Captain Courageous (comics)

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Captain Courageous
Publication information
PublisherAce Comics
First appearanceBanner Comics #3 (September 1941)
In-story information
Alter egoNone
SpeciesSupernatural being
Team affiliationsThe Super-Mysterymen
AbilitiesSuper-strength, flight, limited invulnerability; can exist underwater unaided.

Captain Courageous is a fictional superhero character who first appeared in Banner Comics #3 (cover-dated September 1941) from Ace Comics.[1]

Publishing history[edit]

Captain Courageous appeared in Banner Comics from issue #3 to #6 (September 1941 - March 1942); issue #6 was renamed Captain Courageous Comics.[2] He then moved to the Ace title Four Favorites in issue #5 (May 1942) to #21 (January 1946).[3]

In 2008, Captain Courageous appeared in flashback in Project Superpowers #0.[4] The one-shot Project Superpowers: Chapter Two Prelude shows the Captain as part of a group called The Super-Mysterymen.

Fictional biography[edit]

Ace[edit]

Captain Courageous is an omnipresent supernatural being who comes to the aid of brave people who ask for courage; during the Second World War he aids the Allied forces. He appears as a man dressed in a red-and-blue costume with stars on it and a star-shaped mask. His powers include super-strength, flight, limited invulnerability, and the ability to exist underwater unaided.[1] According to Jess Nevins' Encyclopedia of Golden Age Superheroes, "he assaults Nazis who have catapult planes concealed in a skyscraper and planes disguised as American planes, as well as man-eating locusts and Yellow Peril superhumans like the costumed Captain Nippo, a recurring character".[5] Nippo, who had a hook hand and commanded an army of white apes, first appeared in Four Favorites issue #9 (Feb 1943) and was finally tried and executed by a military court in issue #24 (July 1946).[6]

From Super-Mystery Comics #23 onward, the Captain trades his costume for civilian clothes and stops displaying any powers.

Project Superpowers[edit]

At some point after the war, the misguided Fighting Yank trapped the Captain and other heroes in the mystical Urn of Pandora; decades later, the Urn was broken and its inhabitants freed.[4] Captain Courageous and seven other heroes — including Lash Lightning and Lightning Girl, Mr. Raven, Soldier Unknown, and the Sword — are then brought together to form a team called the Super-Mysterymen.

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Captain Courageous at Don Markstein's Toonopedia. Archived from the original on April 9, 2012.
  2. ^ Markstein, Don. "Captain Courageous". Don Markstein's Toonopedia. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
  3. ^ Benton, Mike (1992). Superhero Comics of the Golden Age: The Illustrated History. Dallas: Taylor Publishing Company. p. 164. ISBN 0-87833-808-X. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  4. ^ a b Project Superpowers #0 at the Comic Book DB (archived from the original)
  5. ^ Nevins, Jess (2013). Encyclopedia of Golden Age Superheroes. High Rock Press. p. 46. ISBN 978-1-61318-023-5.
  6. ^ Mougin, Lou (2020). Secondary Superheroes of Golden Age Comics. McFarland & Co. pp. 351–352. ISBN 9781476638607.

External links[edit]