Number 1874: Liberating the Liberator

The blog, A Dispensable List of Comic Book Lists, lists the origins of American patriotic superheroes, including the Liberator:

“First appearance: Exciting Comics #15 (Nedor, 12/41). The details of Liberator’s origin story don’t suggest much of a patriotic motive for his actions: chemistry professor Nelson Drew discovers an ancient Egyptian formula that temporarily gives him superhuman strength, speed, invulnerability, and the ability to hold his breath for an extended length of time. But that was the 1940s for you: you get superpowers, you cut up a flag for your costume, you go out and kick the asses of whatever fifth columnists you could find, including X-3, the ‘diabolical Nazi spy and man of a thousand faces!’ His final Golden Age appearance took place in Exciting Comics #35 (10/44), but like a lot of other public-domain superheroes he was revived by Alan Moore for his 1999 Tom Strong series. A guy could do a lot worse than end up in an Alan Moore story.”

This is the Liberator’s first appearance, and is not an origin story as such. Nedor didn’t spend their valuable paper ration on long-winded explanations of the pseudo-science needed for making ordinary people into super people. They just got right to that ass kicking the above short article mentions. It is best not to think too much about it anyway.

No credits are given by the Grand Comics Database for writing or art .

Posted in: Pappy Comics