General Samuel "Happy Sam" Sawyer is a fictional character

Fictional character

A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...

 in Marvel Comics

Marvel Comics

Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...

 Marvel Universe

Marvel Universe

The Marvel Universe is the shared fictional universe where most comic book titles and other media published by Marvel Entertainment take place, including those featuring Marvel's most familiar characters, such as Spider-Man, the Hulk, the X-Men, and the Avengers.The Marvel Universe is further...

. His first appearance was in Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos

Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos

Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos are a fictional World War II unit in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, they first appeared in Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos #1 . The main character, Sgt...

vol. 1 #1.

Publication history

From 1963 to 1974, Samuel Sawyer appears in Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos vol. 1 #1-22, 24-29, 31-36, 38-43, 45-48, 51-54, 57-61, 63, 65-67, 70, 72, 74, 77-79, 81, 83-84, 88, 92, 94, 96, 98, 102, 110, 114-117 and Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos Annual #1-4. In the same series, the character appears also in flashback

Flashback (narrative)

Flashback is an interjected scene that takes the narrative back in time from the current point the story has reached. Flashbacks are often used to recount events that happened before the story’s primary sequence of events or to fill in crucial backstory...

s in #44, 73, 75, 86 and 106.

In the same period, the character appears in other war comic books Captain Savage and his Battlefield Raiders #11 (1969), Combat Kelly and the Deadly Dozen #1-2 (1972), #6 and #8-9 (1973) and War Is Hell #8 (1973). Later in What If? #14 (1977), an alternate version of the character appears in What If... Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos Had Fought World War II In Outer Space?.

He appears also in Thor

Thor (Marvel Comics)

Thor is a fictional superhero who appears in publications published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Journey into Mystery #83 and was created by editor-plotter Stan Lee, scripter Larry Lieber, and penciller Jack Kirby....

vol. 1 #233 (March-April, 1975), Invaders

Invaders (comics)

The Invaders is the name of two fictional superhero teams in the . The original team was created by writer Roy Thomas and artist Sal Buscema in The Avengers #71 . A present-day incarnation was introduced by writer Chuck Austen and artist Scott Kolins in The Avengers vol...

vol. 1 #40 (May 1979), Captain America

Captain America

Captain America is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Captain America Comics #1 , from Marvel Comics' 1940s predecessor, Timely Comics, and was created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby...

vol. 1 #273-274 (September-October, 1982), Marvel Fanfare

Marvel Fanfare

Marvel Fanfare is the title of two comic book series published by Marvel Comics. Both versions of Marvel Fanfare were anthology, showcase titles featuring a variety of characters from the Marvel universe.-Volume One:...

vol. 1 #10 (September, 1983), Marvel Comics Presents

Marvel Comics Presents

Marvel Comics Presents was an American comic book anthology series published by Marvel Comics originally from 1988 to 1995; it returned for a second volume in 2007-2008.-Volume 1:The first volume was released on a biweekly basis and lasted for 175 issues...

#77 (1991) Fury

Nick Fury

Colonel Nicholas Joseph "Nick" Fury is a fictional World War II army hero and present-day super-spy in the Marvel Comics universe. Created by artist Jack Kirby and writer Stan Lee, Fury first appeared in Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos #1 , a World War II combat series that portrayed the...

vol. 1 #1 (1994) and in a flashback with the Howling Commandos in Gambit

Gambit (comics)

Gambit is a fictional character, a Marvel Comics superhero that has been a member of the X-Men. Created by writer Chris Claremont and artist Jim Lee, the character first appeared briefly in Uncanny X-Men Annual #14 , weeks before a more comprehensive appearance in Uncanny X-Men #266...

vol. 3 #10 (1999).

The character has an entry in the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z HC vol. 6 (2008).

The character appears in issues #1-3, 7-8 of The Marvels Project

The Marvels Project

The Marvels Project is a 2009-2010 eight-issue comic book limited series written by Ed Brubaker with art by Steve Epting and published by Marvel Comics. It details the origins of Timely Comics-era superheroes in the Marvel Universe such as Captain America, Namor, the Human Torch and the Angel....

(2009). Happy Sam appears with the Howling Commandos in Black Panther/Captain America: Flags Of Our Fathers #1-4 (2010), the adventure takes place during the World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

.

Fictional character biography

Happy Sam Sawyer was assigned to the British Commandos by the U.S. Army. He trained in parachuting in Britain in 1940 by Finley's Flying circus that comprised daredevil parachutist Nick Fury

Nick Fury

Colonel Nicholas Joseph "Nick" Fury is a fictional World War II army hero and present-day super-spy in the Marvel Comics universe. Created by artist Jack Kirby and writer Stan Lee, Fury first appeared in Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos #1 , a World War II combat series that portrayed the...

 and pilot Red Hargroves where they nicknamed him Happy Sam ironically, because of his deadly serious and consistently stony demeanor. In 1942 Sawyer, who had been wounded in North Africa and was deemed unfit for combat missions, organised and led the Howling Commandos

Howling Commandos

The Howling Commandos is the name of several fictional groups led by Nick Fury in the Marvel Comics Universe.-World War II:The first group of Howling Commandos was an elite special unit formed in World War II...

, Bull McGiveney's Maulers, Jim Morita's Nisei Squad, and Sgt Bob Jenkin's The Missouri Marauders as well as the Deadly Dozen. When artist John Severin

John Severin

John Powers Severin is an American comic book artist noted for his distinctive work with EC Comics, primarily on the war comics Two-Fisted Tales and Frontline Combat; for Marvel Comics, primarily on its war and Western comics; and for the satiric magazine Cracked...

 joined Sgt Fury and his Howling Commandos with issue #44, Severin drew Sawyer as being much older and balder than his original depiction as a young man.

In a Sgt Fury annual set in the Korean War

Korean War

The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...

, Sawyer was a Colonel, in another annual set in the Vietnam War

Vietnam War

The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...

, Sawyer was a full general.

In modern times, Baron Strucker

Baron Strucker

Baron Wolfgang von Strucker is a fictional character created for Marvel Comics by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, first appearing in Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos #5...

 created an LMD

Life Model Decoy

A Life Model Decoy is fictional android appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. It is designed to function as an exact body double for VIPs...

 of Sawyer that attacked the original Howling Commandos as well as Captain America

Captain America

Captain America is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Captain America Comics #1 , from Marvel Comics' 1940s predecessor, Timely Comics, and was created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby...

. Sawyer would sacrifice himself when the LMD detonated itself while trying to gain missile navigation override codes.

In the wake of his death, a S.H.I.E.L.D.

S.H.I.E.L.D.

S.H.I.E.L.D. is a fictional espionage and a secret military law-enforcement agency in the Marvel Comics Universe. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in Strange Tales #135 , it often deals with superhuman threats....

 assault Helicarrier

Helicarrier

The Helicarrier is a fictional flying aircraft carrier specifically designed to be capable of independent powered flight in addition to the conventional functions of aircraft carriers...

has been named in his honor in the mini-series Iron Man: Hypervelocity. There is also a Samuel J. Sawyer Memorial Veterans Hospital

External links

• Happy Sam Sawyer at ComicVine