Harry "Tex" Thompson (Thomson pre-1993) is a

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a fictional character who typically possesses ''superpowers'' or abilities beyond those of ordinary people, is frequently costumed concealing their identity, and fits the role of the hero, typically using their ...

owned by

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 ...

who later became the masked crime-fighter Mr. America and then became an espionage operative called Americommando. He was often aided by his best friend Bob Daley, who for a brief time operated as his costumed sidekick "Fatman". Created by Ken Fitch and

Bernard Baily Bernard Baily (April 5, 1916 – January 19, 1996)
at the Lambiek Comiclopedia
''Action Comics'' #1 (June 1938), the same comic that introduced

Superman Superman is a superhero created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, which first appeared in the comic book ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1, published in the United States on April 18, 1938.The copyright date of ''Action Comics ...

. During his original stories of the 1940s, several of his enemies were based on

Yellow Peril The Yellow Peril (also the Yellow Terror, the Yellow Menace, and the Yellow Specter) is a Racism, racist color terminology for race, color metaphor that depicts the peoples of East Asia, East and Southeast Asia as an existential danger to the ...

stereotypes. Several of his earliest stories featured Gargantua T. Potts, a character based around

minstrel show The minstrel show, also called minstrelsy, was an American form of theater developed in the early 19th century. The shows were performed by mostly white actors wearing blackface makeup for the purpose of portraying racial stereotypes of Afr ...

stereotypes about African-Americans. The "Tex Thomson" series in ''Action Comics'' featured Tex and his friend Bob Daley investigating various crimes and mysteries, sometimes alongside law enforcement. When Tex took on the identity Mr. America, he used a whip as his weapon of choice. Later on, he used a scientific experiment to endow his cape with the power of flight. When he joined the

Office of Strategic Services The Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was the first intelligence agency of the United States, formed during World War II. The OSS was formed as an agency of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) to coordinate espionage activities behind enemy lines ...

as the Americommando, he became a trained spy and field operative, gaining skills in combat, weapons, explosives, and military vehicles. The 1993 DC Comics mini-series '' The Golden Age'' featured Tex. The story's writer James Robinson misspelled his last name as "Thompson". All later comics followed this spelling. The 1999 comic '' The Justice Society Returns: National Comics'' #1 heavily implies Americommando died in 1945 in

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

, Germany, during its bombing by Allied forces.

Publishing history

Originally introduced as an independently wealthy adventurer named "Tex" Thomson, the hero regularly used a gift for detective skills to solve crimes he heard about or came across. He also explored hidden societies and fought spies and terrorists who threatened America. Starting with his second story, Tex was often seen in the company of his overweight, good-natured friend Bob Daley. Another frequent ally during his earliest adventures was Gargantua T. Potts, a black character designed around racist stereotypes. Gargantua had exaggerated features, spoke in broken English, and was simple-minded and highly emotional. He acted as a servant of Tex Thomson, whom he called "Mr. Tex". In ''Action Comics'' #26 (1940), readers were told Gargantua had left Tex's company to pursue his own fate. The same issue had Tex receive a warning to stay away from "Maloney". Tex later met and befriended District Attorney Maloney, becoming the DA's special investigator. The same story also introduced the mysterious Miss X, who didn't wear a costume or mask but hid her identity with the aid of a fedora and dark glasses. Later on, Tex met Maloney's daughter, first called Janice then later called Peggy (later comics corrected this by saying her full name was Margaret Janice Maloney, and that she called herself "Peggy" as is common with some people named Margaret). The stories strongly implied Peggy was Miss X and Tex himself came to this conclusion, but it was never confirmed in-story. Maloney and Miss X dropped out of Tex's stories during 1941. To take advantage of the rising popularity of superheroes, ''Action Comics'' #33 (1941) rebranded Tex as a masked hero called Mr. America, armed him with a whip. The initial idea was that Tex was believed dead and left his identity behind to now act exclusively as Mr. America, similar to the earlier heroes the Lone Ranger and the Spirit, but this idea was dropped after a few months and Tex resumed a civilian identity under his real name. In ''Action Comics'' #42, his friend Bob Daley became "Fatman", a costumed sidekick who mainly provided comic relief or acted as someone Mr. America would need to frequently save. The same issue featured Mr. America endow his cape with the power of flight (similar to a magic flying carpet) thanks to special chemical treatments and a remote control built into his sash. In several stories, Mr. America fights spies and operatives of 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 ...

. Many of these enemies, particularly those who are meant to be Japanese, are designed around cultural stereotypes and

ideas. In ''Action Comics'' #52 (1942), Mr. America and Fatman are referred to as "Americommandos". In the next issue, this nickname only applies to Mr. America. It is not treated as a new codename, but rather as a nickname, in the same way that Superman is called the "Man of Steel" or "Man of Tomorrow" and Batman is called "the Dark Knight" or "Darknight Detective". In ''Action Comics'' #54 (1942), President

Franklin Delano Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

is depicted in the comic and asks Tex to operate as a spy and special operative for the

Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are calle ...

in the

European theatre The European theatre of World War II was one of the two main theatres of combat during World War II, taking place from September 1939 to May 1945. The Allied powers (including the United Kingdom, the United States, the Soviet Union and Franc ...

. In this story, Tex remarks that the training he'll receive before taking this assignment will make him an "Americommando" and FDR agrees that this is a perfect designation for him: "Mr. America, Americommando!" For the rest of his Golden Age adventures, Tex infiltrates and disrupts various

operations, sometimes in costume and sometimes while wearing civilian clothing or disguised as a

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 ...

, at one point establishing the identity of Hauptmann Riker. In ''Action Comics'' #56, this identity was exposed by his new enemy Dr. Ito, a half-German/half-Japanese mastermind known also as "the Little One", described by the story's narrator as "mystery man of two worlds, in whose blood the treachery of Japan and the savagery of Prussia have curdled to form a fearsome brew of terror". As the Golden Age ended, Tex's stories were cancelled and he was not revived for Silver Age stories during the 1950s and 1960s. According to ''Jess Nevins' Encyclopedia of Golden Age Superheroes'', Tex Tompson "explores lost cities, fights ape armies, woos the Queen of the Malays, has a recurring nemesis in the person of the cyclopean

Gorrah, fights zombies, island demons, spies, the half-German, half-Japanese dwarf 'master of assassination' Dr. Ito, and the female crime lord Queen Bee, and he kills lots of Germans and Japanese during the war". In the series ''

All-Star Squadron The All-Star Squadron is a DC Comics superhero team that debuted in ''Justice League, Justice League of America'' #193 (August 1981) and was created by Roy Thomas, Rich Buckler and Jerry Ordway. Although the team was introduced in the 1980s, its s ...

'' (1981-1987), 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 ...

retroactively made it official DC canon that during World War II the company's Golden Age heroes (as well as new characters and Golden Age heroes from other companies DC later acquired) were drafted under "Article X" to serve together in a special war-time organization. The series revealed Mr. America served with this organization, the All-Star Squadron, while he still operated in the US. This allowed DC Comics to retroactively establish several meetings and team-ups between Tex and other DC heroes. Tex is first seen with the Squadron in ''All-Star Squadron'' #31, when he arrives with many other heroes for the group's first full roster general meeting at the site of the New York

World's Fair A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition, is a large global exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specific site for a perio ...

. He only makes brief cameos during this issue and a few later ones. In issue #27 of the spin-off series ''Young All-Stars'', it is said Tex's special training to become Americommando involved becoming an expert in different martial arts, such as

jujutsu Jujutsu ( , or ), also known as jiu-jitsu and ju-jitsu (both ), is a Japanese martial art and a system of close combat that can be used in a defensive or offensive manner to kill or subdue one or more weaponless or armed and armored opponent ...

. The same issue features Tex bidding goodbye to several Squadron colleagues before leaving for Europe, indicating he formed genuine friendships with several of them in off-panel scenes. In an ''Action Comics'' storyline in 1989, the Hero Hotline was introduced as a commercial service operating in the modern-day. This service was managed by a mysterious character called "Coordinator" who supplied "substitute heroes" for those who called the hotline. This was followed by the 6-issue 1989 series ''

Hero Hotline Hero Hotline is a fictional DC Comics corporate superteam introduced in ''Action Comics, Action Comics Weekly'' #637 (cover-dated January 1989). It was created by Bob Rozakis and Stephen DeStefano. History Hero Hotline is a corporate 24/7 hero fo ...

''. Writer

Bob Rozakis Robert "Bob" Rozakis (; born April 4, 1951) is an American comic book writer and editor known mainly for his work in the 1970s and 1980s at DC Comics, as the writer of '' 'Mazing Man'' and in his capacity as DC's "Answer Man". Career Bob Rozakis ...

later revealed he intended the Coordinator to be Tex Thomson, still alive decades after World War II, but this was never confirmed in-story. Still considered a relatively obscure character, Tex gained great attention in 1993 in the popular mini-series '' The Golden Age'' which features an alternate history of how DC's Golden Age era heroes experienced the years following the end of World War II. Tex is a major character in the story, praised as a hero who killed Hitler but eventually revealed to be one of the secret villains of the mini-series. In this story, writer James Robinson spelled his name as "Thompson" instead of "Thomson". Robinson is known for occasionally misspelling or altering certain character names in his stories (for example, in his 1990s ''Starman'' series, Robinson had instances where he referred to superhero

Jay Garrick Jason Peter "Jay" Garrick is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He is the first character known as the Flash. The character first appeared in ''Flash Comics'' #1 (January 1940), created by writer Gardner Fox and ...

as Jay Garrett and Dinah Lance as Diana Lance). As most modern storytellers knew about Tex primarily from ''The Golden Age'' mini-series rather than from his original, obscure stories, the new spelling became the norm in all subsequent DC Comics stories. In 1999, DC Comics published an event ''The Justice Society Returns'', involving several one-shot issues featuring at least two Golden Age era heroes joining forces. This event publicized the upcoming new series JSA which would feature modern-day stories with characters who either operated during the Golden Age or carried on the legacy of Golden Age heroes. One chapter of this event, the one-shot ''The Justice Society Returns: National Comics'' #1, had the original

Mister Terrific (Terry Sloane) Terry Sloane is a fictional superhero appearing in DC Comics, and the first character named Mister Terrific (character), Mister Terrific. He first appeared in ''Sensation Comics'' #1 (January 1942). Fictional character biography Terry Sloane w ...

journey to Dresden, Germany alongside the original Flash (Jay Garrick). Mr. Terrific encounters a Gestapo whom he realizes is actually the Americommando. The same story implies the Americommando dies during the

bombing of Dresden The bombing of Dresden was a joint British and American aerial bombing attack on the city of Dresden, the capital of the German state of Saxony, during World War II. In four raids between 13 and 15 February 1945, 772 heavy bombers of the Ro ...

, in which case he was not the Coordinator of Hero Hotline decades later (or he was but then his history was changed by the reality reboot that occurred in 1994's '' Zero Hour: Crisis in Time''). The third volume of the series ''Justice Society of America'' (2007-2011) showed two legacy characters taking up the mantle of Mr. America. The first was Trey Thompson, whom the character Dr. Mid-Nite referred to as the "last of the Thompson bloodline". The next was Jeffrey Graves, who joined the modern-day incarnation of the JSA.

Fictional character biography

Thompson is originally a blond-haired young man from

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

who leaves behind the possibility of becoming an

oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) and lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturate ...

baron to pursue a more adventurous lifestyle with his friend, Bob Daley. The two enjoy many adventures in Texas as well as hidden cities and mysterious regions. They also have several encounters with criminals and con-artists. They also work with Gargantua T. Potts. After Gargantua leaves to pursue his own life and agenda, Tex establishes a friendship with District Attorney Maloney and accepts a job as the man's special investigator, tasked with helping crack down on organized crime. The same day, he meets the mysterious Miss X, who helps him on other adventures. After meeting Maloney's daughter Margaret Janice "Peggy" Maloney, Tex concludes she might be Miss X herself.

Mr. America

In 1941, Thompson resigns his duties as an investigator and accepts a special war relief. He leaves aboard the Angelus, a ship carrying food supplies to Europe. Tex discovers a

saboteur on board but is too late to prevent the man from planting an explosive. The explosion causes the ship to sink but Thompson survives and makes it to safety. Returning to America, he takes advantage of the public believing him to be dead and operates clandestinely, tracking down the bomber and his leader Pratt, who manages an entire sabotage crime. Donning a mask and patriotic costume, dyeing his hair black, and arming himself with a bull whip, Tex calls himself "Mr. America" and brings Pratt to justice. After a few more adventures, Tex decides to resume his civilian life, once again joining forces with Bob Daley. Months after beginning his costumed career, Mr. America uses experimental chemicals to give his cape the power of flight. At the same time, Bob Daley decides to a costumed hero to complement Mr. America and act as his official sidekick. Like the original Red Tornado, Daley creates a disguise out of homemade items (such as a lampshade he uses as a mask). Wielding a broom as his weapon, Daley calls himself "Fatman" and joins Mr. America on several adventures.''Action Comics'' #42 (DC Comics, 1942). Despite Fatman's bumbling behavior and sometimes ridiculous antics, Mr. America appreciates his help and loyalty. A recurring adversary for the duo during this time is the woman crime lord known as the Queen Bee. When the US official enters World War II, President Franklin D. Roosevelt creates "Article X", drafting America's superheroes to unify as a special war-time organization called the

. Mr. America answers the draft, working with the Squadron on a few occasions and meeting several other masked heroes of the time. He formed friendships with some of his All-Star Squadron colleagues, such as

Johnny Quick Johnny Quick may refer to: * Johnny Quick (Crime Syndicate) * Johnny Quick (Johnny Chambers) See also * Jonathan Quick, hockey player {{dab ...

, Firebrand,

Tarantula Tarantulas comprise a group of large and often hairy spiders of the family Theraphosidae. , 1,100 species have been identified, with 166 genera. The term "tarantula" is usually used to describe members of the family Theraphosidae, although ...

, and the organization's chairperson Liberty Belle.

Americommando

In 1942, President Roosevelt summons Mr. America, whom he is aware is really Harry "Tex" Thompson. Impressed with the man's work against spies and organized crime in America, FDR requests Tex undergo intensive military and combat training so he can then operate overseas for the

OSS OSS or Oss may refer to: Places * Oss, a city and municipality in the Netherlands * Osh Airport, IATA code OSS People with the name * Oss (surname), a surname Arts and entertainment * ''O.S.S.'' (film), a 1946 World War II spy film about ...

as the "Americommando". Thompson agrees, saying goodbye to Bob Daley who is not authorized to join him. After his training, Thompson arrives in the

European Theatre The European theatre of World War II was one of the two main theatres of combat during World War II, taking place from September 1939 to May 1945. The Allied powers (including the United Kingdom, the United States, the Soviet Union and Franc ...

and helps the

defeat several operations of the

. Americommando stays behind enemy lines for the rest of World War II. During these adventures, he didn't use his flying cape. Over time, Tex came to realize that while he had cause to hate the Nazi party, many Germans were good people and victims of their own country's government.''The Justice Society Returns: National Comics'' #1, part of the larger event ''The Justice Society Returns'' (DC Comics, 1999). In time, Thompson adopts the identity of "Hauptmann Riker" and infiltrates the

Gestapo The (, ), Syllabic abbreviation, abbreviated Gestapo (), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of F ...

. In 1945, he is stationed in Dresden when he meets the original American hero called Mr. Terrific (Terry Sloane). The allies are bombing the city and Terrific has been told this is due to the presence of munitions factories. Thompson informs Terrific that Dresden has no munitions factories and this fact is known to the Allies. As the bombing continues, Thompson enters a burning building to save a German civilian. As soon as he does, a bomb hits the building, destroying it instantly and knocking Mr. Terrific backward. The Americommando is never seen again.

Hero Hotline

In the modern era, a mysterious figure known as the Coordinator established the Hero Hotline organization. A commercial enterprise, Hero Hotline provided "substitute heroes" for those who called with emergencies or special situations where help was needed.''Action Comics'' #637-640 (DC Comics, 1989). The Coordinator's identity was never revealed in-story, but writer Bob Rozakis later said he intended the Coordinator to be Tex Thompson, still alive and semi-active decades after World War II.

Legacy Heroes

In the modern era, an ex-FBI agent named Trey Thompson, implied to be related to Tex Thompson, decides to become a vigilante and dons the Mr. America identity. He is quickly killed in the field, but his former FBI contact Jeffrey Graves later assumes the Mr. America mantle.''Justice Society of America'' (vol. 3) #1–4: 'The Next Age' Graves uses a whip that is later modified by the second Mr. Terrific, who equips it with an explosive tip.''Justice Society of America'' (vol. 3) #34

Powers and abilities

When first introduced, Tex Thompson is an intelligent person with a talent for detective work and great skill at hand-to-hand combatant. He becomes formidable with a whip, his weapon of choice as Mr. America. For some of his adventures as Mr. America, he also employed a chemically treated cape capable of going rigid and achieving flight, comparing it to a flying rug from legend. To control the cape's functions, Mr. America used a remote control built into his sash and pressed certain buttons when needed. As an official US government operative called Americommando, Tex receives intensive military training, learning espionage techniques, as well as how to operate certain military vehicles and explosives. Americommando's government training makes him a proficient marksman in various firearms and an expert in different martial arts, including jujustu. He also learns German and is able to speak it fluently while disguising his native accent from most people (only Mr. Terrific's special skills were able to detect the presence of an American dialect).

Other versions

* In '' Freedom Fighters'' #7 (March 1977), the villain Silver Ghost poses as a hero and calls himself Americommando. In his role, he becomes leader of the

Crusaders The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and at times directed by the Papacy during the Middle Ages. The most prominent of these were the campaigns to the Holy Land aimed at reclaiming Jerusalem and its surrounding ...

. The story intentionally painted this Americommando and his team as a parody of

Captain America Captain America is a superhero created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby who appears in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in '' Captain America Comics'' #1, published on December 20, 1940, by Timely C ...

and the Invaders of Marvel Comics. * In '' Lord Havok and the Extremists'' #1–6, the Earth-8 version of Americommando is leader of a group called the Meta-Militia, an analogue of the

Avengers Avenger(s) or The Avenger(s) may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Marvel Comics universe * Avengers (comics), a team of superheroes **Avengers (Marvel Cinematic Universe), a central team of protagonist superheroes of "The Infinity Sag ...

. Like the Silver Ghost version, he seems to be a satire of Marvel's Captain America. * In ''

Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters The Freedom Fighters is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The original six characters were the Black Condor, Doll Man, the Human Bomb, the Ray, the Phantom Lady, and Uncle Sam. Although the characters we ...

'', an agent of

S.H.A.D.E. The following is a list of fictional government agency, government agencies, comic book organizations that have been published by DC Comics and their imprints. A Agency The Agency is a fictional organization appearing in American comic books pu ...

operates under the name Americommando and lead's a field team for the organization. He opposes the heroic Freedom Fighters and kills his own speedster teammate Spin Doctor for talking back to him. * In the alternate reality of '' Kingdom Come'', a minor terrorist calling himself Americommando demands the halting of all immigration to the United States after the destruction of Kansas. It is later implied that he, and new versions of the DC characters called Minutemen, acted under the control of the villains called Braintrust. * Tex Thompson played a central role in the ''

Golden Age The term Golden Age comes from Greek mythology, particularly the ''Works and Days'' of Hesiod, and is part of the description of temporal decline of the state of peoples through five Ages of Man, Ages, Gold being the first and the one during wh ...

'' miniseries, which takes place outside DC canon and offered an alternative history of the fates of DC's Golden Age heroes following World War II. He is still a crime-fighter who leaves for Europe in 1942 to fight the Nazi threat from within. In this version of events, he kills the German metahuman Parsifal, whose power is to shut off the powers of other metahumans. At the end of the war, Thompson is credited with killing

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 ...

himself and returns to America as a hero. He becomes a

senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

and has aspirations to be

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

, but it is revealed to readers and eventually other characters that this version of Thompson is secretly a villain.

References

External links

Mr. America
at

Don Markstein's Toonopedia Don Markstein's Toonopedia (subtitled A Vast Repository of Toonological Knowledge) is an online encyclopedia of print cartoons, comic strips and animation, initiated February 13, 2001. Donald D. Markstein, the sole writer and editor of Toonopedi ...

Archived
from the original on April 4, 2012. {{DEFAULTSORT:Thomson Comics characters introduced in 1938 DC Comics superheroes Fictional spies Golden Age superheroes United States-themed superheroes Fictional Federal Bureau of Investigation personnel