The Unknown Soldier (comics)
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| Unknown Soldier | |
| Publication information | |
|---|---|
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | Star Spangled War Stories #151 (June/July 1970) |
| Created by | Joe Kubert |
| In story information | |
| Full name | Unknown* |
| Species | Human |
| Place of origin | Earth |
| Team affiliations | US Army |
The Unknown Soldier is an American DC Comics war comic book character and series. The character and series were created and originally drawn by Joe Kubert, first appearing in Star Spangled War Stories #151 (June–July 1970).
Contents |
[edit] Publication history
The series originally takes place during World War II, and focuses on the missions of an United States intelligence agent code-named "The Unknown Soldier," whose head and face are so severely disfigured that he typically has it completely wrapped in heavy bandages. Despite this, he is a master of disguise who can assume the identity of almost any man using latex masks and make-up. However, his disguises occasionally itch where they meet the scar tissue of his face, forcing him to be conscious not to give himself away by scratching. He is also prone to loss of temper at enemy atrocities and has been seen to blow his cover in this manner.
The character is named after The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia (which occasionally makes appearances in the series). The character of the Unknown Soldier is symbolic of the nameless soldiers that have fought throughout America's wars; as stated in his first story "They Came From Shangri-La!", he is the "man who no one knows — but — is known by everyone!" Another nickname for the character used in the series is "The Immortal G.I."
"The Unknown Soldier" was a feature in Star Spangled War Stories from #151 to #204 (February 1977). Created by artist and writer Joe Kubert, other writers contributing stories included Bob Haney, Robert Kanigher, Frank Robbins, Archie Goodwin and David Michelinie. Artists also included Dick Ayers, Doug Wildey, Dan Spiegle, Jack Sparling and Gerry Talaoc. Backup features included "Enemy Ace" by Robert Kanigher and John Severin, and "Captain Fear" by David Michelinie and Walt Simonson. Eventually, Star Spangled War Comics began featuring the Soldier exclusively. With #205 (May 1977), the book changed its title to The Unknown Soldier, continuing the numbering and running for another 64 issues, ending with #268.
The second series, also titled The Unknown Soldier, was a twelve-issue limited series published in |1988 and 1989, written by Jim Owsley and drawn by Phil Gascoine. It was a top vote getter for the Comics Buyer's Guide Fan Award for Favorite Limited Series for 1988. However, its depiction of the Soldier is radically different from the original comics, with the Soldier being literally immortal and more cynical about the United States than the patriotic character of the original series. As a result its place in "official" continuity is unclear.
In 1997 Garth Ennis wrote Unknown Soldier, a four-issue mini-series under the Vertigo imprint, featuring art by Kilian Plunkett. A much darker portrayal of the Soldier, the story is about a CIA agent tracing the post-war activities of the Soldier and the Soldier searching for a replacement for himself. This story appeared to ignore the 1988–89 mini-series, and was collected into a trade paperback in 1998.
A "DC Showcase" black and white trade paperback collection, The Unknown Soldier Volume One, reprinting stories between 1970 and 1975, was published in 2006.
[edit] Fictional character biography
The origin story in Star Spangled War Stories #154 (December–January 1970–1971) reveals that the Unknown Soldier is an unnamed young man who joins the United States Army together with his brother Harry less than two months before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Assigned to the Philippines when the Pacific War breaks out, he and Harry are present when the Japanese sweep across the islands. In their foxhole, Harry tells his brother not to lose hope even though they are outnumbered, because "one guy can affect the outcome of a whole war! One guy in the right place… at the right time…"
The two are fighting off wave after wave of invading Japanese soldiers when a hand grenade lands near their foxhole. Harry throws himself on the grenade and is killed instantly, but the explosion also injures the unnamed soldier's face. In a rage, the soldier defeats the remaining Japanese single-handedly, but his face has been obliterated by the grenade and doctors are unable to restore it. Turning down a Congressional Medal of Honor for his actions, the soldier instead volunteers to be that "one man in the right place" that Harry spoke of. His previous identity is erased and he undergoes intensive training to become an intelligence operative code-named "The Unknown Soldier".
The series does not take place linearly, but has individual stories scattered throughout all the years of the war and in various theaters. Over the course of the series, the Unknown Soldier also builds up a supporting cast, including Sergeant Chat Noir, an African American soldier and former French Resistance leader whom the Soldier first encounters a few days prior to D-Day. The Soldier also occasionally uses the services of an informant known only as Sparrow, who works behind enemy lines.
[edit] Final issue
The last issue of the first series, The Unknown Soldier #268 (October 1982), relates how during the Battle of Berlin, the Unknown Soldier is sent on a mission to stop a Nazi super-weapon, vampiric octopuses called "Nosferatu". During the course of the story both Sparrow and Chat Noir are killed.
On April 29, 1945, the Soldier infiltrates Adolf Hitler's bunker, killing him and assuming the dictator's identity to call off the weapon's deployment. He then makes Hitler's death look like a suicide so people will assume Hitler took the coward's way out. As the Soldier makes his way to the Allied lines, he saves the life of a civilian girl from a bomb blast, apparently being killed himself. However the last panel, taking place on May 7, 1945 after the city's surrender, shows an American staff sergeant scratching his face in the Soldier's distinctive manner, suggesting that he survived.
In Swamp Thing #82 (January 1989), it is revealed that the Soldier did survive, but is officially declared dead by his superiors, his continued existence being kept top-secret from that point on.
