- Ay ban bust somebody's neck off at the waistline!
- — Olaf src
Olaf was a Scandanavian pilot who was a member of the Blackhawk Squadron.
History
Powers and Abilities
Abilities
- Astronomy:
- Aviation Olaf was one of the greatest combat pilots in history.
- Engineering: When the Blackhawks traveled to the Moon, Olaf's billet was that of "rocket engineer."[3]
- Hand-to-Hand Combat (Basic)
- Multilingualism: Olaf understood spoken Russian,[4] as well as his native Norwegian (and/or Swedish)(see Notes), German, English, and several other languages.
- Music: At Blackhawk Squadron sing-alongs, Olaf sometimes played the accordion.[5]
- Singing: During their rare interludes of down-time, at the barracks on Blackhawk Island, and more frequently, on their return flights from their many international adventures, it was commonplace for the seven aviators of the Blackhawk Squadron to join their voices in a hearty chorus of their Blackhawk Anthem, often improvising new verses to fit the circumstances of that particular adventure.
Paraphernalia
Weapons
- On the ground he typically carried an M1/A1 Thompson submachine gun and an M1911 pistol.
Notes
- This version of Olaf, including all history and corresponding appearances, was erased from existence following the collapse of the original Multiverse in the 1985–86 Crisis on Infinite Earths event and later restored following the rebirth of the infinite Multiverse during the Dark Crisis of 2022-2023. Even though other versions of the character may have appeared, this information does not apply to those versions.
- Olaf was Norwegian,[citation needed] until the text piece in Blackhawk #93, which re-established him as Swedish. This is why it is said that Blackhawk is confusing.
- Per Blackhawk #85, 1st story, in early 1955, Olaf is 6' 5", 230 lbs.
- Olaf took some lumps, in the course of his long and violent career.
- He was shot in 1943, and again in 1948.[6]
- He once deliberately crashed his Grumman Skyrocket into a German fighter plane,[7] and crashed another one into one of the Himalayas.[8] Olaf then survived another crash, of a plane piloted by another Blackhawk.[9] Very late in World War II, Olaf was shot down by Japanese fighters, and survived his fourth plane crash.[10] He also crashed a limousine (and got knocked out),[11] In 1951 he landed in a wet cement trap on Blackhawk Island; his F-90B was destroyed.[12] In 1955 he was shot down again twice, and crash-landed again once.[13] Altogether, Olaf has survived at least seven vehicle crashes. He may also have been shot down one earlier time,[14] the chronicles are unclear.
- He got knocked unconscious from a blow to the head with a rifle stock, for the first time, in 1947.[15] His second knock-out was in the 1949 car crash,[16] and he received a third concussion that same year.[17] In 1950 he was knocked out with a big rock[18] and with a pistol butt.[19] Olaf got his sixth concussion in 1951, from a gang clubbing.[20] In 1952 he was knocked unconscious, and riddled with shrapnel, by a bomb.[21] Thrice in 1953 he was knocked out with a pistol butt.[22]
- In 1949 Olaf was surgically implanted with a radio receiver wired into the nerves of his neck, and briefly was remotely controlled by a scientific villain, but Hendrickson performed an emergency surgery which saved Olaf, who recovered very rapidly and very completely both times.[23]
- In 1956 another scientific villain used electronic supersonic radio waves to rearrange Olaf's brain-wave patterns and turn him into a Communist. Only another treatment, with even higher sound waves, was able to reverse this effect.[24]
Trivia
- Olaf served briefly as Secretary of Labor, in the ancient land of Fusang.[25] He later briefly served in a Cabinet position in the democracy of Bolia.[26]
- Olaf smoked cigarettes until at least 1941.[27]
Related
- 203 Appearances of Olaf (Quality Universe)
- 11 Images featuring Olaf (Quality Universe)
- 8 Quotations by or about Olaf (Quality Universe)
- Character Gallery: Olaf (Quality Universe)
Footnotes
- ↑ Blackhawk #53
- ↑ Blackhawk #100
- ↑ Modern Comics #99
- ↑ Blackhawk #39
- ↑ Military Comics #25, page 10, panel 2
- ↑ Military Comics (Volume k) #1, Modern Comics #80
- ↑ Military Comics #16
- ↑ Military Comics #18
- ↑ Military Comics #33
- ↑ Modern Comics #45
- ↑ Blackhawk #25 1st story
- ↑ Blackhawk #45 1st story
- ↑ Blackhawk #88, Blackhawk #92
- ↑ Military Comics #41
- ↑ Blackhawk #15
- ↑ Blackhawk #25 1st story
- ↑ Modern Comics #89
- ↑ Modern Comics #94
- ↑ Blackhawk #31
- ↑ Blackhawk #43
- ↑ Blackhawk #58
- ↑ Blackhawk #65, Blackhawk #67, & Blackhawk #68
- ↑ Blackhawk #25 1st story
- ↑ Blackhawk #98 1st story
- ↑ Blackhawk #43
- ↑ Blackhawk #68
- ↑ Military Comics #1