Mighty Crusaders
Encyclopedia
The Mighty Crusaders is a fictional superhero team published by Archie Comics
. The team originally appeared in Fly-Man #31, #32 and #33 before being launched in its own title, Mighty Crusaders. Written by Superman co-creator Jerry Siegel
, the series lasted seven issues before being cancelled. The team was revived under Archie's Red Circle Comics
line in 1983. In 1992 DC Comics
licensed the characters and relaunched the team as The Crusaders, aiming the comic at younger readers as part of its !mpact
line. This series lasted eight issues, published from May to December, 1992.
to launch their own superhero comics. The Archie Adventure line (soon retitled Mighty Comics
) included titles centered on The Fly, The Jaguar, and The Shield, a revamped Golden Age character. The success of The Avengers and the Justice League of America prompted Archie Comics to create their own team title, The Mighty Crusaders, where The Comet and Flygirl
joined three characters with their own comics. The first issue was published in 1965, and the series was published on a bimonthly schedule. The Archie series mixed typical superhero fare with high camp
. Don Markstein writes that they touched on "all the genre's cliches of the time", with Siegel's writing on the book being a "hokey rendition of Stan Lee
".
In 1983 the team and the series were relaunched, with Rich Buckler
as writer and penciller on the first issue. A contractual dispute between Buckler and DC Comics saw the publication of the first issue delayed. The series ran until the middle of 1985, being cancelled with issue 13, cover dated September 1985.
In 1992 DC Comics acquired a license to publish the characters, and launched a team book as part of the line. This series, titled only The Crusaders, launched in early 1992. The first issue saw scriptwriting by Mark Waid
and Brian Augustyn
. The series and the line itself, Impact Comics, were aimed at younger readers. DC Comics attempted to sell Impact Comics titles through news-stands in an attempt to expand the potential market. However, due to internal conflicts, this distribution never happened and the imprint eventually collapsed due to poor sales. The last issue of the DC series was issue 8, cover dated December 1992.
The team also served as a partial inspiration for Alan Moore's Watchmen
series. Moore had initially imagined the story as being based around second string heroes; "I wanted more average super-heroes, like the Mighty Crusaders line ... [the] original idea had started off with the dead body of the Shield being pulled out of a river somewhere." Moore used this idea when asked to submit a pitch for a treatment of DC Comics' then-newly-acquired Charlton Comics properties. Although the treatment was rejected for those characters, DC Comics commissioned Moore to base the story on all new heroes, and the project became Watchmen.
line in the 1960s. At that time, members of the team consisted of:
line of the 1980s. At this time, members of the team consisted of:
This title kicked off the Red Circle comics and lasted thirteen issues.
licensed the Archie superheroes for their !mpact
line in the 1990s, the team was simply called the Crusaders. The DC series The Crusaders lasted eight issues, from May to December, 1992.
. In addition to the established Red Circle characters, an original heroine by the name of War Eagle will be introduced as well. The new team will consist of:
Toy Company. Each figure came with a Secret Sonic Signaling shield. There were 4 heroes and 4 villains in the line. Included were:
Archie Comics
Archie Comics is an American comic book publisher headquartered in the Village of Mamaroneck, Town of Mamaroneck, New York, known for its many series featuring the fictional teenagers Archie Andrews, Betty Cooper, Veronica Lodge, Reggie Mantle and Jughead Jones. The characters were created by...
. The team originally appeared in Fly-Man #31, #32 and #33 before being launched in its own title, Mighty Crusaders. Written by Superman co-creator Jerry Siegel
Jerry Siegel
Jerome "Jerry" Siegel , who also used pseudonyms including Joe Carter, Jerry Ess, and Herbert S...
, the series lasted seven issues before being cancelled. The team was revived under Archie's Red Circle Comics
Red Circle Comics
Red Circle Comics was an imprint used by Archie Comics Publications, Inc. to publish non-Archie characters, especially their superheroes, in the 1970s and '80s.-Phase 1: 1970s:...
line in 1983. In 1992 DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
licensed the characters and relaunched the team as The Crusaders, aiming the comic at younger readers as part of its !mpact
Impact Comics
Impact Comics was an imprint of DC Comics that was aimed at younger audiences. It was begun in 1991 and ended by 1993....
line. This series lasted eight issues, published from May to December, 1992.
Background
The success of DC's and Marvel's Silver Age titles led Archie ComicsArchie Comics
Archie Comics is an American comic book publisher headquartered in the Village of Mamaroneck, Town of Mamaroneck, New York, known for its many series featuring the fictional teenagers Archie Andrews, Betty Cooper, Veronica Lodge, Reggie Mantle and Jughead Jones. The characters were created by...
to launch their own superhero comics. The Archie Adventure line (soon retitled Mighty Comics
Mighty Comics
Mighty Comics Group, sometimes referred to as Archie Adventure Series and Radio Comics, refer to the attempt by Archie Comics to revamp and publish superhero comics in the mid-1960s...
) included titles centered on The Fly, The Jaguar, and The Shield, a revamped Golden Age character. The success of The Avengers and the Justice League of America prompted Archie Comics to create their own team title, The Mighty Crusaders, where The Comet and Flygirl
Flygirl
Flygirl is a super-heroine published by Archie Comics.Kim Brand was an actress rescued by The Fly from a fall from a hotel window in issue #13 of The Adventures of the Fly. Kim fell in love with the superhero...
joined three characters with their own comics. The first issue was published in 1965, and the series was published on a bimonthly schedule. The Archie series mixed typical superhero fare with high camp
Camp (style)
Camp is an aesthetic sensibility that regards something as appealing because of its taste and ironic value. The concept is closely related to kitsch, and things with camp appeal may also be described as being "cheesy"...
. Don Markstein writes that they touched on "all the genre's cliches of the time", with Siegel's writing on the book being a "hokey rendition of Stan Lee
Stan Lee
Stan Lee is an American comic book writer, editor, actor, producer, publisher, television personality, and the former president and chairman of Marvel Comics....
".
In 1983 the team and the series were relaunched, with Rich Buckler
Rich Buckler
Rich Buckler is an American comic book artist and penciller, best known for his work on Marvel Comics' The Fantastic Four in the mid-1970s and, with writer Doug Moench, co-creating the character Deathlok in Astonishing Tales #25...
as writer and penciller on the first issue. A contractual dispute between Buckler and DC Comics saw the publication of the first issue delayed. The series ran until the middle of 1985, being cancelled with issue 13, cover dated September 1985.
In 1992 DC Comics acquired a license to publish the characters, and launched a team book as part of the line. This series, titled only The Crusaders, launched in early 1992. The first issue saw scriptwriting by Mark Waid
Mark Waid
Mark Waid is an American comic book writer. He is well known for his eight-year run as writer of the DC Comics' title The Flash, as well as his scripting of the limited series Kingdom Come and Superman: Birthright, and his work on Marvel Comics' Captain America...
and Brian Augustyn
Brian Augustyn
Brian Augustyn is an award-winning comic book editor and writer. He has often worked, as both an editor and writer, with writer Mark Waid.-Biography:...
. The series and the line itself, Impact Comics, were aimed at younger readers. DC Comics attempted to sell Impact Comics titles through news-stands in an attempt to expand the potential market. However, due to internal conflicts, this distribution never happened and the imprint eventually collapsed due to poor sales. The last issue of the DC series was issue 8, cover dated December 1992.
The team also served as a partial inspiration for Alan Moore's Watchmen
Watchmen
Watchmen is a twelve-issue comic book limited series created by writer Alan Moore, artist Dave Gibbons, and colourist John Higgins. The series was published by DC Comics during 1986 and 1987, and has been subsequently reprinted in collected form...
series. Moore had initially imagined the story as being based around second string heroes; "I wanted more average super-heroes, like the Mighty Crusaders line ... [the] original idea had started off with the dead body of the Shield being pulled out of a river somewhere." Moore used this idea when asked to submit a pitch for a treatment of DC Comics' then-newly-acquired Charlton Comics properties. Although the treatment was rejected for those characters, DC Comics commissioned Moore to base the story on all new heroes, and the project became Watchmen.
First series
The first Mighty Crusaders group was created by Archie under their Mighty ComicsMighty Comics
Mighty Comics Group, sometimes referred to as Archie Adventure Series and Radio Comics, refer to the attempt by Archie Comics to revamp and publish superhero comics in the mid-1960s...
line in the 1960s. At that time, members of the team consisted of:
- Black Hood - first appeared in Top-Notch ComicsTop-Notch Comics- Top-Notch Laugh Comics/Laugh Comix :In a change of editorial direction, from issue #28 the story emphasis changed to humor strips and the title became Top-Notch Laugh Comics to reflect this. All the long-running adventure series from Top-Notch Comics ended between issue #24 - Top-Notch Laugh...
#9, October 1940. - The Comet - first appeared in Pep ComicsPep ComicsPep Comics is the name of an American comic book anthology series published by the Archie Comics predecessor MLJ Magazines Inc. during the 1930s and 1940s period known as the Golden Age of Comic Books...
#1 in January, 1940. - The Fly - created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, first appeared in The Double Life of Private Strong #1.
- FlygirlFlygirlFlygirl is a super-heroine published by Archie Comics.Kim Brand was an actress rescued by The Fly from a fall from a hotel window in issue #13 of The Adventures of the Fly. Kim fell in love with the superhero...
- first appeared in issue #13 of The Adventures of the Fly. - Shield - first appeared in Fly-Man #31.
Second series
The second Mighty Crusaders group was created by Archie Comics under their Red Circle ComicsRed Circle Comics
Red Circle Comics was an imprint used by Archie Comics Publications, Inc. to publish non-Archie characters, especially their superheroes, in the 1970s and '80s.-Phase 1: 1970s:...
line of the 1980s. At this time, members of the team consisted of:
- Black Hood II (nephew of the original Black Hood)
- The Comet
- Darkling (later killed off)
- The Fly
- FlygirlFlygirlFlygirl is a super-heroine published by Archie Comics.Kim Brand was an actress rescued by The Fly from a fall from a hotel window in issue #13 of The Adventures of the Fly. Kim fell in love with the superhero...
- The Jaguar
- Lancelot Strong: Shield II (soon killed off)
- Shield I (the original Shield)
- The Web IIWEB (comics)The Web is a team of superpowered agents published under DC Comics Impact Comics line. The team is based on Archie Comics old superhero, The Web.Created by Len Strazewski and Tom Artis, its first appearance was in The Web #1 September 1991 .-Members:...
(son of the original Web)
This title kicked off the Red Circle comics and lasted thirteen issues.
Impact Comics series
When DC ComicsDC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
licensed the Archie superheroes for their !mpact
Impact Comics
Impact Comics was an imprint of DC Comics that was aimed at younger audiences. It was begun in 1991 and ended by 1993....
line in the 1990s, the team was simply called the Crusaders. The DC series The Crusaders lasted eight issues, from May to December, 1992.
DC Comics series
A new Mighty Crusaders series has recently been announced by DC Comics, which assimilated the Red Circle heroes into its continuity following Final CrisisFinal Crisis
Final Crisis is a crossover storyline that appeared in comic books published by DC Comics in 2008, primarily the seven-issue miniseries of the same name written by Grant Morrison. Originally DC announced the project as being illustrated solely by J. G. Jones; artists Carlos Pacheco, Marco Rudy and...
. In addition to the established Red Circle characters, an original heroine by the name of War Eagle will be introduced as well. The new team will consist of:
- The Comet
- InfernoInferno (comics)Inferno, in comics, may refer to:*Inferno , a character from the DC Comics series Legion of Super-Heroes*Inferno, the name of an alternate version of Legion of Super-Heroes member Sun Boy...
- FlygirlFlygirlFlygirl is a super-heroine published by Archie Comics.Kim Brand was an actress rescued by The Fly from a fall from a hotel window in issue #13 of The Adventures of the Fly. Kim fell in love with the superhero...
- The Shield
- The WebWEB (comics)The Web is a team of superpowered agents published under DC Comics Impact Comics line. The team is based on Archie Comics old superhero, The Web.Created by Len Strazewski and Tom Artis, its first appearance was in The Web #1 September 1991 .-Members:...
- War Eagle
Collected editions
Recently, Archie Comics has reprinted some of the Mighty Crusaders adventures in a trade paperback collection under the "Red Circle Productions" name.- Mighty Crusaders: Origin of a Super Team (reprints Fly-Man #31, #32 and #33 and Mighty Crusaders #1, 96 pages, November 2003, ISBN 1879794144)
Toys
Carded Action Figures were produced in 1984 for some of the Mighty Crusaders by the RemcoRemco
Remco Industries, Inc. was a toy company founded in the 1940s that was best known for toys marketed and sold in the late 1950s and 1960s, like the Johnny Reb Cannon and Mighty Matilda Atomic Aircraft Carrier. The slogan was "Every Boy Wants a Remco Toy...And So Do Girls!" Remco was founded by two...
Toy Company. Each figure came with a Secret Sonic Signaling shield. There were 4 heroes and 4 villains in the line. Included were:
- The Comet
- The Fox
- The Shield
- The Web
- The Brain Emperor
- The Buzzard
- The Eraser
- The Sting