Charlton vs Mighty MLJ: DCU Style

 

As previously mentioned, in a previous composite reality that has since been wiped clean by another cosmic crisis in the DC Comics universe, the merging of several parallel planets led to the incorporation of the Mighty Crusaders of Earth-MLJ and the Action-Heroes of Earth-Four, twin teams originating in Archie and Charlton Comics. As such, although the concepts were still there at their core, they were radically revised to incorporate modern sensibilities and to water down their impact on their world.

The reason for the former was that, for instance, having a guy known as the Web simply being a criminologist wasn't enough... he had to be a blending of Tony Stark/Peter Parker, and similarly with Captain Atom... he needed to ditch the conventional costumes of his silver age incarnations for a shiny skin and sassy style. And the reason for the latter is that this world already had their premier superhero team, the Justice League, and their original team of mystery men, the Justice Society. These guys couldn't outshine DC's finest of the past and present, so they both were made into essentially G-Men working as federal agents when the need arose, which was seldom it seemed. For the original Shield and Captain Atom, that worked since they were government agents as it was and in their own worlds they had plenty to do, setting the tone for their fellow fabulous folk to follow. Sadly but logically, neither the Crusaders nor the Sentinels of Justice could get much traction in this scenario.

Thankfully, with a new DCU now in existence this sad state has been wiped clean, at least for the Crusaders who return to their native world to pickup where they left off welcoming in a new generation of heroes... who look to them as their "Justice League" or "Society". If only the good Captain and his costumed crew could say the same, since they remain on a world not their own and one that will never treat them as they should be treated. However, glimmers of Earth-Four where the Sentinels of Justice operated can still be found through the Multiverse!

Charlton vs Avengers vs Mighty MLJ

The Avengers weren't the first... as in a superhero team movie. The X-Men franchise and the Watchmen movie had glimmers of this concept perculating throughout their various tales. However, the Avengers cemented how divergent heroes can unite for a common cause with nothing bonding them save for equal parts tenacity and talent. Not a mutant-tie nor a mystery-tie... but the true tie that binds... heroism in the face on indominable odds. While we can dream that Charlton's Action-Heroes and Archie's Mighty Crusaders may someday grace the silver screen with their presence, nothing can match what transpired when Marvel Comics' Sensational Sextet saved their world!

As for a battle between this triad of terrific teams:

• Black Widow takes fellow female agent Nightshade, while Fly Girl would aptly avoid her web.
• Thor would overwhelm Son of Vulcan and Jaguar, despite their might, given his experience.
• Iron Man would more than match the equally tech-savy Peacemaker and Comet... combined!
• Hulk's gamma-irradiated strength would overwhelm Captain Atom and Lancelet Strong.
• Hawkeye would have the jump on the keen-eyed Blue Beetle and Fly, if only for the moment.
• Captain America would have difficulty with Shield but not so much with Judomaster.
• Oh, and Nick Fury would laugh in the face of Peter Cannon and the Web... "ant... boot"!

Team-Up Tuesdays: Originals or Derivatives???

Above: Excellent cover by Alex Wright. Below: Sarge's Sentinels

File this away in the "what if" folder for our Crusaders and Sentinels. Comprising the "other" publishers during the successful silver age of comics, both the Archie-heroes and Action-Heroes attempted to find a niche for themselves. Without sustained success.

For the Crusaders, the quickly devolved into a derivative more mimicing Marvel's Avengers, and to some extent DC's golden age All-Stars of the Justice Society. Despite having several characters that were the first in respective manners during comic's golden age and some potential promise in their newer crop of characters, Radio/Archie leaned heavily upon what worked for others instead of what would separate them as special.

For the Action-Heroes during their pre-Sentinels days, they were truly original and their tales were at times unique. Yet the dramatic departure of their plot elements and narrative style became a bit to impalatable for the young readers they were trying to entice. As a result, they folded almost as quickly as they had first appeared.

When both were reinvented in the 1980's, the Crusaders and the new Sentinels of Justice once more fell into form as "Justice League" and "Avengers" wannabes, even moreso than they had been decades earlier. Only when both were acquired by DC Comics were they given the opportunity to fully depart from the "team" template of the "Big 2" publishers, leading to substantial runs for their individual members. Ironic!

New Crusaders VS Before Watchmen: Intro!

So we have the sequel and the prequel. The warm-up and the wind-down. Well maybe not quite that, but definitely two bookends to twin fantastic franchises forgotten by fickle fandom. While we have considered the quite possible downside of Archie's new reimagination of their Crusader concept and DC's of the Charlton characters, there is another upside to also consider, in all fairness. 

Consider that the Charlton homage that turned into a literary classic, the Watchmen, is being reconsidered from the groundup... or rather, from the missing pieces left to fit the grand puzzle together that was the 12-issue maxi-series from the 80's. Although this may not go well, it is more promising than DC's take on the originals from Charlton, given that only Captain Atom seems viable at this point and only in a radically redundant role. After all, another "nuclear man" or Man of Tomorrow-wannabe is all Atom seems capable of being portrayed as at the House that Superman built.

As for the "New" Crusaders, they may be able to capture something that failed to ignite with their progentiors, filling in a niche with the youth market that the silver age crop never could. Seriously, if the actual "Archie" crop of creators lent a hand like they seem to be now, they would find a way to manuever their myriads of mystery men into the minds of meandering middle-schoolers. Consider, Archie has been able to carve a serious niche for themselves based on a sixty-year love triangle, what could they do with such a diverse crop of cool cats as the Crusaders?

This bares further investigation, which rest assured we shall do, in the months to come...

Sitcom Saturdays: Derby's Funniest...er Finest

Last week we asked how a promotional still featuring the Charlton quartet compared with sitcom's fantastic four from Seinfeld. To sum up thus far:

• Jerry Seinfeld = Captain Atom
• Elaine Benes = Nightshade
• George Costanza = Question
• Cosmo Kramer = Blue Beetle

Well, let's check out one scene from our proposed new comedy for next fall's lineup, Derbyfeld:

(Yes, yes, lame. Give us credit for at least thinking outside the box if nothing else. You may now return to your serious online browsing, folks. Drive home safely)

Sitcom Saturdays: A Comic About Nothing

When you boil down the fantastuc four of the Charlton Comics universe, you find startling similarities with a famous sitcom, Seinfeld:

1. The centerpiece of our quartet, Seinfeld, is bubbling with energy and thirsts to be a hero of the caliber of Captain Atom (well, of a certain Man of Steel, actually)
2. The femme friendly of our foursome can take care of herself in the tough streets of the big city, like Nightshade.
3. George is the man who questions life in all its complexities, like a Mister Vic Sage.
4. Then there is the creative mind and quirky personality, a dead ringer for Blue Beetle. 

So how would an actual Seinfeld promotional still work with the Charlton cast look? Tune in next week to find out...

Team-Up Tuesdays: L.A.W. = Lame Assemblage of Wannabees

The Action-Heroes were distinct among most creations in the silver age of comics in that they never worked together as a team, aside from Captain Atom and Nightshade, Judomaster and Tiger, and one case featuring Blue Beetle and the Question.

Americomics acquired four of these adventurers to form the Sentinel of Justice, this concept quickly fizzled when a bigger boy on the block bought-out this crop of charcters. Then an issue of Justice League Quarterly threw Thunderbolt and Judomaster into the mix.

The latest attempt at resurrecting the Sentinels of Justice was DC Comics' L.A.W. mini-series, by bringing these legends together to battle a common foe. Alas it fell flat in so far as the individual members were treated as weapons instead of protectors, there was no chemistry necessary to endear readers to such a group, and it turned out one of their own was the malevolent mastermind that was the reason for their forming to begin with (shades of Hal Jordan, anyone?)!

Once the deux machina at the end of the mini-series was executed, leading to the exiled Justice League of America returning to Earth to tackle mastermind Avatar's minions, the purpose behind the Living Assault Weapons (a truly regrettable name) quickly eroded. Which is disppointing considering that former Charlton sfaff members Bob Layton and Dick Giordano were the creative forces behind this tale.

Surprisingly, a crew of less well-rounded characters that lacked the characterization were far more appealing to the reader, in the form of Archie's Mighty Crusaders. While possessing internal conflict between its individual members and the loss of teammates, the second volume of Crusaders in the 1980s and even the !mpact series in 1992 treated its cast as noble-minded and their world's premier team, something that sadly L.A.W. could not as they were already marginalized by their owners' more prominent headliners.

Team-Up Tuesdays: Sentinels of...Justice League?

In Justice League Quarterly #14, an old enemy of Peter Cannon's resurfaced to reclaim what he felt was taken from him by Thunderbolt, the preeminent position in the Vajra. This villian, Andreas Havoc, attempted to psychologically tear down Cannon's mental might but was circumvented from doing so by a quartet of allies he had a strange affinity towards.

With Nightshade, Captain Atom and Blue Beetle assisting T-Bolt on one front, a new Judomaster appeared to aid the heroes on yet another. What was borne from this assemblage of avengers was the aspirations of all fans of Charlton Comics, with *most* of their characters teaming up (notable exceptions being the original Blue Beetle, Son of Vulcan and the Question, while Sarge Steel only made a cameo).

Alas, this potential paragon of protectors never had a chance to thrive as this was a one-shot adventure, much like the Sentinels of Justice had been some sixteen years before this issue.  Why didn't this group gain more traction, given DC Comics' desire to spotlight these recently purchased properties? Perhaps because they felt that individually the charcters had more chance of success being distributed thought this fictional universe's teams and solo titles. Or, more probably, the sales figures didn't reflect strongly on there being a strong enough fan base for such a continuing series.

The harbinger for such an argument is the short-lived 1992 !mpact Comics' Crusaders series. Although a novel concept itself, it languished in its watered down versions of tried-and-true silver age stalwarts from the Mighty Comics era. Still, there was a certain charm in this pairing as there was with the Sentinels of Justice League. Still, there was one more incarnation of Charlton crusaders yet to come...

Team-Up Tuesdays: Crusaders at Red Circle

Around the same timeframe that Americomics Special came out from that publisher, debuting the Sentinels of Justice for their one-time official team-up, Red Circle dug up their heroic properties for another go-around. Only this time, they were serious about it.

Highlighting the same characters, more-or-less, that graced the pages of the original series in the mid-60's, the Mighty Crusaders were now a force to be reckoned with... complete with their own recurring adversaries in the form of Eterno and their arch-foe the Brain Emperor.

The Mighty Crusaders towed the line between edgy and kid-friendly in their approach to crime. And they came equipped with the franchise player (Fly), energy-weilder (Lancelot Strong), flying powerhouse (Jaguar), urban avenger (Web), female member (Fly-Girl) and living legend (the Shield). All filled in their niches nicely.

And the difference between them and the Sentinels was they were their world's greatest heroes. Now Captain Atom definitely would qualify as one of his, but Nightshade, Blue Beetle and the Question? Not so much. With Atom wearing the multiple hats of franchise player/flying powerhouse/living legend, the rest pretty much over compensated on the urban avenger front (with token female thrown in for good measure). Not like Charlton had many others to fill those shoes... the original Blue Beetle had not returned yet (but would soon after), Son of Vulcan was no longer relevant, and Judomaster was stuck in World War II with no way out (until the Crisis time-shifted him to the present).

Next week we'll dissect two more attempts at revitalizing the Sentinels for a more jaded 1990's readership, and whether they elevated the game of second-string superheroes as had their Mighty counterpart at Archie.

Team-Up Tuesdays: Actions-Heroes of DC

This advanced solicit from 1983 1986 indicated a new wave of characters debutting to help revitalize DC Comics, which suprisingly turned out to be recycled Action-Heroes of old. Oh sure, they seemed like the originals... on the surface. Well, with one notable exception.

Captain Atom in his mostly silver exterior lost his humanity and made him more a sentient weapon than what he was meant to be, his world's premier protector. Which makes sense, as he and his cronies were assimilated into the DC collective of characters, his new owners felt he had to stand out. As a result, he may have become more marketable but less marvelous. And he wasn't alone.

Nightshade, Peacemaker, Judomaster... all background players with no relevant tales told. Sarge Steel was useful as a "King Faraday" type of government intermediary with the meta-human commmunity. The two true stars in this crop were Blue Beetle and the Question, although each lost something to gain something more.

For Beetle, he was made into the class clown with a sizeable intellect, and this helped to enhance his persona. And the Question... lost his objectivist stylings and molded himself in a more eastern philosophical bent that would've more appropriately been grafted upon Judomaster... of the missing-from-this-ad Peter Cannon aka Thunderbolt.

In the end, decades after their purchase into a major comics publisher, which of these characters has a continuing title spotlighting this adventures? A sizable fanbase? Enduring legacies?

Perhaps leaving them to languish with the now defunct publisher in Derby, Connecticut may have enhanced their value in the eyes of the reading public-at-large?

Action-Heroes in a Parallel Universe

What may have been in a parallel universe, had DC Comics published the Action-Heroes in the mid to late 1960s rather than Charlton.

When you get down to it, some stark realities reveal themselves through this exercise:

• All of these characters except one (Adam Strange) were principally defined by the teams they joined.
• Two had their own self-titled comics (Atom and Karate Kid...although Strange had a mini-series later).
• All were all zapped by energies (Thunderbolt/solar/Zeta/White Dwarf/chronological) which sent them to unexpected locales throughout the multiverse. 
• All of them were B-level characters that shined most when they were underestimated by those around them.

And all of them are near spitting images of their brethren over at Derby, if form if not always in substance.

Another Rendition Falls by the Wayside

Over the past year and a half, DC Comics has attempted to revitalize the concept of Archie's superhero properties by modernizing them. In essence, they did the same thing in 1985 when the then-defunct Charlton Comics sold their small stable of superheroes to DC, inserting them fictionally into their one world before folding them into a central Earth following the Crisis on Infinite Earths.

As a result, such heroes as Blue Beetle, Captain Atom, and the Question... and to a lesser extent others such as Sarge, Nightshade and Thunderbolt... received a renaissance in their characterization and status. That said, most of them fell by the wayside over the years, to be dusted off then trotted out to become the fodder for the next major crossover. See, they were not the core creations of DC, so this made them valuable not for their legendary status... which was minimal at best... but for their value as expendable items for a publisher daring to push the envelope ever further. And so, aside from momentary animated spotlights such as Captain Atom in Justice League Unlimited and the Blue Beetles in Batman: The Brave and the Bold, these distinctly different dudes debuting from Derby never truly reached the pulp culture consciousness of the public at large.

And so, we reconsider what lasting impact the newest incarnation of the Mighty Crusaders will have, aside from the meager readership that picked up their solo and team titles. Zilch, nada, none whatsoever. Because they were licensed and not outright purchased from Archie, such characters as the Shield, Web, Inferno, Fly Girl and so forth were only hinted at as existing in the DC Universe proper. Think about it, having these characters featured prominently in other mainstream titles would then cause the publisher a dilemma if those same titles were then reprinted later on, since the license would by then probably lapse and DC would have to pay a considerable fee to the rights for these characters. Hence, they were setup to fail, and will default back to their originator where they will languish aside from an annual appearance of a few of their number in an Archie title, where America's Turbulent Teens meet the Crusaders once more.

Which fate is worse? To have your characters sacrificial lambs for mega-events, or to have them in comic book limbo where their existence is marginalized at best?

Such is the dilemma for these characters loved by you and I...

Cashing in on that Marvelous Blockbuster Film

Who says a $255 million dollar box office superhero can't take time out to rub elbows with some Action-Heroes? It says here he's up for the challenge! Presenting an issue of Sentinels of Justice in our dreams!

Just wait till Thunderbolt works his "I can do it. I must do it. I will do it!" mojo on you, Shellhead. You won't know WHAT hit you!

(The above picture was commissioned by Bob Layton at his wonderful site, check it out!)

And they're not alone dog-piling millionaire playboys masquerading as high-tech heroes. The Mighty Crusaders are up to the task as well!

So is the Dark Knight feared less than an Armored Avenger? Only three-to-one? Their Distinguished Competitor must be winching at the dissing he received that "To Many Heroes" didn't welcome him to MLJ!

Addendum: Seems like Peter "T-Bolt" Cannon is fairing just as badly against his ferro foe as is the Web against his ferro fiend, Ironfist!

(Sorry, we had to slip in a Friday Fiend reference)

Son of a.... Shield Slinging Savior? Surreal!

Legendary heroes armed with mighty shields from days long ago whose time had passed. However, their legacies would persist in their sons, one biological and one symbolic, who took up their mantles and fought the fine fight against fiendish foes from across the globe. Joe Higgins aka the Shield became a stone statue, thanks to the machinations of the Eraser, for which is infant son  Bill would grow to inherit his father's superhuman strength and avenge the indignity placed upon his sire. Meanwhile, old Apollo... himself represented in statue form... would see the need in our modern age to dispatch a new protector for humanity in the altered form of Johnny Mann. The Shield and the Son of Vulcan!

Both men possessed great strength and invulnerability, matched by their great courage and zeal for good!

While Johnny Mann was a world renowned  star reporter in his civilian identity, Bill Higgins never quite measured up and always lingered in menial work.

Yet both inspired even their harshest critics due to their fearless fighting!

Both heroes were seen alongside fellow heroes of their day,  Mighty Crusaders and Action-Heroes!. While the Shield could, for a time, transport, Son of Vulcan was capable of swift flight anywhere!

Each wore armor and wore shields. Shield had his stars, Vulcan his swords.

After Bill eventually recruited the Comet to return his father Joe to animated form, Bill retired from his  short costumed career.


Bill's attempt to have a successful career in a different uniform was motivated by a crisis of conscience for not helping his dad sooner. On the other hand, a Crisis on Infinite Earths was what resuscitated the career of Vulcan's Son John as he returned to active duty to protect the innocent of Earth. Both left their mark in comics during their brief heroic escapades!

Sideline Sundays: E-nimals Week - The Other Action Heroes

Our focus for "E"-nimals week are Jaguar and E-Man. Huh? What do THESE two have in common. Surprisingly....oodles... which we'll get to tomorrow. For now, let's see some of the characters who are on the periphery of our heroic pair's adventures. See, are red-clad raiders were never all that sociable with the hero set, at least not at first. Still, the pair had some interactions with the Action Heroes.

From this initial outing alongside fellow members of the Terrific Three, Mister Justice and Steel Sterling, it is quite evident that he doesn't have to much respect for Justice and is very defensive of the Man of Steel. Maybe that's why this triumphant triad didn't last nor worked together again (until decades later, with scores of other heroes against a legion of larcenists). While in his solo tales jag seems amiable enough with fellow scientists and damsels in distress, with fellow "Type A" adventurers he didn't seem to play nice. This is evident when he next joins a super-set.

No that's not Jaguar all nice and close with the Web, that's just the weird way he carries his fly-less friend to an assemblage of the Mighty Crusaders. The Web ended up being Jaguar's brother-in-law, since he married Jag's sister Rose. She wasn't partial to Web risking his life in his colorful alias, but didn't seem to care much about brother Ralph prancing around in his feline fashions. And if his mama thought that John "the Web" Raymond" was a double-daring nut, imagine what she would have thought of her own flesh and blood doing far more dangerous stunts... battling wild beast and deadly aliens! We see where Jag got his feisty nature!

While another team mate (and Web's close confidant Doc Reeves) felt some tension between Jaguar and himself, Darkling sensed the animal avenger had the noblest spirit of any man she had ever met in all her dimensional traveling. He felt more at home with the animal kingdom.

In the above picture we see a melding of various Charlton Action Heroes, perhaps the only appearance he ever had with his fellow action aces. Note the impression he made on Blue Beetle, and the one Captain Atom made on him. Alas, in the publishing universe of Charlton, very rarely did any of its characters "play friendly" with one another, especially with E-Man who arrived several years after his fellow heroes (aside from Yang) had already left for comic book limbo. The did operate simultaneously for a brief period in the early to mid 1970s during the Charlton Bullseye's run.

On one other occasion, Mr. Alec Tronn aka E-Man was shown alongside Captain Atom (off panel) and the Blue Beetle (well his Bug, anyway). Okay, they WERE parade floats... but still that cements some acknowledgment that these characters played in the same fictional sandbox. And for Charlton, this was about as good as it got on most occasions!  Unlike Jaguar, E-Man generally had a friendly nature to all whom he met, yet he still preferred operating (with one or two notable exceptions, considered in a couple days) solo. Maybe that was due to being a disembodied sentient manifestation of energy floating through space for aeons? Could be, guess we'd have to ask him when we see him.

That's all for the outer ring of our duo's universe, so to speak. Tomorrow we get into the nitty gritty on what makes these two tick and why they are so unique. We'd love to see more published about each of them at some point in the future!

Team-Up Tuesdays: Showdowns in the Stars

Last week, we presented the third installment of two silver age tales. In fact, the last team-ups of the silver age for the Comet's band of Crusaders and the duo of Captain Atom and Nightshade. This week, we find both teams hijacked into the stars...for the Action-Heroes it was to the alien world of Sunuria where their foe the Ghost awaits them, and for the Mighty men and lady of Mighty Comics, quite literally as their own Star-olator collapses leading to a death trap of epic proportions! Or is it?

Yikes, turns out Black Hood was duped as the hooded police detective Kip Burland ends up dunking his own chief of police! Not a good time to slip up if you are a Crusader. Looks like he's at least in good company as the Shield and the Comet, and Fly-Man and Fly-Girl haven't made the best of names with law enforcement authorities, despite their best efforts. Time to lick their collective wounds. And figure out how to turn this ship around. They hope!

Unlike most heroic groups, the Crusaders didn't have a headquarters, per say, but rather built a Star-olator that helped them track down crimes across the globe. How exactly it did this was never explained, and why they never placed the blamed thing inside somewhere... even a a cave was acceptable back in the day....is beyond me. Thankfully it never rained on their parade...and they always had sense to meet during daylight or at least dusk.

Okay please explain this if you would...some "force" is drawing the ever-loving Star-olator into a deep cavern... maybe a cave? (Anywhere close to Happy Harbor?) However, three of the five members CAN FLY and defy gravity! Two of these have superhuman strength and could lift the other two dead weights out of this trap. Yet they all submit to plot convenience... and we submit to suspension of belief. Well.... at least now we now who the master manipulator of bad circumstances is, the Maestro. 

Yeah that is really original, thankfully Jerry Siegel never met an idea he couldn't pillage. And thoroughly stretch beyond on credulity. As for the villain himself, it appears that the Maestro is hitting some sour notes... unleashing a bee against the Fly-Man. Who can control all insects with but a wave of his hand. Yeah... right. And what clever predators with Mister Bad Jangles present to the remaining Crusaders? Come back next week and you'll find out!

The Ghost falls into the classic "taunt the hero when he is at your mercy and give him time to regroup". Such a thing happens to the Ghost who can't resist showing his two foes that he is really Alec Rios, their missing scientist friend. Of course he unmasks to do this...and suddenly the Sunurian's Faceless One has a face! The idiot kept that mask on for years (man he must have stunk under that thing). Atom realizes this in his five minutes there! Rios is now a big fat fraud with his fräuleins. Dummy!

Now we have a mano-y-mano battle between two bitter foes, left powerless thanks to Sunuria technology. To negate the Ghost's teleportation abilities is something... yet to negate Captain Atom's awesome powers if something else. Remember these same alien amazons created the stinker strings and hypno jewels of Punch and Jewelee, another pair of Atom/Shade adversaries. With the guys occupied, Shady gets some time with the girls to compare funky hairdos. Rowwwlll.

And so... equipped with primitive hand weapons... it seems like the Ghost might finally have the upper hand and gain the victory he has long sought against the costumed alias of Captain Adam. Can you just hear the music they played on that episode of Star Trek when Kirk battled the rock creature? Aw but we see that shedding blood isn't something foreign to the Atomic Avenger...although this stirs the ire of his the sinister spectral spook. Could this be the end?

With a whole world (nearly) behind him, Rios seems to have Adam on the ropes...until the good captain whips out his own rope to counter his opponents master fencing moves. There still appears to be no clear winner... although the Priestess definitely could tip the scales if her former opposition to the "Faceless One" is any indication. Stay tuned for more sensational storytelling (at least from Charlton) next week for part five of our Team-Up Tuesdays Silver-age Special! Until then.

Dick Giordano: July 20, 1932 – March 27, 2010 - Editor/Artist

The following is an excerpt from "Dick Giordano: Changing Comics, One Day At A Time", which you can purchase at Amazon.com, about his beloved Charlton Comics. If only Mighty Comics had as committed a driving force as Giordano, they might have been as well respected.

Why Charton vs Mighty MLJ?

A comment over at Charlton Comics facebook blog stated the following: "Okay, we're not sure we understand the point of this blog (the gist of it appears to be comparing Charlton superhero comics to Archie superhero comics), but it features some pretty cool stuff, so who cares?"

While the description on the page's header: "Two parallel universes from two silver age comic book publishers examined ad naseum!" provide a reader with the gist of its intent, perhaps a few illustrative points can cement the driving force(s) behind this blog. Allow me to bend the rules, a bit, and introduce some non-featured characters from a different publisher which hopefully explains the method behind our madness:

Postulating further that there would be other publishing universes operating side-by-side, with similarites like those season between DC Comic's golden and silver age characters, we see the golden age MLJ and (mostly) silver age Charlton stables of characters had definite parallels as well. This is further hypothezied in this Omniverse Map found at http://www.internationalhero.co.uk/:

In 1986 it was confirmed that previous Charlton Comics' characters were assigned their own universe in Crisis on Infinite Earths #6. Later in 2000, the former MLJ/Mighty/Red Circle characters were also acknowledged as having existed in their own seperate dimensional reality.While never meeting directly, they had other similarities including the Watchmen having been originally inspired by the MLJ's Crusaders and later inspired by the Charlton heroes instead. Whether or not this allegation is valid or not, this was only the first of several cases where the two companies seemed to mirror one another. Consider...

Two military captains that harnessed fundamental forces to become the premier heroes on their worlds. Two heroines that disappear into darkness. Two athletic intellectural blonde haired heroes with similar fashion sense. Two insect heroes weilding special weapons while gliding through the air.  And so on and on...

Plus, you drive twice as much traffic to your blog with twice as many characters and interests...doing so in a non-sequitor manner...

Thank you, Robert, BBC, Victor, Rip and others who have expressed interest in this rather unorthodox approach. Hope you'll continue to be entertained with future posts with our Sunday/Tuesday/Friday/VS features.

Action-Heroes or Mighty Crusaders?

Which of the following "BIG FIVE" on these two teams would you take in a head-to head? You would think it would be the Crusaders, since they actually worked together (unlike the "Action-Heroes who never shared so much as ONE silver age adventure together!). Yet with all the intra-hero quarreling over at Mighty during this period of time, at least the Charlton crew knew how to keep a healthy distance other than at photo shoots.

Just love seeing the Captain shake his 60's mod groove hips!

Notice the self-deprecating manner of Charlton's ad "...and they're not half bad!" So they are also not half-good? On the opposite end of the spectrum, Migthy's ad reflects over-confidence in their product: "You asked for it...". Seems like both kinda missed the mark on engendering interest in their product. Probably why they are a novelty not legends.