Tagged: obscure superheroes

Comic Cover of the Week: Marvel’s Strange Tales of Vintage Voodoo!

Hey I’m probably the only one here who was a fan of one of Marvel Comic’s weirdest heroes: Brother Voodoo! I’m not quite sure if this hero is even a thing today, I’m sure he’s considered a racial stereotype, but I’ve always viewed him as the black Doctor Strange & always thought he was a great offbeat character more centered in the Marvel’s horror stories. More likely to be seen with Man-Thing than say Captain America, so I’ve always seen a lot of potential for him to be a break out star, especially now when the internet is so focused on identity and race. They could bypass The whole alias of Brother Voodoo as he’s got a pretty great real name, Jericho Drumm.

Here’s a cool vintage Brother Voodoo cover, the first one is a more modern makeover from Bruce Timm and the second is the original. If I was still a fan of the current Marvel stuff or the MCU (which I gave up on totally) I’d say he’s got true potential in 2024!! OG cover from John Romita way back from 1973!

July 4th With Four Bizarre Patriotic Superheroes Who aren’t Captain America!

Hey happy damn 4th of July America! So today it’s just all about the USA right? You bet! Well let’s take a quick break from all of the red, white & blue festivities to pay some tribute to four lesser known superheroes who are NOT Captain America that also have an unhealthy but awesomely bizarre obsession with the United States! There’s just nothing quite like a patriotic weirdo superhero on the 4th!

The Spirit of 76



Yeah this guy is indeed a weirdo, I mean look at his utterly ridiculous costume he came up with and thought would scare the bejeezus out of all of the nasty supervillains who come to threaten the good ol’ USA! William Naslund came on the Marvel Comics scene back in 1977 and for a very brief period even assumed the mantle of Captain America! WOW. He has no superhuman powers but did manage to fashion himself a bulletproof cape!



Uncle Sam


Ok so if you thought Spirit of 76 had a dumb look, well DC Comic’s Uncle Sam has taken the patriotic thing to the god damn extreme! This guy would put fear into the hearts of evil doers just by the possibility of how crazy he’d have to be to don a costume that ridiculously yet awesomely pathetic! He first appeared WAY back in Quality Comics in 1940 and then was brought into the DC universe officially in 1973. Get this, Uncle Sam is described as a spiritual entity created through an occult ritual by the Founding Fathers. Damn, no wonder why he’s so freaky. Sam’s got super strength, invulnerability, the ability to alter his size, enhanced speed, along with some degree of clairvoyance. He also can teleport to a pocket dimension called ‘The Heartland’. Whatta guy huh?



American Eagle


Well here’s a dude who I can finally get behind. American Eagle is a total badass and deserves more love in Marvel Comics. Born as Jason Strongbow, a name he should have just used instead of American Eagle IMO, he first appeared in a team up with The Thing back in 1981. A member of the Navajo Nation, American Eagle possesses superhuman strength, enabling him to bench press approximately 15 tons! He also possesses superhuman speed, agility, stamina, and sturdiness as a result of radiation-induced mutation. He later got a less cultural looking costume:

He’s featured, along with our next hero in one of my favorite modern Marvel Comics stories featured in Thunderbolts #112-115 from 2007 that is a MUST read!



Jack Flag



Here’s another guy who just could never quite get the recognition of his idol Captain America. He even settled for a second rate moniker to fight crime. Yet Jack Flag is still a pretty cool guy, even if he’s obsessed a bit too much with his country. First appearing on the scene on 1994 as part of Captain America’s computer hotline network, Flag has proven himself to be an interesting character, who was inspired by his hero Captain America to become one himself. In that same Thunderbolts run I mentioned above, where Jack Flag like The American Eagle both stand up for their Constitutional rights against the United States government during the superhuman registration act!  As you can see in the picture he has been noted to go the full distance dying his hair red white and blue!


The Most IRISH Superhero EVER: Marvel’s D-Lister ‘Shamrock’!!

Happy Saint Patty’s Day! I’m not Irish for the record, nor really care much for this holiday but it’s brought back a memory today of a weird ass D-list Marvel superhero who certainly deserves some attention, especially today, back in 1982 I bought one of my favorite comic books as a kid ‘Contest of the Champions’! Back in those days these comic books were better than any toy you could buy me, I’d carry my comics around with me everywhere, I just couldn’t get enuff! Anyway this iconic series pitted Marvel superheroes against each other in a contest organized by elder of the universe ‘The Grandmaster’ and his nemesis ‘Death’. There were some of Marvel’s most popular superheroes gathered to compete and a shitload of new D-lister characters introduced in the series. I reaaaally love Marvel’s D-list superheroes, they never get any respect but when they show up I’m always pretty damn intrigued by them regardless. Well as it’s St Patrick’s Day I just had to showcase one of them that always stood out, the ever so proud of her heritage, “SHAMROCK”!


Yeah, Contest of the Champions #1 was her first appearance and what a debut! Shamrock is pitted against Captain America and guess what? She actually beats him! Molly Fitzgerald Aka “Shamrock” mysteriously obtained mystical powers that enable her to become a vessel for souls of those who’ve died as innocent victims of war. When she gets into a bind, a one of these souls will manifest itself physically for a moment as a burst of powerful energy that causes improbable incidents to occur for her benefit.

When her superhuman good luck power manifests it allows events to fall heavily in Shamrock’s favor. So even tho she’s a D-lister she’s actually kind of a bad ass. Her father was member of the terrorist organization the IRA and at one point teamed he up with Arnim Zola to try and ruthlessly duplicate her powers. Later she retired from the crime fighting biz become a school teacher, then went to open a hair salon and then bar in NYC. She however got the itch again to kick bad guy butt and later joined SHEILD as a secret agent. 

Shamrock is a true green Irish superhero, she made appearances in The Hulk, ROM, Alpha Flight, Guardians of the Galaxy, Excalibur and even had her own little story in Marvel Comic Presents #24 in 1989. In 2010 she appeared in Marvel’s ‘Girl Comics’ #2 where she’s contemplating getting back in shape and putting on the old costume again to fight crime. So there you go, Shamrock’s the ultimate super hero for the holiday!! No go grab some green beer and get a’ readin’!!  

The full scoop on SHAMROCK!!