Aug. 1962: The Hawks Soar at DC

DC Comics had several hawks on hand, among them Tomahawk, Blackhawk and Hawkman.

The frontier hero Tomahawk and his boy sidekick Dan Hunter fought British troops, Indians and various more outré menaces such as aliens and dinosaurs. Like Batman, he occasionally gained super powers and encountered a female masked champion of justice — Miss Liberty. She was virtually a distaff Captain America.

“In 1960s DC comics, the superheroes were back — and lo and behold, one turned up in Tomahawk,” comics historian Don Markstein observed. “Miss Liberty, who represented that segment of the superhero population which wrapped themselves in the American flag like a cheap politician (as did, for example, the Shield and Fighting American), debuted in #81 (Aug. 1962), and was a frequently seen supporting character thereafter.”

Bess Lynn, a nurse, donned mask, wig, cape, tricolor costume and tri-corner hat to ride out on heroic missions. She armed herself with powder horns, essentially using them as frontier hand grenades.

Unlike many other superheroes, she had a credible reason for keeping her identity secret. Her brother was still in England, and reprisals would be taken against him were she to be exposed. And like the Shadow, she cleverly deployed a network of secret agents, her Women’s Underground.

Meanwhile, in their 21 years of existence, the Blackhawks had developed such a considerable rogue’s gallery that their friend Anthony Marvel found it profitable to impersonate them on stage (Blackhawk 174, July 1962). But when mental issues make Marvel start to act out as the Hoopster, Killer Shark and Gorilla Man, the intrepid aviators have to step in.