The Freedom Fighters is a

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a fictional character who typically possesses ''superpowers'' or abilities beyond those of ordinary people, is frequently costumed concealing their identity, and fits the role of the hero, typically using their ...

team appearing in

American comic books An American comic book is a thin periodical literature originating in the United States, commonly between 24 and 64 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publ ...

published by

DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...

. The original six characters were the

Black Condor Black Condor is the superhero name used by three different fictional characters in the DC Comics universe. All three incarnations of Black Condor have been members of the Freedom Fighters and each has been featured in Freedom Fighters comic book ...

Doll Man Doll Man is a superhero first appearing in American comic books from the Golden Age of Comics, originally published by Quality Comics and currently part of the DC Comics universe of characters. Doll Man was created by cartoonist Will Eisner and ...

, the

Human Bomb The Human Bomb is a fictional superhero published by DC Comics. He first appeared in ''Police Comics'' #1 (August 1941), and was created by writer and artist Paul Gustavson. Publication history The Human Bomb was first published by Quality Comics ...

, the

Ray Ray or RAY may refer to: Fish * Ray (fish), any cartilaginous fish of the superorder Batoidea * Ray (fish fin anatomy), the bony or horny spine on ray-finned fish Science and mathematics * Half-line (geometry) or ray, half of a line split at an ...

, the

Phantom Lady Phantom Lady is a fictional superheroine appearing in media published by Quality Comics and DC Comics. She was created by the Eisner & Iger studio, one of the first to produce comics on demand for publishers. The character's early adventures we ...

, and

Uncle Sam Uncle Sam (with the same initials as ''United States'') is a common national personification of the United States, depicting the federal government of the United States, federal government or the country as a whole. Since the early 19th centu ...

. Although the characters were created by

Quality Comics Quality Comics was an American comic book publishing Publishing is the activities of making information, literature, music, software, and other content, physical or digital, available to the public for sale or free of charge. Traditionally, ...

, they never were gathered in a group before being acquired by DC. The team first appeared in a

Justice League of America The Justice League, or Justice League of America (JLA), is a group of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team first appeared in '' The Brave and the Bold'' #28 (March 1960). Writer Gardner Fox conceived t ...

Justice Society of America The Justice Society of America (JSA) is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. It was conceived by editor Sheldon Mayer and writer Gardner Fox during the Golden Age of Comic Books. It first appeared in '' ...

team-up, which ran in ''Justice League of America'' #107–108 (October–December 1973), written by

Len Wein Leonard Norman Wein (; June 12, 1948 – September 10, 2017) was an American comic book writer and editor best known for co-creating DC Comics' Swamp Thing and Marvel Comics' Wolverine (character), Wolverine, and for helping revive the Marvel sup ...

and drawn by

Dick Dillin Richard Allen Dillin (December 17, 1928 – March 1, 1980)Richard Dillin
at the United States Social Securi ...

. Their own ongoing series premiered with ''Freedom Fighters'' #1 (April 1976), written by

Gerry Conway Gerard Francis Conway Thomas, Roy. "Roy's Rostrum" (" Bullpen Bulletins") in '' Marvel Super-Heroes'' #43 and other Marvel Comics cover-dated May 1974. (born September 10, 1952) is an American comic book writer, comic book editor, science ficti ...

and

Martin Pasko Martin Joseph "Marty" Pasko (born Jean-Claude Rochefort; August 4, 1954– May 10, 2020) was a Canadian comic book writer and television screenwriter. Pasko worked for many comics publishers, but is best known for his superhero stories for DC Com ...

, and drawn by

Ric Estrada Ric Estrada (February 26, 1928 – May 1, 2009) was a Cuban Americans, Cuban-American comics artist who worked for companies including the major American publisher DC Comics. He also worked in comic strips, political cartoons, advertising, story ...

Fictional team history

Although when the Freedom Fighters appeared for the first time in ''Justice League of America'' #107–108, they were considered natives from Earth-X, retroactive stories established the group as native from Earth-Two, who migrated to Earth-X. The earliest version of the Freedom Fighters was assembled on December 7, 1941. Uncle Sam brought them together, assembling Neon the Unknown, Magno, the Red Torpedo, the

Invisible Hood The Invisible Hood is a fictional superhero in the DC Comics Universe. He was originally owned by Quality Comics, but was later acquired by DC Comics, along with other Quality characters. He first appeared in '' Smash Comics'' #1 (August 1939), ...

, Miss America and the

Hourman Hourman or Hour-Man is the name of three different fictional superheroes appearing in comics published by DC Comics. The original Hourman was created by writer Ken Fitch and artist Bernard Baily in ''Adventure Comics'' #48 (March 1940), during t ...

to prevent a tragedy. However, this group failed in its attempt to stop the devastation at

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Reci ...

. All of them but Uncle Sam and Hourman were originally thought killed, but only

Magno Magno may refer to: * Magno the Magnetic Man, a fictional superhero originally published by Quality Comics * Magno (character), a superhero in the post-Zero Hour future of the DC Comics universe * Rio Magno, a river in Jamaica People * Magno ...

actually died. This version of the group was a

retcon Retroactive continuity, or retcon for short, is a literary device in fictional story telling whereby facts and events established through the narrative itself are adjusted, ignored, supplemented, or contradicted by a subsequently published work ...

and their battle and alleged deaths were depicted in the pages of

Roy Thomas Roy William Thomas Jr."Roy Thomas Checklist" ''Alter Ego'' vol. 3, #50 (July 2005) p. 16 (born November 22, 1940) is an American comic book writer and editor. He was Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics and possibly bes ...

' two books chronicling that era: ''

All-Star Squadron The All-Star Squadron is a DC Comics superhero team that debuted in ''Justice League, Justice League of America'' #193 (August 1981) and was created by Roy Thomas, Rich Buckler and Jerry Ordway. Although the team was introduced in the 1980s, its s ...

'' and the ''

Young All-Stars The Young All-Stars are a team of fictional DC Comics superheroes. They were created by Roy Thomas, Dann Thomas, and Michael Bair, and introduced in ''Young All-Stars'' #1, dated June 1987. The team members Tsunami, Neptune Perkins, and Dan th ...

''. The DC versions of the characters were said to reside on the parallel world of "Earth-X", where

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

eventually won a prolonged

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

due to a

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

invasion of

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

and the development of nuclear weapons by the Nazis. The Freedom Fighters had their own book for 15 issues from 1976 to 1978, in which they crossed over to Earth-1 and were quickly set up by the

Silver Ghost The Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost name refers both to a car model and one specific car from that series. Originally named the " 40/50 h.p." the chassis was first made at Royce's Manchester works, with production moving to Derby in July 1908, a ...

. They spend the rest of the series on the run from the law, unable to clear themselves. The series was cancelled before the storyline concluded; it was intended to be completed in issues #16-18 of ''

Secret Society of Super Villains Secret Society of Super Villains (SSoSV) is a DC Comics title that debuted in May–June 1976. The series presented a group of DC's supervillains, mostly foes of the Justice League, Justice League of America. The series was cancelled with issue #1 ...

'', but that series, too, was cancelled before the story could be published. This series also introduced the

Crusaders The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and at times directed by the Papacy during the Middle Ages. The most prominent of these were the campaigns to the Holy Land aimed at reclaiming Jerusalem and its surrounding ...

and reintroduced Firebrand. In addition to the core members of the "second team" which were the members seen in the 1970s comic book, other Quality heroes joined later: the Red Bee,

Miss America Miss America is an annual competition that is open to women from the United States between the ages of 18 and 28. Originating in 1921 as a "bathing beauty revue", the contest is judged on competition segments with scoring percentages: ''Priva ...

, the Manhunter,

Plastic Man Plastic Man (Patrick "Eel" O'Brian) is a superhero featured in American comic books first appearing in ''Police Comics'' #1, originally published by Quality Comics and later acquired by DC Comics. Created by cartoonist Jack Cole (artist), Jack Co ...

, and Quicksilver. Following the ''

Crisis on Infinite Earths ''Crisis on Infinite Earths'' is a 1985 to 1986 American comic book fictional crossover, crossover series published by DC Comics. Written by Marv Wolfman and penciller, pencilled by George Pérez, it was first released as a 12-issue limited ser ...

'', the Freedom Fighters were based on the main

DC Universe The DC Universe (DCU) is the shared universe in which most stories in American comic book titles published by DC Comics take place. In context, the term "DC Universe" usually refers to the main DC Continuity (fiction), continuity. It contains v ...

Earth and were all members of the All-Star Squadron. Years after the war, a third version of the team surfaced in the 1980s, with the rise of a new age of heroes. The Freedom Fighters, along with the

Blackhawk Black Hawk and Blackhawk may refer to: Animals * Common black hawk, ''Buteogallus anthracinus'' * Cuban black hawk, ''Buteogallus gundlachii'' * Great black hawk, ''Buteogallus urubitinga'' * Mangrove black hawk, ''Buteogallus (anthracinus) s ...

s and

Justice Society In its broadest sense, justice is the idea that individuals should be treated fairly. According to the ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy'', the most plausible candidate for a core definition comes from the ''Institutes'' of Justinian, a ...

, were captured by alien Appellaxians and placed in

internment camp Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without Criminal charge, charges or Indictment, intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects ...

s. They were freed by the new

. The Freedom Fighters regrouped for a brief time, but soon called it quits again when Firebrand was killed in battle with the

. A fourth version of the team appeared as an auxiliary of the new Justice Society of America. The Human Bomb, the Black Condor, and the Phantom Lady were later killed by the

in ''

Infinite Crisis "Infinite Crisis" is a 2005–2006 comic book storyline published by DC Comics, consisting of an eponymous, seven-issue comic book limited series written by Geoff Johns and illustrated by Phil Jimenez, George Pérez, Ivan Reis, and Jerry Ordway, ...

'' #1.

Damage Damage is any change in a thing, often a physical object, that degrades it away from its initial state. It can broadly be defined as "changes introduced into a system that adversely affect its current or future performance".Farrar, C.R., Sohn, H., ...

was critically injured,

Iron Munro Iron Munro (Arn Munro) is a superhero character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Roy Thomas created the character in 1987 for ''Young All-Stars''. He largely served to replace Superman in stories set during World War II af ...

was absent, and the

was captured by the Psycho-Pirate as part of

Alexander Luthor Alexander Luthor Jr. is a fictional character appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. The son of Earth-Three's Lex Luthor, he played a large role in the ''Crisis on Infinite Earths'' and ''Infinite Crisis'' events. Publication history ...

's plans.

''Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters''

A new team of heroes debuted in the limited series ''Crisis Aftermath: The Battle for Blüdhaven'', and later featured as Freedom Fighters members in the miniseries ''Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters'', which premiered in July 2006. This team consists of new incarnations of the Phantom Lady, the Ray (Stan Silver), the Human Bomb, Doll Man, Bigfoot, the Destroyer and the Face. It is part of

S.H.A.D.E. The following is a list of fictional government agency, government agencies, comic book organizations that have been published by DC Comics and their imprints. A Agency The Agency is a fictional organization appearing in American comic books pu ...

, a secret American government agency chartered under the USA PATRIOT Act, led by

Father Time Father Time is a personification of time, in particular the progression of history and the approach of death. In recent centuries, he is usually depicted as an elderly bearded man, sometimes with wings, dressed in a robe and carrying a scythe ...

. The new team conducts assassinations and other illegal acts against criminal and terrorist organizations. As issue #1 of ''Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters'' begins, the team is tasked to capture the revived

, who is in the process of forming his own Freedom Fighters team; Sam subsequently recruits the S.H.A.D.E. members to his cause, openly disapproving of their use of deadly force (although they continue to kill people, even under Uncle Sam's guidance). This version of the team is loosely based on notes by

Grant Morrison Grant Morrison (born 31 January 1960) is a Scottish comic book writer, screenwriter, and producer. Their work is known for its nonlinear narratives, Humanism, humanist philosophy and counterculture, countercultural leanings. Morrison has writt ...

and written by Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray. Uncle Sam is portrayed as an almost Christ-like figure, returning from the dead, with the new Firebrand filling a

John the Baptist John the Baptist ( – ) was a Jewish preacher active in the area of the Jordan River in the early first century AD. He is also known as Saint John the Forerunner in Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy, John the Immerser in some Baptist ...

role. Father Time is shown as aiding in Senator Frank Knight's being secretly murdered in the midst of his successful campaign for the Presidency of the U.S. and replaced by a sentient robot double, Gonzo the Mechanical Bastard, who proceeds with an agenda to implant

RFID Radio-frequency identification (RFID) uses electromagnetic fields to automatically identify and track tags attached to objects. An RFID system consists of a tiny radio transponder called a tag, a radio receiver, and a transmitter. When tri ...

chips in every U.S. citizen by law and control them to bring chaos to the world through war. In ''Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters'' #3, a team created by Father Time called First Strike attacked the Freedom Fighters, but not before being stopped by the new Black Condor. In issue #4, the Black Condor manages to weaken First Strike long enough for the Freedom Fighters to fight back. The Human Bomb kills one of First Strike's members, Propaganda, and the team heads back to S.H.A.D.E. headquarters. In issue #5, the Freedom Fighters defeat First Strike, but are taken out by a young woman claiming to be

. While they are being tortured, S.H.A.D.E. headquarters is attacked by a new Red Bee and an old woman claiming to be the real Miss America. In issue #6, the Freedom Fighters defeat the new Miss America with the original's help, forcing Father Time to retreat. As he begins "molting" into a new body, he gives the order to "activate the traitor". This turns out to be the Ray, who attacks and kills the new

and calls down giant reinforcements. In issue #7, The Freedom Fighters face off against the Cosmigods, as Uncle Sam calls them. In the midst of the battle, the traitorous Ray is confronted by the returning Ray Terrill. As predicted, Gonzo turns on the newly rejuvenated Father Time, who proceeds to give Uncle Sam the evidence to prove Gonzo's true identity. Sam presents the evidence to the world, and seemingly the final battle between First Strike and the Freedom Fighters begins. In issue #8, the Freedom Fighters engage in battle against Gonzo's metahuman taskforce at the Washington Monument and quickly gain support from the civilians. The public eye are now seeing them as real heroes, which was later revealed to be part of Father Time's plan all along. He tricked Gonzo into believing that S.H.A.D.E was against Uncle Sam, while in truth he was preparing the Freedom Fighters to help combat a major threat in the future. Father Time captures Gonzo and turns him into an 'Orphan Box' in the shape of a pair of spectacles. He plans to use it against Gonzo's creator, the Shadow Demons. All of the metahuman taskforce members disappear into the timestream, along with Father Time, shortly thereafter. A week later, the new President appoints the Freedom Fighters the new directors of S.H.A.D.E.

Further adventures

In ''

Countdown A countdown is a sequence of backward counting to indicate the time remaining before an event is scheduled to occur. NASA commonly employs the terms "L-minus" and "T-minus" during the preparation for and anticipation of a rocket launch, and eve ...

'' #38, the Freedom Fighters are seen trying to stop an unplanned nuclear missile launch, initiated by the

Calculator An electronic calculator is typically a portable electronic device used to perform calculations, ranging from basic arithmetic to complex mathematics. The first solid-state electronic calculator was created in the early 1960s. Pocket-si ...

. In the new ''Freedom Fighters'' miniseries written by Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti in 2007, the Red Bee is captured by an alien insect swarm and transformed into a human/insect hybrid. At the same time, S.H.A.D.E. has planned to make the Freedom Fighters into media darlings to help increase faith in the government following the Amazonian incident. Uncle Sam, Firebrand, Doll Man, and the Human Bomb refuse to go along with the plan and return to the Heartland. For a time, the remaining Freedom Fighters become celebrities, part of a new group called the

. The Red Bee later collapses in her apartment and a swarm of insects suddenly rise out of her body. The Phantom Lady, unable to cope with the media attention, goes on a binge spree, culminating in her drunkenly slicing a criminal in half on national television. Stormy is brought to the heartland, where her body is cleaned of toxins by Miss America. Uncle Sam and Doll Man recruit the original Doll Man (Darrell Dane) from a micro-environment within the Pentagon. After the head of the Crusaders program, Robbins, tries to kill the Red Bee, the Freedom Fighters confront him. It is revealed that Robbins has mental powers that he used to control the Crusaders — and Stormy — leading to her binge. While the Crusaders and Freedom Fighters battle, the Red Bee is overtaken by her insectoid side, uses her pheromones to enslave the Crusaders and the Freedom Fighters, and prepares to create a "hive" on Earth. Meanwhile, an attempt to cure the Doll Men and several other micro-sized individuals goes horribly wrong, as all of them are merged into a single mutant form. The mutant goes on a rampage until Emma Thompson reaches Lester. The Red Bee is cured of her affliction by Langford "Happy" Terrill, who had gained the powers of

Neon the Unknown Neon the Unknown is a fictional superhero from the Golden Age of Comic Books created by Jerry Iger for Quality Comics. Neon first appeared in a story penciled and inked by Alex Blum in '' Hit Comics'' #1 and was featured on the cover of issue tw ...

. The team then prepares to fight off an invasion by the insectoids. After their victory, the group go their separate ways, but Uncle Sam declares that they will be needed when the

Crisis A crisis (: crises; : critical) is any event or period that will lead to an unstable and dangerous situation affecting an individual, group, or all of society. Crises are negative changes in the human or environmental affairs, especially when ...

begins.

''Blackest Night''

In the ''

Blackest Night "Blackest Night" is a 2009–10 American comic book Fictional crossover, crossover storyline published by DC Comics, consisting of an eponymous central miniseries, written by Geoff Johns and penciled by Ivan Reis, along with a number of tie-in i ...

'' crossover event,

Black Lantern The Black Lantern Corps is a fictional organization of wikt:corporeal, corporeal revenants (resembling intelligent zombies or jiangshi) appearing in comic books published by DC Comics, related to the emotional spectrum. The group is composed of d ...

power rings are shown heading toward the graves of the

, the

, and the

, presumably to revive them for use in the interstellar revenant army being assembled. At least those three are seen later attacking JSA headquarters, along with the undead revenants of the Society's members. These three Black Lanterns, along with Al Pratt's undead form, focus on attacking

, though they have little success, continually getting blown up, regenerating and rising again to attack him, until

Jean Loring Jean Loring is a character appearing in comic books published by DC Comics, formerly associated with the Atom (Ray Palmer), Atom, for whom she was a supporting character and primary love interest. She first appeared in ''Showcase (comics), Showcase ...

's revenant kills him.

Ongoing series

A new ongoing ''Freedom Fighters'' series began in September 2010, but was cancelled after only nine issues.

''The New 52''

In September 2011, ''

The New 52 The New 52 was the 2011 revamp and relaunch by DC Comics of its entire Line (comics), line of ongoing monthly superhero American comic books, comic books. Following the conclusion of the "Flashpoint (comics), Flashpoint" Fictional crossover, cros ...

'' rebooted DC's continuity. In this new timeline, the Freedom Fighters still inhabit Earth-10, but according to

's ''

Multiversity ''The Multiversity'' is a two-issue Limited series (comics), limited series combined with seven interrelated one-shot (comics), one-shots set in the Multiverse (DC Comics), DC Multiverse in The New 52, a collection of universes seen in publicatio ...

'' revision of the concept, Kal-L landed in German territory in 1938. Hitler reverse-engineered the alien technology that the Kryptonian starship incorporated and released Kal-L/Overman on American forces in the 1950s, which enabled Nazi Germany to win the Second World War. However, Overman became aware of the evil of his comrades after seeing the massive numbers of deaths of innocent people who did not fit into the Nazi ideology. After Hitler died, Overman and his government were able to establish a utopia. The Freedom Fighters still exist as a team of genetically enhanced metahumans, thanks to the genius of the Earth-10 Dr. Sivana, but in revised and inclusive composition (the Ray is gay,

is a

Jehovah's Witness Jehovah's Witnesses is a Christian denomination that is an outgrowth of the Bible Student movement founded by Charles Taze Russell in the nineteenth century. The denomination is nontrinitarian, millenarian, and restorationist. Russell co- ...

, the

is an African-American, and the

Romani Romani may refer to: Ethnic groups * Romani people, or Roma, an ethnic group of Indo-Aryan origin ** Romani language, an Indo-Aryan macrolanguage of the Romani communities ** Romanichal, Romani subgroup in the United Kingdom * Romanians (Romanian ...

). The Freedom Fighters commit various acts of terrorism against Overman's post-Nazi regime while Overman is in conflict with himself, as he still feels guilt over the ethnic and ideological purges of the Hitler era. In the Freedom Fighters' most extreme attack, they drop the Earth-10's Justice League orbital base on Metropolis, killing millions of people and even further grieving Overman.

''DC Rebirth''

In 2016, DC Comics implemented another relaunch of its books called "

DC Rebirth DC Rebirth is a 2016 relaunch by the American comic book publisher DC Comics of its entire Line (comics), line of ongoing monthly superhero comic book titles. Using the end of The New 52 (2011–2016) initiative in May 2016 as its launching point ...

" which restored its continuity to a form much as it was prior to "The New 52". ''New Super-Man'' features a group called the Freedom Fighters of China. Each member of the group is a Chinese version of one of the original Freedom Fighters. They are led by the Flying Dragon General (an analog of Uncle Sam); other members include the Sunbeam (an analog of the Ray), the Blue Condor (an analog of the Black Condor), the Ghost Woman (an analog of the Phantom Lady), Folding Paper Man (an analog of Plastic Man), and the Human Firecracker (an analog of the Human Bomb). In the pages of "

The New Golden Age "The New Golden Age" is a crossover event in DC Comics publications. Written by Geoff Johns, the story follows the Justice Society of America unraveling a mystery following the Golden Age heroes and villains and the untold stories that come with i ...

", a discussion between Mister Terrific and

Quiz Kid ''Quiz Kids'' is a radio and TV series originally broadcast in the 1940s and 1950s. Created by Chicago public relations and advertising man Louis G. Cowan, and originally sponsored by Alka-Seltzer, the series was first broadcast on NBC from Chi ...

has them mentioning that

has taken Human Bomb's sidekick

Cherry Bomb A cherry bomb (also known as a globe salute or kraft salute) is an approximately spherical exploding firework, roughly resembling a cherry in size and shape (with the fuse resembling the cherry's stem). Cherry bombs range in size from in diame ...

and Red Bee's sidekick

Ladybug Coccinellidae () is a widespread family of small beetles. They are commonly known as ladybugs in North America and ladybirds in the United Kingdom; "lady" refers to mother Mary. Entomologists use the names ladybird beetles or lady beetles ...

under her wing so that they can work on getting them associated with the Freedom Fighters which Human Bomb and Red Bee were part of as it is seen on one of the screens.

Other versions

* In the final issue of '' 52'', a new Multiverse is revealed, consisting of 52 realities. Among the parallel realities shown is one designated "Earth-10", X being the Roman numeral for 10. This new alternate Earth differs from the original Pre-''Crisis'' Earth-X. In original continuity, the Freedom Fighters were the only metahumans on the original Earth-X, but the new Earth-10 is premised on the continued ascendancy of

, which was defeated in the original JLA/JSA/Freedom Fighters crossover. Earth-10 is home to the JL-Axis, which consists of Nazi counterparts of the Justice League, who combat an alternate version of the Freedom Fighters. Prefigured by comments by

, this alternate universe is not the Pre-''Crisis'' Earth-X, which renders these new characters unrelated to previous versions. * In the

WildStorm Wildstorm Productions (stylized as WildStorm) is an American comic book imprint. Originally founded as an independent company established by Jim Lee and Brandon Choi to publish through Image Comics, Wildstorm became a publishing imprint of DC C ...

miniseries '' The Authority: Revolution'', the initial protagonists are a group called the "Sons of Liberty", a superpatriot group of the 1940s and 1950s. They consist of Paul Revere (super-strength and "broadcast empath"), Minute-Maid (super-strength), Johnny Rocketman (supersonic flight), the Human Hand-Grenade (with the power to shrink, explode, and re-constitute his own body), and Fallout (a man with undefined nuclear powers who wears a shroud). The group is a pastiche of the Freedom Fighters. * In the DC Comics universe, the "Sons of Liberty" were a paramilitary group that funded

Agent Liberty Agent Liberty (Benjamin Lockwood) is a fictional character appearing in American comic book, American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Dan Jurgens, he made his debut in ''Superman'' vol. 2 #60 (Oct. 1991), and was later given his own ...

. * In ''Countdown Presents: The Search for Ray Palmer - Superwoman/Batwoman'' #1, written by ''Freedom Fighters'' writers Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti, Earth-11 was revealed to be an Earth home to gender-reversed versions of the heroes of New Earth. Among them were the Freedom Fighters, consisting of female versions of the Ray, the Human Bomb, the Black Condor, and, strangely,

Etrigan the Demon Etrigan the Demon is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Jack Kirby, Etrigan is a demon from Hell who, despite his violent tendencies, usually finds himself allied with the forces of good, mainly beca ...

, as well as a male version of the Phantom Lady named the Phantom Man. They are led by Columbia, a female version of Uncle Sam. * In an alternate timeline featured in ''The All-New Booster Gold'' #8, a group calling themselves the Freedom Fighters exists. It consists of

Hawkman Hawkman is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Dennis Neville, the original Hawkman first appeared in ''Flash Comics'' #1, published by All-American ...

, the

Green Arrow Green Arrow is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Mort Weisinger and designed by George Papp, he first appeared in ''More Fun Comics'' No. 73 on September 19, 1941 (cover dated November 1941), th ...

Anthro Anthro may refer to: * Anthropo-, a prefix meaning human, humanoid, or human-like * Anthropology, the scientific study of humanity * Anthropomorphism, the attribution of human traits, emotions or intentions to non-human entities * Anthroposophy ...

, the

Wild Dog A free-ranging dog is a dog that is not confined to a yard or house. Free-ranging dogs include street dogs, village dogs, stray dogs, feral dogs, etc., and may be owned or unowned. The global dog population is estimated to be 900 million, of whi ...

, and

Pantha Pantha (Rosabelle Mendez) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. She is a member of the Teen Titans who gained cat-like abilities from experimentation by the Wildebeest Society. Pantha was killed by Supe ...

. * In "Time of Crisis", the ''

'' homage module for ''

Mutants & Masterminds ''Mutants & Masterminds'' (abbreviated "M&M" or "MnM") is a superhero role-playing game written by Steve Kenson and published by Green Ronin Publishing based on a variant of the d20 System by Wizards of the Coast. The game system is designed to ...

'', the Übermenschen team is composed of analogues of the original Freedom Fighters. * All of the original Freedom Fighters besides Uncle Sam and many later or honorary members make cameo appearances in ''

The Golden Age (comics) ''The Golden Age'' is a 1993 four-issue ''Elseworlds'' comic book miniseries by writer James Robinson and artist Paul Smith. It concerns the Golden Age DC Comics superheroes entering the 1950s and facing the advent of McCarthyism. Plot The ser ...

'', attending a rally where superheroes are summoned to pledge allegiance to their country. When the villain of the story reveals himself, Black Condor and the Ray are among the first to engage him in battle after one of his accomplices murders Miss America, but they are easily knocked out. Human Bomb lasts longer, but he and Doll Man are both apparently killed in the battle. Red Bee also dies in the battle while it is unclear whether Phantom Lady, Jester, Quicksilver, Alias the Spider, or Red Torpedo participate in the melee. * The Freedom Fighters inspired the Marvel Comics superhero team the Crusaders. The character associations are: Captain Wings and the Black Condor; Dyna-Mite and Doll Man; Ghost Girl and the Phantom Lady; the Spirit of '76 and Uncle Sam; Thunder Fist and the Human Bomb; and Tommy Lightning and the Ray. At the same time that the Invaders were meeting the Crusaders in Marvel Comics, the Freedom Fighters were also facing off against a team called the Crusaders, with the DC version of the Crusaders based upon Marvel Comics' Invaders (several of the Crusaders that fought the Freedom Fighters were really "comic book fans" named "Lennie" (Len Wein), "Marvin" (Marv Wolfman), "Arch" (Archie Goodwin), and "Roy" (Roy Thomas), as shown in Freedom Fighters #9).

In other media

Television

The original Freedom Fighters appear in the '' Batman: The Brave and the Bold'' episode "Cry Freedom Fighters!", consisting of

, the

, and the

Arrowverse

A contemporary variation of the Freedom Fighters appear in media set in the

Arrowverse The Arrowverse is an American Superhero fiction, superhero media franchise and shared universe that is centered on various interconnected television series based on DC Comics superhero characters, primarily airing on The CW as well as web series ...

. A majority of this version of the group hail from

Earth-X ''Earth X'' is a 1999 comic book limited series published by American company Marvel Comics. ''Earth X'' was written by Jim Krueger with art by John Paul Leon. Based on Alex Ross' notes, the series features a dystopian version of the Marvel Un ...

, an alternate reality where the Nazis won World War II and took over the world, and serves as a resistance movement against them in their present. * The group first appears in the live-action crossover "

Crisis on Earth-X "Crisis on Earth-X" is the fourth Arrowverse Crossover (fiction), crossover event, featuring episodes of ''Supergirl (TV series), Supergirl'', ''Arrow (TV series), Arrow'', ''The Flash (2014 TV series), The Flash'', and ''Legends of Tomorrow' ...

", led by General

Winn Schott ''Supergirl (TV series), Supergirl'' is an American television series developed by Greg Berlanti, Ali Adler, and Andrew Kreisberg based on the characters created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster in the Superman (franchise), Superman franchise and ...

and consisting of the

Citizen Cold Citizenship is a membership and allegiance to a sovereign state. Though citizenship is often conflated with nationality in today's English-speaking world, international law does not usually use the term ''citizenship'' to refer to nationality; ...

Guardian Guardian usually refers to: * Legal guardian, a person with the authority and duty to care for the interests of another * ''The Guardian'', a British daily newspaper (The) Guardian(s) may also refer to: Places * Guardian, West Virginia, Unit ...

, and

Red Tornado Red Tornado is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. As the second character to assume the identity of Red Tornado, he is the result of an android being merged with a sentient tornado by T.O. Morrow. ...

. They develop an interdimensional gateway and allow the New Reichsmen to take control of it in an attempt to trap them on another Earth. However, heroes from

Earth-1 Earth-One (also Earth-1) is a name given to two fictional universes (the Pre-Crisis and Post-Crisis versions of the same universe) that have appeared in American comic book stories published by DC Comics. The first Earth-One was given its name i ...

and

Earth-38 The DC Multiverse is a fictional continuity construct used in numerous DC Comics publications. The Multiverse has undergone numerous changes since its introduction and has included various universes, listed below between the original Multiverse a ...

halt the plan after they were taken prisoner and brought to Earth-X before defeating the New Reichsmen on Earth-1. Afterwards, Ray and Cold establish an alliance with the Earth-1 and 38 heroes to defeat the New Reichsmen's remnants. As of the live-action TV series ''

The Flash The Flash is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Harry Lampert, the original Flash first appeared in ''Flash Comics'' #1 (cover date, cover-dated Jan ...

'' episode "Fury Rogue", the Freedom Fighters have begun rebuilding Earth-X and continue fighting to suppress the aforementioned remnants. In the comic book tie-in for the crossover "

", the Freedom Fighters and Allies started

World War III World War III, also known as the Third World War, is a hypothetical future global conflict subsequent to World War I (1914–1918) and World War II (1939–1945). It is widely predicted that such a war would involve all of the great powers, ...

while fighting the Axis Powers. * The Freedom Fighters appear in the

CW Seed The CW Network, LLC (commonly referred to as The CW or simply CW) is an American commercial broadcast television network which is controlled by Nexstar Media Group through a 75% ownership interest. The network's name is derived from the first ...

animated web series '' Freedom Fighters: The Ray'', consisting of the Black Condor, the Phantom Lady, Doll Man, the Red Tornado, and the Ray.

Miscellaneous

The original Freedom Fighters appear in ''

Justice League Unlimited ''Justice League Unlimited'' (''JLU'') is an American superhero animated series that was produced by Warner Bros. Animation with DC Comics in season 3 and aired on Cartoon Network. Featuring a wide array of superheroes from the DC Universe, and ...

'' #17, consisting of Uncle Sam, Doll Man, the Human Bomb, the Phantom Lady, the Ray, and the Black Condor.''Justice League Unlimited'' #17 This version of the group works for a contemporary, rogue U.S. government agency.

References

External links

* Freedom Fighters at DC Comics Database
The Freedom Fighters
at

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 ...

Archived
from the original on July 30, 2016.

Freedom Fighters bio and timeline

{{DEFAULTSORT:Freedom Fighters (Comics) 1976 comics debuts Characters created by Dick Dillin Characters created by Len Wein Comics characters introduced in 1973 DC Comics superhero teams DC Comics titles United States-themed superheroes Fictional revolutionaries

Fictional team history

''Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters''

Further adventures

''Blackest Night''

Ongoing series

''The New 52''

''DC Rebirth''

Other versions

In other media

Television

Arrowverse

Miscellaneous

See also

References

External links