InvadersLiberty LegionKid CommandosAll-Winners Squad
Fantastic_FourDefendersAvengers
Deep SixHeroes For HireS.U.R.F.New Warriors
During World War Two Namor was encouraged by his lover, Special Agent Betty Dean, and the android Human Torch to join forces with other heroes to oppose the forces of Axis. Namor did, and he, Captain America and Torch, and their sidekicks, Bucky & Toro, became the foremost band of freedom fighters called the Invaders. Their primary missions were to "invade" on the European and Asian territories. In this effort they were joined by the British heroes Union Jack and Spitfire. After the Liberty Legion first disbanded, when the Invaders were confronted on North American soil, they were then joined by Miss America and her fiance, the Whizzer. Finally, after Steve Rogers, the first Captain America, and his junior partner, Bucky, were thought deceased, the hero formerly known as the Spirit of '76, was asked to don the Captain America union suit, and a young man who once stood in for Bucky became the second to bear that name.
As a member of the Invaders, whenever stateside, Sub-Mariner and the crew were considered a part of a much larger group of heroes under the banner of the Liberty Legion. The Liberty Legion was founded by Bucky I when the Invaders were captured and Bucky pleaded for all available heroes to unite and rescue them. Answering the call was Miss America, the Whizzer, the Thin Man, Jack Frost, Red Raven, the Blue Diamond, and the Patriot (who, after the second Captain America dies, would become the third to don the union suit). These heroes primarily defended the homefront of the United States against infiltration from Axis powers and crime in general.
During the course of the war there were occassions when Bucky and Toro were left behind in the United States while the elder members of the Invaders went on overseas missions. On one such occassion, while Toro was recouperating from injuries, Bucky became involved with two other teenagers: A girl of Japanese descent, and an African-American lad working in the hospital where Toro was. These two were caught up in a plan to destroy the Invaders and during an experiment gone awry they both acquired superpowers. The lad called himself the Human Top and the girl, Golden Girl. Together with Bucky and Toro they called themeslves the "Kid Commandos!" (as creted by Roy Thomas).
The Kid Kommandos appear to be loosely based on the teen brigade formed by Bucky during the the Golden Age run of CAPTAIN AMERICA COMICS when they were first called the "Sentinels of Liberty" where all of the known members, plus a young girl, were present. Later, they were more commonly known as the "Young Allies". The purpose of the group was for the young teenagers to "act as secret agents for Captain America to locate hidden bund hideouts so Cap (and the rest of the Invaders) could mop'em up!" The exact roster of the Young Allies is unknown, and may have been a loose formation, but some of the more notable members included non-super powered youngsters named "Knuckles" O'Toole, Jeff Worthington, "Tubby" Tinkle, and "Whitewash" Jones. Their first big mission involved a world-wide plot against the Red Skull. Together this group appeared in 62 golden age adventures, while the Kid Commandos only appeared in a small handful. Both the Kid Commandos and the Young Allies were primarily known as guardians of the American homefront, despite their close association with the Invaders.
NOTE: There was a young sub-mariner who had powers and an appearance similar to Namor's calling himself Subbie (KID KOMICS #1 & 2). It is my opinion that, should a writer be so inclined, I would love to see Subbie (not "Subby," as in "the Sub-Mariner,") be made a member of the Kid Commandos.
First Appearance: CAPTAIN AMERICA COMICS #5 (1941 as Sentinels of Liberty), YOUNG ALLIES COMICS #1 (1941 as Young Allies), INVADERS #28 (1977 as Kid Commandos)
After World War Two, the Invaders and the Liberty Legion were both disbanded, and a new legion of super-heroes was formed calling themselves the All-Winners Squad. This new group was primarily comprised of former members of each. The exact roster of the All-Winners Squad is not yet fully known, but the team was known to have consisted of the Sub-Mariner, Captain America III (formerly known as the Patriot), the Human Torch I and their sidekicks Bucky II and Toro, as well as Miss America and the Whizzer. Other members supposedly joined later, and may have been counted from among other known Golden Age heroes such as Blazing Skull, Silver Scorpion, the original Vision, the Golem, and even Torch, Cap and Subby's female sidekicks Sun Girl, Golden Girl I and Namora, but this is mere speculation for now and will be left up to the future writers of All-Winners Squad tales. Also, while it not likely that the quartet of heroes individually called the Crimson Commando, Stonewall, Yankie Clipper and Super Sabre were members of either the Invaders or the All-Winners Squad, they may have served as "second stringers" and been loosely counted as members of the greater body of the Liberty Legion.
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