Ironwolf is a fictional character which appeared in the last three issues of '' Weird Worlds'', a comics anthology series published by American company

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...

from 1972 to 1974. Ironwolf was created by

Howard Chaykin Howard Victor Chaykin (; born October 7, 1950) is an American comic book artist and writer. Chaykin's influences include his one-time employer and mentor, Gil Kane, and the mid-20th century illustrators Robert Fawcett and Al Parker. Early life ...

, who plotted and drew the stories.

Denny O'Neil Dennis Joseph O'Neil (May 3, 1939 – June 11, 2020) was an American comic book writer and editor, principally for Marvel Comics and DC Comics from the 1960s through the 1990s, and Group Editor for the Batman family of titles until his retir ...

scripted and

Walt Simonson Walter Simonson (born September 2, 1946) is an American comic book writer and artist, best known for a run on Marvel Comics' ''Thor'' from 1983 to 1987, during which he created the character Beta Ray Bill. He is also known for the creator-owned w ...

was the letterer. Ironwolf has no super powers, but he is an extraordinary

hand-to-hand combat Hand-to-hand combat (sometimes abbreviated as HTH or H2H) is a physical confrontation between two or more persons at short range (grappling distance or within the physical reach of a handheld weapon) that does not involve the use of weapons.Huns ...

fighter. He is a master swordsman and highly skilled with the guns of his era. He sometimes uses antique 20th Century weapons like a

.357 Magnum The .357 Smith & Wesson Magnum, .357 S&W Magnum, .357 Magnum, or 9×33mmR as it is known in unofficial metric designation, is a smokeless powder cartridge with a bullet diameter. It was created by Elmer Keith, Phillip B. Sharpe, and Douglas B. ...

. Ironwolf was heavily influenced by the works of

Edgar Rice Burroughs Edgar Rice Burroughs (September 1, 1875 – March 19, 1950) was an American author, best known for his prolific output in the adventure, science fiction, and fantasy genres. Best-known for creating the characters Tarzan and John Carter, he ...

Robin Hood Robin Hood is a legendary heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature and film. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions of the legend, he is depic ...

, and the 1948 film

The Three Musketeers ''The Three Musketeers'' (french: Les Trois Mousquetaires, links=no, ) is a French historical adventure novel written in 1844 by French author Alexandre Dumas. It is in the swashbuckler genre, which has heroic, chivalrous swordsmen who fight f ...

Fictional character history

Lord Ironwolf was the finest officer from Earth-based interstellar Empire Galaktika in the 61st century. On his homeworld of Illium, he owned millions of trees with "anti-gravity wood" from which starships, such as his own, were constructed. He renounced his privileged position, he was a former Imperial Officer of the Court, in opposition to Empress Erika Klein-Hernandez's policies and cruelties. Hernandez asked Ironwolf to allow her new alien allies to make use of the trees. Fearing the aliens would then build their own fleet of starships, with which to attack the empire, Ironwolf flatly refused and smacked her across the face. As a result of his act of treason, he became a hunted outlaw and proceeded to wage a one-ship campaign of intergalactic rebellion against the Empress and her cohorts.

Later versions

The ''Weird Worlds'' stories were reprinted in an ''Ironwolf'' one-shot in March 1987. Chaykin returned to the Ironwolf character in 1992, co-writing ''Ironwolf: Fires of the Revolution'' with frequent collaborator John Francis Moore. This graphic novel was penciled by

Mike Mignola Mike Mignola (; born September 16, 1960) is an American comics artist and writer best known for creating ''Hellboy'' for Dark Horse Comics, part of a shared universe of titles including ''B.P.R.D.'', '' Abe Sapien'', '' Lobster Johnson'', '' Wit ...

and inked by

P. Craig Russell Philip Craig Russell (born October 30, 1951) is an American comics artist, writer, and illustrator. His work has won multiple Harvey and Eisner Awards. Russell was the first mainstream comic book creator to come out as openly gay. Biography ...

.''Ironwolf: Fires of the Revolution''
at the Grand Comics Database Some of the events of the ''Weird World'' stories are recapitulated here but it also brings the story to something of a close.

References

{{Authority control Characters created by Howard Chaykin Comics characters introduced in 1972 DC Comics male characters DC Comics titles