SuperPatriot
Encyclopedia
SuperPatriot is an Image Comics
superhero
created by Erik Larsen
in 1992. SuperPatriot has had regular appearances in Erik Larsen's titles, whether in his own mini-series or as a supporting character and is currently a member of the Liberty League.
. Captured by the Germans, Armstrong was used as a guinea pig for scientific experiments and gained superhuman powers. He destroyed the base at which he was being kept so the Nazis could not replicate the process on their troops and donned an American flag-styled costume to become SuperPatriot. SuperPatriot later joined the superhero group called the Allies, working with such figures as Supreme
and Mighty Man
, and protected the innocent for many decades.
However, in the 1990s, SuperPatriot was faced with more brutal and intense supervillains than ever before and began to have difficulty dealing with them. Eventually, he was overpowered by members of the Vicious Circle
, a group of supervillains organized by Chicago
crime-boss Overlord
. SuperPatriot was savagely attacked by his foes, with the shark-man Mako biting off his limbs and much of his face. Left for dead, SuperPatriot's body was taken by Cyberdata, a corporation of subversive scientists, and transformed into a powerful cyborg
.
Initially his transformation made him highly unstable and he embarked upon a violent spree of vigilante murders, clashing with the Savage Dragon
. Superpatriot was easily controlled while in this addled state and was made into a puppet killing machine by terrorist groups like the Covenant of the Sword. Also, he was temporarily controlled by the entity known as the Horde. Fortunately, the SuperPatriot later regained his own mind and became a superhero again, joining the newly formed Chicago group called Freak Force
.
During his time with the team he learns that his long-term friend Mighty Man
had actually perished some time ago and the powers were now being wielded by his former nurse.
SuperPatriot is well respected in the superhero community, becoming one of the main resistance leaders during the Mars Attacks The Image Universe crossover. He and the other leaders operate out of what seems to be a small suburban tract house, as most other military installations have been destroyed or are potential targets. During these events, his daughter is raped by Martians. She chooses to keep the child, which has far-reaching effects.
series, SuperPatriot is controlled by Cyberface
until his eventual downfall. Afterwards he rejoins the newly reestablished Liberty League. He has had various adventures, including meeting Claire Bono, and eventually marrying her.
Invincible
, a newer Image character created by Robert Kirkman
, has been depicted as a fan of SuperPatriot. Claire Bono, the executor of Invincible's father's will, is a friend and confidante to Invincible's mom, Debbie Grayson
. They have bonded over their shared experiences of being married to superheroes. SuperPatriot is seen climbing up the side of Claire's building in order to talk with her about lunch, he states he has trouble going through security.
In SuperPatriot: War on Terror John and Claire are currently trying to start their own family. John is living with survivors guilt as prior to the events of this series it is revealed that Liberty and Justice have been killed. The couple are successful and Claire gives birth to twins, a boy and girl. She wants to name them Libby and Justice in honor of their older half-siblings.
SuperPatriot's artificial eyes give him enhanced sight such as night vision, microscopic vision, and telescopic vision.
SuperPatriot's arms and legs have been replaced with nanite-powered cybernetic limbs, which obey his every mental command on a molecular level. When put to their most common use, his arms can assume the shape and function of any weapon he can think of so long as they retain its original mass. The ammunition for these weapons is, in most cases, stored elsewhere in his body and he can use actual components of his self-regenerating nanite-powered body. He can also reload with conventional ammo.
SuperPatriot's human form has an accelerated healing ability and as a cyborg, he is capable of lifting and pressing approximately 10 tons.
Image Comics
Image Comics is a United States comic book publisher. It was founded in 1992 by high-profile illustrators as a venue where creators could publish their material without giving up the copyrights to the characters they created, as creator-owned properties. It was immediately successful, and remains...
superhero
Superhero
A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
created by Erik Larsen
Erik Larsen
Erik J. Larsen is an American comic book writer, artist and publisher. He is best known for his work on Savage Dragon, as one of the founders of Image Comics, and for his work on Spider-Man for Marvel Comics.-Early life:...
in 1992. SuperPatriot has had regular appearances in Erik Larsen's titles, whether in his own mini-series or as a supporting character and is currently a member of the Liberty League.
Fictional character biography
SuperPatriot was once Johnny Armstrong, a soldier in World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Captured by the Germans, Armstrong was used as a guinea pig for scientific experiments and gained superhuman powers. He destroyed the base at which he was being kept so the Nazis could not replicate the process on their troops and donned an American flag-styled costume to become SuperPatriot. SuperPatriot later joined the superhero group called the Allies, working with such figures as Supreme
Supreme (comics)
Supreme is a fictional superhero created by Rob Liefeld and first published by Image Comics, then Maximum Press, and later by Awesome Entertainment...
and Mighty Man
Mighty Man
Mighty Man is a fictional hero created by Erik Larsen some years before he began drawing professional comics, possibly in his adolescence. He has been a major character in Larsen's self-created title Savage Dragon and its spin-off Freak Force, as well as in Gary Carlson's Big Bang Comics series...
, and protected the innocent for many decades.
However, in the 1990s, SuperPatriot was faced with more brutal and intense supervillains than ever before and began to have difficulty dealing with them. Eventually, he was overpowered by members of the Vicious Circle
Vicious Circle (comics)
The Vicious Circle is a criminal organization of mutants, cyborgs, monsters, assassins, and magicians that serves as the primary opponents for the superheroes in Erik Larsen's comic-book titles, primarily the Dragon.-Overview:...
, a group of supervillains organized by Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
crime-boss Overlord
Overlord (comics)
Overlord is a comic-book supervillain created by Erik Larsen, first appearing in Larsen's Savage Dragon series and serving as that title's first principal villain. Like many of Larsen's characters, Overlord was based on a character that Larsen had created during his childhood...
. SuperPatriot was savagely attacked by his foes, with the shark-man Mako biting off his limbs and much of his face. Left for dead, SuperPatriot's body was taken by Cyberdata, a corporation of subversive scientists, and transformed into a powerful cyborg
Cyborg
A cyborg is a being with both biological and artificial parts. The term was coined in 1960 when Manfred Clynes and Nathan S. Kline used it in an article about the advantages of self-regulating human-machine systems in outer space. D. S...
.
Initially his transformation made him highly unstable and he embarked upon a violent spree of vigilante murders, clashing with the Savage Dragon
Savage Dragon
Savage Dragon is an ongoing American comic book series created by Erik Larsen, published by Image Comics and taking place in the Image Universe. The comic features the adventures of a superheroic police officer named the Dragon...
. Superpatriot was easily controlled while in this addled state and was made into a puppet killing machine by terrorist groups like the Covenant of the Sword. Also, he was temporarily controlled by the entity known as the Horde. Fortunately, the SuperPatriot later regained his own mind and became a superhero again, joining the newly formed Chicago group called Freak Force
Freak Force
Freak Force is the name of a fictional team of superhuman bounty hunters operating out of Chicago, Illinois. They originated in the Image Comics series Savage Dragon, but subsequently went on to star in their own series...
.
During his time with the team he learns that his long-term friend Mighty Man
Mighty Man
Mighty Man is a fictional hero created by Erik Larsen some years before he began drawing professional comics, possibly in his adolescence. He has been a major character in Larsen's self-created title Savage Dragon and its spin-off Freak Force, as well as in Gary Carlson's Big Bang Comics series...
had actually perished some time ago and the powers were now being wielded by his former nurse.
Two kids
Sometime after being freed from Cyberdata and the Covenant of the Sword's control John learned that he had fathered two children. The twins (a boy and a girl) grew up to become Liberty & Justice. His ex-wife, who the twins and John thought dead, was revealed to be alive and was a member of the Covenant of the Sword prior to marrying John. His daughter also thinks the Covenant is not as bad as it is made out to seem.SuperPatriot is well respected in the superhero community, becoming one of the main resistance leaders during the Mars Attacks The Image Universe crossover. He and the other leaders operate out of what seems to be a small suburban tract house, as most other military installations have been destroyed or are potential targets. During these events, his daughter is raped by Martians. She chooses to keep the child, which has far-reaching effects.
Savage World
In the "Savage World", the alternate Earth depicted in Larsen's Savage DragonSavage Dragon
Savage Dragon is an ongoing American comic book series created by Erik Larsen, published by Image Comics and taking place in the Image Universe. The comic features the adventures of a superheroic police officer named the Dragon...
series, SuperPatriot is controlled by Cyberface
Cyberface
Cyberface is a fictional character, a supervillain and enemy of the Dragon in the He first appears in Savage Dragon #5 and was created by Erik Larsen.-Fictional history:...
until his eventual downfall. Afterwards he rejoins the newly reestablished Liberty League. He has had various adventures, including meeting Claire Bono, and eventually marrying her.
Invincible
Invincible (comics)
Invincible is a superhero in the . Created by writer Robert Kirkman and artist Cory Walker, the character first appeared in Tech Jacket #1 , before graduating to his own self-titled regular series in 2003, as a title in Image's then-new superhero line.Invincible is the teenaged son of Omni-Man, an...
, a newer Image character created by Robert Kirkman
Robert Kirkman
Robert Kirkman is an American comic book writer best known for his work on The Walking Dead and Invincible for Image Comics, and Ultimate X-Men and Marvel Zombies for Marvel Comics. He has also collaborated with Image Comics co-founder Todd McFarlane on the series Haunt...
, has been depicted as a fan of SuperPatriot. Claire Bono, the executor of Invincible's father's will, is a friend and confidante to Invincible's mom, Debbie Grayson
Debbie Grayson
Debbie Grayson is a fictional character, a supporting character in the Image Comics title Invincible. She is the mother of Mark Grayson and the wife of Omni-Man.-Character Biography:...
. They have bonded over their shared experiences of being married to superheroes. SuperPatriot is seen climbing up the side of Claire's building in order to talk with her about lunch, he states he has trouble going through security.
In SuperPatriot: War on Terror John and Claire are currently trying to start their own family. John is living with survivors guilt as prior to the events of this series it is revealed that Liberty and Justice have been killed. The couple are successful and Claire gives birth to twins, a boy and girl. She wants to name them Libby and Justice in honor of their older half-siblings.
Powers and abilities
Prior to becoming a cyborg SuperPatriot's body had the stamina, endurance, strength, and agility of ten peak human athletic men as well as slowed aging process. During World War II SuperPatriot took a drug that allowed him to fly for a limited range, he discontinued the use of this drug due to its dangerous hallucinogenic side effects.SuperPatriot's artificial eyes give him enhanced sight such as night vision, microscopic vision, and telescopic vision.
SuperPatriot's arms and legs have been replaced with nanite-powered cybernetic limbs, which obey his every mental command on a molecular level. When put to their most common use, his arms can assume the shape and function of any weapon he can think of so long as they retain its original mass. The ammunition for these weapons is, in most cases, stored elsewhere in his body and he can use actual components of his self-regenerating nanite-powered body. He can also reload with conventional ammo.
SuperPatriot's human form has an accelerated healing ability and as a cyborg, he is capable of lifting and pressing approximately 10 tons.
Different Possibillities
- Erik Larsen had the prototype design for the Superpatriot long before the character was introduced in his Savage Dragon series. While working at Marvel ComicsMarvel ComicsMarvel 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...
in the early 90's, Larsen and Fabian NiciezaFabian NiciezaFabian Nicieza is an American comic book writer and editor who is best known for his work on Marvel titles such as X-Men, X-Force, New Warriors, Cable and Deadpool, and Thunderbolts, for all of which he helped create numerous characters.-Early life:The son of Omar and Irma Riguetti Nicieza, Fabian...
made a pitch for the new X-FactorX-Factor (comics)X-Factor is an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics. It is a spin-off of the popular X-Men franchise, featuring characters from X-Men stories. The series has been relaunched several times with different team rosters, most recently as X-Factor Investigations.X-Factor launched in...
series, which ultimately was given to Peter DavidPeter DavidPeter Allen David , often abbreviated PAD, is an American writer of comic books, novels, television, movies and video games...
instead. Their team would have included the SuperPatriot. Marvel comics would instead give a major revamp to the Crimson Commando making him very similar to SuperPatriot.
- Larsen later used his designs for a highly similar character called "Cyborg X" that appeared during Larsen's run on Spider-ManSpider-ManSpider-Man is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and writer-artist Steve Ditko. He first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15...
, with numerous hints that this was the Crimson CommandoCrimson CommandoCrimson Commando is a fictional character, a mutant in the . He first appears in Uncanny X-Men #215 and was created by Chris Claremont and Alan Davis.-Fictional character biography:...
, a patriotic member of Freedom ForceFreedom Force (comics)Freedom Force is the name of two teams within Marvel Comics' universe.The original was a supervillain team, though they occasionally acted in a heroic capacity as well. It was a government-sponsored team originally composed mainly of Mystique's Brotherhood of Evil Mutants...
.