The Howling Commandos is the name of several

fiction Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying individuals, events, or places that are imaginary, or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent with history, fact, or plausibility. In a tradi ...

al groups 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 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 Comics'' in ...

Fictional team history

World War II

The first group of Howling Commandos (introduced in their own 1963 comic book series) was an elite unit of the

United States Army Rangers United States Army Rangers, according to the US Army's definition, are personnel, past or present, in any unit that has the official designation "Ranger". The term is commonly used to include graduates of the US Army Ranger School, even if t ...

formed in

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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. The original team consisted of: *

Sergeant Sergeant ( abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other ...

Nicholas Joseph "Nick" Fury *

Corporal Corporal is a military rank in use in some form by many militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. The word is derived from the medieval Italian phrase ("head of a body"). The rank is usually the lowest ranking non- ...

Timothy Aloysius Cadwallader "Dum Dum" Dugan *

Private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

Isadore "Izzy" Cohen * Private Gabriel Jones * Private Dino Manelli * Private Robert "Rebel" Ralston * Private Jonathan "Junior" Juniper * Private Percival "Pinky" Pinkerton: A

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

soldier, in issue #8. * Private

Eric Koenig Eric Koenig is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He first appeared in '' Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos'' #27 (February 1966) and he was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Dick Ayers. He is ...

: A defector from

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

. He joined the squad in issue #27. * Private Jim Morita * Private Jacques "Frenchie" Dernier Occasional other members would join for an issue or two before being killed, transferred, or otherwise leaving (such as Fred Jones in issue #81). Also daringly for the time, the series killed Fury's girlfriend, British

nurse Nursing is a profession within the health care sector focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life. Nurses may be differentiated from other health ...

Pamela Hawley, introduced in issue #4 and killed in a

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

air raid in #18.

Nick Fury's Howling Commandos

A second Howling Commandos team was introduced in the 2005 series '' Nick Fury's Howling Commandos'' as a supernatural unit that works for

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 ...

Its members were: *

Clay Quartermain Clay Quartermain is a fictional character, a secret agent appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Publication history Created by writer-artist Jim Steranko, he first appeared in '' Strange Tales'' #163 (December 1967). Cla ...

: The commanding officer of Area 13. He takes over in the first issue from

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 ...

. * Warwolf (real name Vince Marcus): The field leader. He is a

werewolf In folklore, a werewolf (), or occasionally lycanthrope (; ; uk, Вовкулака, Vovkulaka), is an individual that can shapeshift into a wolf (or, especially in modern film, a therianthropic hybrid wolf-like creature), either purposely ...

who can transform voluntarily whenever

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Roman god of war. Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin at ...

is in the night sky. * Nina Price, Vampire by Night: A woman who is half-

vampire A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the Vitalism, vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead, undead creatures that often visited loved ones and caused mi ...

and half-werewolf. * N'Kantu, the Living Mummy: A previously existing character. N'Kantu is an undead prince of Ancient Egypt. *

Frankenstein ''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' is an 1818 novel written by English author Mary Shelley. ''Frankenstein'' tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a sapient creature in an unorthodox scientific ...

: An intelligent clone of the original

Frankenstein's Monster Frankenstein's monster or Frankenstein's creature, often referred to as simply "Frankenstein", is a fictional character who first appeared in Mary Shelley's 1818 novel '' Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus''. Shelley's title thus compar ...

. How this process did not produce different clones of the various individual body parts making up the original Monster was briefly mentioned in issue #1. The response was "Don't go there". *

Gorilla-Man Gorilla-Man is an alias used by three different fictional superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, beginning in 1954 with the character of Kenneth Hale, and continuing with Arthur Nagan, who also appeared in 1954 and ...

I: A previously existing character. Kenneth Hale is a man trapped in a

gorilla Gorillas are herbivorous, predominantly ground-dwelling great apes that inhabit the tropical forests of equatorial Africa. The genus ''Gorilla'' is divided into two species: the eastern gorilla and the western gorilla, and either four ...

's body. He is now a member of the

Agents of Atlas The Agents of Atlas are a fictional character, fictional superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The first lineup was composed of characters originally appearing in unrelated stories published in the 1950s by M ...

. *

John Doe John Doe (male) and Jane Doe (female) are multiple-use placeholder names that are used when the true name of a person is unknown or is being intentionally concealed. In the context of law enforcement in the United States, such names are ofte ...

: A

zombie A zombie ( Haitian French: , ht, zonbi) is a mythological undead corporeal revenant created through the reanimation of a corpse. Zombies are most commonly found in horror and fantasy genre works. The term comes from Haitian folklore, in w ...

depicted as having normal human-level intelligence, in contrast to other zombie characters in the Marvel universe.

Secret Invasion

A third group of "Commandos" are introduced in ''

Mighty Avengers ''The Mighty Avengers'' is a comic book series that was published by Marvel Comics. Originally written by Brian Michael Bendis, also the writer of '' New Avengers'', the title first featured an officially sanctioned Avengers team of registered s ...

'' #13. After discovering the Skrull invasion, Nick Fury assembles a team made up of the offspring of various superheroes and supervillains. This team members are: * Quake: Former

member and daughter of Mister Hyde. She possesses the power to create earthquake like vibrations. * Phobos: The ten-year-old son of

Ares Ares (; grc, Ἄρης, ''Árēs'' ) is the Greek god of war and courage. He is one of the Twelve Olympians, and the son of Zeus and Hera. The Greeks were ambivalent towards him. He embodies the physical valor necessary for success in war ...

. He possesses the power to cause fear in others by looking in their eyes. * Druid: The son of

Doctor Druid Doctor Anthony Druid, also known as Doctor Droom and Druid, is a fictional mystic and a supernatural monster-hunter appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Co-created by writer-editor Stan Lee and penciller Jack Kirby, ...

who has inherited some of his father's skill with magic. *

Yo-Yo A yo-yo (also spelled yoyo) is a toy consisting of an axle connected to two disks, and a string looped around the axle, similar to a spool. It is an ancient toy with proof of existence since 500 BCE. The yo-yo was also called a bandalore in ...

: The daughter of the Griffin. She can run at superhuman speed and bounces back to the point where she began running. * Hellfire: The grandson of the Phantom Rider. He is able to charge a chain with fire to wield as a weapon. * Stonewall: Son of the

Absorbing Man Absorbing Man (Carl "Crusher" Creel) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He first appeared in ''Journey into Mystery'' #114, cover dated March 1965, created by writer Stan Lee and writer/artist Ja ...

. Daisy Johnson bails him out of jail after he is imprisoned for hitting a cop. Possesses superhuman strength. Very little so far has been revealed about the character.

''Dark Reign''

In ''Secret Warriors'' #4 and #5 as seen during the '' Dark Reign'' storyline, it is revealed that 1200

agents refused to join

H.A.M.M.E.R. H.A.M.M.E.R. is a fictional espionage and law enforcement agency appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The organisation is led by Norman Osborn and was formed in ''Secret Invasion'' #8 to replace S.H.I.E.L.D. The organisat ...

following

Norman Osborn Norman Osborn is a fictional character, fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character, created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, first appeared in ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #14 (July ...

's rise to power. Under the leadership of Dum Dum Dugan and Gabe Jones, they became a

private military company A private military company (PMC) or private military and security company (PMSC) is a private company providing armed combat or security services for financial gain. PMCs refer to their personnel as "security contractors" or "private military ...

which is hired by Nick Fury to fight against both HYDRA and H.A.M.M.E.R.

Black Ops version

A new incarnation of the Howling Commandos is ordered to apprehend the

Punisher The Punisher (Francis "Frank" Castle, born Castiglione) is an antihero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Gerry Conway and artists John Romita Sr. and Ross Andru. The Punisher made ...

after he relocates to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

. The

black ops A black operation or black op is a covert or clandestine operation by a government agency, a military unit or a paramilitary organization; it can include activities by private companies or groups. Key features of a black operation are that it i ...

version is led by Sidewinder and its members include Ruby Red, Myers, and Buzzkill.

Phil Coulson's Howling Commandos

Phil Coulson later formed his version of the Howling Commandos to combat

Dormammu Dormammu () is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in ''Strange Tales'' #126 (Nov. 1964), and was created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. Debuting in the Silver Age of Comi ...

's Mindless Plague. The team consisted of: *

Man-Thing The Man-Thing (Dr. Theodore "Ted" Sallis) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writers Stan Lee, Roy Thomas, and Gerry Conway and artist Gray Morrow, the character first appeared in ''S ...

* N'Kantu, the Living Mummy *

Zombie A zombie ( Haitian French: , ht, zonbi) is a mythological undead corporeal revenant created through the reanimation of a corpse. Zombies are most commonly found in horror and fantasy genre works. The term comes from Haitian folklore, in w ...

Howling Commandos of S.H.I.E.L.D

A new team of Howling Commandos under the command of S.T.A.K.E. were part of the

All-New All-Different Marvel All-New, All-Different Marvel (ANADM) is a 2015–2019 branding for Marvel Comics' entire main line of comics. Taking place after the crossover storyline " Secret Wars", it details the new Marvel Universe, with nearly 60–65 titles relaunched w ...

led by the rebuilt LMD of

and under the supervision of Warwolf. It consists of: *

Jasper Sitwell Jasper Sitwell is a fictional character, an espionage agent appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was portrayed by Maximiliano Hernández in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Publication history Created by writ ...

(zombie form) *

Vampire by Night The Vampire by Night (Nina Price) is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. She is the niece to Jack Russell and has the ability to shapeshift into either a werewolf or a vampiress between dusk and dawn. Pu ...

* Manphibian *

Orrgo Orrgo is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Publication history Orrgo first appeared in ''Strange Tales'' #90 and was created by Jack Kirby. As part of the ''All-New, All-Different Marvel'', Orr ...

Teen Abomination Teen Abomination is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is a teenage counterpart of the Abomination and the son of Happy Hogan. Publication history Teen Abomination first appeared in ''Superio ...

Hit-Monkey Hit-Monkey is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Publication history Created by writer Daniel Way and artist Dalibor Talajić, Hit-Monkey first appeared in ''Hit-Monkey'' #1 (April 2010), a digit ...

Other versions

MAX

In Garth Ennis' ''Fury'' and ''Fury: Peacemaker'', the Howling Commandos were an OSS special operations unit created by Fury and modeled after the SAS. Most of the unit's lineup were wiped out following D-Day, and only Fury and two other members survived (one of whom is most likely Dum-Dum Dugan, who appears in ''Fury MAX'').

Ultimate Marvel

In the Ultimate universe, Howling Commandos were a US Army Ranger unit, escorting an imprisoned

Wolverine The wolverine (), (''Gulo gulo''; ''Gulo'' is Latin for " glutton"), also referred to as the glutton, carcajou, or quickhatch (from East Cree, ''kwiihkwahaacheew''), is the largest land-dwelling species of the family Mustelidae. It is a musc ...

during the Gulf War. The convoy was attacked by the Iraqi Republican Guard, killing all but Fury. Dum-Dum Dugan appears in the present day, hinting that he was elsewhere at the time. During the ''

Ultimate X-Men ''Ultimate X-Men'' is a superhero comic book series, which was published by Marvel Comics, from 2001 to 2009. The series is a modernized re-imagining of Marvel's long-running X-Men comic book franchise as part of the Ultimate Marvel imprint. The U ...

'' comic, Nick Fury dispatches a special S.H.I.E.L.D. unit to protect the Triskelion from elements of the Academy of Tomorrow, who came to break out one of their own. A new version of the Howling Commandos appeared in '' Ultimate Comics: Ultimates'' #20; S.H.I.E.L.D. Director

Monica Chang Monica Chang-Fury is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. While originating in the Ultimate Marvel universe in 2009, the Earth-616 version later debuted in 2013. Fictional character biography Moni ...

grants Nick Fury and ex- HYDRA soldier

Abigail Brand Special Agent Abigail Brand is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Joss Whedon and artist John Cassaday, she first appeared in '' Astonishing X-Men'' vol. 3 #3 (Sept. 2004). She is ...

to take on the growing power of Hydra.''Ultimate Comics: Ultimates'' #20 The full team finally makes its debut during the Dark Ultimates' attack on Earth. Besides Nick Fury, Monica Chang and

, the roster consists of

Falcon Falcons () are birds of prey in the genus ''Falco'', which includes about 40 species. Falcons are widely distributed on all continents of the world except Antarctica, though closely related raptors did occur there in the Eocene. Adult falcons ...

, Stature,

, Danny "The Ghost" Ketch, Emil "The Abomination" Blonsky, and

Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the ...

Mrs. Deadpool and the Howling Commandos

During the ''

Secret Wars ''Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars'', commonly known as ''Secret Wars'' for short, is a twelve-issue American comic book crossover limited series published from May 1984 to April 1985 by Marvel Comics. The series was written by Jim Shooter, with ...

'' storyline, a variation of the Howling Commandos resides in the

Battleworld Battleworld is a fictional patchwork planet appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Publication history The first Battleworld debuted in the ''Secret Wars'' crossover where it was created by Jim Shooter and Mike Zeck. The ...

domain of Monster Metropolis which is located beneath the Kingdom of Manhattan. It consists of Frankenstein's Monster, Invisible Man, Man-Thing, Marcus the Centaur, N'Kantu the Living Mummy, and Werewolf by Night.

In other media

Television

* The WWII Howling Commandos make a cameo appearance in the ''

X-Men The X-Men are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, first appearing in Uncanny X-Men, ''The X-Men'' #1 by artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby and writer/editor Stan Lee in 1963. Although initially cancelled in ...

'' episode "Old Soldiers". * The WWII Howling Commandos appear in '' The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes''. * Nick Fury's Howling Commandos appear in the ''

Ultimate Spider-Man ''Ultimate Spider-Man'' is a superhero comic book series that was published by Marvel Comics from 2000 to 2011. The series is a modernized re-imagining of Marvel's long-running Spider-Man comic book franchise as part of the company's Ultimate ...

'' two-part episode "Blade and the Howling Commandos". * Nick Fury's Howling Commandos appear in ''

Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H. ''Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H.'' is an American animated television series based on the superhero character by Marvel Comics. The series premiered on August 11, 2013, on Disney XD as part of the ''Marvel Universe'' block, and ended on June 2 ...

''.

Marvel Cinematic Universe

The WWII Howling Commandos appear in media set in the

Marvel Cinematic Universe The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appear in American comic books published ...

. Following their first appearance in the live-action film '' Captain America: The First Avenger'', they make subsequent appearances in the live-action television series ''

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. ''Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'' is an American television series created by Joss Whedon, Jed Whedon, and Maurissa Tancharoen for ABC, based on the Marvel Comics organization S.H.I.E.L.D. (Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, an ...

'' episode "

Shadows A shadow is a dark area where light from a light source is blocked by an opaque object. It occupies all of the three-dimensional volume behind an object with light in front of it. The cross section of a shadow is a two-dimensional silhouette, ...

" and the '' Agent Carter'' episode "

The Iron Ceiling "The Iron Ceiling" is the fifth episode of the first season of the American television series '' Agent Carter'', inspired by the films '' Captain America: The First Avenger'' and '' Captain America: The Winter Soldier'', and the Marvel One-Shot s ...

". Additionally, alternate timeline versions of the Howling Commandos appear in the

Disney+ Disney+ is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned and operated by the Media and Entertainment Distribution division of The Walt Disney Company. The service primarily distributes films and television se ...

animated series '' What If...?'' episode " What If... Captain Carter Were the First Avenger?".

References

{{Jack Kirby Articles about multiple fictional characters