Breeze Barton is a fictional character appearing in

American comic book An American comic book is a thin periodical literature originating in the United States, commonly between 24 and 64 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publ ...

s published by

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...

. The character

first appeared In comic books and other stories with a long history, first appearance refers to the first issue to feature a fictional character. These issues are often highly valued by collectors due to their rarity and iconic status. Reader interest in fir ...

in '' Daring Mystery Comics'' #3 (

cover-date The cover date of a periodical publication is the date displayed on the cover, which is not necessarily the true date of publication (the on-sale date or release date); later cover dates are common in magazine and comic book publishing. More unusu ...

d April 1940), by

Timely Comics Timely Comics was the common name for the group of corporations that was the earliest comic book arm of American publisher Martin Goodman (publisher), Martin Goodman, and the entity that would evolve by the 1960s to become Marvel Comics. "Timely P ...

, the precursor of Marvel. He was conceived by Jack Binder as an alternate-reality soldier that can move through the multiverse in the U.S. Army fighting in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Publication history

Breeze Barton was created by Jack Binder. His universe of origin is the alternate reality of Earth-4040. The character made its debut in April 1940's '' Daring Mystery Comics'' #3, published by

Fictional character biography

Miracle City

Kurt "Breeze" Barton was born in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

. His first story was set in the then-near future of 1945.

had by then spread across the globe. Barton is a pilot of the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

on a scouting expedition in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. He discovers units of the

Imperial Japanese Army The Imperial Japanese Army (IJA; , ''Dai-Nippon Teikoku Rikugun'', "Army of the Greater Japanese Empire") was the principal ground force of the Empire of Japan from 1871 to 1945. It played a central role in Japan’s rapid modernization during th ...

marching towards the British-held areas of the nation. He wants to alert his British allies, but four planes of the

Imperial Japanese Army Air Service The Imperial Japanese Army Air Service (IJAAS) or Imperial Japanese Army Air Force (IJAAF; ) was the Military aviation, aviation force of the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA). Its primary mission was to provide tactical close air support for ground ...

intercept him. His plane gets gunned down by the enemies. He lands in the middle of the

Sahara The Sahara (, ) is a desert spanning across North Africa. With an area of , it is the largest hot desert in the world and the list of deserts by area, third-largest desert overall, smaller only than the deserts of Antarctica and the northern Ar ...

. Just as he finds can move through the multiverse a "wondrous city towering in the distance", which he thinks is a

mirage A mirage is a naturally-occurring optical phenomenon in which light rays bend via refraction to produce a displaced image of distant objects or the sky. The word comes to English via the French ''(se) mirer'', from the Latin ''mirari'', mean ...

, he blacks out. Barton regains consciousness in a ward, where Ann Barclay (a fellow American) tells him that he has come to Miracle City, also known as the "City of the Mirage". Barton later discovers from the chief scientist of Miracle City, Zanoba, that aging does not occur in the area due to the absence of time. Miracle City is cited as "the only one contact with Earth — the 'Spot'." A strange science phenomenon has allowed every living organism in it "to become imortal 'sic''">sic.html" ;"title="'sic">'sic''. Zanoba has lived in the City for 12,000 years and has yet to find a way to escape it. Barton figures that building a gigantic magnetiser would enable one to escape the "Spot". Miracle City's vicinity includes prehistoric life forms such as a male Neanderthal and a Dinosaur. He also finds out about another city in the "Land of the Mirage" — a demonic hub inhabited by "half-man-half-animal" creatures, in the year 1995. Their troops are led by Mubahn, who seeks to learn the secret of magnetism so as to get through the "Spot". Muban's efforts become futile when Barton invades Demon City to rescue Zanoba, who has been captured, and single-handedly slays many demons. Causing internal chaos, Barton and Zanoba return to the peaceful Miracle City. Ann Barclay promises to return to the "normal" Earth with Barton once the magnetiser finishes completion.'' Daring Mystery Comics'' #3 (April 1940). Story by Jack King.

Post-apocalyptic world

According to modern interpretations of the story was an extradimensional realm whose portal had access to all eras of Earth history. When Barton and Barclay attempt to return to their world, they instead end up in a post-apocalyptic future. They are in the year 1995 of Earth-4040. World War II had devastated the world and human civilization had given way to savagery. A few humans had managed to remain civilized. Barton manages to join them and becomes their new leader. Barton and Barclay share secrets from Miracle City with the locals and help them fight their savage enemies. Following a few battles with savage chieftains, the area becomes pacified. Barton and Barclay set out to explore the rest of the world.

A.R.M.O.R.

Generations later, A.R.M.O.R. (Altered-Reality Monitoring and Operational Response) leader

Howard the Duck Howard the Duck is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Steve Gerber, based very loosely on his college friend Howard Tockman, and artist Val Mayerik. Howard the Duck firs ...

and S.H.I.E.L.D. (Strategic Hazard Intervention Espionage Logistics Directorate) operative

Dum Dum Dugan Timothy Aloysius Cadwallader "Dum Dum" Dugan is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is an officer of S.H.I.E.L.D. and is one of the most experienced members of Nick Fury's team, known for his marksmanship w ...

recruit Barton and a few other alternate reality superheroes to battle "Nazi zombies" looking to subjugate parts of the Marvel multiverse. Breeze joins up with other heroes such as Red Raven, Battlestar and Howard the Duck to travel to the zombies 'home' world. Barton is killed during the initial clash; ripped apart by a zombified Namor.

Powers and abilities

Strictly speaking, Breeze Barton has no superhuman powers. However, he has exceptional fighting skills and a high level of endurance, having been able to survive a year of dehydration in the Sahara. He is also an experienced military pilot and marksman, and he's a known user of jetpacks and frequently sports two ray guns.

References

External links

Breeze Barton
at Comicvine
Breeze Barton
at the Marvel Wikia {{DEFAULTSORT:Barton, Breeze Marvel Comics male superheroes Marvel Comics military personnel Characters created by Jack Binder Comics characters introduced in 1940 Fictional aviators Fictional United States Air Force personnel Fictional World War II veterans Golden Age superheroes Timely Comics characters Fictional characters from Chicago Comics about time travel Post-apocalyptic comics