Storytelling has always been influenced by historical context.
This is something that we at top 10 nerd are no stranger to – one of the most exciting
things about comics is how they change and adapt over the years based on the world and
the creators crafting them.
It’s pretty neat.
So today, we’re returning to a list that discusses exactly that – the top 10 superheroes
who fought in world war 2, part 2!
The superhero way back then was generally to fight against the evil Axis powers – whether
that was punching Nazis, or just beating the crap out of the number one Nazi, Hitler.
Or some really racially insensitive portrayals that are hella awkward now.
But yay for punching Nazis!
SOMETHING WE CAN ALL APPRECIATE!
For the most part, this time around, we’ll be focusing on a few smaller war time efforts,
yet inspiring nonetheless.
So with that in mind, let’s jump in!
10 Robin The Caped Crusader himself made quite the
appearance on our last list, so it’s only fair that we discuss his partner in justice
– Robin, the boy wonder.
The OG sidekick character would mainly be featured in the war effort comics that his
mentor Batman was in, including those issues of World’s Finest that starred the duo alongside
the man of steel.
The stories would vary quite a bit – while the US wouldn’t join the wart until two
years in after Pearl Harbour was attacked, both DC and Marvel had been rallying support
for the Allies in the panels on their pages.
Even after they joined the war, a lot of the comics for the most part retained a light
hearted nature, with the likes of stories including the dynamic duo teaming up with
the Boy Commandos, a special unit of Allies forces that was made up of feisty street kids,
stories where they sold war bonds, and even a story in which they travel to Gotham university
to ask the world’s greatest historian what the aftermath of the war would be like.
Although in the latter story, the scenario in which the Nazis won left Batman and Robin
executed by a firing squad.
Yikes. 9 America Chavez
America is a bit of an exception on this list.
A modern day – and awesome – character, America is the current Miss America, who debuted
back in 2011 prior to getting her own solo series in 2017.
During one of her stories, she uses a machine called The Wayback to travel back in time,
which uncontrollably drops her off during WW2.
In Germany.
And in that famous moment during Captain America Comics #1 right before Cap punches Hitler.
So of course, America steps in and beats him to the chase, punching Hitler herself.
8 Midnighter This one is cheating ever so slightly – rather
than WW2, it’s WW1.
Midnighter, initially created by WildStorm which was later bought out by DC, has often
been described as Batman, without the ethical code.
Oh, and with the gay romance with Apollo, a Superman equivalent.
They even got married, you guys.
Anyway, Midnighter may be a tad unhinged, but he still has the right mind set when it
comes to Nazis, and punching them.
For context – after Midnighter and co became DC properties, Midnighter found himself the
pawn of a man who had swapped Midnighter’s second heart for a remote controlled bomb.
This man, Paulus, threatened to detonate unless Midnighter went back in time and kills Hitler.
So Midnighter goes back to a time during WW1 to kill Hitler when he’s a soldier in the
Germany army.
He gets close – but manages to only kick him in the balls before the rest of the story
unravels into something more.
7 CatMan While DC Comics has their own Catman character,
this one that first appeared in September of 1940 belonged to Tem Publishing Co, one
of the publishing companies owned by Frank Z Temerson.
One of the comics published by them was Crash Comics – the title Catman would appear in.
Catman was raised in Burman by a tiger – yup – and gained his super abilities because
he lived with tigers for so long.
Double yup.
While the Golden Age hero wasn’t as prominently fighting off Axis members as some of his peers
from other publishers, he and his female sidekick Kitten – of course – had a few stints
where they took on the German forces.
6 Green Hornet Green Hornet originated as a character from
the days of radio in 1936 before he started appearing in comics in the 40s.
One issue in particular, Green Hornet #15, featured the expert detective sneaking onto
a ship with his sidekick Kato to investigate why American ships have been disappearing.
Eventually the ship they’re on discovers a ‘ghost ship’, which, turns out is filled
with Nazis who have been pulling this stunt in order to sink American supply ships.
So of course, Green Hornet and Kato sneak on to the Nazi ship and diffuse the issue,
saving the Americans in danger.
5 Hellboy While Hellboy only first hit the comics scene
in 1993, his backstory takes place during WW2, when, as a baby, he’s summoned to Earth
in the final months of WW2 by the Mad Monk Rasputin (who was loosely based on the Russian
mystic of the same name).
Rasputin was working for the Nazis, and this ritual was part of a project aimed at turning
the tide of the war for them.
Hellboy is then taken by US forces to New Mexico, where he’s raised by Professr Trevor
Broom Bruttenholm at the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense.
After his first mission in 1952, he’s granted an ‘honorary human’ status by the UN,
and a member of the Bureau, eventually becoming known as the worlds greatest paranormal investigator.
Needless to say, fighting Nazis has always been a priority – and plot point – of
Hellboy’s, even if his first encounter with them was only when he was still a child.
4 Bulletman Back in 1941, Shazam was running around punching
Nazis and fighting for freedom.
But sometimes he would have the help of other Fawcett Comics heroes, including the likes
of Bulletman.
If you’ve watched some of our other videos, you may recognize Bulletman as a character
who, due to his silly origin, fell into the ridiculous superhero category over the course
of the last few decades.
And rightfully so – he and his gal pal Susan Kent zipped around wearing a Gravity Regulator
Helmet that allowed them to fly and deflect bullets.
And looked a little silly.
Back to the Nazis though.
In the first appearance of Captain Nazi – Hilter’s answer to American superheroes – Bulletman
and Shazam take on the Aryan officer in green and give him a solid ass whooping when the
Captain tries to stir up trouble on American soil.
3 Namor Namor is generally seen as comics’ first
anti-hero; the mutant son of a human sea captain and the princess of Atlantis (in the Timely-eventually-Marvel
universe), Namor initially acted as an enemy of the United States’, who acted as a villain
despite usually having some sort of noble reason as to why he was creating chaos.
He was known for completely destroying things, from ships to skyscrapers, and faced off against
the first Human Torch back when the character was an android.
This all changed when the US joined the war, and Namor began to aid the Allies in his comic
appearances.
Narratively, this was triggered by Namor travelling to New York to investigate divers that were
spotted near Atlantis, and it was revealed those divers were Nazis.
So he teamed up with his rival Human Torch, Captain America, and the All Winners Squad
to fight against Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan.
2 Blue Beetle Dan Garret aka the Blue Beetle was the first
hero to operate under that mantle.
A golden age hero, he was published by Fox Comics, and started out as a detective who
eventually progressed into being a superhero.
During WW2, he took on a new role – a government agent who would helped the US armed forces.
One instance in particular was quite memorable – from Blue Beetle issues 31 and 32, the
character is framed by some Nazis for their crimes.
But Blue Beetle hunts them down!
He chases them onto their U-Boat, catches a hold of all of their torpedoes and flings
them back at them, sinking them.
Garret would eventually return to his roots as a neighbourhood cop after the war ended,
but despite this, his short run had gotten him a lot of popularity, and had resulted
in not only his own solo comic strip, but also his own radio show that had a total of
48 13-minute episodes.
Which was a big deal back then.
1 Bucky Barnes Another sidekick to finish off this list!
But compared to the Boy Wonder , Bucky’s origins – and character - are much more
rooted in the second world war.
There’s a reason why he’s always been a soldier.
For starters, his first appearance happened in the thick of WW2 – he made his debut
in Captain America comics issue #1 in 1941.
He was a an army brat – meaning a child whose youth is completely immersed in military
life.
Being an orphan, Bucky lived at the US Army Camp in Virginia that his father was killed
at during training, and became a bit of an unofficial mascot to the soldiers there.
He idolized Captain America, and eventually discovered that Steve Rogers, a solider at
the base, was Cap’s secret identity.
After meeting the star spangled hero, Bucky became part of the all-kid team the Yong Allies,
initially known as the Sentinels of Liberty, who would participate in various skirmishes
during the war, with their first being a face off against Red Skull.
Later stories would have them beating up the likes of Axis leaders Mussolini, Tojo and
Hitler.
And, as most of you probably already know, Bucky was killed during the closing days of
WW2 in 1945 when he tried to diffuse a bomb on a plane, causing it to explode mid air
before it reached its target.
The character wpould later be revived, but that’s for a whole different video.
And that’s that!
Which of these heroes do you want to know more about?
Let us know in those comments below!
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In the meantime, thanks for watching!
I’ve been Kelly Paoli and this has been top 10 nerd.
Catch you all in the next one!