All-Winners Squad Band Of Heroes #1
Cast your mind back some twenty years, and you may remember the great legacy that Roy Thomas tried to tie together in the form of the All-Star Squadron. Taking multiple stories based during war-time from the then nearly fifty years worth of history that DC had already produced, Mr Thomas added a smidgeon of his own material and crafted the All-Star Squadron.
Based mainly on the-then Earth Two, DC’s star-spangled wartime heroes and mystery men gathered under presidential decree and fought in World War Two as much as they possibly could. To prevent them winning the war over-night, Hitler was said to possess the Spear Of Destiny, which would immediately turn a super-human to his cause.
Hopefully, once the Justice Society comes back into print, the DCnU will consider re-visiting the concept, again for the new Earth Two.
The Marvel Universe however never had the limitations set upon its heroes by the Spear. However, no one yet has tried to gather together the various legacies of World War Two in the House Of Ideas, despite the slow trickle of Golden Age era characters that have finally resurfaced in minis like Mystery Men or The Twelve. (Both are quality series, and I highly recommend them.)
Let’s face it, the Invaders at a title were never more that a two-dimensional attempt at a wartime story. They lacked that certain something that Roy Thomas captured in the pages of the All-Star Squadron; that being the actual atmosphere of war and the personalities of the central characters. Even the Liberty Legion’s short stint in Marvel Premiere had more guts to it than the average Invaders story.
The most masterful attempt at this so far was in the realm of fan-fiction, with the excellent Liberators from Jess Nevins. The story is now easily at least a decade old, and not all of the chapters remain online. Even so, I recommend you dive in and read what you can.
With the release of the All-Winners Squad: Band Of Heroes #1, this is no longer true. Set equally within the present as in World War Two, the opening pages show a troop of G.I.s who are all Golden Age Mystery Men. I saw the name ‘Merzah‘ and nearly whooped for joy. (And then gave thanks to Mr Nevins, else I wouldn’t have known who he was.)
Finally, we see a title that really feels like war, set in the chaos that is the world of the Marvels, at the dawn of the Age Of Marvels. I hope that this will lead to an ongoing series; after all, it does rather seen that Nazi’s are the en vogue villains once again.
