Third-World Thrills for Fightin' Five Friends

Two petty dictators of third world countries armed to the hilt, ready to cause chaos with their army and armaments. However, they underestimated the hearty resolve of our five for fightin', namely the Fightin' 5 and T.H.U.N.D.E.R Squad. Only this time, with tragic consequences to our heroes.

Jrozya's henchwomen Sonya led Fightin' Five leader Hank Hennessey to the Unibrow villain, and  then she seemingly extinguished the life of the beret clad crusader! Sure!

The Brain ultimately sacrifices himself to save his fellow challengers of the unknown. The Squad shrunk from five to four, and another was soon to leave the fold before the Squad gained notoriety.

Turns out Sonya had a soft spot for Hank. Was it her inherent good nature, or something more? Regardless, she soon gained the trust of her former foes showing that the cold war... at least in this comic... thawed.

The Chief, as always, focused more on the mission than on his employees or their morale. With out realizing it, he introduced to the Squad to a device that would divide them further. After a battle with some elusive bandits, one member would use this gadget to begin a new solo career.

Further assisting the agents of her nation's arch-enemies, Sonya and Hank realize they have to place their political differences aside to tackle a bigger threat to the entire globe, a mad man with his finger on a nuclear option. Which forces the Fightin' Five's General to make a tough decision which we'll cause him regret later.

Donning the bright plumage of future super fast legend, Lighting, Guy Gilbert attempted a dual career as speedster and soldier. However, his own divided loyalties towards his comrades and their (and humanity's) well being. He chose the latter, and it cost him years of his life due to the adverse effects of artificially induced acceleration.

Sacrifice is something the Five are familiar with as well, as Irv the Nerve shows how foolhardiness can lead to fatality. Still, he provides the opportunity for Sonja to sabotage Jrozya's fortress. As if this wasn't bad enough, Han's his left eye and right arm were destroyed from the same jolt of juice. This leader lost a step that fellow leader Gilbert gained, though still at s steep cost.

Now a terrific three (no, not that one), often the fair Kitty Kane was off attempting to recruit super agents to save their bacon (in this particular instance, Agent Vulcan), it was up to Dynamite and Weed to stave off an alien invasion. And showed their finesse in the face of fearsome fiends fearlessly fighting for freedom. (Whew)

And yet still, we have not concluded the story of our glib and gaudy governmental good guys. We were introduced to one red head double agent today, would the Squad also meet such a dangerous and yet intriguing sultry scarlet sister?

We'll find out come Friday!

Team-Up Tuesdays: Five for Fightin'

No no not the rock band, this is a comic book blog after all! However, subtly imbedded in last Sunday's post were the lyrics to the song "Superman" from the band, alluding to today's post, wherein we consider two paramilitary squads consisting of "five for fightin'" criminals here and abroad. And now let us introduce today's participants:

Wait a minute! Okay, the Fightin' Five have five members. But the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Squad has only four? Actually they had a fifth member, agent James Andor aka"Egghead". Why didn't he make the cut above? We'll learn about that more later. Note their varying approaches to battling international intrigue while wearing matching brightly colored uniforms and fitting stereotypical niches like all similar adventure teams of this period.

The leader, the bomber, the muscle, the brain, and the looker (guy/gal). The Fightin' Five debuted first in #28 of their Charlton Comics publication (their actual first issue, which they took over from another publication) and lasted until issue #41 when their backup feature Peacemaker took over the book, then they switched to his backup feature for another five issues. The other covert cabal of crimebusters, T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Squad, appeared originally in Tower Comics' issue #1 of T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents, of which they were a feature then turn into supporting cast for its own superheroes.

They faced armies of gimmick goons during the mid 60s, secret acronyms agencies on both "our" side and the "other".

One team susceptible to mind control, the other using mind control. And each attracted the attention of sinister sultry sisters. And no, the masked brunette is *not* the Baroness. But perhaps her inspiration?

Both provided backup when the chips were down for their comrades. In all kinds of elements, whether under the sea or above the surface. While neither particularly stood out, they each had memorable battles that reflected the hysteria and hype of the cold war and sabotage that was so in vogue during this historical period of time. While both operated in the background, supporting the super power set, they themselves featured every men (and women) challenging evil with raw human courage.


Still, their story is not yet done. Tragedy is upcoming in their chronicled mythos, and significant femme fatales that will shape the course of events yet to come. Upcoming in our next installments. Stay tuned for action.