The Ultimate American - The Faceless Defender of Democracy! Secretly Tex Truman, this ordinary soldier was given the identity of Ultimate American by the U.S. government to root out spies and other enemies in the early part of 1940. When the United States entered World War II, Ultimate American fought for his country both on the homefront and across the world.
Tex Truman continued his career as Ultimate American after the war ended, and in fact maintained the guise until his retirement in 1966. That was the year his son Joe Truman donned the mask and became the second Ultimate American. Joe carried on the tradition valiantly until his mysterious disappearance in 1986.
Today, Tex Truman's much younger second son Dean Truman has assumed the mantle of the Ultimate American. This third Ultimate American continues the good fight and seeks to learn the fate of a half-brother he never knew. He serves as the leader of the Invincible Alliance, and does his best to keep the wild personalities of his teammates in check. Meanwhile, Tex stays involved as the Alliance's liaison to the American spy organization C.H.I.E.F.*, and does his best to help his son balance his responsibilities as a superhero and a U.S. citizen. He is uncannily spry for having been born in 1914.
*EDITOR'S NOTE : C.H.I.E.F. = Command Headquarters International Espionage Force.
Ultimate American is my "patriot" hero, with several nods to those that have come before him. The debts to both "Captain America" and "S.H.I.E.L.D." should be readily apparent. However, just as vital are the influences of the original Shield from Archie Comics (the very first star-spangled superhero), Archie's second Shield (Lancelot Strong), and the Fighting American.
Certain aspects of Ultimate American's costume are similar to those of Captain Satellite. This is deliberate. The idea is that Cap drew partial inspiration for his suit's look from the first two Ultimate Americans, before the third one came along as a contemporary. Just another example of reverse-engineering at work!
that is some groovy thinking. I bet there's a little more going on for a spry 96 year old than we are given to believe, hmm?
ReplyDeletewhere are these comics being sold at?
I am glad you noticed that I hint that there are far more stories to tell with these characters than what's included in their profiles. What's up with Tex? Hmm indeed!
ReplyDeleteThey are being sold on the spinner rack at the corner newsstand in my fertile imagination. Maybe someday they can get wider distribution.
(PSST, did you notice the pro wrestling reference in this? Don't feel bad if you miss it; it's subtle.)
nope, can't see it, unless it's an allusion to the American Dream, if you will...
ReplyDeletetoo obvious.
Tex has two sons named Joe and Dean. Someone else, you may recall, had two sons named Joe and Dean.
ReplyDeleteThis is a remnant of the fact that many names I use for this project were originally created for fantasy wrestling angles back in the day. They were the best stock of "real" names I had lying around!