Shield (Archie Comics)
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| The Shield | |
 Pep Comics #1 (January 1940), first appearance of The Shield, drawn by Irv Novick. |
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| Publication information | |
|---|---|
| Publisher | MLJ (Archie Comics) |
| First appearance | Pep Comics #1 (January 1940) |
| Created by | Harry Shorten Irv Novick |
| In story information | |
| Alter ego | Joe Higgins |
| Team affiliations | Mighty Crusaders |
| Abilities | The Shield has limited superstrength, invulnerability, leap superhuman distances, and wears an indestructible costume. |
The Shield is the name of several fictional patriotic superheroes created by MLJ (now known as Archie Comics). The Shield has the distinction of being one of the first superheroes with a costume based upon the American Flag, beating out Captain America by fourteen months. (Mister America, who later became Americommando was the first as he appeared at the same time as Superman in Action Comics #1, June, 1938, thereby beating Shield to the punch by some 16 months and thus beating Captain America by some 30 months.)
The name has been used by MLJ/Archie for 3 characters. DC Comics' Impact line, which were licensed versions of the Archie characters, also used the name for several characters.
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[edit] Character biography
[edit] Joe Higgins
The Shield first appeared in MLJ's Pep Comics #1, dated January, 1940. The character was created by writer Harry Shorten and artist Irv Novick.
The Shield is really Joe Higgins, son of slain scientist, Tom Higgins, who was working on a chemical formula which would give someone superstrength. Joe continued his father's research and figured out the solution, which mean applying the chemicals and using a special light to give him super strength and invulnerability. He then becomes an FBI agent, whose secret identity is known only to FBI Chief J. Edgar Hoover, and fights foreign agents and other threats to America.
He would later be joined by a kid partner, Dusty Simmons, in Pep #11 in 1941. His father had been killed by foreign agents, and he is adopted by Joe and given a costume. Both heroes wore their patriotic costumes beneath their street clothes and would change for action whenever the need would arise. Dusty would also partner with The Wizard's kid partner, Roy, as the "Boy Buddies".
The Shield was one of MLJ's most popular character, even spawning a club, the "Shield G-Man Club". He started in Pep, and several other MLJ titles: Shield-Wizard, Top Notch. But then a new character arrived who would over shadow him: Archie Andrews. He would take the Shield's cover spot on Pep, take his fan club, and cause the end of the MLJ superheroes.
The Shield would later be killed off, but his son would continue the legacy as the new Shield, referred to as "Shield III". During Archie's Red Circle Comics line, a series devoted to the "Original Shield" was published that ran 4 issues.
Archie published, under their "Red Circle Comics" name, a trade paperback collection of the first 8 Shield stories from Pep and Shield-Wizard.
[edit] Lancelot Strong
In June of 1959, a new Shield was published by Archie that had no connection to the previous version.
Joe Simon and Jack Kirby had been hired by Archie to create characters for a new "Archie Adventure Series" line of superheroes (later known as Mighty Comics). They created a new Shield, whose real identity was Lancelot Strong, who appeared in a new title, The Double Life of Private Strong. Most collectors refer to this Shield as "Lancelot Strong" to differentiate him from the previous one.
Lancelot's scientist father developed a method to create a superhuman by expanding the mind, which he used on his infant son. After his father was killed by foreign agents, Lancelot was adopted by a farm couple and raised as their son. Once he hit his teens, he discovered the truth of his background and his powers: strength, flight, near-invulnerability, vision powers, generate lightning, and a few more. His father had created a patriotic costume for him, and he started off as the new superhero, the Shield. He soon joined the Army, acting like a Gomer Pyle-style country bumpkin, while leading a double life as the Shield (hence the title of his comic). DC cried 'foul', claiming this new Shield was too similar to Superman, so after 2 issues, his comic ended.
He would also appear in a few issues of The Fly (#4, 8, 9). He would not again appear until Archie again revised their superheroes under the Red Circle Comics line of the 80s. There he appeared in the Mighty Crusaders and got his own title Lancelot Strong, Shield. It lasted 2, issues, was retitled Shield-Steel Sterling with the third issue. In that issue he would be killed off, and the title continued as Steel Sterling until issue 7.
Joe Simon, his creator, is the owner of this character. The first issue of The Double Life of Private Strong was reprinted, almost in its entirety, in Blue Ribbon Comics volume 2, issue 5. There have been no attempts at a comprehensive reprint of the original stories and issue 2 still remains unreprinted anywhere.
[edit] Bill Higgins
When Archie revamped their superheroes under their "Radio Comics"/"Mighty Comics" line, a new Shield also appeared (since they probably felt they couldn't use the new Lancelot Strong Shield). This one was revealed to be the son of the original Shield.
The new Shield is Bill Higgins, son of the Original Shield. He would appear in the new Fly-Man #31, and becomes one of the main founders of the Mighty Crusaders. It would be revealed that his father was turned to stone by the villain, The Eraser, and Bill was carrying on his father's work. Bill's 'powers', which seem to be enhanced strength and limited invulnerability, were derived from his costume. He would appear through the end of the Radio/Mighty Comics run.
When Archie again revamped their superheroes in the 1980s under their Red Circle Comics, Shield III (Bill Higgins) was not a part of it, though he was a founding member of the original Mighty Crusaders.
[edit] Joseph Higgins (Modern Version)
When the Archie superheroes were revamped under the Impact Comics banner, a modern Joe Higgins appeared in Legend of the Shield, written and pencilled by Grant Miehm. In this series, Joe Higgins was the son of the General who headed up a US Army project to design a suit of armour to make a man into the ultimate soldier. This project had, in turn, been inspired by a mystery man known as The Shield from the early 1960s who we eventually find out also goes by the civilian alias of Roger DeLeihs.
The US Army's Shield battlesuit was a partially successful attempt to reverse-engineer the armour of the original Shield and would enhance the wearer's strength and generate a force field capable of offensive force blasts. Following the first 12 issues, Higgins was retired from the series and replaced with a new Shield.
[edit] Michael Barnes
When Legend of the Shield was revamped, Lt. Michael Barnes became the new Shield. Although his predecessor was implied to be single, Barnes was a married father of a young daughter. Barnes would continue as the lead character until the series' 1993 cancellation and also appeared as the Shield in the six-issue miniseries The Crucible, which was intended to reinvent the Impact Comics line, but instead served only as a finale, for various reasons, mainly low sales. Michael Barnes would have been the star of the title The American Shield if Impact Comics had continued publishing.
[edit] External links
- Mighty Crusaders entry on Shield I
- Mighty Crusaders entry on Lancelot Strong ,Shield
- Mighty Crusaders entry on Shield III
- Toonopedia entry on Shield I
- Toonopedia entry on Lancelot Strong, Shield
- International Superheroes Catalog entry on Shield I
- International Superheroes Catalog entry on Lancelot Strong, Shield
- International Superheroes Catalog entry on Shield III
- Joe Simon's website
- The (unpublished) American Shield 1 (all pages, pencilled only)
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