Archie the Gruesome (Earth-616)

Archie the Gruesome
Name	Unrevealed
Current Alias	Archie the Gruesome
Aliases	Alec the Great
Affiliation and Relationships
Affiliation	Former member of the Crazy S.U.E.S.
Physical Characteristics
Gender	Male
Eyes	Irises: Blue
Hair	Brown
Origin and Living Status
Origin	Human
Living Status	Alive
Reality	Earth-616
Personal Information
Identity	Public
Citizenship	American
Occupation	Soldier; Medic
Base of Operations	Mobile
Creators and Appearances
First	Joker Comics #1 (January, 1942)
First	Joker Comics #1 (January, 1942)

History

Preface

Archie the Gruesome was just one of many costumed operatives active during World War II who were recruited into the United States military. The purpose was to enlist such individuals in order to publish propaganda in the form of comic books that were commissioned by the United States military and published by Timely Comics. These comics were used to convince Americans to support the war and increase enlistment. Like many heroes recruited in this fashion, Archie's fictional exploits were few. For most of these early heroes, it was due to their deaths in combat.

Presumably, much like the Young Allies, Archie's fictional exploits may be based on actual events. For the sake of clarity, however, this article differentiates between the two.

Origins

Archie the Gruesome as depicted in Timely Comics circa the 1940s

Archie was apparently a street sweeper who was inspired by the hero Captain America and decided to take up a costumed identity based on his idol. As "Archie the Gruesome", Archie clashed with Big Joe, a fellow street sweeper who entered into a life of crime.

Crazy Sue's

Archie was drafted into the military after the United States officially entered into World War II. He was among the first men recruited into the Specialized Unit, Enhanced Soldiers led by his inspiration, Captain America. Archie was the unit's medic and when they were air dropped into Guadalcanal in August 1942 to fight, he was present and provided medical attention to fellow teammates Secret Stamp, Slow Motion Jones, and others.

By 1944, Archie and his comrades were pulled from the Pacific Theater to participate in the Battle of Normandy and he was airdropped with his teammates in the Norwegian village of Sainte-Mère-Église. Following their victory, the Crazy SUES celebrated with the Invaders. Archie was present with the group during their battles to liberate France from Nazis and clashing with Nazi forces in Belgium.

In December 1944, Archie and his teammates were in Saarlautern, Germany. There they were attacked by Nazi forces who decimated his teammates, the Victory Boys. The lone survivor of the Victory Boys was Piotr, whom Archie attempted to give medical attention to. Realizing that Piotr's wounds were too serious to help, he was ordered by the Young Avenger to shoot Piotr full of morphine to kill the pain while the Young Avenger put him out of his misery.

Archie's subsequent activities are unknown. However, evidence suggests that he died in battle during the war.

Attributes

Abilities

Presumably, Archie would have had military training as a field medic.

Paraphernalia

Equipment

Standard issue US military medic supplies including packets of morphine, syringes, bandages, etc.

Weapons

A street-sweeping broom; As a member of the Crazy S.U.E.S., Archie would have had access to standard issue U.S. Army military weapons.

See Also

• 7 appearance(s) of Archie the Gruesome (Earth-616)
• 3 image(s) of Archie the Gruesome (Earth-616)
• 1 quotation(s) by or about Archie the Gruesome (Earth-616)

Links and References

• Archie the Gruesome at the Appendix to the Handbook of the Marvel Universe