| Newsboy Legion | |
|---|---|
 The original Newsboy Legion (from left to right: Gabby, Bigwords, Tommy, and Scrapper) inStar Spangled #7 (April 1942). Art byJack Kirby. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | Star-Spangled Comics #7 (April 1942) |
| Created by | Joe Simon Jack Kirby |
| In-story information | |
| Member(s) | Tommy Tompkins Big Words Gabby Scrapper Flippa Dippa |
The Newsboy Legion is a teenage vigilante group in theDC ComicsUniverse. Created byJoe Simon andJack Kirby, they appeared in their own self-titled feature which ran fromStar-Spangled Comics #7 (April 1942)[1] to #64 (January 1947). In 1970,Jack Kirby introduced a new Newsboy Legion, made up of the sons of the originalGolden Age characters.
The Newsboy Legion is a group of orphans, living on the streets ofSuicide Slum, selling newspapers to make a living.[2] They were also frequently in trouble with the law, although local policeman Jim Harper had a soft spot for them. In their first appearance, Harper, shortly after becomingGuardian, also becomes the Newsboys' legal guardian.[3] A recurring theme in their stories was that the boys suspected Harper was the Guardian but were unsure.[4]
The Newsboy Legion consisted of Tommy Tompkins (the leader); Big Words (the team genius);[5] Gabby (an excitable kid who never stopped talking); and Scrapper (the tough guy).[6]
The Newsboy Legion were reintroduced inSuperman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #133 (October 1970) as part ofJack Kirby's Fourth World story arc. The members of this Legion are the sons of the originals, who now work at a governmentgenetics project.[7] A new addition to the team was Walter Johnson (nicknamed Flip), anAfrican-American boy and excellent swimmer.
During their first mission, the villainousMorgan Edge develops the Whiz Wagon for the unsuspecting boys.[8] He attempts to use it and them (and by extension,Jimmy Olsen) to kill the Hairies, an underground, technologically advanced society. Assisting the Legion in fighting the Factory was a clone of Scrapper called 'Scrapper Trooper', who was designed for military support of the Project.[9]
The boys would become affected by the Project in other ways, such as befriending an experiment from the 'Evil Factory'. They called this large, pink, humanoid entity 'Angry Charlie'. He was the only survivor from the Factory. The police authorities from Scotland, where the Factory had been hiding, allowed the Legion to maintain custody of the entity.[10]
Post-Crisis, the Newsboy Legion's 1940s history was unchanged, as was their later involvement with the DNA Project (now calledProject Cadmus). Instead of having identical sons, however, the new Newsboy Legion were now said to be clones created by the same technology that recreated the Guardian as part of anApokolips plot that went wrong.[11] Like the Guardian clone, they shared their "father's" memories, at least up to their current age, meaning that they were sometimes unfamiliar with the modern world. They first appeared in this form inSuperman (vol. 2) Annual #2 (1988), written byRoger Stern, and were extensively featured inKarl Kesel's run onThe Adventures of Superman, including breakingKon-El out of Cadmus.
The post-Crisis Newsboys were also given real names: Big Words was Anthony Rodriguez; Gabby was Johnny Gabrielli and Scrapper was Patrick MacGuire. They were briefly joined by the Guardian's niece "Famous" Bobby Harper, but she subsequently went to stay with another relative.
InSuperman's Pal Jimmy Olsen (2008), the original Newsboy Legion members are killed byCodename: Assassin as part of a conspiracy headed bySam Lane to kill allKryptonians.[12]
InGrant Morrison's new take on the Guardian inSeven Soldiers:The Guardian, theManhattan Guardian newspaper has a citywide network of volunteer reporters called the "Newsboy Army".
Later in that same series, a group called the Newsboy Army was active during the forties in an area of New York called Nowhere Street. This group consisted of Captain 7 (an African-American boy in a football uniform), Ali Ka-Zoom (a young stage magician), Vincenzo 'Kid Scarface' Baldi (an Italian boy in an impeccable suit), Chop Suzi (an Asian girl, the team's mechanic), Edward 'Baby Brain' Stargard (an infant prodigy), Little Miss Hollywood (an impressionist, the daughter of Irish immigrants) and Millions (the world's richest dog). In their final mission as a team, they are cursed by the Terrible Time Tailor to be given horrible fates to prevent them from stopping his plans for the Harrowing.
Millions "dies" shortly thereafter. It is widely assumed that Cap impregnates Suzi, as his designation after the encounter with the Terrible Time Tailor is "child molester". However, the crossword puzzle included inSeven Soldiers #1 implies that Suzi may have given birth to twins, fathered by Baby Brain - despite obvious physical obstacles. Cap is subsequently killed by the others. Hollywood becomes an alcoholic 'super-impressionist'. Ali Ka-Zoom masters genuine magic, goes mad, and dies, and Kid Scarface became Vincenzo the Undying Don, the leader of the L.A. underworld and is killed by theSheeda. Baby Brain survives to found the Manhattan Guardian newspaper. Ali Ka-Zoom has shown up alive in52. InSeven Soldiers #1, it is revealed that Kid Scarface/Don Vincenzo actually bathed Millions in the Cauldron of Rebirth, and Millions inherited Vincenzo's property after his death, becoming the "Dogfather".
In the storyline "Stargirl: The Lost Children", the Newsboy Legion are among the lost sidekicks on Orphan Island.[13] After escaping the island, the Newsboy Legion are brought to the present, as returning them to their time would cause a time paradox.[14]
DC has published two hardback collections:
InElseworld's Finest, the Legion is a small sub-group of Newsboys which includes a young Jimmy Olsen.[15]
Joe Simon and Jack Kirby took their talents to a second title withStar-Spangled Comics, tackling both the Guardian and the Newsboy Legion in issue #7.
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