All-Winners Squad

Infobox comics organization


imagesize=225
caption="All Winners Comics" #19 (Fall 1946). Cover artists unconfirmed, possibly Al Avison and Al Gabriele.
publisher=Marvel Comics
debut= "All Winners Comics" #19 (Fall 1946).
creators=
base=
members=Captain America
Bucky
Human Torch
Toro
Sub-Mariner
the Whizzer
Miss America.
cat= teams
subcat=Marvel Comics
hero=y
villain=
sortkey=PAGENAME|

The All-Winners Squad is a fictional superhero team in the Marvel Comics universe. The company's first such team, it first appeared in "All Winners Comics" #19 (Fall 1946). While the comic-book title has no hyphen, Marvel's official handbook spells the team name "All-Winners Squad", with a hyphen.

Publication history

The All-Winners Squad was created for Marvel predecessor Timely Comics in 1946, near the end of the Golden Age of Comic Books. It consisted of Captain America and sidekick Bucky; the Human Torch and sidekick Toro; the Sub-Mariner; super-speedster the Whizzer; and Miss America. Timely previously had a non-superhero team of detectives, the 3Xs.

While the super-team made only two Golden Age appearances — in "All Winners Comics" #19 (Fall 1946) and #21 (Winter 1946; there was no issue #20) — it reacquired fan interest upon their being reprinted by Marvel during the 1960s Silver Age of Comic Books.

The first appearance of the All-Winners Squad, titled "The Crime of the Ages", was written by Bill Finger. Its seven chapters were pencilled variously by Vince Alascia, Al Avison, Bob Powell, and Syd Shores, and inked by Avison, Alascia, Powell, Allen Bellman, Al Gabriele, and Don Rico.

The second outing, "Menace From the Future World", was written by Otto Binder. Its seven chapters penciled by Alascia, Avison, Shores, and the pseudonymous Charles Nicholas also known as Chuck Nicholas, and inked by Alascia, Avison, Gabriele, Nicholas, and Shores.

Timely and Marvel editor-in-chief Stan Lee recalled in 1999:

Retroactive continuity and modern appearance

The All-Winners Squad has been retconned as the post-war continuation of The Invaders and Liberty Legion (two World War II team created by Marvel in the 1970s) and as the inspiration for the V-Battalion (a post-war superhero team created by Marvel in 2001).

The team's first modern appearance is in "What If?" #4 (Aug. 1977), an alternate universe umbrella series. A canonical portion of the story reveals that when Captain America/Steve Rogers and Bucky were presumed dead in 1945, U.S. President Truman asks William Naslund, the patriotically costumed Golden Age hero the Spirit of '76, to assume the Captain America role, with a young man named Fred Davis as Bucky. They continue to serve in the same roles after the war with the All-Winners Squad, until the android Adam II fatally injures Naslund in 1946. After Naslund's death, Jeff Mace, the Golden Age Patriot, takes over as Captain America, with Davis continuing as Bucky; however, Davis is shot and injured in 1948 and forced to retire. Mace teams up with Betsy Ross, the superheroine Golden Girl, and sometime before 1953 gives up his Captain America identity to marry her. Mace develops cancer and dies decades later ("Captain America" #285, Sept. 1983).

In 1976, Marvel created another retcon group set in World War II, the Liberty Legion. This team included two future members of the All-Winners Squad: the Whizzer and Miss America. It was assembled in 1942 by Captain America sidekick Bucky, the only Invaders member to escape a brainwashing trap by the Red Skull.

Reprints

* "All Winners Comics" #19 (Fall 1946)
**"Fantasy Masterpieces #10 (Aug. 1967)
**"Timely Presents: All-Winners" (hyphen sic; title per reprint indicia), also known as "Timely Comics Presents All Winners Comics" (title per reprint cover) (Dec. 1999)
* "All Winners Comics" #21 (Winter 1946)
**"Marvel Super-Heroes" #17-18 (Nov. 1968 & Jan. 1969)

Footnotes

References

* [http://www.geocities.com/jjnevins/aws.html Jess Nevins' All-Winners Squad]
* [http://www.maelmill-insi.de/UHBMCC/ALLWINNE.HTM#S1N21 The Unofficial Handbook of Marvel Comics Creators: "All Winners"]
* "The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe", various eds. ISBN 0-87135-209-5 & ISBN 0-7851-1933-7
* [http://www.comics.org The Grand Comics Database]