General Glory

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General Glory

Publication information
Publisher DC Comics
First appearance (Jones)
Justice League America # 46
(January 1991)
(Wallace)
Justice League Quarterly # 16 (Autumn 1994)
Created by (Jones)
Keith Giffen
J.M. DeMatteis
(Wallace)
Paul Kupperberg
In story information
Alter ego - Joseph Jones
- Donovan Wallace
Team affiliations (Jones) Justice League
Abilities enhanced strength, olympic athlete in other areas

General Glory is the name of two DC Comics characters. It is mostly used by writers as a parody of Marvel's Captain America with exaggerated "patriotic values" and a sidekick called Ernie (aka Ernie The Battling Boy), who was similar to Bucky. General Glory first appeared in Justice League International #46 as a 1940's style hero placed in a modern world, resulting in cultural differences and personality issues. He was consistently ridiculed in the series Lobo's Back by Simon Bisley and Alan Grant.

Contents

[edit] Fictional character History

[edit] Joseph Jones

Joseph Jones was a soldier in World War II who was granted superior abilities by Lady Liberty herself upon saying the words:

"Lady of Liberty, hear my plea —

For the land of the brave —

And home of the free!"

He became a government agent, under the authority of an Agent Newkirk Sharp. Sharp arranged for General Glory comic books to be published, so that people would believe he was a fictional character. In England, his adventures were published in the pages of Tuppenny Fun (as noted in Justice League Europe #20).

The wannabe-hero known as The Beefeater believes his father fought alongside Glory in World War 2, though the story is in doubt, as is many Glory adventures.

As with Marvel Comics' Captain America, General Glory disappeared in an Arctic mission. Rather than be encased in ice, however, he returned to America with little memory of his past. He would later learn that Sharp had drugged him and given him a new identity.

Many years later, he was outbid for a General Glory comic book by Guy Gardner. He persuaded Guy to let him read the book by offering him the refund price of the bid. In a moment Guy could not believe, he shouts out the words and became General Glory again. Shortly after this, he was arrested for treason by Ernest E. Earnest. He was placed in jail. It eventually transpired that Sharp had framed Glory, to divert suspicion from himself. Ernie confronted him and was shot. Sharp was brought to justice by Glory and the Justice League, and General Glory became a member of the team. Maxwell Lord considered that a true Golden Age hero might be good for their image. Glory assists the team in confronting many enemies.

Blue Beetle, temporarily out of shape, asks General Glory to assist him. Glory eagerly volunteers. Beetle soon loses the weight he needs to.

When surprised, Glory exclaims "Stars 'n' Stripes!", a parody of super-hero interjections such as Superman's "Great Krypton!" or Wonder Woman's "Suffering Sappho!"

General Glory's diplomatic talents helps ease aggressions among Justice League International team members.

[edit] Friends And Enemies

General Glory's arch-nemesis shared his name (Schmidt) with Captain America's foe, the Red Skull, and was shown to once wear a costume similar to the Red Skull back in the 1940's. Contrary to the Red Skull, this character was mainly a "mad scientist" whose pathetic devices backfired and his plans to destroy Glory always failed because he was incompetent. Before, and after his encounter with the comic book, Glory was slowly and doggedly pursued by Schmidt, who tends to show up and demolish whatever building Glory was in at the time. Like the Red Skull, he was obsessed with killing his arch foe to the point that it was the goal of his life. Schmidt even caused the death of many of his old Nazi friends (and their nurses) in order to acquire more machinery with which to kill Glory.

Schhmidt's destructiveness gains Glory a valued companion. When a laboratory explodes, General Glory enters the building to look for anyone who might be trapped inside. He confronts one of Schmidt's robots, then in the end, rescues a small bulldog. The dog, not house-trained, comes to live with Glory. The dog and Power Girl's cat often got into chases.

[edit] Further Adventures

Glory joins in with a Justice League task force to stop ex-members from causing an international incident in the country of Bialya. It has long been a source of trouble for the League, it's rulership attacking the League at multiple opportunities. They arrive just in time for a power struggle to expose the Queen Bee's brainwashing program. Glory assists in the rescue and treatment of the injured.

Guy Gardner, down on his luck, would room with Glory in a small Manhattan apartment. This is where Glory ambushes Guy when, due an entirely separate plot, he believes Guy is an evil, murderous alien impostor. Local news had provided proof Guy was not but Glory expresses a disbelief in what television would have to say. The destructive fight is only stopped when Guy willingly submits to Wonder Woman's magic lasso: Glory believes in the lasso's power to bring out the truth of anyone it is wrapped around.

[edit] Donovan Wallace

During one of Jones's transformations into his elderly self, he suffered a cardiac episode and ended up in the hospital next to Donovan Wallace. As a New York City policeman, Wallace risked his life to save a child from gangsters and was paralyzed. By this point, Jones was too weak to change into his alter ego, but he regaled Wallace with inspiring stories about his adventures as Glory (the stories paralleled thematic trends in superhero comics). Initially skeptical, Donovan eventually came to believe in the spirit of glory and he was able to tap into the same energies that once powered Jones. He manifested great strength and agility, wings and throwing razors. He left his hospital bed and crushed the gangs that had crippled him. When he returned to the hospital, Jones was in cardiac arrest. In order to keep his legacy alive, Jones bequeathed his powers to Donovan, whose full mobility was restored. As Donovan becomes the second General Glory, Jones passes away.[1]

Wallace was known to be estranged from his wife and child, but in Justice Society of America vol. 3 #3 it is revealed that Wallace and everyone attending his wedding was dismembered during the ceremony by a Nazi-themed team called the Fourth Reich. This group's mission was to destroy the legacy of all American heroes whose identities were closely tied to America itself.

During the 52 series, Martian Manhunter constructs a JLA memorial in the hills above Happy Harbor, a statue dedicated to each fallen JLA member, Glory included.

[edit] Powers and abilities

General Glory was mystically endowed with enhanced strength and durability, but only in his "General Glory" persona, otherwise he was a frail 80 year old man. He has demonstrated enough strength to lift objects as heavy as tanks. He was in peak physical condition in all other aspects and a capable military tactician. He seemed impervious to the effects of old age in his superhero persona, but when he decided to go back to being an ordinary human he eventually died of old age.

He seldom utilized his abilities, instead choosing to give long winded patriotic speeches. This was actually useful as it drew fire away from other Justice League members, as villains quickly wanted to kill General Glory to avoid having to endure his dissertations on morality.

The second General Glory demonstrated some different powers and weapons than the first. He had a sharp throwing star that would return to him after being released, and also had golden bird wings that enabled him to fly.

[edit] Alternate Versions

The time-traveling Waverider would examine the members of the Justice League, believing one of Earth's heroes would later become a powerful dictator.

One possible future shows an older Power Girl traveling back in time to World War II and meeting with Ernie and Glory. Distracted, Ernie is slain by a falling bomb. Glory somehow convinces Power Girl to become his new, bowl-headed sidekick.

Another possible future stays in the future, where a Glory-influenced League, bowl-haircuts for all, is reformed.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Justice League Quarterly #16