Sunday, September 16, 2018
Tuesday, August 21, 2018
Saturday, July 28, 2018
Tuesday, May 22, 2018
Tuesday, April 17, 2018
Wednesday, April 4, 2018
Freedom Fighters:Brave New World
The next evolution of the FREEDOM FIGHTERS occurred when in DC's BRAVE NEW WORLD mini-series. That Mini Series led to to Freedom Fighter series. I am going to talk this evolution in this posting.
This mini revised the series because the originals were killed off by THE SECRET SOCIETY OF SUPER-VILLIANS.
Each of the characters, except Uncle Sam, were give new secret identities. Although the characters looked basically the same, they were not the same personas as the last incarnation.
This mini led to the First of the new generation series: UNCLE SAM and THE FREEDOM FIGHTERS.
UNCLE SAM comes back from the dead to lead this new team.
As you can see from the cover noted above, the costumes for most of the heroes changed dramatically from the previous versions of the team. The tone of the team changed as well.
It became more Anti-Government and created a new organization (S.H.A.D.E) Lead by FATHER TIME to pull the strings of the team.
There were new threats and some very weird villains.
I think the biggest strong point of this era was that it brought more of the Quality characters into the fold.
Neon the Unknown, Captain Triumph, Mago, The Red Bee Miss America and The Jester all got better exposure than in the THE ALL-STAR SQUADRON. Each playing a better role in new Mythos.
All but the Jester were Heroes. The Jester was with the Arcadians.
These incarnations finally brought all of these new heroes to print.
The thing I hated was that the Freedom Fighters were still on Earth One.
It was just another Hero group with a quirky back story.
The high points were adding RED BEE, MISS AMERICA, and The CRUSADERS (mostly CAPTAIN TRIUMPH and MAGNO). All were improvements over their Golden AGE Counterparts.
Given a better backdrop this team would still be published. Given some of the bad guys such as GONZO the Mechanical Bastard, it was too weird for many readers to stomach.
That is why Grant Morrison got his shot in the MULIVERSARY series which will be the next article I publish.
This mini revised the series because the originals were killed off by THE SECRET SOCIETY OF SUPER-VILLIANS.
Each of the characters, except Uncle Sam, were give new secret identities. Although the characters looked basically the same, they were not the same personas as the last incarnation.
This mini led to the First of the new generation series: UNCLE SAM and THE FREEDOM FIGHTERS.
UNCLE SAM comes back from the dead to lead this new team.
As you can see from the cover noted above, the costumes for most of the heroes changed dramatically from the previous versions of the team. The tone of the team changed as well.
It became more Anti-Government and created a new organization (S.H.A.D.E) Lead by FATHER TIME to pull the strings of the team.
There were new threats and some very weird villains.
I think the biggest strong point of this era was that it brought more of the Quality characters into the fold.
Neon the Unknown, Captain Triumph, Mago, The Red Bee Miss America and The Jester all got better exposure than in the THE ALL-STAR SQUADRON. Each playing a better role in new Mythos.
All but the Jester were Heroes. The Jester was with the Arcadians.
These incarnations finally brought all of these new heroes to print.
The thing I hated was that the Freedom Fighters were still on Earth One.
It was just another Hero group with a quirky back story.
The high points were adding RED BEE, MISS AMERICA, and The CRUSADERS (mostly CAPTAIN TRIUMPH and MAGNO). All were improvements over their Golden AGE Counterparts.
Given a better backdrop this team would still be published. Given some of the bad guys such as GONZO the Mechanical Bastard, it was too weird for many readers to stomach.
That is why Grant Morrison got his shot in the MULIVERSARY series which will be the next article I publish.
Tuesday, March 20, 2018
Freedom Fighters All Star Squadron Part 2
Unlike previous version of The Freedom Fighters, this group was based in WWII on the same earth.
The All Star Squadron was created by Roy Thomas and Rich Buckler.
The premise was that anybody who was a hero during The Golden Age could be a member of this team that was pulled together by FDR to combat the NAZI threat.
This is probably my favorite version of the group because it gave it a history that made sense.
It also showed that the group was mortal because original members of the team died. Many members of which return in later versions of the teams.
The link below gives a better synopsis of the story.
Also note that a 2 versions of Firebrand appeared in the series as well.
It is a great read and I highly recommend it to all.
https://comicvine.gamespot.com/all-star-squadron-32-crisis-on-earth-x-the-prequel/4000-24147/
Here is a cover gallery from their appearances.
Next
and the Jimmy Palmiotti team.
The All Star Squadron was created by Roy Thomas and Rich Buckler.
The premise was that anybody who was a hero during The Golden Age could be a member of this team that was pulled together by FDR to combat the NAZI threat.
It also showed that the group was mortal because original members of the team died. Many members of which return in later versions of the teams.
The link below gives a better synopsis of the story.
Also note that a 2 versions of Firebrand appeared in the series as well.
It is a great read and I highly recommend it to all.
https://comicvine.gamespot.com/all-star-squadron-32-crisis-on-earth-x-the-prequel/4000-24147/
Here is a cover gallery from their appearances.
Next
and the Jimmy Palmiotti team. 
Friday, March 16, 2018
Wednesday, March 14, 2018
Tuesday, March 13, 2018
DC gives more Details on Unexpected Title.
https://www.dccomics.com/blog/2018/03/13/new-age-of-dc-heroes-what-to-expect-from-the-unexpectedhttps://www.dccomics.com/blog/2018/03/13/new-age-of-dc-heroes-what-to-expect-from-the-unexpected
Wednesday, March 7, 2018
Freedom Fighters #1 came out in April 1976. The team came to Earth One because there were "no credible threats" on Earth X any more.
The team of Uncle Sam, The Human Bomb, Phantom Lady, Black Condor, Doll Man, and The Ray made their way through 15 issues. A long the way they added Firebrand.
Even with great cover art, the team just couldn't survive an inconsistent creative team.
Below are the covers for its run.
As you can see from the covers, the team went all over the place. Unlike me, many readers gave up on the title and it was canceled.
The team that could, didn't.
Ah but there is more to their story....
To be continued.
The tale call Crisis on Earth X told us about a world where the Nazis won WWII. The inhabitants were now mind controlled, save people like The Freedom Fighters.
It took the combined might of the Justice Society, the Justice League, and the Freedom Fighters to free Earth X.
It was a nice story, but it had many flaws because of the Comics Code Authority of the day.
The idea that "Good shall triumph over Evil", in reality over simplified what would happen if the teams freed Earth X.
In my mind the logical next step in the Freedom Fighters journey should have been mop up and facing new threats. One of which could have been what kind of power would the Soviets yield in a NAZI less world.
Instead DC had the team come to Earth 1 in the first post JLA story.
To Be Continued.
Wednesday, February 28, 2018
The Freedom Fighters were introduced in the Pages of Justice League of America.
It was the first and only time that the team was on Earth X until it appeared the Supergirl TV show.
The team has bounced from not being seen at all to being seen then disappearing.
I am going to to do several articles here talking about the verisions of the team that have been published over the years.
The next article will talk about the Quality years and their first appearance is DC comics.
Until then, Go Forth and do well.
Shane.
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