Captain America's Prototype Was A Disaster
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An in-depth look at Jack Kirby and Joe Simon's prototype for Captain America - THE BLUE BOLT.
Like the mic? Check out Earthworks ETHOS: earthworksaudio.com/
0:00 Introducing BLUE BOLT
2:35 The Weird and Wacky Origin Story
6:00 Dick Cole: The Wonder Boy
8:15 Blue Bolt: The American
9:45 The War Story Pivot
13:40 The Publisher Faces Problems
15:38 The Feel-Good Photographer Rebrand
17:51 The Death of BLUE BOLT COMICS
19:30 The Rebirth (and Second Death) - Zábava
The Blue Bolt's backstory actually sets up for something interesting. Imagine having been resurrected by a mad scientist who wants to use you as a weapon, but you refuse to do it and decide to use your powers for good.
It would have been cool if he became an ambassador between the scientist and the sorceress, attempting to resolve the conflict instead of favoring one side
@@juliamavroidi8601 you are thinking too hard about the story. None of these old comics were that deep. Those types of stories didn't come around for another 30-40 years.
@@dimesonhiseyes9134 ???? they just said it would have been cool smh
@@dimesonhiseyes9134 That's why I used "if" 😅 I know the story wasn't that deep, but the potential was there.
There's something of the Alan Moore Marvelman in there, I would not be surprised if he pulled some inspiration from Blue Bolt for it honestly.
Can this be worked into the Bargain Bin Cinematic Universe Lore?
Every time Blue Bolt explains his origins, it's completely different and everyone is just confused
I like this idea. You could even have him break the fourth wall, like, "Yeah, so, the writers gave me two different backstories."
Now they're the "Superzeros"
Cute, but the Joker (the good one) beat us to it.
@@vigilantcosmicpenguin8721 The hilarious thing is that his 4th wall breaking abilities are canon
@@happyslapsgiving5421 So did Darkwing Duck, if I recall correctly.
Let's not question why a man who can shoot lightning out of his eyes, needs a lightning gun
Because it hurts :(
Double the lightning!
I mean the gun stuns people so I assume it's a regulator? Perhaps it's lethal from his eyes?
@@Suninrags
Yeah it could be a taser while his optic bolts are his killer move
Maybe the gun shoots more lightning. I can cry watery tears out of my eyes but Super soaker and fire hydrant can shoot out stronger streams of water.
Here's my pitch: we combine everything. No alternate realities, no legacy characters, no amnesia, we take every feature from every era, straight, and mush it together. It'd be nonsense except I'll make one big change that will make it all work, trust me. A change that would never fly in the 40s, and which is specifically a slap in the face of his wartime iteration: The Blue Bolt will be German.
(This would be a series, not a movie) Fredrick Parrish is a highly skilled young pilot who - when not carting around jetsetters as a private charter - spends his free time pulling wild tricks at air shows. Everyone irritatingly compares him to the Red Baron, to the point that he paints his plane blue to separate himself from the association. It's not that he's ashamed of the comparison, in fact he idolizes war heroes and wishes desperately to be one. But because of that idolatry, he feels constantly embarrassed to be associated with someone whose skill is unattainable in his eyes.
Among his circle is hotshot photographer Margret Hesslin, who sometimes goads him into flying her to dangerous places for photo ops she can sell to the paper. They're the kind of pair who are clearly attracted to each other, but act more like rivals than friends when they're together. We see this intimately as Margret charters his plane to cover a strange geological event sighted in the Alps.
During the plane ride we learn Margret openly loathes Hitler, who has just come to power. And while Fredrick isn't a fan, his opinion on the matter is infuriatingly neutral. He knows the Nazi regime is angling for war and can't contain his excitement at the possibility. He cares nothing for the politics of the situation and reveals his gross ignorance of what the Nazi party even believes in. All that matters to him is a future where he'll get to make is mark as the next Ace Pilot. The BLUE...Baron maybe? He's not a baron technically but they'll come up with something cool he's sure.
This argument over local and potential world affairs is cut short as a freak lightning storm forming over the mountains overtakes them. Fredrick desperately tries to maneuver in the maelstrom of strangely colored lightning, only for them to be struck. As the strange lightning courses through them and the plane descends, the last thing Fredrick sees is the gaping maw that has opened within the range.
He comes to some unknown amount of time later, alone in the lair of Dr. Bartoff, a scientist who has been experimenting with attempts to engage with the overworld. Bartoff explains that Margret died in the crash, but after enormous effort, he was able to save him. This was all a stroke of wild luck as the strange fissures that let people pass between the surface and the underworld only ever appear rarely. However this latest endeavor has resulted in Fredrick. And thanks to Bartov's skills, he has incredible powers derived from his technology. And oh! Look at that! Bartoff hails from a society that's at war with another country in this underground realm. He dives headlong into his new role as a vanguard supersoldier in this alien war he know nothing about, ready to kill bad guys. And so the Blue Bolt is born.
Bartov's country in this underground world hails from ancient Romans who were swallowed by a fissure similar to the one that caught Fredrick, and the technology - though in some ways more advanced than the overworld - is derived from this ancient Roman aesthetic. The enemy kingdom, ruled by the mysterious Green Sorceress, also has advanced technology but it too is couched in the aesthetic of pre-medieval Germanic tribes. As he fights his way toward the Green Sorceress though, things Bartoff is telling him don't line up. Although Bartoff never breaks from being supportive and friendly to Blue Bolt, something seems off. This comes to a head when they lay siege to the Sorceress's fortress and Bartoff calls him off the front lines, insisting that others storm the capital instead. A mysterious group of "reinforcements" in fact. Finally, Blue Bolt goes against orders and infiltrates the fortress alone, determined to find the sorceress himself.
And to his shock, he does, and it's...Margret. It turns out, when the plane was captured in Bartoff's tractor beam after being struck by lightning, Margret stayed conscious and was the first to be given incredible powers. When Margret refused to use those powers for war, Bartoff put Fredrick in stasis with the threat that he would die if she didn't fight for him. She reluctantly did. Then one day, a lieutenant let slip that Bartoff was planning to kill Fredrick anyway, so in a rage she killed her regiment and fled. Exhausted and gravely injured, on the verge of death, she surrendered to the opposing faction, expecting them to kill her. Instead, they nursed her back to health with their own technology - turning her green. These healing technologies are what Bartoff has been after this whole time. Eventually, thanks to her powers and by gaining their trust, she rose to become greatly revered by the people, who do not believe in rulers themselves. The title was only ever used by Bartoff's troops.
Then BOOM from high above, the mysterious reinforcements show their face: Nazis! Unbeknownst to them, Bartoff had a way to artificially induce surface fissures and has been passing between worlds frequently. Indeed it's why his chosen name is German, to pass as native in the world above, where he's struck a deal for assistance in this battle in exchange for his terrible weapons. And so, the Blue Bolt's adventures come to a head among Nazis and sorceresses and dogfights and zepplins, and mad scientists and guys with lightning powers. And when the pair emerges finally into the overworld, they find themselves smack in the middle of the height of WW2, ready to take the fight straight to Hitler...but oh, Bartoff won't go down so easily will he? Not when his technology is so valuable to the Fuhrer! And what of Margret's newfound people? Will she leave them behind to be with Fredrick or go back to their praise and adulation? And when the war ends, who will Fredrick be? A man trapped in his vision of a war hero, fade into the background, or perhaps something new entirely? Find out when WORLDS COLLIDE in THE BLUE BOLT
You put exactly enough effort into this and I applaud your creativity
damn I need a show, or a movie, JUST ANYTHING TO SEE THIS BECOME REAL
That was legit entertaining.
awesome pitch this need to be adapted with a retro style tv show but with awesome effects showcasing blue bolt powers with more applications
This was more entertaining than the video
I need a scene where the villain knocks Blue Bolt's lightning gun out of his hand, only to find out that Blue Bolt could shoot lightning from his *eyes* all along
*"WHAT WAS THE GUN FOR?"*
Gun might regulate power better so stuns instead of kills. Cyclops wears a visor so he doesn't accidently kill people with his eyes although a character Called The Comet by MLJ Comics Company later called Archie Comics Company did that before X-Men's Cyclops.
Tell you the truth, if I had super powers I probably would fake some weaknesses so the villain wouldn't find a real one. And of course kill the villain immediately upon discovery
There's a B list superhero in the Spiderman comics called Cardiac.
He wears a blue and white costume.
He uses a staff to fine tune his energy blast... When he doesn't, the energy comes out of him like a fire hoes.
Depleting his energy stores.
😂😂🤣😂😂😂
Blue Bolt: How else am I supposed to shoot lightning?🤨
It's a pity they moved away from the original Blue Bolt's backstory because the world building is intriguing. I'd love to see the whole science society versus magic society expanded on. Why did they become enemies in the first place? Are they both aware that modern day earth exists and if so, why haven't either side attempted to ally with them? I feel like this is fertile ground for story-telling along with a isekai'd everyman who was experimented on without his consent. I can't wait to see what you come up with.
Moreover, to have it all actually be occurring contemporaneously with WW2 would be fascinating. The fact that not one person ever thought "What if Nazis attacked the underworld kingdoms?" is proof enough that every Blue Bolt writer post-Joe Simon should have been fired.
There was a similar idea that was similarly never resolved in Metroid Prime 3. The inhabitants of Bryyo had a war between the science and mage tribes that ended with the few survivors becoming barely sapient and extremely hostile. They never go into it besides the two factions never considering the option of using both. Considering their maddened forms in the present day are now called Reptilicus, I have a feeling the whole thing was based on Silver Age comics and B movies.
I've been working on a sci-fi/fantasy story about a race of aliens that use advanced magic to build starships and have a barely-bronze-age level of technology, because they use magic for everything. And how they interact with all the other races who use science.
Novelty Press: Tell us what you want!
Young boys: MORE DICK COLE!
Novelty Press: No. Here's another confusing Blue Bolt story
Yeah, I just don't know what they were thinking. The kids were telling them pretty clearly what they wanted. If they had to keep the "Blue Bolt" name around, why not just drop the Blue Bolt character and have Dick Cole have the nickname Blue Bolt?
@@KasumiKenshirou Many comics of the era had generic titles. There would have been no problem with Blue Bolt Comics having Dick Cole as the main feature.
So, you've established that there are two distinct continuities of Blue Bolt. You've got the supersoldier created by Dr. Bertoff to join a subterranean war, and you've got the ordinary man who enlists as a fighter pilot in WWII. The simple solution would be to simply focus on one the original fantasy Black Bolt, but I'd like to see just how much you can retcon the story to fit both plotlines within the canon. See how the Green Sorceress reacts to Marge.
Perhaps the sorceress' curse led him to forget his powers and the underground world during WW2. She implanted the circus show memory. She now rules the underground world entirely.
It's making me picture a story in three parts. In the first story he is granted powers and spirited away to the fantasy land. He saves it and is happy to do so, but it just make him realize that there's a war back home. The second story is him returning home and participating in the war and doing all the war heroics. Perhaps he has to sacrifice his superpowers to stop whatever villain he's fighting. Then the third story is him trying to find some meaning with both wars now over, with a comedic bent as he goes from one odd job to the next, before perhaps finally settling on an identity. Maybe that wouldn't be any good, but I think it's fun to imagine those stories as all part of a coherent narrative.
I imagine unlike Captain Americs the magic of the underworld curses him to become immortal. That way it would explain why he is in the modern times.
Maybe his powers only work in that other realm. Just like Superman's only work under a yellow sun. ☀️
When a comes back up to the surface he inlist in the army.
Then once the war is over Dr. Bertioff builds him a suit to mimic the powers he had before.
0:11 actually he debuted in June of 1941, BEFORE America joined WW2. Joe Simon and Jack Kirby created the character as a petition for the US to join the war on the side of the allies.
You are correct, Kirby has always been a staunch to the Idea of America joining WW2. Kirby would even fight in the war as scout.
@@BlueStar_Studio my favourite tf2 class
Whoa 😮 so the creation of this character convinced the country to finally help😅 interesting
@@gracekim25 It more accurate stirred up the idea of fighting. Remember the Nazis were an actual political movement before American sentiment turned at Pearl Harbor.
@@BlueStar_Studio He's also famous for how he absorbs the abilities of the enemies he eats
It’s so strange how this comic company was created around this superhero yet they completely rebooted him to create a new character despite keeping the name and title. It’s comical how the fan Mail section of the comic is still called the “Blue bolt flashes”, one last bit of vintage branding from before the continuity shift. At 16:50 the editor asks if they should make the character into a superhero and he’s probably unaware that not only is the character he’s working with a former superhero: he’s writing this Column on the only page with the old superhero branding. Honestly they should’ve kept him as a superhero and also have him as a military Man, just like their main rival captain America
Thsi magazine has a wild history for sure.
The writers could have teamed up Blue Bolt and Dick Cole.
Just have Dick Cole also get hit by an energy beam to gain some other power.
The two of them could start up a super team to take down the
Nazi's.
@@briansmith48
I was actually wondering what it was that made Dick Cole so more popular, that couldn't be duplicated for Blue Bolt. Maybe after Simon & Kirby left, the writing, not the setting was the problem.
My grandad owned a lot of superman comics as a kid
I mentioned Atlas to him, mostly just trying to make conversation, and he owned some as a kid
He doesn't own any now, but apparently he bought an Atlas comic as a kid because it was cheap and he was bored
Why did you talk so much about this Blue Bolt character? I demand to know more about what happened with Dick Cole
NGL, I love the idea of a superhero's sidekick being his GF/wife.
same, its kinda sweet.
You could lift the whole Nick and Nora relationship for it
Blue Bolt would be a great anthology series. Imagine the Underground war ended with Blue Bolt and Green Sorcereress getting married but comes to realize that the kingdoms don't need a superhero in peacetime so they move aboveground and does odd jobs to sustain themselves. Blue Bolt becomes a football player, soldier, pilot, carnival performer and he uses his powers to help but backfire in some way so he gets fired or he forgets he has powers and has to be constantly reminded about it
Great idea
So basically take everything cool about the character and turn him into a regular smuck? Sounds like most modern superhero movie/shows that dpwnplay anything fantastical, including costumes....ie the shitty Fox take on X-Men.
Blue Bolt x Green Sorceress - The Original Reylo.
I think trying to retcon this guy, and his universe, into making sense would be really interesting. There are many different ways to take it. Like, what if the army stuff was a dream? Or what if Marge and the Green Sorceress were the same person, but she had gotten amnesia or something? What if the Blue Bolt tried to move on from his superhero past, or forgot it entirely, only for it to come back to bite him or to come full circle (like if he proposed to Marge, only to get his memories back and learn she was actually the Green Sorceress)?
Though that does raise the question on how would Marge react? Would she also remember being the Green Sorceress, and if so, would it be before or after Blue Bolt remembered her? Would she continue to be the same person she was before, trying to make some amends to their past actions if she feels regret, or would she feel justified and continue on her path? How would that effect their relationship, assuming that they realize that 'oh yeah Blue Bolt/Green Sorceress' is a thing, but don't somehow realize/remember that the person they're currently dating is that person? And if they do realize it, do they continue dating and just have an awkward home life together trying to not use their own powers so the neighbors don't go 'wow those guys are weird' (Spoilers, but the neighbors already thought they were weird, them trying to not use their powers in some sort of comedic fashion, like Dash and his family at the end of The Incredibles, where they were encouraging him to either go fast and slow in his race is just making them go 'well that's a thing' more often than not)
So, the Blue Bolt is basically Flash Gordon at first?
Also, I'm loving that Austin is getting really into forgotten heroes from the public domain.
LOL TRUE, that's why it was so familiar.
Yep, that's his thing at the moment.
Flash ripped off Flash Gordon more than Blue Bolt. Flash Gordon traveled faster than light although was in a spaceship when he did it, met Hawkmen in 1935 story which Flash Comic #1 also had Hawkman in it in 1940. Wore red and yellow costume with lightning bolt symbol in 1938 movie poster and a different one in 1939 story called Powermen of Mongo where he was dressed as an Electrician with helmet and googles instead of a mask. He also encoutered Archers lead by Baron that was dressed in Green. Also had underwater city and Sharkmen before Submariner and Aquaman appeared and also had Tiger Shark and Shark which were different shark men in stories. Was frozen by a villain with a gun that shot ice before DC and Marvel Comics had characters that did the same.
Agreed! And agreed!!! Cuz I've never heard of BLUE BOLT before! But clearly it's actually a legacy character!
More like a giant mix between John Carter, Flash Gordon, Captain America, Shazam & Captain Midnight all mixed together.
I feel like you could make a really trippy adaptation of this where all the different iterations of Blue Bolt are from past lives/alternate universes/simulations/a magical curse/some weird gimmick to make it so he's lived all these lives and he's only beginning to remember as he has to stop some greater evil.
Blue Bolt: No way home
@@justrecentlyi5444 haha exactly!
That’d be pretty sick if he had a hawk man like reincarnation where he has to relearn his past lives
I find it strange just how fucking obsessed they were with trying to make Blue Bolt a thing
"Stop trying to make Blue Bolt happen. It's not going to happen."
He was a good idea but they tried to shove propaganda in it
@@GaryTurbo Superhero comics in World War II were like 90% propaganda by volume. That wasn't the problem.
I am surprised that they didn’t make Blue Bolt as a generic name for the comic and put Dick Coke as the main piece. Stop having a Blue Bolt story at all, just a double sized Dick Coke story.
He didn't mention the dumbest Blue Bolt storyline:
The one where an archaeologist activates an ancient alien beacon that causes Blue Bolt to pass out and plants an interstellar map in his head, which an invading alien army then tries to use to locate Earth and harvest it
That ain’t half bad 🤔
that's nearly mass effect
@@alexparker4244 it IS mass effect
The mix of sci-fi and fantasy tropes you seem to be confused by wasn't that unusual for the time. (Think of eg A Princess of Mars) It wasn't until after WW2 with the influence of Lord of the Rings on the one side and the Space Race on the other that the two genres vecame distinct from each other.
Early on there wasn't even a concept of fantasy. Everything was considered sci fi.
@@durleywanger2801 Those that weren't "scientific" in nature were referred to as "Fairy Tales" because Fantasy as a genre hadn't been invented yet.
Hell, C.S. Lewis referred to the Chronicles of Narnia as a Fairy Tale in his famous quote.
“Critics who treat 'adult' as a term of approval, instead of as a merely descriptive term, cannot be adult themselves. To be concerned about being grown up, to admire the grown up because it is grown up, to blush at the suspicion of being childish; these things are the marks of childhood and adolescence. And in childhood and adolescence they are, in moderation, healthy symptoms. Young things ought to want to grow. But to carry on into middle life or even into early manhood this concern about being adult is a mark of really arrested development. When I was ten, I read fairy tales in secret and would have been ashamed if I had been found doing so. Now that I am fifty I read them openly. When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up.”
The Concept existed, but the Genre didn't.
Even today many people draw the distinction between hard science fiction, being more scientifically grounded works like Cixin Liu's "The Three Body Problem" and Greg Bear's "Darwin's Radio" and science fantasy being works that leap straight into "It's magic, I ain't gotta explain shit" territory like Star Wars or most superhero comics. Arguably the distinction is still fuzzy: you'll be hard-pressed to find a fantasy world that doesn't incorporate some elements of science fiction, and most science fiction occasionally dips it's toes into the fantasy pool.
Doctor Fate was originally supposed to be skilled in technology so advanced, it only appeared to be like magic. Eventually they just made it magic.
Good insight.
This story has potential with a little dressing up. Maybe the Green Sorceress is not unambiguously evil. Maybe it turns out that her magic is actually sufficiently advanced technology.
After giving it some thought, I've finally figured out a way to salvage this character, using the original ideas: we simply have to RE-ORDER them. The way to make the most sense out of Blue Bolt is to have the wartime stories *become* his backstory, his prior adventures as an unpowered hero during the FIRST World War. it's based on this history that, years later, when Bolt is training new pilots, the mad scientist picks him as the recipient of the treatment he's made up, in order to defend the Underground World and fight the Green Sorceress. So we could simply go ahead with the original story, at first, and tell the war tales in flashbacks.
Later, when Blue Bolt has saved the Underground World, he's allowed a free hand to use his powers for good in the real world, where he finds the Nazis at work . . . and realizes that they may be a major threat if they discover his secret. After a series of adventures against them, both alone and with a young cadet (this time, explicitly done as Dick Cole crossovers), he realizes that he needs a partner, and one is created: a woman.
Finally, after a climactic story in which the Nazis DO find the Underground World (remember when they found Lynda Carter's Paradise Island?) and Bolt has to team up with his old friends & enemies to stop them, he gets the opportunity to re-enlist, and he either loses or relinquishes his powers, instead letting his partner/girlfriend take over his old role (and become the Green Sorceress's new enemy) and to get her own series of all-new adventures while he goes back into service as whatsisname's new pilot, in a series of epilogues.
best to forget the ww2 stuff give bolt a new origin
I'm surprised that you never mentioned Flash Gordan as Blue Bolt seems to be directly going for that kind of feel initially. Even the "bolt" symbol/name is reminiscent of Flash.
So my main takeaway from this is “read Dick Cole.”
Blue Bolt was basically an Isekai Protagonist in a Team Sci-Fi vs Team Fantasy War.
The meta bit made me think. What if Blue Bolt was in a superhero movie where rewrites and such change the world around him with only him being aware and very confused by it all?
Calling Blue Bolt a prototype for Captain America is a big stretch. The only thing they have in common is that they were created by Simon and Kirby.
thats what i was thinking too. simon and kirby created the shield for mlj/archie awhile before captain america and from some stories ive heard the design for cap is one that was rejected by mlj. i understand that the character was in the military and had powers towards the end of the series but i still see it as a stretch.
@@bootleggodzilla1 It was Writer Harry Shorten and artist Irv Novick who created the character, The Shield. He was extremely popular, and several other publishers copied the concept, most notably Kirby with Captain America. In fact, MLJ sued Timely Comics, and they settled out of court, resulting in Cap's heater shield being changed to his now iconic round one, probably to avoid comparison with the one the Shield wore on his chest.
In fact Kirby liked The Shield so much, he went on to create The Guardian for DC and Fighting American and his Bucky like sidekick Speedy.
@@Cervando yep my bad i was misremembering the story
@@bootleggodzilla1 No worries, it's a common misconception that is often touted on social media and I thought you maybe had read it elsewhere. I have no idea where it came from, but I correct it as it does The Shield a great disservice, especially when commentators claim later versions of the Shield copied Cap, as they are unaware of the original.
It's pretty crazy how having a column type in your comic and naming it after the main character seems like an obvious thing to do in modern comics, but when Blue Bolt Comics innovated with this, it was a disaster.
I read how this series' early years were innovative, with Jack Kirby's dynamic illustration style apparently allowed to be let loose for the first time. With the example of the typical Golden Age Green Lantern in one comics history book, it's a dramatic introduction of Kirby's skill finding its own voice.
If we Reboot Novelty Press, Dick Cole will be it's Batman to Blue Bolt's Superman.
Comic book history time with Austin McConnell is one of the favorite parts of this channel
And here I was thinking that the problem with Blue Bold would be his SS looking helmet since he was first shown, but somehow his authors managed to mess up so bad that didn't even come up.
A total disaster - lasted for more than a hundred issues. It seems like a big success to me, it even inspired one of the most famous heroes nowadays. This actually has a lot of interesting plot ideas, even if the execution is sometimes not as polished as we are used to now. It seems like it was a little ahead of it's time.
Seemed like Dick Cole was doing the heavy lifting, and Blue Bolt was just along for the ride because his name was on the cover.
Blue Bolt x Green Sorceress = The Original Reylo
Austin changing the thumbnail from not captain america to actual captain america is a good piece of metacommentary
Who else loves it when Austin posts a video about some random old comic character?
I'm a fan of these superhero videos you're putting out, Austin. As a comic nerd, it's fun seeing what comics are as a form of entertainment: usually pretty messy and convoluted, but with that messy and convoluted world comes a ton of fun watching super-powered beings smack a villain around.
Edit section: Thanks @kordeliaflorek, @abrahamo2895, and @erraticonteuse for correcting me on my phrasing
„used to” 😉
“used to” is.. interesting phrasing, to say the least
I concur with the other commenters that comics are still messy and convoluted, but I also have a fondness for the amateurish verve that the Golden Age had.
@@erraticonteuse Yeah I forgot that. Comics back then though didn't have standard rules so characters were getting buffed and then de-buffed usually every two around 2 issues, going on the wackiest of adventures, and beating up the craziest villains imaginable. Superman for example had a ton of powers added on to him along with his already set-to-stone powers. What I had meant was comics today are pretty regulated and while some wacky and crazy adventures could happen, usually some regulations help the story feel more...a bit...I got nothing.
To end off this agreement and disagreement, comics today have wacky adventures for sure, but you guys shouldn't forget the absolute rampant craziness before.
You should check out 'Comic Tropes' channel. He covers golden age comics of forgotten superheroes. Fantastic content creator who has worked in comics himself and knows a lot about behind the scenes stuff.
I think a Flash Gordon-style sci-fi opera based on the early issues of Blue Bolt would be a good movie. Something harkening back to the adventure serials of the 40s.
Blue Bolt was NOT a "Captain America prototype". Just because it was done by Simon and Kirby doesn't make it a Cap prototype. It was a completely different type of character. The Shield, created by Harry Shorten and Irv Novick for MLJ, was the true Captain America prototype. And Blue Bolt wasn't created by Simon and Kirby. He was created by Joe Simon alone, as the writer and artist, not just the writer. Kirby started working with Simon on the second issue. And by the way, Captain America wasn't the product of "writer Joe Simon and artist Jack Kirby" as you assert. Simon also did art and Kirby also did writing. They both contributed to the stories, pencilling and inking, as well as having other freelancers who contributed to the work.
You know its a good day when Austin uploads
It indeed is.
Austin
This question is only about Captain America.
Back in the dark ages of my callow youth, I discovered SciFi. At one point during a study period in our Jr High library, there was a paperback book on the table. Out of curiosity I picked it and started reading. The story was more or less the Origin story of *Captain America* .
It went into some detail of Steve Roger's physical transformation. It wasn't just a solution that was injected.
His transformation was painful and grueling. The scientist had inserted steel tubes in his bones and put him on a strict diet and physical training.
It involved Steve investigating as a civilian..
I never finished the book, because it disappeared.
I'm a bit confused if that paperback origin story came first and peaked my interest or if it followed another book.
A Wrinkle In Time
Basically 1 was the chicken the other the egg, speaking metaphorically.
So, if you could find out which came first the story I read or the comic book version.
I hope you find this interesting enough to go digging.
A pitch of a revamped version of this might be something like this;
Struck by lighting while on a camping trip, in a state of delirium Fred Parrish stumbles upon an entrance to a hidden world. Nursed back to health by Dr. Bertoff, Fred assists the doctor's efforts to defend Science City from the powerful magicks of the Emerald Kingdom. Empowered by Bertoff's experimental technology and physical augmentation procedures, Fred, under the alias of Blue Bolt, becomes a rallying symbol for the people of Science City, taking the fight directly to the monarch of the Emerald Kingdom, the Green Sorceress. But not all is at is seems. Prisoner to the whims of the overbearing aristocracy of her kingdom, the Sorceress seeks Blue Bolt's aid to end the war and bring about an era of peace and cooperation between Science and Magic.
Time Skip to some years later.
Blue Bolt, husband of the Green Sorceress, is now the king of the revitalized Emerald Kingdom,
now a Constitutional Monarchy. Dr. Bertoff, Blue Bolt's chief advisor, brings news of the Second World War erupting on earth to his king. Driven by a fondness of his birthplace and love of his old countrymen, while yet unwilling to risk the lives of his new countrymen and the stability of the recently reformed Emerald Kingdom. Blue Bolt plans to travel alone back to his world to assist in the fight against the Axis powers. Stronger than ever, with both the blessings of the Green Sorceress and Bertoff's super science, regardless of what the future holds, Blue Bolt Stands ready to face it head on.
Babe wake up, new Austin McConnell video just dropped
Award for most obligatory comment goes to…
I'm up
I’m awake now
we up
Everyone: "Hey editor, the Blue Bolt sucks, can you please ditch him and give us more of the character we actually like?"
Editor: Hmm, I just don't understand what the readers want.
Honestly, my thought, as you recounted the origin, was how similar it was to Flash Gordon. That comic strip influenced everything at the time. Athlete flies to mad scientist. Is introduced into fantastical world (although for Flash, it was another planet). The princess of the fantasy world becomes infatuated with the hero, etc.
It's kinda funny how they had the solution to all their problems right there in dick cole but they were too stubborn to realize in time
If you Reboot Blue Bolt, please Bring Green Sorceress as his Frienemy like His Catwoman.
Blue Bolt reimagined
Fred 'Blue Bolt' Parrish is a fighter pilot during WWII and at the end of one of his missions a freak storm appears out of nowhere and causes all his squad, including himself, to crash. His body was recovered by one Dr. Bertoff who caused the storm. He is then trapped by Dr. Bertoff in the underworld to fight for the science Kingdom. After some time and some plot Dr. Bertoff is dethroned and the Science and Magic Kingdom live in peace with Blue Bolt haid as a hero who brought peace to the land. He returns to the Overworld only to find that the war is long over and that whatever Dr. Bertoff did to him to give him his powers also stopped his aging and he didn't notice because both Dr. Bertoff and the Green Sorceress were ageless.
Trapped in the modern era he looks himself up only to find that the war hero Blue Bolt isn't even him, but rather his nephew Dick Cole who took on his mantle after his death. After saving someone casually with his powers he realizes that he realizes that Blue Bolt can still be a hero in this modern day. After getting a job a school coach at a underfunded school he donned his underworld armor again he rises once again as the hero
At 15:13, i can only imagine the frustration the creators / editors felt when they had done such drastic changes to the character (many of which were changes much of the audience wanted) and the audience that wanted the changes still didn't warm up to it. That's gotta be frustrating as hell. I've read some of the Blue Bolt issues (certain websites I shall not mention have all the back issues in digital form) and if I had to rate the four eras of Blue Bolt: my favorite era was the one where he has Lois as his side kick and especially the Lois vs Green Sorceress stuff (it's insanely hilarious seeing both women fight each other). My second favorite era was the earliest era with Simon and Kirby, really nice stuff. After that, the war pilot stuff falls into a distant third place for me since the drastic change in direction is extremely jarring. Granted, it's not bad, it's just way too much of a drastic change. The fourth place era for me is the Feel Good Photographer rebrand... it feels way too experimental. Granted, I thought the engagement of Blue Bolt and Marge was really cool and an excellent way to end the series. Overall, it's an interesting read if you read it all. But while the series has it's highs, it definitely has some very crappy LOWS. But overall, it's not bad and it would be pretty cool to see a modern day revisit to the character, especially if a talented writer manages to connect all four eras of Blue Bolt together in a cool way since eras 1 and 2 feel like an entirely different series from eras 3 and 4 (with only that brief scene with Blue Bolt and Lois saying their good byes to each other right before Blue Bolt starts his "War pilot" era connecting it all together).
So there was that scene where Blue Bolt looks like he's about to step into a portal. I would lean into this being your characters are across different universes and also different mediums, having Blue Bolt enter Cat-Mans' episode, or Atlas's movie, heck Spider-Woman's audio drama. Great way to have an after credit scene. Interesting character and I think the fantasy elements def need to stay there for this character. Reminds me a lot of Justice League the New Frontier. It could work.
Novelty Press failed on two fronts.
With Blue Bolt, they stubbornly and pridefully refused to acknowledge when something was a failure, and didn't know when to cut their losses.
With D!ck Cole, they failed to strike while the iron was hot.
they should have cancelled Blue Bolt the Moment Richard Cole is gaining Popularity.
I feel bad for the editors watching their brand sink, crying for help from the readers but nobody came. they ask and plea but nobody responds
The hunt for a genre for this character is not so strange in the publishing environment of the time. In the non-comics universe this is not far removed from Edgar Rice Burroughs, who tried out the jungle theme of Tarzan and then played science fiction for some success with stories on Mars and Venus. Burroughs noted the industrial sausage making atmosphere of the pulps by recounting how he had stock descriptions of sundry Martian beings that he would insert word for word from one story to the next. (Horrible White Ape of Mars, anyone?) And where the comics put their racist tropes in visuals, Burroughs and others wrote theirs out, including in the Pirates of Venus, a direct and approving reference to the Ku Klux Klan. Blue Bolt is just a bit more of a pulp industry that ground out quantity and stumbled on quality mostly on accident.
I think a blue bolt film could work if they played the real world behind the scenes story, shifted a few decades, as the events that happen within the story instead. The blue bolt is a goofy loveable golden age comedy hero, but around the twenty minute mark, some major tragedy like 9/11 or the Cuban missile crisis happens and he's shifter into performin military propaganda, with the "superhero" aspects being drawn away and the children cheering for the endless bloodshed taking place across the globe. I see a very compelling story in a fantastical children's entertainer becoming an untrustworthy figurehead for the military industrial complex
Blue Bolt wasn't the only prototype for Captain America. Fawcett's Bulletman debuted six months before Cap, and gave Kirby and Simon the idea for the "Super-Soldier" serum.
The combination of scifi and fantasy tropes wasn't as unusual back then as you might think. Or perhaps it may be more accurate to say that the line between them was not so distinct as it is now. Even today, many libraries or book stores lump the two genres together.
Dick Cole: the wonder boy
Dick Grayson: the boy wonder.
I want answers, I don’t care what they are.
Dun Dun DUUUUUUNNNN!!!!!!
I don't think it's fair to say that Simon/Kirby had a prototype for Captain America, which had a cover date of March 1941. The only prototype was by other creators over a year earlier. It is well known that Cap was a straightforward (and blatant) swipe of the Pep Comics #1 (MLJ Magazines, 1/1940) character, the Shield, who is the 1st American patriotic comic book hero ever. MLJ even sued Timely because Cap's triangular shield was an obvious swipe of Shield's costume, which resulted in Cap's shield taking a round shape early on.
Wow. Now I understand what the term _"novelty publishers"_ comes from _(AKA: publishing firms that accept any/all content to mass-market. Think Shoprite's Books & Magezine aisle level of literature...or 90% of things available on "Kindle Unlimited")._ I've dealt with a few novelty publishers before. Never understood why "novelty" was the derogatory term for them, but it sounds like Novelty Press' infamy has lived on.
They really were laughably awful publishers. They were both sellouts and stubborn about pushing something that wasn't marketable. Everything they did seemed to a inept struggle for relevance. They were so self derstructive that they willfully denied customers what they were *asking for* just because of some brand name nobody cared about. _They_ didn't even care about it. They just couldn't comprehend dropping or forking the Blue Bolt brand until it was 20 years too late.
Since you're already going down the rabbit hole of obscure heroes, you should absolutely make a video about the "Golden Bat" who is known as "The first Superhero"
I really liked this entire video! Probably, even, as much as I liked the >>concept
Gotta admit, I'm actually a long time fan of Blue Bolt (his original superhero-esque incarnation). I had must've come across at least one of his Golden Age comics as a yardsale or thrift store (probably for a nickle or dime) because when Roy Thomas created his homage character, Deathbolt, in All-Star Squadron, so much about the character's look and name rang a bell. Only when Thomas (maybe in that series' letter pages) explained who he based the character on did I recall. And when I finally got a look at Blue Bolt, I just loved his look. Though I was disappointed to find out that he had neither Deathbolts exact electrical powers nor at least super speed (befiting the name). I like to think that Deathbolt is his Earth-Two counterpart, especially since they share a very similar origin. And I was thrilled then disappointed to find Thomas doing his own Blue Bolt comic onky for it to have no connection even superficially. If only Thomas and Ordway would get together for a Golden Age Blue Bolt project using the same magic that they used back in the day to make their Earth-Two tales so great.
Dig the fact you stated "It helps us contextualize the content of the comic," when referring to the racial stereotypes. Most people today just condemn things, without understanding why they were the way they were. WW2 was a funky era for art - a lot of it needed to coax young men into enlisting to fight The Axis of Evil- sorry, The Axis Powers.
It is my opinion that a rewrite of this story ought to keep his origin as being given powers by the mad scientist. The change here being that the mad scientist nation are allied with the United States against some conveniently unambiguously evil nation and the Green Sorceress' nation.
The progression of the movie would lean toward a power fantasy as Blue Bolt wins battle after battle.
The two thirds shake up is when Blue Bolt learns the US military is being manipulated by the evil scientist and his people and that the Green Sorceress is against the other surface nation but cannot risk turning against them because they can wipe out her people.
He is then in a conundrum that cannot be solved with power as either side winning would be a bad thing.
That's my two cents.
So perhaps this is how call of duty came up with the Blue Bolts perk in zombies, interesting
Getting a lot of Flash Gordon, planetary romance vibes off of Blue Bolt's original characterization, spinning in a bit of superhero origin for flavor. The fact that Flash Gordon had premiered 6 years earlier and Buck Rogers 11 years prior probably hinted at why kids weren't all that interested in a knock-off. It was probably old hat already by that point and they could probably smell the scent of a poseur on them. Still, as a character in the public domain, it's not devoid of some value as a foundation to build some new stories on.
I want an entire series of forgotten comic book heroes.
"i beheld satan as he fell from heaven, LIKE LIGHTING!"
This is awesome that you're taking on such a insane creative task. I was born in 1989 & i miss how common & how many dif. Types of animated series/movies their were. I really wish animation would make a comeback. Even if it's done in new age modern ways so a bunch of people don't have to hand draw, color, etc. each frame. Hopefully we can find a way to make quality 90's style quality animation but with the mix of computer technology techniques helping the content get made. So much is live action or CGI.. IMO nothing is better than X-Men the animated series, courage the cowardly dog, rockos modern life, he-man, ahhh real monsters, Captain planet, thunder cats, the list goes on.
I’ve been trying to find this forever - I remember reading of a super soldier experiment ala Cap’s from before Cap’s invention, but couldn’t track it down, and had no idea it was the same creators - priceless!
If the Superzeroes version of Blue Bolt will focus on his career as a Football player with no actuall super villain to antagonize him, with him using his newfound powers to bring back life to a career that was fading into obscurity. Then Dick Cole would work perfectly as a teammate rival. Dick could be the new young rookie drafted by Blue Bolt's team especially to replace him, with him then getting desperate, then having the event that gives him superpowers, and deciding to use them to play Football to keep his position in the team to make himself look better than Dick Cole.
Combining two genres that never mix: Superhero movie with Sport Drama movie.
I like how the reprints use a knockoff Batman logo as the price tag. Hey, it might trick someone!
Blue Bolt was very successful. He had his own book till 1951. In a field of thousands he would make the top 100 GA characters on anyone's list.
I've read some of the Novelty Press titles, but I guess I haven't really looked at Blue Bolt. My favorite from Novelty Press was the Young King Cole title. Pretty solid and enjoyable detective stories.
I was also impressed that Novelty Press had a letters column in their comics in the 1940s
It's Sad when Dick Cole is stealing Blue Bolt's Spotlight.
Y'know, I used to only click the thumbnails/titles that looked interesting, but I think I've finally learned to just *trust* Austin McConnell's skills. Every single one of his videos/documentaries is a banger, even when they might not look it
It will always be funny how many comic characters from the 20th century are named Dick. It's like they were obsessed! I wonder if the popularity of the name had anything to do with its current connotation?
Understandable, have a nice day.
I'M intrigued; how did you get ahold of the full run of comics to read!?
If one were to do Blue Bolt and then do a proper war part with the guy, where he still keeps his powers same with girlfriend/wife this could be something, just modernize the uniform to look better and we are off. A superhero that is made by a mad scientist with inspiration from an old odd superhero comic. You could even make this set in more modern era in 1990's and 2000's with the war part being Afghanistan and Iraq doing at least 1, 2 year tour in each, both former leaders of there organizations are gone Sudam and Osama Bin Ladden.
The Shield from Archie Comics was the first 'Flag Suit'! He predated Captain America by several months.
Honestly - the whole story is so absurd, that I would totally believe, that every single sentence in this video was generated by the AI, and Austin is just messing with us.
A bit of a technical point: Captain America wasn't designed to be pro-American propaganda, nor was he technically created during America's involvement in World War II. He was designed to be _anti-fascist_ propaganda and was created to _encourage_ American involvement in World War II. Cap was created at the _start_ of 1941, and America didn't join the war until Pearl Harbor, in December of 1941.
You mean ... Captain America is antifa?
Interesting idea
As War looms on the outermost layer of this planet, War rages on the inside of the planet as wall.
W.C. Fields"If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. But then give up. No use being a damned fool about iW.C. FIELDS.."
WHY IN THE HECK DID THEY KEEP PUMPING MONEY into this character that nobody ready liked much.
I'm probably not the first to say this, but Blue Bolt's costume, particularly his helmet, reminds me of Adam Strange's outfit...except it's blue.
I don't think they miss judge the audience. They just choose to not hear them.
It might be costly but if I'm in Novelty shoes, I'll do a double feature and slowly ended the Blue Bolt story and shelf it until the readers demand for it cannot be ignored. But then again, it was a comic boom and story line was as deep as a kiddy pool.
Seems like the only problem with BLUE BOLT was dropping it to kids.
Seems like older or adult readers would have enjoyed it more. Because FLASH GORDON, JOHN CARTER, TARZAN, BUCK ROGERS, and original BATMAN comics were pretty advanced. But older readers and fans were on board.
From how it's being explained.....besides the condescending and sarcastic voice.....BLUE BOLT would work today on paper or screen......just let the name BLUE BOLT be only a YEAR-ONE name before the hero finds his footing and evolves in character, purpose, and then cooler name. Like "HUMAN SPIDER" to "SPIDERMAN".
Thanks for the SHARE! I never knew ANY of this and I'm a HUGE fan of CAP!
I'm gonna assume that im so late here that the idea is already locked in but I find the idea of adapting a character that has been drastically rebooted like blue bolt interesting.
I was thinking if you wanted to do both era's justice you could have a sort of moon knight or legion route with it.
On one side you have this scifi vs magic mind-bending campy superhero story where, *but on the otherside* this fighter pilot in the middle of a warzone struggling with Shellshock and mental illness.
It throws into question whether this purgatory war story is an illusion infecting the mind of Blue bolt, put in there by a magical supervillain or if this struggling soldier is inventing these eccentric delusions of grandeur to escape the bleak reality he lives in.
I love the second thumbnail a lot better! Nice work
Looking forward to when Austin's Blue Bolt goes from being a silly superhero in his solo movie to a serious and conventional fighter pilot in the team-up movie with no explanation.
The original storyline reminds me of a comic character written by hg wells with a head injury.
I do like that surreal meta panel jumping idea tho. Reminds me of the Fleischer out of the inkwell shorts
I always liked the Blue Bolt character, but only for the first ten issues done by Simon & Kirby, the issues after they left just don’t do that much for me.
There are some other memorable artists on that comic though ranging from Bill Everett to Paul Gustavsen and Harry Kiefer and Basil Wolverton’s character Space Hawk also first appeared in Blue Bolt comics.
So what happened to his dead buddies? Did he just left them there? Was he accused of murder?
The original origin was the Earth-2 Blue Bolt. The newer one, with the circus, was the Earth-1 Blue Bolt.
Yeah the second came before the first. Comics are weird like that.
And then there are some that think Captain America was just a rip off of the Shield that MLJ published before Captain America.
I gotta read me some of this!!!
It’s clear to me that Blue Bolt took its cue from Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon and Edgar Rice Burroughs. But that genre took a back seat during WW2.
If they rebooted blue bolt I think it would do a lot better today with the rise of sci fi and fantasy since then and audiences looking for more unique and fresh ideas I think it would find its niche
The main problem that Novelty Press learned too late was that they prepared the magazine with a sci-fi superhero main character and named said magazine after him, simply expecting the character to become popular, without knowing if people would actually care about him. The main reason why most comics at the time were named off of genres, were so publishers could remove characters that weren't popular without much issue. Naming the magazine on a character was both their first and biggest mistake, ironically.
I agree with some of the other comments; they should've kept the fantasy story. The biggest problem was that fantasy/scifi had not been explored yet.