| Hans von Hammer | |
|---|---|
 Cover toShowcase #57 (July/August 1965) featuring The Enemy Ace (art by Joe Kubert). | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | Our Army at War #151 (February1965) |
| Created by | Robert Kanigher Joe Kubert |
| In-story information | |
| Full name | Hans von Hammer |
| Team affiliations | Five Warriors from Forever |
Enemy Ace (German:Feindliches Ass) is aDC Comics property about the adventures of a skilled but troubled Germananti-hero andflying ace inWorld War I andWorld War II,Hans von Hammer,[1] known to the world as"The Hammer of Hell". Debuting in 1965, the comic was written byRobert Kanigher and drawn byJoe Kubert and the character has been revived several times since by other writers and artists.[2]
Enemy Ace first appeared inOur Army at War #151 (February1965),[3] in a backup story that quickly gained popularity. As aWorld War I pilot flying for theGermans, his stories told the German side of the war, in which Hans von Hammer was a man of honor andchivalry, a flying knight in hisFokker Dr.I, but he was haunted by his duties and the constant death surrounding them.[1]
The early series stories centered around World War I aerial combat and the tactics employed by the early knights of the air, along with their honor.[4] The stories were often a stark contrast between the dark brooding character Von Hammer and his softer, kinder side as inStar Spangled War Stories #148 where Von Hammer rescues a little dog he names "Schatzi" and proceeds to befriend him, even introducing him to his dark hunting companion the gray wolf who accepts little Schatzi rather than eating him. The Von Hammer stories were not big on happy endings, and Von Hammer goes on to lose Schatzi in a haunting scene by dropping him accidentally from his Fokker during air combat. He grieves the loss of the dog, then proceeds to massacre the remaining British pilots in an act of bloody revenge. Von Hammer was a dark character, portrayed as the inevitable result of war.
Unlike most comic book characters, Von Hammer does not have an arch-enemy, though a French pilot known as The Hangman was a persistent opponent. The majority of Von Hammer's opponents follow the same code of honor as he does, which includes not attacking a helpless pilot.
Created byRobert Kanigher andJoe Kubert, the Enemy Ace was based loosely onManfred von Richthofen. Both flew Crimson RedFokker DR1 triplanes. Both were ofaristocratic blood. Both awarded themselves a trophy with each downed enemy plane. Both were the highest scoringflying ace of the First World War. The main difference between the two was that Von Hammer survived to old age, whereas Von Richthofen was shot down and killed before the war ended.
The character's stories have been praised as among DC's strongest war stories of theSilver Age of comic books. He was revived for a fewgraphic novels. The first wasEnemy Ace: War Idyll (1990) byGeorge Pratt,[5] where Hammer is revealed to have lived until 1969, dying peacefully upon turning over his memoirs to and concluding his interviews with a troubledVietnam War veteran-turned-journalist.
Tim Truman'sGuns Of TheDragon 1998 mini-series saw Von Hammer in1927 China teaming up with an elderlyBat Lash and Biff Bradley, the brother ofSlam Bradley againstMiss Fear andVandal Savage on an adventure toDinosaur Island.
A more recent work isGarth Ennis'sEnemy Ace: War in Heaven (2001), with art byChris Weston andRuss Heath. Here, von Hammer's character and story arc is based on several real-life German pilots, notablyAdolf Galland. The series recounts the pilot's activities duringWorld War II where he is persuaded to once again fight as a pilot of theLuftwaffe. Von Hammer is placed in charge of his owngruppe and initially serves on theEastern Front. Thoughno friend to theNazi regime, he rapidly amasses numerous kills flying a red-paintedBf 109 against theRussians, and later in defense ofGermany (flying a scarletMe 262) against American bombers. Nevertheless, von Hammer becomes increasingly disillusioned as he continues to witness the horrors of war. During a battle, he is shot down and crashes near Leningrad. In his attempts to make it back to his own lines, he witnesses many horrible sights on the Russian front, including cannibalism.In 1945, after bailing out of his damaged aircraft, he inadvertently parachutes into theDachau concentration camp and is outraged to discover the German perpetration ofthe Holocaust. His patience with the Nazi regime at an end, Von Hammer proposes a mutiny upon returning to his airbase and later surrenders hisJagdverband to advancingAllied troops, namelySgt. Rock'sEasy Company, after setting fire to the fighter unit's remaining aircraft.[1]
Von Hammer makes a guest appearance of sorts as an opponent ofGeneral Wade Eiling's father in a tale set during the First World War.
In2008, he is featured in Bruce Jones'The War that Time Forgot. He also appears inBooster Gold in 2009, during World War I. When Booster is thrown back in time and caught in the middle of the war, alongside Cyrus Lord, the ancestor ofMaxwell Lord, von Hammer aids their escape from captivity behind German lines rather than abet their torture and further stain his hands with blood.[6]
InDark Nights: Death Metal, Enemy Ace is among the superheroes whoBatman resurrects using aBlack Lantern ring.[7]
A possible descendant of Von Hammer appears in the story "Ghost of the Killer Skies" inDetective Comics #404 (Oct. 1970). Batman investigates sabotage and murder taking place during shooting of abiographical film based on Von Hammer. The mastermind behind the sabotage is stunt pilot Heinrich Frans, who bears a strong resemblance to Von Hammer and claims that he was his ancestor. Believing that Von Hammer was a ruthless man, Frans is outraged that the film's story has his ancestor showing respect and mercy to his enemies, despite Batman countering that Von Hammer's story is more one of "a man caught between his feeling of duty and his own best instincts". Frans falls to his death during an aerial duel with Batman, both men using vintage World War I planes. During the duel, it is heavily implied that the spirit of Von Hammer helps Batman pilot his craft far better than the crimefighter could on his own. At the end, it is not confirmed if Heinrich Frans was indeed Von Hammer's descendant.
In issue #139 of theRobin series, von Hammer's great-granddaughter Lieutenant Ilsa von Hammer appeared as part of a group of soldiers that includedJohnny Cloud's grandson and a legendary soldier known only as the Veteran. This group, handling missions which may be more unusual than the normal military is equipped for, recruits Robin to assist on their missions.
Another possible descendant appears inSuperman #689. Will Von Hammer works as a private investigator in Berlin. He possesses some superhuman invulnerability as he is also the descendant of World War II hero Stormy Foster. In DC's 'New 52'Shade mini-series, Will helps theShade in tracking down the latter's past.
Swamp Thing #86-87 revealed von Hammer and his father, Otto von Hammer, to be ancestors of the Arcane clan (Anton, Gregori, Anais, Aniela, Abigail, Tefe and others).
An unnamed gorilla wearing Enemy Ace's costume appears as a minor character in 2019'sSuperman's Pal Jimmy Olsen. He is part of Gorilla City's air defenses and, in the past, he flew his biplane to face a giant Jimmy Olsen turned into an ape, who was wrecking havoc in their city. In the present, he shows up alongside a myriad of minor characters to help Jimmy fight a robot invasion.
Note: Not only are all of Von Hammer's aircraft painted bright red, his World War II aircraft lacked the standardswastika insignia on the tail, which causes friction with one of his officers who is fervently loyal to the Nazi Party.
There have been a number oftrade paperback collections as well asoriginal graphic novels: