World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
unit appearing in
American comic book
An American comic book is a thin periodical originating in the United States, on average 32 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publication of ''Action Comics'' ...
s published by
Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...
. Created by Gary Friedrich and Dick Ayers, they were a specially trained tactical commando squad. "
Leatherneck
Leatherneck is a military slang term in the USA for a member of the United States Marine Corps. It is generally believed to originate in the wearing of a "leather stock" that went around the neck. Its original purpose was to protect the neck fro ...
" is a military slang term for a member of the
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...
, the
Marine Raiders
The Marine Raiders are special operations forces originally established by the United States Marine Corps during World War II to conduct amphibious light infantry warfare. " Edson's" Raiders of 1st Marine Raider Battalion and " Carlson's" Ra ...
were a special World War II unit. The character
Captain Savage
''Captain Savage and his Leatherneck Raiders'' is a World War II comic book published by Marvel Comics. The series lasted for nineteen issues, from January 1968 to March 1970. By issue #9 the name was switched to ''Captain Savage and his Battlefie ...
is unrelated to the 1939
Fox Feature Syndicate
Fox Feature Syndicate (also known as Fox Comics, Fox Publications, and Bruns Publications, Inc.) was a comic book publisher from early in the period known to fans and historians as the Golden Age of Comic Books. Founded by entrepreneur Victor S. ...
character of that name.
Publication history
Captain Savage's first appearance in Marvel Comics was in ''Sgt. Fury'' #10 "On to Okinawa" as the submarine captain that aids Fury and his team. The Leatherneck Raiders starred in their own Marvel Comics series, '' Captain Savage and his Leatherneck Raiders'', which ran 19 issues from Jan. 1968 – Mar. 1970. The title of the comic changed to ''Captain Savage and his Battlefield Raiders'' with issue #9 with Savage shaving off his beard.
Savage regrew his beard in the last issue #19, a proposal to have a ''Captain Savage of the Silent Service'' with Savage as a submarine commander was not taken up.
Fictional team history
The Leathernecks were commanded by U.S. Navy submarine Captain Simon Savage, who modeled his squad after his one-time associate
Nick Fury
Colonel Nicholas Joseph "Nick" Fury Sr. is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer/artist Jack Kirby and writer Stan Lee, he first appeared in ''Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos ...
's Howling Commandos. Savage had appeared in several of the Howling Commando issues as the commander of the USS Sea Wolf, a submarine taking them on missions.
Although the Leatherneck Raiders (also known as the "Leathernecks" and the "Battlefield Raiders") were an effective fighting force in World War II, they never achieved the recognition that the Howling Commandos received.
In the premiere issue, the Raiders fought on
Tarawa
Tarawa is an atoll and the capital of the Republic of Kiribati,Kiribati ''
Baron Strucker and
HYDRA
Hydra generally refers to:
* Lernaean Hydra, a many-headed serpent in Greek mythology
* ''Hydra'' (genus), a genus of simple freshwater animals belonging to the phylum Cnidaria
Hydra or The Hydra may also refer to:
Astronomy
* Hydra (constel ...
on a Pacific Island.
Savage, now shown in a Marine Corps uniform bearing both Captain's bars and what appear to be First Sergeant stripes, appeared in ''Fall of the Hulks: Gamma'' at the funeral of General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross. He mentions that he was once a "lowly 'captain'", even though that Naval rank is much higher than either of the contradictory ranks shown on his uniform.
Team members
Aside from Captain Savage, the team consisted of:
* Private Lee Baker (who was killed in action)
* Corporal Jacques Larocque
* Private Jay Little Bear
* Seaman Roy "Blarney" Stone
* Sgt. Sam "Yakkety" Yates
Australian character Rolfe Harrison appeared in a couple issues with the Raiders but never joined their ranks.
Don Markstein's Toonopedia
Don Markstein's Toonopedia (subtitled A Vast Repository of Toonological Knowledge) is an online encyclopedia of print cartoons, comic strips and animation, initiated February 13, 2001. Donald D. Markstein, the sole writer and editor of Toonopedi ...