General Samuel "Happy Sam" Sawyer is a

fictional character In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, play, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life person, ...

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 ...

. His first appearance was in ''

Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos ''Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos'' was a comic book series created by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee and published by Marvel Comics from 1963 to 1981. The main character, Sgt. Nick Fury, later became the leader of Marvel's super-spy agency, S.H.I.E. ...

'' #1.

Publication history

Sawyer first appeared in ''

Sgt. Fury and the Howling Commandos ''Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos'' was a comic book series created by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee and published by Marvel Comics from 1963 to 1981. The main character, Sgt. Nick Fury, later became the leader of Marvel's super-spy agency, S.H.I.E. ...

'' #1, and was created by

Stan Lee Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Publications which ...

and

Jack Kirby Jack Kirby (born Jacob Kurtzberg; August 28, 1917 – February 6, 1994) was an American comic book artist, writer and editor, widely regarded as one of the medium's major innovators and one of its most prolific and influential creators. He gr ...

Fictional character biography

Happy Sam Sawyer was assigned to the

British Commandos The Commandos, also known as the British Commandos, were formed during the Second World War in June 1940, following a request from Winston Churchill, for special forces that could carry out raids against German-occupied Europe. Initially drawn ...

by the U.S. Army. He was trained in parachuting in Britain in 1940 by Finley's FlyingCircus, which comprised daredevil parachutist

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 ...

and pilot Red Hargrove,s where they nicknamed him Happy Sa,m ironically, because of his deadly serious and consistently stony demeanor. In 1942, Sawyer, who had been wounded in North Africa and was deemed unfit for combat missions, organised and led the

Howling Commandos The Howling Commandos is the name of several fictional groups appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Fictional team history World War II The first group of Howling Commandos (introduced in their own 1963 comic book se ...

, Bull McGiveney's Maulers,

Jim Morita ''Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos'' was a comic book series created by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee and published by Marvel Comics from 1963 to 1981. The main character, Sgt. Nick Fury, later became the leader of Marvel's super-spy agency, S.H.I ...

's Nisei Squad, and Sgt Bob Jenkin's The Missouri Marauders, as well as the Deadly Dozen. When artist

John Severin John Powers Severin (; December 26, 1921 – February 12, 2012) was an American comics artist noted for his distinctive work with EC Comics, primarily on the war comics ''Two-Fisted Tales'' and ''Frontline Combat''; for Marvel Comics, esp ...

joined ''Sgt Fury and his Howling Commandos'' with issue #44, Severin drew Sawyer as being much older and balder than his original depiction as a young man. In a Sgt Fury annual set in the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

, Sawyer was a Colonel, in another annual set in the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

, Sawyer was a full general. In modern times,

Baron Strucker Baron Wolfgang von Strucker () is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. A former Nazi officer, he is one of the leaders of the Hydra terrorist organization and an enemy of S.H.I.E.L.D., the Avengers, and the ...

created an LMD of Sawyer that attacked the original Howling Commandos as well as

Captain America Captain America is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by cartoonists Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, the character First appearance, first appeared in ''#Golden Age, Captain America Comics'' #1 (cover ...

. Sawyer would sacrifice himself when the LMD detonated itself while trying to gain missile navigation override codes. In the wake of his death, a

S.H.I.E.L.D. S.H.I.E.L.D. is a fictional espionage, special law enforcement, and counter-terrorism agency appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in ''Strange Tales'' #135 (August 1965), it often deals ...

assault

Helicarrier The Helicarrier is a fictional flying aircraft carrier appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. It is depicted as the crucial mobile command center, forward operations platform, and signature capital ship of the fictional int ...

has been named in his honor in the mini-series ''Iron Man: Hypervelocity''. There is also a Samuel J. Sawyer Memorial Veterans Hospital.

In other media

Happy Sam Sawyer appears in the animated series, '' X-Me: Episode''e "Old Soldiers," voiced by Lorne Kennedy. Corporal "Happy Sam" Sawyer appears in the tv series '' Agent Carter'' episode " The Iron Ceiling", portrayed by

Leonard Roberts Leonard Roberts (born November 17, 1972) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Sean Taylor in ''Drumline'' and for playing Forrest Gates in the fourth season of ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' and D. L. Hawkins in a recurring role ...

. This version is African American. Corporal Sawyer is among the soldiers that assist Peggy Carter, Jack Thompson, and

Dum Dum Dugan Timothy Aloysius Cadwallader "Dum Dum" Dugan is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is an officer of S.H.I.E.L.D. and is one of the most experienced members of Nick Fury's team, known for his mark ...

in raiding a Russian military complex that was going to sell stolen weapons to

Leviathan Leviathan (; he, לִוְיָתָן, ) is a sea serpent noted in theology and mythology. It is referenced in several books of the Hebrew Bible, including Psalms, the Book of Job, the Book of Isaiah, the Book of Amos, and, according to some ...

References

External links

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Happy Sam Sawyer
at ComicVine {{DEFAULTSORT:Sawyer Comics characters introduced in 1963 Characters created by Stan Lee Characters created by Jack Kirby Fictional British Commandos Fictional circus performers Fictional United States Army personnel Fictional World War II veterans Howling Commandos Marvel Comics superheroes