Today in Comics History, August 18: Happy birthday, Wing!

Born today before WWII: The Crimson Avenger's chauffeur and sidekick, and member of the Seven Soldiers of Victory, Wing!


from Super DC Calendar 1976 (DC, 1975), letters by Ben Oda



Wing and the Crimson Avenger first premiered in Detective #20, making them the DC Universe's first costumed non-super crimefighters. But Wing debuted as a mere chauffeur. This is it: one panel was his only appearance in the story.


from "Block Buster" in Detective Comics (1937 series) #20 (DC/Detective Comics, Inc., October 1938), pencils and inks (and script?) by Jim Chambers
Wing joined his employer in donning a costume later in the run in Detective #59, but I'm not going to show that story, because it's full of racist stereotypes in dialogue and art. Instead, here's Roy Thomas talking about that portrayal:


from Secret Origins (1986 series) #5 (August 1986), text by Roy Thomas
The Thomases took the opportunity to not only right this wrong but also to give a full-fledged personality *and* origin as a tough-minded man who worked to enlighten Crimson Avenger on real-world matters of racism and patriotism.




from Secret Origins #5, script by Roy Thomas and Dann Thomas, pencils by Gene Colan, inks by Mike Gustovich, colors by Carl Gafford, letters by David Cody Weiss
It certainly helped the character that this version of Wing was a fantastic fighter as well — maybe even better than the Avenger himself.



As mentioned before, Wing was a charter member of the Seven Soldiers of Victory, but it's probably almost certain that the time's systemic racism led to him being the team's "plus one." Boo!


Here's Wing (and the other SSV) in a photograph shown on the Stargirl TV series episode "Brainwave." They still make him look like a kid, but you'll always be a grown-up tough adult to me, Wing.


from Stargirl "Brainwave" (DC Entertainment/Warner Bros. Television, July 13, 2020), written by Colleen McGuinness, directed by by Tamra Davis
Happy birthday, Wing!


"Wing" from Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe (1985 series) #25 (DC, March 1987), pencils by Gene Colan, inks by Art Nichols