Wikipedia

Sarge Steel

Sarge Steelis adetective/spycharacter published byCharlton Comicsduring the 1960s. As he was published during the time of Charlton'sAction Heroesline of superheroes, and had loose ties to some, he is sometimes included with that group. He was purchased byDC Comicsalong with the other "Action Heroes".

Sarge Steel
Sarge Steel as depicted inSarge Steel, Private Detective#1 (December 1964). Art byDick Giordano.
Publication information
PublisherCharlton Comics,nowDC Comics
First appearanceSarge Steel#1 (December 1964)
Created byPat Masulli
In-story information
Team affiliationsCBI
L.A.W.
Checkmate
Department of Metahuman Affairs
AbilitiesProsthetic metallic left hand.

Sarge (short for "Sargent" as in "Sargent Shriver") Steel has a mechanical left hand. AsDick Giordanostated in the editorial page ofL.A.W.#4 he was created byPat Masulli,and later written and drawn byJoe Gilland artistDick Giordano.Other artists, including the team of Bill Montes and Ernie Bache, would later take over.

Publication history

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Sarge Steel first appeared in his own title,Sarge Steel#1 (December 1964).[1]His title would last until #8, at which point it was retitledSecret Agent(Gold Key Comicsalso published a comic with the same title in 1967 based upon the television series,Danger Man), and cancelled with #10 (October, 1967). After that, his series continued inJudomaster#91-98 (the stories in #91-96 fit in the year-long hiatus between issues #9 & #10, as all his stories are listed as 'File #xxx'). Sarge also appeared in short spots on self-defense inFightin' 5#34 and 37 and in the Sentinels stories inPeter Cannon, Thunderbolt#57 and 58 as their CIA contact.

Fictional character biography

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Charlton Comics version

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Sarge was originally ahardboiledprivate eye (in fact, in the bookThe Fine Art of Murder,Max Allan Collinsnotes that Steel was the first fictional private eye to be aVietnamveteran),[2][3]who somehow also got involved in "spy cases" and became, bySarge Steel#6, a "special agent".

Sarge Steel's enemies included characters like The Lynx, Ivan Crunch, Smiling Skull (a Nazi villain who foughtJudomasterduring World War II), Werner Von Wess, Mr. Ize, and others.

DC Comics version

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In DC Comics, Sarge was eventually put in charge of the United States' governmental agencies involved with "superhuman" activities for many years. He was apparently the head of a small agency known as theCBI(Central Bureau of Intelligence), which also includedKing Faraday,and Faraday's two well known agentsRichard DragonandBen Turner.He was eventually depicted as a Federal Cabinet Secretary of Metahuman Affairs (giving him control of agencies such as theSuicide Squad).[4]

Around this time Sarge is sent in to investigate the country of Bialya. The entire place had re-opened, now a trendy vacation spot, after months of a media blackout. Sarge encountersCaptain Atom,Major Forceand the secondRocket Redas various attacks rattle the country.[5]

Around this time, the manipulative, caterpillar-shaped alien criminalMr. Mindis handed over to Steel's custody. Mr. Mind takes control of Steel, hiding inside his artificial hand to escape the detection of superhumans. Controlling Steel, Mind causes the nuclear devastation of the midwest American city of Fairfield. Though superhumans contained the bombs to the literal limits of the town, many thousands died.

Later,Lex Luthorwould be elected as President. Luthor appointsAmanda Walleras his successor until Luthor was re-exposed as a criminal in the events ofSuperman/Batman: Public Enemies.[6]

Steel has since resumed his old Cabinet posting as a member of the Horne Administration. He is currently in charge ofNemesisandDiana Princeas part of the Department of Metahuman Affairs. During his time at that post the villainCircekidnapped Steel, tied him up,duct tapedhis mouth shut, locked him in a closet, and had him replaced with her shape-shifting henchmanEveryman.Using Steel's pull at the agency, Circe and Everyman helped bring about the events ofAmazons Attack!.[7][8]

In the end, Steel is freed, but is left suspicious over Wonder Woman's motives, questioning she may still serve the Amazons' cause, to him perceived as harmful and dangerous. He correctly guesses the love story budding between Nemesis and Wonder Woman, and so decides to keep Diana and Tresser in constant surveillance.

Recently, he has been seen composing an essay accusing prominent female historical figures of being Amazonian spies. It is then revealed that since his kidnapping by Circe thatDoctor Psychohas been tampering with his mind, enhancing his suspicious nature. Doctor Psycho eventually manages to switch bodies with Sarge Steel. He is then brainwashed into being a jester in a cage fight that Wonder Woman andBlack Canaryinfiltrates. Diana uses her Lasso of Truth on him to remove the influence of mind control. Now remembering everything and understandably furious, he helps Wonder Woman and Black Canary capture a panicking Doctor Psycho, who is behind the illegal cage battles, to switch their bodies back and bring him to justice.

The New 52

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In 2011, "The New 52"rebooted the DC universe. Sarge Steel is re-introduced in theOMACcomic.[9]Sarge Steel is an agent of Checkmate, and is put in charge of investigating the OMAC attacks atProject Cadmuswhen the sentient satelliteBrother Eyegoes rogue.[10]Maxwell Lordsends him as the leader of a team of elite agents including Maribel and Little Knipper to hunt down OMAC, but their attempt to capture him fails.[11]For this failure, Lord takes him off the assignment and sends Mokkari to take down OMAC instead. Sarge voices his displeasure when they call inS.H.A.D.E.'s top agentFrankensteinto do the job. In Checkmate's last battle against Brother Eye, Steel is called in again to lead his team against OMAC. They fight through Checkmate Headquarters inMount Rushmoreand Steel loses his hand in the fight.[12]

During the "Titans: Beast World"storyline, Sarge Steel partakes inAmanda Waller's efforts to kill the transformedBeast Boyand his spores by havingChunkself-destruct inside him.[13]After an Amazon warrior murders a group of men, Steel leads the US army in forcing all Amazons residing in America to be deported back to Themyscyra, and rallies the troops againstWonder Womanwhen she refuses to leave.

Alternate versions

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An alternate universe version of Sarge Steel appears inThe Multiversitychapter "Pax Americana".[14]

In other media

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  • A character based on Sarge Steel namedCommander Henry Steelappears inNaomi,portrayed by Brian Brightman. This version is a member of the Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force.
  • Sarge Steel appears inBatman and Harley Quinn,voiced byJohn DiMaggio.This version is anA.R.G.U.S.commander.[15]

References

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  1. ^Markstein, Don."Sarge Steel".Don Markstein's Toonopedia.Retrieved2 April2020.
  2. ^Collins, Max Allan, in Edward Gorman (Editor), Martin Harry Greenberg (Editor), Larry Segriff (Editor),The Fine Art of Murder: The Mystery Reader’s Indispensable Companion(Carroll & Graf Pub., 1993).
  3. ^Cronin, Brian."Comic Book Legends Revealed #323."Comic Book Resources(July 15, 2011).
  4. ^Jimenez, Phil; Wells, John (2010).The Essential Wonder Woman Encyclopedia.Del Rey. p. 362.ISBN978-0345501073.
  5. ^Captain AtomAnnual #2 (1998). DC Comics.
  6. ^Superman/Batman#6 (DC Comics, Mar. 2004). DC Comics.
  7. ^Amazons Attack#1 (DC Comics, June 2007). DC Comics.
  8. ^Amazons Attack#2 (DC Comics, July 2007). DC Comics.
  9. ^OMAC#1. DC Comics.
  10. ^OMAC#2. DC Comics.
  11. ^OMAC#3. DC Comics.
  12. ^OMAC#8. DC Comics.
  13. ^Titans: Beast World#4. DC Comics.
  14. ^The Multiversity: Pax Americana#1
  15. ^Gary Miereanu [@SuperPRGuy] (27 April 2017)."@DCAUResource Trailer arrives in weeks, not days. Here's a #BatmanHarley image to tide you over: #Batman/…"(Tweet) – viaTwitter.
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