Captain Nazi (Baron Albrecht Krieger) is a

Fawcett Comics Fawcett Comics, a division of Fawcett Publications, was one of several successful comic book publishers during the Golden Age of Comic Books in the 1940s. Its most popular character was Captain Marvel, the alter ego of radio reporter Billy Bats ...

and

DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...

supervillain A supervillain, supervillainess or supercriminal is a major antagonist and variant of the villainous stock character who possesses Superpower (ability), superpowers. The character type is sometimes found in comic books and is often the primary ...

, and rival of Captain Marvel and Captain Marvel Jr. Captain Nazi made his first live-action appearance in a 2016 second season episode of

The CW The CW Network, LLC (commonly referred to as The CW or simply CW) is an American commercial broadcast television network which is controlled by Nexstar Media Group through a 75% ownership interest. The network's name is derived from the firs ...

TV series '' DC's Legends of Tomorrow'', played by André Eriksen.

Publication history

Captain Nazi first appeared in ''

Master Comics ''Master Comics'' is a monthly ongoing comic book anthology series that began its 133-issue run (cover dated March 1940 – April 1953) during the 1930s and 1940s period known as the Golden Age of Comic Books. Published by Fawcett Comics, it cont ...

'' #21 (December 1941) and was created by William Woolfolk and Mac Raboy.

Fictional character biography

Fawcett Comics

The super-strong Captain Nazi was genetically altered by his scientist father, and developed into the "perfect specimen" to fight for

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

and the

Axis Powers The Axis powers, originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis and also Rome–Berlin–Tokyo Axis, was the military coalition which initiated World War II and fought against the Allies of World War II, Allies. Its principal members were Nazi Ge ...

during

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 ...

. He is given superhuman strength and stamina, and a special flying gas that allows him to fly. He is sent to battle American superheroes by the Nazis after his power is demonstrated to them by Hitler, and some of the heroes are shown. Nazi first appeared in ''

'' #21 (December 1941), in opposition to both Captain Marvel and Bulletman. During the second half of his battle with Marvel in ''Whiz Comics'' #25 (published the same month), Nazi attacks two innocent bystanders who happened to be fishing near the scene of the battle, after they pull him out of the lake, and he escapes in their boat. One of them, an old man named Jacob Freeman, is killed, but the old man's teenage grandson Freddy Freeman is saved by Captain Marvel, although he is crippled and his back broken with a hit from an oar while Nazi escapes in the boat. Due to Captain Marvel bestowing part of his power to him, Freddy becomes Captain Marvel Jr. He is then sent to defeat Captain Nazi by Captain Marvel. Junior, crippled in his Freddy Freeman form by the attack, continues to hold a vendetta against Nazi, and the two frequently battle one another. Nazi also serves as a member of

Mister Mind Mister Mind is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, primarily as an enemy of Captain Marvel (DC Comics), Captain Marvel. Created by Otto Binder and C. C. Beck for Fawcett Comics, the character made a cameo appea ...

Monster Society of Evil The Monster Society of Evil is a supervillain team created by Otto Binder and C. C. Beck for Fawcett Comics. It is led by Mister Mind against their mutual enemy Captain Marvel (DC Comics), Captain Marvel. The team is significant as one of the firs ...

, one of the most powerful organisations of villains in the world which included Adolf Hitler, and assists their first plan to steal magic fortune-telling pearls from a princess, leading Captain Marvel to their hideout, and revealing their existence, during the World War II years, before making his final Fawcett Comics appearance in the story "General Nippon's Elusive Earthplane", published in ''Captain Marvel, Jr.'' #19 in 1944.

DC Comics

Captain Nazi appeared only sporadically in

' 1970s/1980s revival of the

Marvel Family The Marvel Family, also known as the Shazam Family (also Shazamily), are a group of superheroes who originally appeared in books published by Fawcett Comics and were later acquired by DC Comics. Created in 1942 by writer Otto Binder and artist M ...

characters under the title ''Shazam!'', save for reprints of the original Fawcett stories. Nazi's first appearance in a new DC Comics story was in ''Shazam!'' #34 (March- April 1978). Following writer

Roy Thomas Roy William Thomas Jr."Roy Thomas Checklist" ''Alter Ego'' vol. 3, #50 (July 2005) p. 16 (born November 22, 1940) is an American comic book writer and editor. He was Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics and possibly bes ...

and artist

Tom Mandrake Tom Mandrake (born 1956) is an American comics artist, perhaps best known for his collaborations with writer John Ostrander on several series, including ''Grimjack'' (from First Comics) and ''Firestorm (comics), Firestorm'', ''The Spectre (DC Comi ...

's new interpretation of the Captain Marvel mythos in the 1987 four-issue miniseries '' Shazam!: The New Beginning'', Captain Nazi was re-introduced in a 1988 four-part story in '' Action Comics Weekly'' issues #623-626. Captain Nazi himself, however, only appeared in #624-626. The story was written by Thomas and his wife Dann Thomas, with art by Rick Stasi and Rick Magyar. The new Captain Nazi is a young Neo-Nazi named Lester Abernathy. Abernathy is given his "Captain Nazi" powers, costume and codename by a Neo-Nazi organization called the Sons of

Valhalla In Norse mythology, Valhalla ( , ; , )Orchard (1997:171–172) is described as a majestic hall located in Asgard and presided over by the god Odin. There were five possible realms the soul could travel to after death. The first was Fólkvang ...

and battles Captain Marvel. This version of the character made no further appearances and was subsequently

retcon Retroactive continuity, or retcon for short, is a literary device in fictional story telling whereby facts and events established through the narrative itself are adjusted, ignored, supplemented, or contradicted by a subsequently published work ...

ned out of existence by the 1994 ''The Power of Shazam!'' graphic novel, which again altered Captain Marvel's background and continuity. Captain Nazi was introduced into the modern

DC Universe The DC Universe (DCU) is the shared universe in which most stories in American comic book titles published by DC Comics take place. In context, the term "DC Universe" usually refers to the main DC Continuity (fiction), continuity. It contains v ...

Jerry Ordway Jeremiah Joseph Ordway (born November 28, 1957) is an American writer, penciller, inker and painter of comic books. He is known for his inking work on a wide variety of DC Comics titles, including the continuity-redefining ''Crisis on Infinite E ...

's ''The Power of Shazam!'' series in 1995. In the modern series, Nazi had been active during the 1940s, battling World War II-era heroes such as Bulletman, Minute-Man, and Spy Smasher, but placed himself in suspended animation in a chamber so that he could emerge in modern society and revive the

Third Reich Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a totalitarian dictat ...

. He believed Hitler's body to be held in a similar chamber. Nazi's brother, scientist Wolf Krieger, and his granddaughter, a super-powered villainess named Madame Libertine who possesses mind-controlling powers, carry on Nazi's legacy in the 1990s and resurrect their hero from his suspended animation chamber in ''The Power of Shazam!'' #5. Issues #6–8 of ''The Power of Shazam'' series retell the story of Captain Nazi murdering Freddy Freeman's grandfather by throwing him a great distance with his superhuman strength, his crippling of Freddy, and Freddy's emergence as Marvel, Jr. and attempted revenge on Nazi. He ultimately takes Nazi to

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

to be tried for war crimes. Captain Nazi later joins

Lex Luthor Alexander "Lex" Joseph Luthor () is a supervillain in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, the character first appeared in ''Action Comics'' #23 (published on February 22, 1940, with a cover d ...

Secret Society of Super Villains Secret Society of Super Villains (SSoSV) is a DC Comics title that debuted in May–June 1976. The series presented a group of DC's supervillains, mostly foes of the Justice League, Justice League of America. The series was cancelled with issue #1 ...

in ''

Villains United ''Villains United'' is a six-issue 2005 comic book limited series, published by DC Comics, written by Gail Simone and illustrated by Dale Eaglesham and Wade Von Grawbadger, and later by Val Semeiks and Prentis Rollins. Publication history ''V ...

'' before being apparently killed by the

Red Hood Ra's al Ghul Nyssa Raatko Rag Doll Rag Doll is the name of several supervillains appearing in American comic book, American comic books published by DC Comics. The first, Peter Merkel, is a villain of the Flash (Jay Garrick), original Flash, ...

in ''

Batman Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...

'' #647. In ''Villains United Special'' #1 he is revealed to have survived and battles former Society member

Black Adam Black Adam (Teth-Adam) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He was created by Otto Binder and C. C. Beck, and first appeared in the debut issue of Fawcett Comics' '' The Marvel Family'' comic book ...

. He has since appeared as leader of a Nazi-themed team in ''

Justice Society of America The Justice Society of America (JSA) is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. It was conceived by editor Sheldon Mayer and writer Gardner Fox during the Golden Age of Comic Books. It first appeared in '' ...

'' named "The Fourth Reich" after the "

One Year Later "One Year Later" is a 2006 comic book storyline running through the books published by DC Comics. As the title suggests, it involves a narrative jump exactly one year into the future of the DC Universe following the events of the "Infinite Crisi ...

" jump, and is an opponent of

Wonder Woman Wonder Woman is a superheroine who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in ''All Star Comics'' Introducing Wonder Woman, #8, published October 21, 1941, with her first feature in ''Sensation Comic ...

in "The Circle". In September 2011, DC Comics engaged in a line-wide revision of its superhero comics, including their stories and characters' fictional histories, known as ''

The New 52 The New 52 was the 2011 revamp and relaunch by DC Comics of its entire Line (comics), line of ongoing monthly superhero American comic books, comic books. Following the conclusion of the "Flashpoint (comics), Flashpoint" Fictional crossover, cros ...

''. In the new stories, Captain Nazi first appears in the "Superman" storyline "Savage Dawn" in ''Superman'' (vol. 3) Annual #3. In 1941, Captain Nazi is genetically engineered to serve in Hitler's Aerospace program.

Vandal Savage Vandal Savage (Vandar Adg) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He is said to be a Cro-Magnon warrior who gained immortality and advanced healing abilities after encountering a strange meteorite during prehis ...

successfully convinces the

to build a rocket that Captain Nazi will use to pilot himself and Vandal Savage into outer space to collect a larger sample of the meteor that gave Savage his powers. When the ship faces turbulence, Captain Nazi opts to land instead of going forward with the mission. After a crash landing, an enraged Vandal Savage beats him until he stops moving.

Other versions

An alternate universe variant of Captain Nazi who became a member of

H.I.V.E. The Hierarchy of International Vengeance and Extermination (H.I.V.E.) is a fictional terrorist organization appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The H.I.V.E. organization has appeared in ''Teen Titans (TV series), Teen Titan ...

appears in '' Flashpoint''.

In other media

* Albrecht Krieger makes a non-speaking cameo appearance in a flashback depicted in the ''

Justice League Unlimited ''Justice League Unlimited'' (''JLU'') is an American superhero animated series that was produced by Warner Bros. Animation with DC Comics in season 3 and aired on Cartoon Network. Featuring a wide array of superheroes from the DC Universe, and ...

'' episode "Patriot Act". He volunteers to be injected with an unstable super-soldier serum as part of "Project Captain Nazi", but the operation is thwarted by Spy Smasher. * Baron Krieger appears in the ''

Legends of Tomorrow ''DC's Legends of Tomorrow'', or simply ''Legends of Tomorrow'', is an American Time travel in fiction, time travel superhero fiction, superhero television series developed by Greg Berlanti, Marc Guggenheim, Andrew Kreisberg, and Phil Klemmer, ...

'' episode "The Justice Society of America", portrayed by André Eriksen. This version is an ally of

Eobard Thawne Eobard Thawne, also known as the Reverse-Flash and Professor Zoom, is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by John Broome (writer), John Broome and Carmine Infantino, the character first appeared in ''T ...

who uses a bio-molecular enhancer that the latter created to transform into a monstrous, self-proclaimed "

Übermensch The ( , ; 'Overman' or 'Superman') is a concept in the philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche. In his 1883 book, '' Thus Spoke Zarathustra'' (), Nietzsche has his character Zarathustra posit the as a goal for humanity to set for itself. The repre ...

References

External links

Captain Nazi's "Who's Who" file
at The Marvel Family Web {{Birds of Prey DC Comics characters with superhuman strength DC Comics characters who can move at superhuman speeds DC Comics male supervillains Fawcett Comics supervillains

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

DC Comics Nazis DC Comics neo-Nazis Golden Age supervillains Comics characters introduced in 1941 National personifications in comic books Captain Marvel (DC Comics) de:Captain Marvel (DC Comics)#Captain Nazi