Captain Flag is asuperhero created byMLJ Comics' writerJoe Blair and artist Lin Streeter. He first appeared in September 1941, in issue #16 ofBlue Ribbon Comics.[1] He continued until the last issue,Blue Ribbon Comics #22 (March 1942).[2]
Fall 1941 was a boom period for patriotic superheroes as the country prepared to enterWorld War II; during this period, comic book publishers also launchedMiss Victory,Miss America,the Star-Spangled Kid,U.S. Jones,the Fighting Yank,the Flag andYank and Doodle, among others.[3] Captain Flag was the "only one" of the various patriotic-themes superheroes to be "trained by an actual bald eagle".[4]
Captain Flag debuted inBlue Ribbon Comics #16 (Sept 1941), as a possible headliner for MLJ's superhero stable.[5] In his first story, written byJoe Blair and drawn by Lin Streeter, the character faced off against the Black Hand, a super-criminal working for the Nazis. The character's story in the next issue was drawn byWarren King, and introduced the strip's first supporting character, blonde secret service agent Veronica Darnell.[5] The Black Hand reappeared as a recurring menace several times, including Captain Flag's final 1940s story, inBlue Ribbon Comics #21 (Feb 1942).[5]
The character was revived two decades later, when MLJ (renamed Archie Comics) launched a "camp" superhero line inspired by the popularBatman TV show. InThe Mighty Crusaders #4 (April 1966), the company brought back all of their patriotic 1940s heroes in a story called "Too Many Superheroes". Of the 18 superheroes who returned in that story, Captain Flag teamed up withWeb and theFox to form the Ultra-Men inMighty Crusaders #5.[6]
His secret identity isTom Townsend, the wealthy playboy son of an inventor father. A villain called the Black Hand kidnaps him and his father, intending to torture Tom's father in order to obtain the secret of his latest invention – a newbomb sight.[7] Tom's father dies resisting the questioning but before Tom, too, can be killed, a great eagle crashes through the window and carries him off.[8]
Training with the eagle's aerie at the top of the mountain, the healthy environment and hard living makes him an elite physical specimen. When the eagle brings a US flag, Tom takes it on as his namesake, and makes a costume out of the flag.[9] He names his animal savior-turned-sidekickYank the Eagle,[10] and goes on to thwart the Black Hand, hanging him from a ship'syardarm.[7]