Christmas With The Unknown Soldier

It's Christmas with the Unknown Soldier, as he and his friend, Chat Noir, are celebrating the season, fighting against the Nazis...

...with the help of Red Ball, an all-Black unit in Unknown Solider #237 (March, 1980), with a cover by Joe Kubert, and story by Bob Haney, with interior art by Dick Ayers and Gerry Talaoc.

America At War - The Best Of DC War Comics

 

Celebrating those who served in the United States Armed Forces, a look at the war comics that were published by DC Comics from the 1940s to the 1970s, via America At War - The Best Of DC War Comics, which is a Fireside book released for October, 1979, collected by Michael Uslan, with this Joe Kubert cover featuring Sgt. Rock.

This book breaks down DC's war heroes by decade, so that's what will happen here.

1940s

Where it all began with World War II, this section features Blackhawk with his origin from Military Comics #1 (August, 1941), Hop Harrigan from All-American Comics #48 (March, 1943), Boy Commandos from Detective Comics #82 (December, 1943), Superman from Superman #25 (November-December, 1943), as well as a cover to Boy Commandos #4 (Fall, 1943) and a run from the Superman newspaper strip where Clark Kent joins the army.

Blackhawk and the Boy Commandos have been covered before, this Superman was the one who was in the JSA, and Hop Harrigan was a young pilot (who had associations with the Justice Society as well, and was America's Ace of the Airways, even being in his own movie serial).

1950s

Next up, a group of tales including one from Our Army At War #67 (February, 1958), with Sgt. Rock from Our Army At War #83 (June, 1959), Gunner & Sarge from Our Fighting Forces #49 (September, 1959), and Mademoiselle Marie from Star Spangled War Stories #87 (November, 1959), with covers from G. I. Combat #54 (November, 1957) and Our Fighting Forces (September, 1959).

Thankfully, Sgt. Rock, Gunner & Sarge and Mlle. Marie have all already been covered...

..including times that they have teamed up together.

1960s

Continuing on, with covers from Our Army At War #112 (November, 1961) and Our Fighting Forces #102 (August, 1966), as well as stories from G. I. Combat #87 (April-May, 1961) with the World War II's Haunted Tank, World War I Enemy Ace from Showcase #57 (July-August, 1965), Sgt. Rock and Easy from Our Army At War #160 (November, 1965), the War That Time Forgot from Star Spangled War Stories #134 (August-September, 1967) and Captain Hunter from Our Fighting Forces #102 (August, 1966).

The Haunted Tank, Enemy Ace and the War That Time Forgot all were previously covered...

...and Captain Hunter was Phil Hunter, a Green Beret looking for his brother, Nick, in 1960s Vietnam, as DC takes war beyond World War II. 

1970s

Finishing up in the decade this volume was printed, with stories from Our Army At War #235 (August, 1971), Our Army At War #233 (June, 1971), Star Spangled War Stories #183 (November-December, 1974), and Weird War Tales #3 (January-February, 1972) and covers from Army At War #1 (October-November, 1978), Our Army At War #233 (June, 1971) and Star Spangled War Stories #183 (November-December, 1974).

Mostly generic war stories, with one Sgt. Rock, and a story of the Unknown Soldier, who has been covered before...

....all with the hopes of war no more.

Superman Meets The Unknown Soldier

 

Two men from different worlds, both trying to keep Earth safe, who didn't usually even run in the same circles...

...yet, here is Superman and the Unknown Soldier in DC Comics Presents #42 (February, 1982), under a cover by Rich Buckler and Frank Giacoia, working together to stop a menace that threatens the planet!

Here's how that meeting happened....

The Specter Of War!

This story by Paul Levitz, Irv Novick and Frank McLaughlin, starts with Superman worrying about nuclear missile testing, as he funnels the fallout from a test into orbit.  As Clark Kent, he goes to his editor, Perry White, telling him he wants to write a story about the dangers of nuclear war, and why countries are racing towards nuclear war (with Perry letting him know that isn't journalism, but opinion), when a soldier comes in with a seal envelope for Clark.  

As the soldier leaves, Clark quickly checks it out with his X-Ray vision, seeing it is a request for help from Superman.  Clark looks for him, but the soldier had disappeared.  Reading the note, Superman goes to stop the "accidental" explosion of a nuclear missile in the United States reserves.  

Narrowly avoiding disaster, Major Amos and Doctor Klest (the architects behind the near explosion) plan their next moving, now taking into account the interference of Superman.  Clark Kent goes to investigate at the Pentagon, but is taken under arrest.  But, as he is being taken off, he is freed by a general (who, like the soldier who handed him the envelope) is scratching his neck.  The "general" knows Clark's meekness is an act, and gives him directions to help guide Superman. 

Superman, worried that this soldier who is a master of disguise and is following him around with knowledge of his identity, goes to the JLA Satellite to research history with the Red Tornado, finding the files of the World War II secret agent, the Unknown Soldier, who was a master of disguise (who occasionally gave himself away itching at his disguises around his neck).  

Red Tornado locates a military base that could both start a world ending nuclear war and survive it, which are around the North and South Poles, which sends Superman on a hunt to find the right one.  At the secret military base, Amos and Klest are interrogating a man who claims to be a new transfer (who has an itchy neck).  Superman busts in, finding the device they were using to trigger nuclear weapons early, as Amos has set the microwave beamer to set off hundreds of missiles.  Superman goes to stop them, as the Unknown Soldier apprehends the rouge military men.  

After stopping a nuclear war, Superman returns to the base, finding the army had been called in, and they took these villains into custody under the direction of a mysterious soldier who disappeared.  Clark Kent goes to the tomb of the Unknown Soldier, to thank him, wondering if he was the original from World War II, as a janitor (with an itchy neck) accepts the thanks.

Now, this story proves there must have been both an Earth-1 and Earth-2 Unknown Soldier with similar careers (as the Earth-2 Batman had worked with the Unknown Soldier as well, but something you didn't have to worry about in the Unknown Soldier's own adventures).  

But, at least Superman succeeded in stopping a nuclear war (which Superman later had to deal with when he met the Atomic Knights, who lived in a world after the Great Disaster!).

Star Spangled War Stories Unknown Soldier

A name switch.

Something useful if you are working as a spy for your government, which the Unknown Solider was use to doing, but it was the title of the book that changed, going from the Star Spangled War Stories to Unknown Soldier with #205, with covers still by Joe Kubert, and stories written by Bob Haney.

The Unknown Soldier wasn't there from the beginning (or was he?), in Star Spangled War Stories #3 (November, 1952), this coming from 3 issues of Star Spangled War Stories which spun off of Star Spangled Comics....the Unknown Soldier moved in with Star Spangled War Stories #151 (June-July, 1970) from Enemy Ace, slowly taking over the title through Star Spangled War Stories #204 (February-March, 1977), with Unknown Solider #205 (April-May, 1977), continuing his war, hiding his identity to fight his foes through the end, with Unknown Soldier #268 (October, 1982).

Even though it might have seemed aggressive to take over the title, the Unknown Soldier shared his good fortune, and many friends of his would visit, including Sgt. Rock, the crew of the Haunted Tank, Mlle. Marie and the Losers.