Wing (DC Comics)
| Wing | |
|---|---|
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | Detective Comics #20 (October 1938) |
| Created by | Jim Chambers |
| In-story information | |
| Full name | Wing How |
| Team affiliations |
Seven Soldiers of Victory All-Star Squadron |
| Abilities | Skilled martial artist |
Wing How is a fictional character in the DC Comics universe. He is the Asian sidekick and valet to the Crimson Avenger, one of the first costumed heroes of the Golden Age of Comics. He bears more than a slight resemblance to Kato, the sidekick of The Green Hornet. Wing first appeared in Detective Comics #20 (October, 1938).
Fictional character background
Wing began as a uniformed chauffeur of the Crimson Avenger's alter ego Lee Travis. A Chinese immigrant who moved to America to escape Japanese persecution in the days leading up to World War II, Wing helps to instill a social conscience in his employer. When the death of a fellow reporter motivates Travis to become the Crimson Avenger, Wing assists him in his fight against crime. Curiously, despite Wing's initial lack of a costume, no one ever makes a connection between Travis' chauffeur and the Crimson Avenger.
A few months after the Crimson Avenger abandons his cloak and fedora for a more traditional superhero costume, Wing dons a matching yellow costume and becomes his official sidekick.[1] He serves as a member of the Seven Soldiers of Victory (as the honorary "eighth Soldier") and the All-Star Squadron. However, the Crimson Avenger frequently attempts to dissuade Wing from this path, believing that the bright young man has a better future ahead of him than running about in a costume fighting madmen.
In Justice League of America #100 (August 1972), it is revealed that Wing sacrificed his life to defeat the cosmic being known as the Nebula Man, a creature who scatters the other Soldiers through time. While most of the JLA and JSA travelled through time to find the members, the Golden Age Green Lantern, Mister Terrific and the Golden Age Robin went on a quest to discover the identity of the Unknown Soldier of Victory, whose tomb lay in the mountains of Tibet, where the Seven Soldiers had fallen after defeating the Nebula Man.
The New 52
In The New 52 timeline, a modernized version of Wing appears as a young Asian American cameraman covering Solomon Grundy's rampage.[2] His name is later established as James Wing, and he is revealed to be working with journalist Lee Travis (here an African American woman rather than a white man) for the GBC.[3]
Powers and abilities
Wing is skilled in martial arts, including judo and karate.