Ironwolf is a fictional character who appeared in the last three issues of '' Weird Worlds'', a comics anthology series published by American company

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 ...

from 1972 to 1974. Ironwolf was created by

Howard Chaykin Howard Victor Chaykin (; born October 7, 1950) is an Americans, American comics artist, comic book artist and writer. Chaykin's influences include his one-time employer and mentor, Gil Kane, and the mid-20th century illustrators Robert Fawcett an ...

, with

Dennis O'Neil Dennis "Denny" Joseph O'Neil (May 3, 1939 – June 11, 2020) was an American comic book writer and editor, principally for Marvel Comics and DC Comics from the 1960s through the 1990s, and Group Editor for the Batman family of titles until h ...

and

Walt Simonson Walter Simonson (born September 2, 1946) is an American comic book writer and artist, best known for a run on Marvel Comics' ''Thor'' from 1983 to 1987, during which he created the character Beta Ray Bill. He is also known for the creator-owned ...

serving as writer and letterer for his stories. Ironwolf has no powers, but is an extraordinary

hand-to-hand combat Hand-to-hand combat is a physical confrontation between two or more persons at short range (grappling distance or within the physical reach of a handheld weapon) that does not involve the use of ranged weapons.Hunsicker, A., ''Advanced Skills in ...

fighter. He is a master swordsman and highly skilled with the guns of his era. He sometimes uses antique 20th-century weapons like a

.357 Magnum The .357 Smith & Wesson Magnum, .357 S&W Magnum, .357 Magnum, or 9×33mmR (as it is known in unofficial metric designation) is a smokeless powder cartridge with a bullet diameter. It was created by Elmer Keith, Phillip B. Sharpe, and Douglas B. ...

. Ironwolf was influenced by the works of

Edgar Rice Burroughs Edgar Rice Burroughs (September 1, 1875 – March 19, 1950) was an American writer, best known for his prolific output in the adventure, science fiction, and fantasy genres. Best known for creating the characters Tarzan (who appeared in ...

Robin Hood Robin Hood is a legendary noble outlaw, heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature, theatre, and cinema. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions o ...

, and the 1948 film ''The Three Musketeers''.

Fictional character history

Lord Ironwolf is an officer from the interstellar Galaktika Empire in the 61st century. On his homeworld of Illium, he owns millions of trees with "anti-gravity wood" that is used to make starships. He renounces his position in opposition to Empress Erika Klein-Hernandez's cruelty and rebels against her, fearing that her alien allies will build a fleet to attack the Empire.

Later versions

The ''Weird Worlds'' stories were reprinted in an ''Ironwolf'' one-shot in March 1987. Chaykin returned to the Ironwolf character in 1992, co-writing ''Ironwolf: Fires of the Revolution'' with frequent collaborator John Francis Moore. This graphic novel was penciled by

Mike Mignola Michael Mignola (; born September 16, 1960) is an American comic book writer best known for creating ''Hellboy'' for Dark Horse Comics, part of a Hellboy Universe, shared universe of titles including ''B.P.R.D.'', ''Abe Sapien'', ''Lobster Johns ...

and inked by P. Craig Russell.''Ironwolf: Fires of the Revolution''
at the Grand Comics Database Some of the events of the ''Weird World'' stories are recapitulated here but it also brings the story to something of a close.

References

{{Authority control Characters created by Howard Chaykin Comics characters introduced in 1972 DC Comics male characters DC Comics titles Fictional gunfighters in comics Fictional swordfighters in comics