Libertad was the capital of the small Central American nation of Santo Rico.[1] The small city was located close to an airport capable of handling passenger jets and was adjacent to a large body of water[2] that may have been the inlet to the Caribbean Sea.[3]
History
After a Communist candidate known as El Toro was elected to be Santo Rico's leader and began ruling the nation like a tyrant, the US government asked Henry Pym and Janet Van Dyne to visit Santo Rico as tourists in order to covertly investigate if El Toro had used foul means to win the election. Although their identities as Giant-Man and the Wasp were exposed soon after they arrived at their hotel in the capital city, the two heroes later confronted El Toro in his headquarters and hung him from a flagpole in the city square, then gave the crowd of onlookers documents that proved that El Toro had only won because he had bought votes using money supplied to him by his communist backers. Enraged at having been cheated, the people of Santo Rico denounced El Toro as a traitor and deposed him, then held a new and fair election.[2]
To commemorate this event, a statue depicting Giant-Man and the Wasp confronting El Toro was erected in the city square.[4][1]
Years later, when Baron Zemo began his plan to control the world by using his bio-modem to enslave the minds of military personnel around the world, the Santo Rican army carried out a coup against their president and took control of Libertad, making it one of the first capitals to fall to Zemo's control.[1]Points of Interest
- Giant-Man and Wasp Monument in the city square
Residents
- El Toro (Antonio Rojo) (formerly)
Notes
- Although Libertad wasn't named until Thunderbolts #11, the city had previously been seen in Tales to Astonish #54 and Night Thrasher #17, and in both those stories it had been described as being the capital city of Santo Rico.
- The profile on Santo Rico in Marvel Atlas #2 established that Santo Rico and the country of "San Rico" that had first appeared in X-Men #25–26 were actually the same nation, with "San Rico" just being a name by which Santo Rico was sometimes called.
- This amalgamation is presumed to have also affected the country of San Rico that appeared in Mystic #59, published by Atlas Comics in 1957. As such, this article lists that issue as the first appearance of the unnamed "capital city of San Rico" that was mentioned in that story and where the events seen in a single panel took place. However, since nothing of the city beyond the inside of a single room was ever seen, the creative team who wrote and drew that four-page story are not counted among the city's creators.
See Also
Links and References
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Thunderbolts #11
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Tales to Astonish #54
- ↑ Marvel Atlas #2 ; Santo Rico profile
- ↑ Night Thrasher #17