Freedom Fighters #9 is an issue of the series Freedom Fighters (Volume 1) with a cover date of August, 1977. It was published on April 12, 1977.
Synopsis for "Blitzkrieg at Buffalo!"
The Freedom Fighters seemingly defeat the Silver Ghost and free his captive, Martha Roberts. District Attorney Pearson is murdered and Doll Man is found holding a smoking gun.
The Crusaders fought among themselves until finally, after being deserted by the Americommando, they reveal their origins. The Crusaders explain the the Americommando had approached a group of young comic collectors at a convention (Marvin, Lennie, Arch and Roy) and offered to use his technology to turn them into copies of his former teammates.
Appearing in "Blitzkrieg at Buffalo!"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Crusaders
- Americommando/Silver Ghost
- Barracuda (Final appearance)
- Fireball (Final appearance)
- Rusty (Final appearance)
- Sparky (Final appearance)
Other Characters:
- David Pearson (Dies)
- Michael Tulane
Locations:
- New York
- Buffalo
- Niagara Falls
Items:
Vehicles:
Notes
- The Americommando featured here is not to be confused with Mister America's alter ego, also called the Americommando.
- The Crusaders is the name used by two teams of superheroes, one group appearing in DC Comics and the other in Marvel Comics, at around the same time as part of an informal crossover. The DC Comics team was created by Bob Rozakis and Dick Ayers in the pages of Freedom Fighters #7. The Marvel Comics version of the Crusaders first appeared in Invaders #14, written by Roy Thomas and drawn by Frank Robbins.
- The names of the DC team are actually taken from relatively obscure Golden Age DC Superheroes. The characters have counterparts in Marvel's Invaders:
- The Americommando - (based on Captain America, actually the Silver Ghost)
- Barracuda - (based on Namor)
- Fireball - (based on the Human Torch)
- Rusty - (based on Bucky)
- Sparky - (based on Toro)
- The comic fans that the disguised Silver Ghost recruited are Lenny, Marvin, Arch, and Roy, who visually resemble Len Wein, Marv Wolfman, Archie Goodwin, and Roy Thomas, respectively. A panel showing the fans being transformed show that Lenny and Roy were transformed into either Barracuda or Fireball, while Marvin and Arch haven't been changed yet, meaning they became either Rusty or Sparky.
- Updated versions of Americommando and Barracuda have since appeared in the miniseries Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters (Volume 1) 2006-2007, as part of the team called First Strike. However, it's doubtful that their Pre-Crisis history is still canonical.