American Ace (Golden Age)
Encyclopedia
American Ace is a fictional character
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...

 in the Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...

 Universe. He first appeared in the uncirculated Motion Picture Funnies Weekly
Motion Picture Funnies Weekly
Motion Picture Funnies Weekly is a 36-page, black-and-white American comic book series created in 1939, and designed to be a promotional giveaway in movie theaters...

#1 in 1939. The character would make his first public appearance when his Motion Pictures Funnies Weekly strip was published in Marvel Mystery Comics
Marvel Mystery Comics
Marvel Mystery Comics is an American comic book series published during the 1930s-1940s period known to fans and historians as the Golden Age of Comic Books...

 #2 and #3.

Timely Comics

Despite an intelligent and adult story line, American Ace was abruptly cancelled just as soon as the second story, defining the hero's purpose, saw print. The reason was possibly because the strip seemed too politically intense for the mostly adolescent audience, or because artist Paul Lauretta, an inker on backgrounds and designer of thugs seen in Superman
Superman
Superman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...

's early stories, had a style, which at the time, seemed crude even by Golden Age standards. However, the latter was later discredited as the artwork was drawn in a humorous style reminiscent of E.C. Segar's Popeye
Popeye
Popeye the Sailor is a cartoon fictional character created by Elzie Crisler Segar, who has appeared in comic strips and animated cartoons in the cinema as well as on television. He first appeared in the daily King Features comic strip Thimble Theatre on January 17, 1929...

. The artwork highly contrasted with the politically jarring story and sentimental romance.

Lieutenant Lank

However, several months later the strip turned up in the pages of a competitor's magazine, The Arrow #2, under the name "Lieutenant Lank." Perry's last name was changed to "Wade" and the story had him shoot it out in the skies against Ursula's men with the announcement that he would raise a team of pilots next issue of all fallen nations but the strip was once again cancelled.

Marvel Comics

American Ace has not been seen in modern Marvel continuity, but Webb was mentioned briefly in the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Golden Age, showing that Marvel still owns the rights to American Ace.

Fictional character biography

Perry Webb was an American miner who traveled in his private plane internationally in search of rare minerals, such as radium
Radium
Radium is a chemical element with atomic number 88, represented by the symbol Ra. Radium is an almost pure-white alkaline earth metal, but it readily oxidizes on exposure to air, becoming black in color. All isotopes of radium are highly radioactive, with the most stable isotope being radium-226,...

. On one such search, he set out to the Balkan nation of Attainia
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

. However his timing was unfortunate since a neighbouring country, Castile d'Or
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

declared war on Attainia over the assassination of their arch-duke by an Attainian extremist. Promising the citizens of Castile D'Or "justice",the formerly exiled Queen Ursula became chancellor and invaded Attainia, when it was in fact she who was behind the assassination. Meanwhile, Webb had landed and was horrified as the bombings began. Having saved a girl called Jeanie, from being crushed by a falling tower, he was rewarded by being taken to her family's cottage. Falling in love, Webb, however chose to leave Attainia. His plane was shot down and Webb was wounded severely. After making his recovery, he vowed he would have vengeance against Castile'D'Or.

Ace Masters

Another "American Ace" appeared in 2011. A homosexual fighter pilot named Ace Masters. He first appeared in issue #4 of the maxi-series All Winners Squad: Band of Brothers.
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