cap' at some point.

Here (http://www.marvel.com/universe/Anti-Cap) is his Marvel bio page, for what it's worth.

[Shellhead]

I can't remember much about his "Blue Eagle" look, and I'm not sure I've ever read any stories that had him as Cap'n Hawk. So I'm asking: Did either of those "identities" include costumes that had red, white, and blue in them? All three colors at once? If they did, then I want to list each relevant costumed role separately.

American Eagle (sitting in front):

http://www.fortunecity.com/tatooine/niven/142/img/po0701.jpg

Cap'n Hawk (guy shouting out the word balloon):

http://image.milehighcomics.com/istore/images/large/05815547774.148.gif

Blue Eagle:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/2/24/BlueEagle.jpg/250px-BlueEagle.jpg

[foxley]

the Flag (Ace Periodicals)

General Glory (DC)

the Great Defender (Quality)

[Jeremy A. Patterson]

There was an American Eagle from Nedor as well.

Also, Yankee Girl (Harry A Chesler, later AC Comics)


J.A.P.

[Asmith]

The Marvel Family.

When DC changed Mary Marvel's costume from Red to White the Marvel Family of Captain, Mary and Junior become Red, White and Blue. An obvious American flag colour motif applied retospectively and not to inappropriately to the longtime characters.

[Kid Kyoto]

THe Savage Dragon once led a US government team called the Special Operations Squad (SOS) who all wore flag suits. It was meant mostly as a spoof and many characters reacted poorly. Other than the aforementioned Superpatriot none had patriotic names or themes.

http://image.milehighcomics.com/istore/images/fullsize/71810716120.40.GIF

[foxley]

Miss America (Quality/DC) - recently revived in the Freedom Fighters

Miss Liberty (DC) - a Revolutionary War era heroine from the pages of Tomahawk

Major Victory (DC) - leader of the Force of July (none of the other members of the Force of July qualify as 'flag-suits')

[foxley]

Liberty Girl (Heroic)

Yankee Clipper (Marvel) - from the Lost Generation mini-series

the Captain from Texas (Marvel) - one of the Captain Americas of other eras from the Captain America bi-centenary special

[Lorendiac]

Whoa! Slow down, guys! I'm surprised to see new contributions being made in this old thread; I have a terrible suspicion that some of you haven't yet noticed that I already posted, as its own thread, the first draft of a "Master List" based on all the helpful suggestions I got on this forum and others after I asked for help. I posted it on July 4, as I'd said I intended to do. The Master List runs a little over 150 names at the moment, and it definitely includes Nedor's American Eagle, Marvel's Yankee Clipper, and DC's General Glory.

Check it out at: Master List of U.S. Flagsuit Characters (1st Draft) (http://forums.comicbookresources.com/showthread.php?t=181330)

I no longer ask anyone to restrict themselves to a maximum of 3 new nominations per day, but on the other hand, I think you'll find I already know about most of the names you've come up with lately :)

If you continue to scrape up "flagsuit characters" I don't have on the Master List, please post their names as replies in the List's thread to make my life simpler when (someday) I revise it to produce a new-and-improved Second Draft, okay? I think this "Help Wanted" thread has now served its purpose and may safely be permitted to gradually sink out of sight! :)