I just finished it and liked it very very much, as much as I liked The New Frontier. I had some questions, though, which I will spoilerize for virgin eyes:
[spoiler] Who was the guy drawing the pentagram? Was that Dunbar?
Could Captain Triumph have taken Dunbar, and so that’s why Robinson sidelined him ala Martian Manhunter in Kingdom Come? How strong was he?
Was Dunbar supposed to be representative of someone else? And did he have powers? [/spoiler]
The more I learn about the older heroes, the more it seems to me that Marvel really didn’t have a Golden Age group like DC did, and that really adds more depth to their universe. Would I be right in that?
I read it when it came out so it’s been a while. I thought it was very good and a few details were sideconned into the canon universe
Ted Knight’s breakdown and Johnny Quick and Libby Lawrence getting a divorce, although not the business with John Law.
As to your question:
1. Yes, or rather Hitler’s brain in Danny’s body
2. Good question. I really don’t know how strong Captain Triumph was supposed to be, but I doubt it. I think that was basically just showing how poorly he had been dealing with his own unique situation.
3. He was sort of a German Superman. His powers were flight, speed, invulnerability, enhanced senses although no heat vision and a supposed inspiration value as a heroic young American. Now, if you mean before the treatments, he had been the partner of TNT and the two of them could create small explosions by touching special rings together. He didn’t have meta-powers.
Yes, I read it and loved it. The answers to your questions:
[spoiler]
Yes, Dunbar’s body with Hitler’s brain in it.
Considering how many A-list heroes the powered-up Dunbar beat, I doubt Captain Triumph would have made much of a difference. But the reason Robinson “sidelined” him was it was a character-defining moment: Lance Gallant was never a hero without the spirit of his brother inhabiting his body, and since the war, strove to build a life for himself, trying to shut out his brother’s ghost. He was so determined to save his lover himself that he refused to let the ghost in to give him the powers…of course, this cost him his life.
Did he need to represent someone else? Danny Dunbar was a genuine Golden-Age character, Dan the Dyna-Mite, sidekick to TNT, a hero who was killed in 1943 (in the first issue of Young All-Stars, published in 1987) He had a super-powered but not yet radioactive body, and he had a tough time adjusting to civilian life, so jumped at the chance to be recruited as a government hero.[/spoiler]
Aha! Thanks for the info, you guys. Manhunter looked really creepy in there, I have to say. I dunno what it is about these 40’s/50’s characters that grab me so much.
No. Capt. Triumph was a pretty obscure character, so I’m not quite sure of his power limits, but he was by no means a heavy-hitter. I think touching the T would basically give him the power/ability of both twins in one body (2x as fast, strong, durable as a human) . Conspicuous by their absence are the mystic powerhouses Spectre and Dr. Fate. Robinson was obviously avoiding the magic-based Golden Age characters to avoid a deus ex machina.
Danny Dunbar was a real Golden Age character. TNT and Dan the Dyna-Mite were a short-lived backup in (I think) Sensation Comics. They could deliver explosive punches when they touched their rings together. Dyna-Mite got a new lease on life when Roy Thomas tapped him for his Young All-Stars series in the late 80s (TNT was killed in the first issue)
[/spoiler]
But Marvel did have a Golden Age group. Back them they were called Timely Comics and although they weren’t a monolith like DC (which wasn’t called DC back then), they did pretty well with Captain America, Sub-Mariner, and the Human Torch, plus the usual horde of characters that filled out the back of books.