Feb 22, 2025
Six Fanarts. Corto Maltese, Lara Croft, Enemy Ace, Sheena; Queen Of The Jungle, The Phantom, Ghost.
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Six Fanarts. Corto Maltese, Lara Croft, Enemy Ace, Sheena; Queen Of The Jungle, The Phantom, Ghost.
Were there any mystery men or metahumans active during the first world war? I remember hearing that the writers of the Wonder Woman movie chose to set it in that time period because they wanted to make her the first superhero and also to avoid stepping on the toes of the JSA so I assume not but maybe there were some obscure ones.
A point of order as far as nomenclature goes, just for the sake of my sanity. Definitionally the answer to the question is "no". "Mystery Man" is a term that only applies to those who took up masked identities directly before, during and after WWII with the dividing line being the debut of the Crimson Avenger in late 1938. Followed closely by heroes like The Sandman and later on more anatomically modern superheroes like the original Flash and Green Lantern.
If a mystery man as we understand it existed in WWI then the definition would have to be moved backward. And the fact that we haven't moved the definition backward means that there weren't any mystery men in the historical record. With three borderline exceptions that are kept out of the definition by the weird bubble that the three exceptions happen to have in common.
And just what the hell was going on with some of the world's first flying aces.
(A portrait of Hans von Hammer, the German pilot known either as Enemy Ace or the Hammer of Hell depending on which side you asked)
Three of World War I's most prominent fighter aces (that is, pilots who held records of at least 5 recorded mid air kills, though each man had FAR more than that) took on colorful reputations and personas similar to what would eventually become the nom de guerres that mystery men would assume. They don't meet the definition because they were publicly facing military figures who, in one sense or another, were fighting as soldiers in a war without a whole lot of recorded moral critique rather than fighting evil and/or crime. These should be considered rather extravagant personal styles even further pumped up by propaganda and post war recollection.
The French member of this odd trio was Andre de Sevigne. also known as the Hangman. Wearing a deep purple hood and a knotted hangman's noose around his neck he was a feared opponent for any pilot of the Central Powers. Despite his very macabre outer appearance, de Sevigne was a pretty normal pilot all things considered and the one with the least mysterious end. He retired after the war, got married, had a bunch of children and died of heart failure in 1938. The American representative, although he volunteered with the British army WELL before American entry into the war, was the least mystery man-esque, basically only having a fancy stage name without any kind of mask or really over the top fashion. Steven Savage (interestingly, the son of Brian "Scalphunter" Savage, a hero of Opal City during its waning Old West days) was known as the Balloon Buster after a mission early in his career where he broke ranks and ended up taking down five German airships in a single sortie. While his disobedience SHOULD have bought him a court martial, the sheer daring do and success of the act bought him a get out of stockade free card and he spent the rest of the war as the Entente's secret weapon against German Zeppelin raids. He vanished somewhere in Southeast Asia sometime in 1924.
The MOST prominent of the trio, though, is a historical figure who still summons fascination well into the modern day. Hans von Hammer, the Enemy Ace. The most successful and well studied German pilot of all time. With the caveat being that while he did serve during WWI, earning his fame, his epithet and most of his most famous stories there. He also served during the SECOND world war under the German government which should be kept in mind when considering his legacy. Although the ending of THAT story as well needs to be considered. Von Hammer was born to a wealthy German aristocrat in the late 19th century and spent most of his upbringing being tutored by the most expensive teachers and arms masters in all of Europe. Gaining his famous cheek scar, as many young German men did in those days, during a fencing duel that was common between college fraternities in the days of the German Empire. During the outbreak of hostilities in 1914 he signed up to fight for his nation. He became well known for his frightening skill, racking up a kill count of 70 or more (only counting those that can be confirmed by records on both sides, easier for him than most since both sides kept VERY close track of his movements). He was also well known for his honorable nature, refusing to seal the kill on grounded, wounded or otherwise disabled opponents seeing it as murder rather than combat.
Taking it especially hard when his comrades referred to him as a killer or a killing machine, his only friend and companion was a mysterious black wolf he met and befriended during a hunting trip in Germany's Black Forest. After the Armistice in 1918 he retired to his family's estate and hoped to quietly live out the rest of his life without the need for violence. One of the only opinions he could be said to have given during the Weimar era was expressing a public distaste for the Nazi Party, knowing firsthand the 'Stab in the back" myth was pure fiction and having served alongside many honorable and talented Jewish soldiers and pilots.
Trying to sit out the war he was eventually forced back into service by 1942 where he served in the skies over Leningrad and along the wider eastern front. he was shot down over the city in early 1943, seeing first hand the horrors of the city's famous siege before escaping back to German lines. It wasn't until April 1945 that he would finally meet his match. Despite being given command of a squadron of ME-262 jet fighters in the defense of Munich, he was outmatched by superior American tactics, numbers and firepower. He was finally shot down for good over the concentration camp at Dachau where he witnessed the final, greatest horrors of the Nazi regime. Returning to his unit one last time he led them in their surrender to the famous Easy Company, only AFTER sabotaging and destroying the entire group of jet fighters AND helping to stage a revolt that prevented the SS from liquidating much of the camp ahead of the Allies' arrival.
He died mostly in obscurity, his family estate destroyed beyond repair during the fighting, living in a German care home sometime in the 1960s. The records of his life taken down by reporter Edward Mannock which is how I'm able to tell you this story, closing the book on one of the most complex characters in a war that brought humanity to the edge of hell and showed us just how hellish we might be all on our own. No gods and monsters required.
Enemy Ace by Travis Charest
The DC Explosion house ad (circa July 1978)
Enemy Ace by George Pratt
Enemy Ace by Travis Charest
Klarion travels through space time Part 1 (?)
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we at DC unofficial (the parody)
Do you like DC? All of DC? Even the kinda silly and strange parts? WE ARE FOR YOU We are the way better version of DC official as we can say
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we also have FANFIC, FAN ART, COSPLAY, AND MORE!!! (Which is not allowed on dc official due to legal reasons, we have no such limitations as we are not dc official 😭)
COME AND PLAY GAMES! TALK ABOUT YOUR FAVORITE OBSCURE CHARACTERS LIKE “insert guy”
(including but not limited to: Jonah hex, Captain marvel, Sgt rock, Enemy ace, firestorm, human target, oddman, AND MORE! We actually acknowledge and love to talk about obscure and forgotten characters!)
WE HAVE FUN FOR ALL AGES AND THE WORD LEARN MORE IS NOT BANNED (the word learn more is banned on dc official)
WE ARE A INTERFANDOM COMMUNITY OF BOTH MARVEL AND DC
(you will all love to know about the crossover comics and amalgam comics)
WE HAVE TRIVA EACH SATURDAY AND A BOOKCLUB EVERY WEEK!
WE ALSO SUPPORT ANY AND ALL NEW COMIC READERS, AND HAVE RESOURCES FOR A WIDE VARIETY OF DC MEDIA!!!!
IF YOU LIKE ANY DC COMIC CHARACTERS AT ALL, WE WOULD LOVE TO HAVE 🫵 YOU HERE!
DC FANON! WE ARE HERE AND WE’D LOVE TO SEE YOU ON OUR SERVER 👏👏👏👏👏👏
(Please.. shazam fandom I need to find you all)
