Superpatriot: America's Fighting Force #2

History

The four-issue miniseries was written by Robert Kirkman with art by Cory Walker and edited by Erik Larsen — the character's creator — and published by Image Comics in the summer of 2002, slotting into Larsen's Savage Dragon continuity between issues #103 and #104 of that ongoing series. Kirkman was still a relatively new name in comics at the time, and this miniseries, along with Tech Jacket (also 2002), formed part of a wave of creator work that positioned him within the Image universe just before he and Walker launched Invincible in 2003. The series was not collected until March 2011, when Image released a trade paperback (ISBN 9781607063551) compiling all four issues.

Trivia · 9 facts

• Published August 1, 2002, by Image Comics; written by Robert Kirkman with art and inks by Cory Walker, edited by Erik Larsen.
• This issue contains Baron Blitzkrieg's extended in-universe explanation of BrainiApe's origin — that BrainiApe is Adolf Hitler's brain, transplanted into an experimental ape after Hitler's armored suit exploded, with radiation erasing all of Hitler's memories in the process.
• G.U.A.R.D., a now-defunct government super-team, makes its first (and final) appearance in this issue; its former operatives take President George W. Bush hostage aboard their decommissioned aircraft headquarters before being put down by SuperPatriot.
• BrainiApe deposes Baron Blitzkrieg of command over their Nazi organization by the issue's end, a power shift that drives the villain subplot through the remainder of the miniseries.
• The romance between SuperPatriot (Johnny Armstrong) and civilian Claire Bono advances significantly; the two go on their first completed date and sleep together, a development that carries long-term narrative consequences — the two eventually marry in Larsen's main continuity.
• Issue includes a WWII flashback in which the newly empowered Johnny Armstrong is costumed at the White House before returning to the European theater, providing the earliest in-continuity depiction of SuperPatriot's official commissioning as a government superhero.
• The series is set in the continuity gap between Savage Dragon #103 and #104, making it an essential connective tissue read for followers of Larsen's shared Image universe.
• The issue contains bonus pin-up pages by multiple artists including Andy Kuhn & Bill Crabtree, Matt Roberts, Terry Stevens & Scott Iwahashi, and John Simpson, Walden Wong & Hi-Fi — a common promotional practice in early-2000s Image miniseries.
• The complete miniseries (issues #1–4) was first collected in a trade paperback published March 2, 2011, with ISBN 9781607063551.

Cast · 16 characters

Full credits