ISADORE "IZZY" COHEN
Real Name: Isadore Cohen
Identity/Class: Human (World War II era to modern day)
Occupation: Mechanic;
formerly ranger
Group Membership: Howling Commandos, S.H.I.E.L.D.
Affiliations: Agent Q, Agent X, Ancient One, Captain Andre, Gene Autry, Dick Ayers, Colonel William Ballinger, Black Widow (Anya Derevkova), Morgana Blessing, Bucky (James Buchanan Barnes), Captain America (Steve Rogers), Major Carlo, Sharon Carter, Winston Churchill, Claire, Clea, Jerry Colonna, Bing Crosby, General Curtis, Deadly Dozen, Jacques Dernier, Desert Hawk (Ben Ali Mussim), Dr. Strange, Dracula, Jimmy Durante, Ellen, Fantastic Four (Human Torch, Invisible Girl, Mr. Fantastic, Thing), Gary Friedrich, Dawn Fury, Jake Fury, John Garrett, Henri Gendron, Martin Goodman, Betty Grable, Hamir, Rolfe Harrison, Hawkeye, Pamela Hawley, Herbie, Bob Hope, Bill Jones, Peter Kazantis, Ilsa Koenig, Marie LaBrave, Pierre LaBrave, Dorothy Lamour, Leatherneck Raiders, Jean-Luc LeBeau, Stan Lee, Irving Levine, Coral Liebowitz, M'gumbii, Chris Macek, Dr. Macmillan, Groucho Marx, Maulers, Glenn Miller, Missouri Marauders, Jim Morita, Sheila Mussim, Colonel Phil Parker, Lt. Spencer Parker, Dr. Warren Parker, Lt. Colonel Pinkerton, Cliff Powers, Major Redgrave, Terry Reiker, Major Richards, Colonel Schiller, C. Thomas Sites, Jasper Sitwell, Michael Skouras, Sophia, Howard Stark, Maria Stark, Carla Swain, Tom Tanaka, Sister Theresa, Lana Turner, Dr. Zenish
Enemies: Agent of 1,000 Faces, Blitzkrieg Squad, Eva Braun, Candra, Captain Conner, Major Dommerlein, Dormammu, Freissel, Colonel Otto Frick, Major Frobrich, Joseph Goebbels, Hans, Captain Wilhelm Hauser, Gerta Heinz, Adolf Hitler, Hydra, Ambassador Ihetu, Major Itsui, Rueben Jabokwitz, Kevin Kenner, Kielzig, General Toshiro Kimoto, Colonel Klaue, Major Kleit, Colonel Kritzberg, Heinrich Krowler, Rudolph Kruuger, Lord Ha-Ha, General Nakamura, Orini, Panzer Max, the Planner, Ravonne, Red Skull (Johann Shmidt), Erwin Rommel, Paul Ryan, Colonel Schleicher, Hans Schmidt, Lt. Otto Shmidt, Van Kerkvoort, Colonel Van Papen, Colonel Ludwig von Baum, Baron Johann von Braun, General von Krummpt, Hans von Reichardt, General Von Ritzik, Baron Wolfgang von Strucker, Baron Strucker LMD, Von Stuerer, Baron Heinrich Zemo
Known Relatives: Two unnamed sons, unnamed daughter, unnamed wife, Emile Geldberg (uncle, deceased), Selma Geldberg Cohen (mother), Irving Cohen (father), unnamed sister
Aliases: "Brooklyn"
Base of Operations: Cohen Garage, Brooklyn,
New York;
formerly Able Company base, England (during World War II)
First Appearance: Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos#1 (May, 1963)
Powers/Abilities: Isadore Cohen is an expert mechanic, specializing in automobiles but able to jury-rig or sabotage just about any mechanical device. As a ranger, he was a specialist in explosives, and would carry a machine gun and grenades.
History: (Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos#86 (fb)) - Growing up in Brooklyn, Izzy's best friend was Kevin Kenner, and often came to blows with Chris Macek, especially when they were both in love with the same girl, Ellen. Izzy never suspected that Kenner was manipulating them both, pitting them against each other for his own amusement.
(Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos#34 (fb)) - Isadore "Izzy" Cohen was one of the founding members of the First Attack Squad gathered by Captain Samuel Sawyer at Able Company base. His fellow rangers were Sgt. Nick Fury, Corporal Timothy "Dum-Dum" Dugan, Jonathan "Junior" Juniper, Robert "Reb" Ralston, Dino Manelli and Gabriel Jones.
(Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commanods#44 (fb)) - The First Attack Squad were put through their training by Captain Sawyer, and encountered early friction between Jones and Ralston over Jones' skin colour, and Izzy stood up for Gabe. When Dr. MacMillan, a British rocket scientist was captured by the Germans and held outside of Paris, Captain Sawyer sent the First Attack Squad into the field as a commando unit, working in partnership with the British. Seriously outnumbered and unable to storm the Nazi base, "Junior" Juniper suggested that they use a German sound truck's speakers to make it sound as though there were more commandos surrounding the base. The squad yelled Reb's yell of "Wah-hoo!" into the speakers to outfox the Nazis, and succeeded in making them think they were outnumbered. They escaped with Dr. Macmillan, and Prime Minister Winston Churchill was so impressed with their performance that he made them the first Ranger Squadron to also hold the title of commandos. When Sawyer learned how the squad had used Reb's yell to trick the Nazis, he nicknamed them the "Howling Commandos."
(Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos#1) - The Howlers were sent on a mission into Nazi-occupied France to rescue Pierre LaBrave, a French Resistance fighter who held important information on the Allies' D-Day plans. Pierre's daughter Marie helped them reach the town of Louviers where he was being held. All of the Howlers were captured except for Sgt. Fury himself, and he came to their rescue just as the Nazis were about to execute them all. They took General Von Ritzik prisoner with them as they returned to England, while the LaBraves returned to the resistance.
(Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos#2) - The Howlers journeyed to a French coastal town where they distracted the Nazis occupying the site so that their naval forces could destroy the U-Boat pens located there. For their next mission, Captain Sawyer assigned them to journey to Heinemund to prevent the Germans research into atomic weaponry. Shortly after their arrival in Germany, Dum-Dum was captured during a skirmish with the Nazis, and Dino disguised himself as a Nazi to find where he was being held, and the Howlers rescued Dugan. "Junior" Juniper then suggested that they use reverse psychology on the Nazis and turn themselves in then beg to not be sent to the concentration camp at Heinemund. The Nazis fell for it, and they broke out of the camp soon after their arrival and made it to the development center and shot the place up. Not long after they departed, the entire center went up in an atomic explosion.
(Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos#3) - The Howlers got into a fight at a pub and wound up putting over a dozen men in the hospital. It took guardsmen armed with a tank to get them into the guardhouse. Sawyer sent the Howlers to Italy to meet up with O.S.S. agent Major Richards and help rescue a squad led by General Curtis that was trapped by the Nazis at Massacre Mountain. When they reached the entrapped men, they met reporter "Hank Smith." After every attempt at moving out was thwarted, Fury exposed Smith as Hans Schmidt, an undercover German agent, and Manelli killed him. They finally reached General Curtis and helped him through the "Tunnel of Caesar," a passageway under Massacre Mountain.
(Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos#4) - The Howlers were sent to Germany to kidnap Lord Ha-Ha, the brother of Pamela Hawley, a medic who Fury had met. They disguised themselves as circus performers to sneak across Germany. Although they managed to capture Lord Ha-Ha, he betrayed them and exposed them to the Nazis while they were waiting for a submarine to pick them up. Lord Ha-Ha and Junior were both killed, but the remaining Howlers returned to England.
(Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos#5) - Fury was affected by Junior's death, and it caused him to drive the Howlers further into training to prevent another death. When Baron Strucker challenged Fury to a duel, Fury disobeyed Sawyer's orders and met him, only to be drugged by wine Strucker gave him so that Strucker could easily defeat him and photograph the event to use it as a propoganda victory. Fury was demoted to private by Sawyer, and Dugan assumed command of the Howlers. On a mission in Germany, the Howlers encountered Baron Strucker, and Fury demanded a rematch. Manelli realized that Strucker had used drugs on Fury before, and this time Fury refused the drink and beat Strucker, while Dugan took pictures. Sawyer restored Fury to the rank of sergeant for humiliating Strucker.
(Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos#6) - To prepare for an assignment to North Africa to assassinate Erwin Rommel, the Howling Commandos were forced to step up their training, including parachuting. When Manelli's chute failed to open during a drop, Fury narrowly saved him, but he was laid up in the hospital as a result. George Stonewell was assigned to the Howling Commandos as Manelli's temporary replacement, but he turned out to be a bigot prejudiced against Cohen and Jones. Fury was forced to put up with Stonewell because no one else was available. They came close to succeeding in their mission, but Stonewell was hit by shrapnel saving Cohen from a grenade. Cohen brought him to safety, and Jones saved Stonewell's life with a blood transfusion. The Howlers ultimately learned from the British that the attempt on Rommel was to be called off because Rommel was involved in a conspiracy to assassinate Hitler. Stonewell was reassigned when they returned to England, but he left his address with Cohen and Jones as a gesture of friendship.
(Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos#7 (fb) - BTS) - The Howling Commandos captured Lt. Otto Shmidt, and brought him back to England. Shmidt was so grateful to have been taken alive that he told Fury about a fake ammo dump which the Nazis intended to use as a booby trap against the French Underground.
(Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos#7) - Weeks later, after capturing a Nazi Doodle-Bug, they were assigned to help Lt. Spencer Parker and the French Underground destroy an ammo dump. When Fury realized that it was the one Shmidt told him about, he tried to get Parker to call off the attack. They were sighted by planes and bombed, but they all managed to escape back to England. Fury was put on court martial, and defended by Colonel William Ballinger, but had lost his memory of why he had turned on Parker. Finally, when a Nazi plane bombed Able Company base, he regained his memory and brought out Shmidt to verify his story. Meanwhile, the Howlers had heard Bull McGiveney had been badmouthing Fury, and put him and the Maulers in the hospital. They were all sent to the guard house until Fury was cleared of charges.
(Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos#8) - The Howlers received their replacement for Juniper-- British commando Percival "Pinky" Pinkerton. Although they were initially skeptical if Percy had the makings of a Howler, he quickly proved himself on their mission to stop Baron Heinrich Zemo, creator of a death-ray. Along the way they destroyed a U-boat, coastline defenses, a tank, and an ammo dump. In battle with Zemo, Reb managed to lariat the death-ray away from him, and Zemo fled. Fury realized that the death-ray would overload, so he evacuated the castle as it exploded. They returned to England and officially welcomed Percival into their ranks.
(Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos#9) - The Howlers were assigned on a mission to kidnap Adolf Hitler from Berlin. With the help of an unnamed member of the German underground, they attended a rally, but were recognized by Baron Strucker and only Fury and Cohen escaped. Fury forced Strucker to help him capture Hitler, then they rescued the Howlers. The German underground member died helping them escape to England, but they discovered that the Hitler they had captured was an imposter. However, the army was pleased because now they had proof that Hitler was using doubles.
(Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos II#1 (fb) - BTS) - <Winter 1942> The Howling Commandos were sent to Yugoslavia to steal plans for a nuclear bomb from a weapon facility under Baron Zemo's command.
(Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos II#1) - With their plane shot down over Yugoslavia the Commandos parachuted to the ground and were unable to avoid enemy contact when they encountered Nazi soldiers, whom they quickly dispatched of. Even though Russian spy Black Widow (Derevkova) had her cover among the Nazis blown by them she joined forces with them to take down Nazi planes and tanks on their way to the town of Kurabavic, which they freed from the Nazis.
After some downtime in Kurabavic the Howlers and Black Widow invaded Baron Zemo's nearby nuclear weapons facility. Fury prevented Zemo from self-destructing the bomb, but couldn't stop Black Widow from stealing the bomb's plans. The Howlers escaped the facility through the cooling system's drain and caught up with Black Widow at a Nazi airfield. They stole an experimental plane alongside Black Widow, unaware it could be remote-controlled, and got captured by Baron Strucker, when the plane was forced to land on another Nazi airfield. Strucker had them brought to a castle where he pitted the prototype warbot Panzer Max against the Howling Commandos in a presentation to Japanese Admiral Nakamura. The Howlers destroyed Panzer Max, escaped the Nazi fortress and stole Nakamura's submarine, which was filled with gold meant as payment for an atomic bomb. The Howlers allowed Black Widow to escape in a plane while they took the submarine to England. Though they got chewed up for not staying within the mission parameters, Nick Fury successfully pointed out how much more good they had done by not doing so.
Following the mission the Howlers watched a movie about Captain America.
(Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos#118) <1942,
August 30> - The Howling Commandos were sent to Africa to help drive
Rommel from El Alamein, and succeeded.
(Dr. Strange II#51) <1943> - The Howlers
encountered the time-traveling Dr. Strange, Morgana Blessing, and Clea,
who had all been manipulated by Dormammu, Sir Baskerville and Viscount
Krowler in an attempt to let Baron Mordo possess Morgana's body in the
past. Morgana turned out to be a reincarnation of Pamela Hawley,
leading to her being made a prisoner. The Howlers were involved when
they were sent to investigate Baskerville Castle as a site of Nazi
spies, and found a full compliment of Nazis on hand. Ultimately, Dr.
Strange defeated Krowler and Baskerville and removed the memory of the
events from Fury and the other Howlers' minds.
(Gambit III#10 (fb)) <1943> - The Howling
Commandos worked with the thief Jean-Luc LeBeau in an attempt to obtain
the Momentary Princess, a mystical jewel which would appear and vanish
within a short timeframe in Leipzig every few years. They were opposed
by Baron Strucker and Candra, who also sought the item, and ultimately
it vanished without anyone claiming it.
(Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos#10) - Sawyer
sent the Howlers on a mission to Okinawa to rescue Colonel Phil Parker
from the Japanese. Fury had served with Parker in the past, and was
eager to rescue his one-time c.o. They flew from Greenland to Canada to
Alaska, and finally to an aircraft carrier in the Pacific where they
journeyed aboard the U.S.S. Sea Wolf under the command of Captain Simon
Savage, who impressed the Howlers with his fearlessness and command
style. After disembarking at Okinawa through the torpedo tubes of the
Sea Wolf, the Howlers ambushed a Japanese soldier and had Izzy wear his
uniform and pretend to be the Howlers' captor. They managed to trick
the Japanese into transferring them and Parker to a destroyer bound for
Tokyo, then overthrew the crew of the ship and returned to the aircraft
carrier.
(Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos#11) - Sawyer was
placed on detached service for two weeks, during which Captain Flint
was assigned as C.O. of the Howling Commandos. The Howlers put
themselves into more training, hoping to impress Flint, but Bull
McGiveney tricked them into thinking that Flint wasn't by-the-book,
causing them to meet him dressed in battle-damaged clothing. Flint was
furious, and forced the Howlers to obey all regulations. For a mission
to destroy a convoy in Normandy, Flint accompanied the commandos into
battle. Flint was knocked down during the mission, but the Howlers went
on to succeed without him, and Flint wound up coming over to the
Howlers way of thinking.
(Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos#12) - The
Howlers were ordered to destroy a V-1 rocket site in Germany, but
encountered heavy resistance from the Nazis and could not locate the
site. Pinned down, Fury and Manelli hatched a plan for Manelli to
pretend to be a defector so that he could find the site. The other
Howlers were unaware of this plan, and when Fury was lost during the
mission, they assumed the worst. Manelli eventually returned to England
with news of the site's destruction, but found himself lined up for a
court-martial and execution. Manelli's life was saved at the last
possible moment when Fury turned alive with the explanation for
Manelli's defection.
(Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos#13/Captain
America I#383/2) - While the others practiced judo moves, Cohen fiddled
with Gabe's bugle. When Sawyer found out that Cohen needed a sparring
partner, he gave Izzy a throw. The Howlers were summoned to Europe by
Captain America and Bucky to aid them in halting Operation: Einfall, an
attempt by the Germans to tunnel into England. Jones was hit by grenade
shrapnel, so Cohen was ordered to bring him back home. All of the
Howlers were reunited in England after the mission was completed.
(Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos#14) - The
Howlers were sent to destroy a V-2 rocket site within German territory,
but it turned out to be a trap set by Baron Strucker's Blitzkrieg
Squad. Cohen fought his opposite number Ludwig, a German mechanic. They
managed to escape the Blitzkrieg Squad and disguise themselves as Nazis
then returned to England.
(Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos#15) - The
Howlers went to Holland to aid local spy Agent X in setting up charges
in the dikes on the coast that would destroy the Nazi forces located
there. They were also aided by Hans Rooten, son of the local mayor,
believed to be a traitor. By the mission's end, the Howlers realized
that Agent X was Hans' father, and he asked Fury to take Hans back to
England with them for protection until he could finally reveal his
double identity to his son.
(Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos#16) - The
Howlers were sent to North Africa to investigate the disappearance of a
spy, and discovered a Nazi V-2 base in a French fortress. They were
aided by local nomads, and Izzy destroyed the fort.
(Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos#17) - As they
trekked across the desert, the Howlers managed to down a Nazi plane and
use its radio to contact Sawyer. He ordered them to remain in Africa
and investigate the disappearance of several commandos in the jungle.
They found that Nazis had made a base in the jungle, tricking the
natives into believing they were allies, and enslaved the soldiers as
their slaves. Gabe helped drive the natives into rebellion against the
Nazis while the others set the captives free, and they overran the
Nazi's base.
(Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos#18) - Fury
decided to propose to Pamela Hawley after the squad's mission to
destroy the raider Deutschland in Norway. They succeeded in the
mission, but when Fury returned to propose he learned from Pamela's
father that she had been killed in an air raid while he was away.
(Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos#19) - Sgt. Fury
drove himself hard after Pamela's death. When Sawyer gave the Howlers a
furlough, Fury used it to find General von Krummpt, the man who ordered
the attack that killed Pamela. The Howlers joined him on his mission,
and von Krummpt ultimately died battling Fury aboard a plane.
(Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos#20) - The
Howlers were parachuted into Kerrydale Castle, Scotland, to defeat the
Blitzkrieg Squad, who had taken hostages. The Howlers defeated their
opposite numbers in the Blitzkrieg Squad and turned them over to
military custody.
(Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos#21) - After an
explosive Izzy used in a training exercise proved defective, they
learned that the inventor, Dr. Zenish, was afraid for the lives of his
wife and daughter. Sawyer assigned the Howlers to rescue Zenish's
relatives from Kraslice, Czechoslovakia, and they ultimately found his
daughter was still alive. The French resistance hero Jacques Dernier
helped them escape the Nazis, and they reunited Zenish and his
daughter, then resumed a barfight they had begun with the Maulers
before leaving.
(Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos#22) - The
Howlers were sent on a mission to Romania alongside the Maulers to take
out flak guns so that the air force could launch a strike on the
Ploesti oil fields. During the mission, they again fought Strucker and
his Blitzkrieg Squad and defeated them. Despite Fury and McGiveney's
constant rivalry, the Howlers succeeded in their mission, and returned
to Able Company base.
(Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos#23) - The
Howlers journeyed to Burma to help escort Sister Theresa and the
children in her charge past the Japanese forces of Major Itsui and to
the British battalion the Burma Dragons. Pinky was nervous about
encountering his brother, the lieutenant colonel of the Burma Dragons,
but he wound up being proud that Percival was a Howling Commando.
(Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos#24) - All of the
Howlers (plus Hans) were given a two-week furlough in the United
States. While there they went to Izzy's neighborhood and met Izzy's
parents and sister, who hosted a dinner for them. They also went to the
jazz club where Gabe's uncle performed, and Dino introduced them to
Jimmy Durante, Bob Hope, Groucho Marx, and Bing Crosby at the
stage-door canteen. Reb went home to see his family, but found them
under siege by bundists who were after material on the Manhattan
Project that was being held nearby. Fury realized Reb was in danger and
came to his rescue, driving out the Nazis, although Dum-Dum was wounded
and sent to a hospital for an indeterminate period of time. When they
were told to return to England by orders from Captain Sawyer, they
mutually agreed that Hans should remain with Reb's parents until they
could find his father in Holland.
(Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos#25) - Captain
Sawyer was kidnapped by the Red Skull and impersonated by him. The
Skull also impersonated Fury, and used this guise to frame Fury as a
traitor. When Fury realized what was going on, he and the Howlers
tracked the Red Skull down and freed Sawyer.
(Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos#26) - The
Howlers were transported aboard the Sea Wolf with Captain Savage to
help rescue Dum-Dum and three air force men who had been captured
aboard the Nazi ship the Sea Shark. However, by the time they arrived
Dum-Dum and his allies had already destroyed the Sea Shark, and the Sea
Wolf picked them up and brought them home, as Dum-Dum returned to
active duty in the Howling Commandos.
(Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos#27) - The
Howlers went to Germany to destroy a new weapon created by Dr. August
Draus which could blind Allied bombers by emitting a powerful light.
While destroying the device, Fury was hit in the face by shrapnel, and
Dino bandaged up his left eye. Fury was separated from the other
Howlers when he tried to hold off approaching Nazis single-handed, but
eventually he found Dr. Draus and convinced Draus' aide Eric Koenig to
assist him. Fury and Koenig kidnapped Draus and returned to England
with him. Fury was given an operation for his eye, but he refused to be
taken off-duty long enough for a permanent repair, and so was warned
that his vision would one day fail him.
(Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos#28-29) - The
Howlers helped organize the French resistance in Cherbeaux, which was
being monitored by Baron Strucker. As the resistance continued to fight
back, Strucker was forced by Hitler to adopt harsher methods, until he
finally wired the entire town with explosives. Fury countered by
setting up explosives around Strucker's own base. To end their
stand-off, Strucker agreed to let the townspeople be evacuated if Fury
would surrender, but when the townspeople had left, Fury revealed that
he had disguised resistance members as Nazis, and they overcame
Strucker's forces. Strucker destroyed the town, but Fury and his men
all escaped. Captain Savage brought the Howlers back to England.
(Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos#30) - The
Howlers journeyed to Italy where they aided partisan Major Carlo in
removing a fortune of gold stolen from Mussolini. They were aided by a
young girl named Sophia who was attracted to Dino.
(Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos#31) - When a spy
learned that Sam Sawyer knew about D-Day, he was captured and brought
to Germany so that Major Frobrich of the S.S. could interrogate him.
The Howling Commandos came to Sam's rescue and broke him out of the
base.
(Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos#32) - A Nazi spy
disguised as a doctor had Izzy hypnotized into obeying Nazi orders.
When the Howlers were sent to destroy a deuterium plant in Norway, Izzy
sent a homing signal that led Colonel Schleicher and his Nazi forces to
the Howlers' location. Schleicher used his control over Izzy to try and
make him kill his friends, but Izzy overcame the conditioning and
defeated Schleicher. The Howlers went on to destroy the plant.
(Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos#33) - The
Howlers got into another fight with the Maulers when McGiveney insulted
Sgt. Fury, and Captain Sawyer demanded that the two squads learn how to
cooperate. On their next mission, they escorted Peter Kazantis of the
Greek royal family back to Greece to help unite the resistance effort
against the Nazis. They brought Kazantis to the resistance, but a
member named Ravonne betrayed them to the Nazis and they were all
captured. Kazantis was forced to read Nazi propaganda over the radio,
but instead urged his people to rise up, and he and the Howlers escaped
the Nazis. With the Nazis in hot pursuit of them, Ralston, Pinkerton,
Dugan, Cohen, Jones and Manelli stayed behind to buy Fury the time he
needed to get Kazantis to safety.
(Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos#35) - Cohen,
Dugan, Jones, Manelli, Pinkerton, and Ralston were captured transported
to Berlin to be executed on film by Hitler himself. Fury teamed with
Bull McGiveney and "Rickets" Johnson of the Maulers and Eric Koenig to
steal into the theatre where the execution was to be held and set them
free. As they were escaping the theatre, Dino made a daring effort to
shut off the lights, and was hit badly for his trouble. They brought
Dino to Eric's sister, Ilsa Koenig, who treated his wounds, and they
all returned to England. However, Dino's injured leg forced him out of
the service and back to the U.S. Captain Sawyer assigned Eric to join
the Howlers as Dino's replacement.
(Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos#36) - The
Howlers placed Eric through training alongside them, though he was
driven to exceed all of their expectations. On their first mission
together, they were sent to Switzerland to hijack Colonel Ludwig von
Baum, a top military strategist on his way to Italy. They confronted
von Baum on a train, and Eric had to fight his childhood friend Wilhelm
Hauser, who was von Baum's guard. They succeeded in the mission, and
Captain Sawyer made Eric's appointment to the Howling Commandos
permanent.
(Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos#37) - The
Howlers were sent to North Africa to investigate the "Desert Hawk,"
leader of a band of nomads who appeared to be supporting the Nazi
cause. They learned from the Desert Hawk's daughter Sheila that her
father, Ben Ali Mussim was being held prisoner by the Nazis, and she
had been dressing as the Desert Hawk to keep the Nazis from killing her
father. The Howlers helped rescue her father from Colonel Otto Frick
and the nomads stopped supporting the Nazis.
(Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos#38) - Learning
that Dr. Warren Parker could perform an operation to save Dino's life,
but that he was held in a concentration camp, the Howlers were given a
secret mission by Sawyer to rescue him, and the ranger Jim Morita
joined them. Izzy masqueraded as a Nazi guard to help get the others
into the camp, and they succeeded in freeing Dr. Parker and brought him
back to England.
(Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos#39) - The
Howlers invaded Festung von Furcht, where the jet-propelled Thunderer
plane was being developed. Koenig was able to charm some female Germans
into finding where the plane was located, and despite the efforts of
Siegfried, Dugan's sparring partner from the Blitzkrieg Squad, and the
steel-fisted Colonel Klaue, they were able to capture the Thunderer,
and Koenig flew them back to England aboard it.
(Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos#40) - The
Howlers learned that the French fighter Jacques Dernier was being held
captive in occupied France. The Howlers met up with the French
resistance member Claire, who aided them in the rescue. They broke into
the prison where Dernier was held but the man they freed was a Nazi
agent named Hans, disguised as Jacques. Fury realized the deception
when Hans identified Eric Koenig, whom Jacques had never met. Hans
wound up being shot by his own fellow Nazis, and the Howlers found the
real Jacques and two of his men and freed them, knowing he was the
right man because he didn't know Eric. When they had all escaped the
Nazis safely the Howlers returned to England, where they found Dino
waiting for them. Although Dino was there to make a film for the war
department, the Howlers happily welcomed him back into the fold.
(Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos#41) - The
Howlers participated in the production of a film for the U.S.
government with Dino and his newfound lover Nina Bergson. When Fury was
presented with a medal from Winston Churchill, Colonel Klaue and the
Blitzkrieg Squad attempted to kill Churchill, but Nina sacrificed
herself for him, and the Howlers defeated the squad.
(Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos#42) - Dino's
sorrow over Nina's death caused him to go AWOL, and when Fury went
after him, Sawyer had to put Bull McGiveney in charge of the Howlers'
next mission, to find the location of a factory in Germany for Allied
bombers to target. Fury and Dino chased after the Howling Commandos,
but when they found that Eric had gone AWOL to find his sister, Dino
and Fury went after Eric and helped him rescue Ilsa. They met up with
Bull and the other Howlers and completed the mission. Sawyer restricted
McGiveney and all of the Howlers to their quarters for disobeying
orders.
(Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos#43) - The
Howlers returned to North Africa to clash with the forces of Rommel yet
again, this time facing his super-tank. While there, they also attended
a USO show put on for the troops that featured Gene Autry, Glenn
Miller, Bob Hope, Jerry Colonna, Betty Grable, Dorothy Lamour and Lana
Turner. The super-tank was destroyed, and the Howlers returned to
England.
(Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos#44) - While the
Howlers were on a training mission, they began to reminisce about their
first mission, and Percival and Koenig asked them to relate the tale.
(Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos#45) - The
Howlers had to cooperate with Paul Ryan, the son of a general who was
so gung-ho to see combat that he repeatedly jeopardized their mission,
and his penchant for killing Nazis extended to those surrendering and
even already captured. When the mission was completed Fury complained
to Captain Sawyer. That night Fury went out on a date with Ilsa Koenig,
and they were interrupted by Ryan. Ryan picked a fight with Fury, and
the altercation was witnessed by Captain Sawyer and General Ryan. The
general was ashamed of his son, and set him up for a court martial,
recommending he be placed in a doctor's care. Dum-Dum had lost a number
of his trademark derbys during his time around Ryan, and the Howlers
bought him a new one as a gift.
(Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos#46) - The
Howlers were sent to France with medic Cliff Powers to help rescue
Koenig and the Maulers, who had been pinned down and wounded. Cohen
helped repair their escape craft, and Koenig piloted them all back to
England.
(Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos#47) - When the
Howlers went on furlough to a London pub with Ilsa Koenig as Fury's
date, the pub owner collaborated with Colonel Klaue and Gerta Heinz to
set off a bomb in the basement that would kill them all. Fortunately,
Pinky learned about their plan and got them out of the building in
time. They were then met by Sam Sawyer, who told them that the
Blitzkrieg Squad had escaped custody.
(Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos#48) - The
Howlers prepared for a confrontation with the Blitzkrieg Squad, but the
squad came to them at Able Company base. They managed to defeat the
squad alongside the Maulers and Morita's Nisei Squadron, and defeated
Colonel Klaue as well.
(Sgt. Fury and his Howling
Commandos#49) - Captain Savage met up with the Howling Commandos and
assigned them to Tarawa to retrieve Rolfe Harrison, who had gathered
important intelligence on the Japanese forces there. However, all of
the Howlers were captured trying to reach him. They took Izzy apart
from the others to interrogate him. Harrison broke into the Japanese
camp and set the other Howlers free and they returned to Savage's
submarine, the Sea Wolf. However, Cohen remained in Japanese custody.
(Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos#50) - Just as
Allied forces were about to invade Tarawa, Izzy was transferred out of
his cell to be interrogated in Tokyo by the best Japanese
psychologists.
(Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos#54) - Izzy was
sent to a Japanese labor camp in Burma, where he and other prisoners
were forced to build roads. Izzy was told he would be released if he
would surrender information to them, but he refused. Izzy managed to
escape from the guards and fled into the jungle, where he was assisted
by a Burmese man in evading the soldiers, but the Burmese man had to
stay behind after being wounded, although he gave Izzy directions to
his people's village. Izzy was ultimately caught by the Japanese and
returned to the camp.
(Captain Savage and his Leatherneck Raiders#6) - As
Cohen and two other prisoners were digging a tunnel to get out of the
camp, they were met partway by the Leatherneck Raiders, who had
tunneled in to get Cohen out. Captain Savage armed Cohen and the other
prisoners and they attacked the camp from within while a team of
marines attacked the camp from outside. The camp was conquered, and
Cohen returned to Australia with the Leathernecks. Three days later he
thanked Savage for the rescue, then took a plane back to England to
rejoin the Howlers.
(Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos#59) - Cohen
returned to Able Company base and was reunited with all of the Howlers.
Shortly afterwards, he helped the Howlers battle Colonel Klaue when he
tried to trick Fury into a duel.
(Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos#60) - Dugan was
court-martialed, and Cohen testified on his behalf, recalling how Dugan
had fought the Japanese at Tarawa. Regardless, "Sawyer" was determined
to throw the book at him. Dugan was found guilty, but Fury realized
that "Sawyer" was an imposter because his eyes were the wrong color. He
exposed him as the Agent of 1,000 Faces, causing a reversal of the
court's decision on Dugan. The Agent of 1,000 Faces offered himself as
a trade for Sawyer, but the Howlers were determined to rescue Sawyer
themselves.
(Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos#61) - Captain
Flint briefly returned to command the Howlers, and directed them to the
location where Captain Sawyer was being held. By the time the Howlers
arrived, Sawyer had managed to free himself, and they returned to
England together.
(Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos#63) - The
Howlers received a new member, Jerry Larkin, an old friend of
Manelli's. Larkin joined them for a mission to destroy a German
submarine pen. Fury was injured by a sniper during the trek to the
site, and Larkin began increasingly to take charge and shoulder risks.
Cohen set off explosives that destroyed the pens, but Larkin was shot
by a Nazi as he fled the explosion. After he died, Manelli told the
others that Larkin had cancer, which was why he took so many risks.
(Captain Savage and his Battlefield Raiders#11) - The
Howling Commandos teamed up with the Leatherneck Raiders to storm a
Japanese island and rescue the scientist Terry Reiker. During the trek
through the jungle to reach the castle, the Leathernecks member Lee
Baker was killed by a sniper, reminding the Howlers of "Junior"
Juniper's death.
(Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos#64) - The
Howlers and Leathernecks continued their mission, and broke into the
castle to rescue Terry Reiker. She turned out to be an American who was
extremely anti-war and had unrealistic views of the Japanese being
pro-peace. In the course of breaking her out she seemed to begin to
understand the necessity of the war. She was killed in a protest rally
shortly after her rescue.
(Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos#65) - Eric
suddenly became a traitor to the Howling Commandos, led Fury into an
ambush alongside Gerta Heinz, and took him captive.
(Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos#66-67) - While
Fury was held by Koenig in Germany, the other Howling Commandos were
sent to the U.S.A. to help train new commandos. When they heard that
Fury had been found they immediately returned to England, but Sawyer
told them to return to the States because he would be sending the
entire squad on a furlough, Fury included.
(Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos#68-69) - Fury
took a leave to visit his family in New York, and invited the other
Howlers to come after him. However, Colonel Klaue was in the U.S. and
captured and drugged Fury. The newly-arrived Howlers had to fight
Colonel Klaue without Fury and rescue his sister Dawn from Klaue and
his ally Von Stuerer, but were aided by Fury's younger brother Jake.
The effects of the drug eventually passed, and Fury returned to normal.
(Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos#70-71) - The
Howlers teamed up with the Missouri Marauders on a mission to destroy a
bridge in France that the Germans were using to move equipment to the
coast. They tried to destroy the bridge by blasting a tank with a
bazooka, but it started to rain, and it put out the tank's fire.
However, a German plane suddenly swooped in and dropped a bomb on the
bridge, destroying it. Unknown to the Howlers, the plane was piloted by
Eric Koenig.
(Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos#72) - The
Howlers listened as Captain Sawyer told them the story of his 1940
adventure to help Wilhelm Steuben escape Marrakech.
(Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos#73) - The
Howlers were assigned to aid Colonel Kyril Kuslov in cutting off German
supply lines to Moscow. They did not get along well with Kuslov, but
succeeded in their mission.
(Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos#74) - Each of
the Howlers went on a solo mission as part of Operation: Jigsaw, a set
of plans split into seven parts. Izzy blew up a vault with plastic
explosives to obtain his piece. The Howlers brought the seven pieces to
Sawyer, who discovered that the Nazis were manufacturing nerve gas.
Sawyer and the Howlers flew a bomber over the plant and destroyed the
facilities.
(Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos#75 (fb)) - The
Howlers were assigned a new member, Duane Wilson, to replace Koenig. On
a mission to rescue a captured general who knew the D-Day plans, Wilson
proved himself at first, but during a bombardment, he cracked up. Fury
assigned him to help Dugan carry the general to safety, but Wilson
panicked and deserted. He returned soon after, but Fury had no choice
but to send him up for a court martial.
(Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos#75) - The
Howlers were forced to attend Wilson's execution by firing squad.
(Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos#77) -
In-fighting broke out between the Howlers as Eric's defection took its
toll and they began to harass each other. They were assigned Sgt. Hans
Klaus, a German-born ranger to assist them in capturing Koenig. Fury
distrusted Klaus because of his heritage, and it ultimately cost them
an opportunity to capture Koenig.
(Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos#78) - Sgt. Klaus
was placed in charge of the Howling Commandos on a mission to capture
Koenig from a German prison. Klaus managed to set Koenig and his lover
Coral Liebowitz free, but he sacrificed his own life to destroy the
weaponry of Baron Johann von Braun.
(Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos#79) - Each of
the Howlers were brought in to testify at Koenig's trial, and he was
finally cleared of all charges. Fury was outraged, but Captain Sawyer
explained that he had gone undercover for the Allies. On their next
mission to destroy a Nazi base in a castle in the Bavarian Alps, Fury
assigned Koenig to remain behind and takes pictures of the castle for
intelligence while the others went in. Koenig knew that it was a sign
that Fury didn't trust him. As they were climbing down to the castle,
they were spotted by the Nazis and fired on. Koenig came to their
rescue in a German plane he had stolen and he bombed the castle. Koenig
asked Fury to trust him again, and Fury finally gave in, and officially
welcomed Eric back to the Howling Commandos.
(Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos#81) - Former
college All-American quarterback Fred Jones joined the Howlers. On a
mission to capture Eva Braunat a French chateau, Jones was shot in the
leg by Colonel Kritzberg. Braun got away, but Jones captured
Kritzberg's plans. However, Jones lost his leg to the injury, removing
him from the Howlers, and also meaning he could never return to
football.
(Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos#83-84) - When
the Maulers' newest member, former wrestler "Man-Mountain" McCoy joined
the base's wrestling competition, Fury convinced Dugan to join and
bring him down. However, the two wrestlers were captured by the Agent
of 1,000 Faces, and the Howlers and Maulers joined forces to rescue
them. By the end of their ordeal, Dugan and McCoy had become friends,
and refused to fight each other in the ring.
(Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos#86) - The
Howlers were joined by Izzy's childhood friend Kevin Kenner on a
mission to capture Dr. Rueben Jabokwitz, a Polish scientist developing
germ warfare in L'aison, France. During the mission, Izzy learned that
Kenner was a spy for the Nazis that Kenner had never been his friend,
just manipulating him to achieve his goals. Chris Macek was also in
L'aison, but died in a firefight, and Izzy was dejected to realize that
Kenner had kept them from becoming friends. Izzy killed Kenner, as well
as destroying Jabokwitz and his lab.
(Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos#88) - As General
Patton and Field Marshal Montgomery competed to reach Messina first,
Reb and Pinky came to blows, each one standing up for his country. The
Howlers wound up helping Patton's forces take Messina, and by the end
Reb and Pinky had overcome their grudge.
(Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos#90) - The
Howlers waited for Gabe at a pub, unaware that Gabe had been kidnapped
by a Nazi.
(Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos#92 (fb)) -
Sawyer assigned Tom Tanaka to assist the Howlers on a mission to expose
and destroy a German medical base being used as a cover for a missile
development site.
(Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos#92) - The
Howlers and Tanaka captured Germans escorting Japanese ambassador Ihetu
and used their clothes. Ihetu committed seppuku, and Tanaka took his
clothing. Tanaka obtained photographic proof of the missiles and
destroyed the base. On their way to a rendezvous, Tanaka was killed in
a firefight with the Germans. When Fury went to tell Tanaka's parents
of his death, he was horrified to learn that they lived in an American
internment camp.
(Captain America Annual I#9/2 (fb)) <1944, April>
- The Howlers were sent to rescue Howard and Maria Stark from the Red
Skull's castle in Germany, and were aided by Captain America and Bucky.
Reb suffered from a bout of panic when some Nazis nearly got him, but
Captain America helped him overcome his fears, and they succeeded in
the mission.
(Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos Annual#2)
<1944, June 5-6> - Leading up to D-Day, the Howlers invaded
Normandy, meeting up with Jacques Dernier. They tricked a number of
high-ranking Nazis to a chateau, then attacked them and destroyed an
airfield. They were briefly captured by Colonel Van Papen, but rescued
with help from Dernier, and went on to join the invasion force on June
6th.
(Dark Reign: New Nation#1 (fb)/Secret
Warriors#17 (fb)) <1944, June 6> - As the Howling Commandos moved
in for the D-Day invasion, Captain America delivered an inspirational
speech to them.
(Secret Warriors I#18 (fb) ) - Captain America and the
Howlers were surrounded by 50 to 60 Nazis. After listening to their
commandant screaming for five minutes, Cap hit him in the face and the
Howlers killed the Nazis.
(Marvel Comics Presents I#77/3-79/2) <1942, July>
- The Howlers were sent to destroy a German oil dump in Ploesti,
Romania. During the mission, they were aided by Dracula, who they
discovered was a vampire. They allowed him to assist them, but
Pinkerton was insistent on informing Van Helsing of his continued
existence.
(Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. II#3-5 (fb))
<1944, Summer> - The Howlers fought Baron Strucker and his
Death's Head Squad in the German village of Gruenstadt, where Strucker
massacred the village's population to protect the secrets of the
extraterrestrial Gnobians.
(Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos#119 (fb))
<1944, October> - Sawyer assigned the Howlers to investigate the
"Hawk Eyrie" headquarters of the Planner.
(Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos#119) <1944,
October 10> - The Howlers parachuted into Switzerland and disguised
themselves as Nazis, only to be discovered by Major Rudolph Kruuger.
Kruuger brought them to the Planner, who turned out to be kept alive on
machines. The Howlers destroyed the "Hawk Eyrie," apparently killing
the Planner as a result.
(Captain America/Nick Fury: The Otherworld War#1)
<1944, October> - The Howling Commandos, Captain America and
Bucky pursued the Red Skull into the Dark Dimension when he stole the
Ancient One's Eye of Agamotto talisman. Although they were faced with
Dormammu and Orini, they were aided by Clea in retrieving the amulet
and returning to Earth. The Ancient One removed their memories of the
adventure from their minds.
(Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos Annual#4)
<1944, December 16-25> - The Howlers got into another bar brawl
with the Maulers, then were sent out to Belgium where they fought in
the "Battle of the Bulge." At one point they were captured by American
soldiers who accused them of being German infiltrators, but Koenig
exposed their captors as the true Germans in disguise and beat them. At
one point, they and other soldiers were caught and "executed" by the
Germans, but the Howlers all managed to fake their deaths until the
Germans left. They celebrated Christmas during the battle.
(Captain America III#32 (fb)) <1944> - During
the Battle of the Bulge, the Howling Commandos, Captain America and
Bucky came to the rescue of some soldiers pinned down by Nazis.
(Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos#94) - The
Howlers were assigned to evacuate a German town before an airstrike
destroyed a nearby missile base. However, Fury and Koenig learned from
the town's obermeister that there were no missiles, and the Nazis were
trying to smear the Allies by tricking them into destroying the town.
Fury and Koenig were held captive by the obermeister's Nazi son, but
managed to escape, too late to warn the townspeople. Bombers, including
Herbie and Hawkeye, demolished the town. Fury was left badly wounded
and unconscious.
(Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos#96) - Dugan
assumed command of the Howlers and began a long trek through German
territory to the coast. When they ran into a patrol, they positioned
themselves by a cliffside to use the rocks as cover. Koenig suggested
that someone depart so that the world would know what happened at the
town. Dugan agreed, and ordered Koenig to go.
(Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos#97) - The pilots
Herbie and Hawkeye came to help rescue the Howlers, but their plane was
hit, and Herbie died in the crash. They began to scale the side of the
cliff while the Germans continued to bombard them.
(Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos#98 (fb)) - The
Howlers managed to get everyone up the side of the cliff except for
Dugan and Hawkeye. Hawkeye used some smoke grenades to give them cover,
but Hawkeye was struck down as they were climbing. The Howlers returned
to England to get Fury medical attention.
(Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos#102) - The
Howlers, now comprised of Fury, Dugan, Ralston, Cohen and Jones, were
sent to aid Agent Q to island near Sicily to destroy a counterfeit
money plant set up by mobster Lo Parino. They succeeded in their
mission.
(Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos#104) <1945,
January> - The Deadly Dozen were under the command of Captain
Conner, who refused to show any sign of weakness, and the Dozen began
to fear he would get them killed. Manelli contacted Sgt. Fury, and he
came to reinforce them with the Howlers. Captain Conner remained in
command, however, and refused to advance their lines. When the Howlers
showed him that thousands of Nazis were advancing on their position,
Conner cracked up. (Combat Kelly and the Deadly Dozen#4) - Fury beat up
Conner, then assumed command of the situation, and sent Miller and
Wagner to bring Conner back to headquarters, while the rest of them
prepared to face the attacking Germans. The Howling Commandos and
Deadly Dozen managed to hold off against unbelieveable odds, and the
Germans finally retreated. However, Wagner had been killed while
escorting Conner, and Conner abandoned the wounded Miller so that he
could have revenge on Fury and Kelly. Conner confronted the two men
with a rifle, threatening to kill them both for mutiny, but Miller
caught up to Conner and shot him in the back. Miller then died from his
wounds. General McCord arrived afterwards and gave Conner a decoration
for bravery, thinking he had led the Howlers and Dozen to victory. Fury
saw to it that Wagner and Miller's bodies were brought back for burial,
but left Conner's body on the battlefield. (Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos#106, 108)
<1945, February> - The Howlers were sent to rescue prisoners
being sent to Dresden on a train, but they wound up heading to Dresden
themselves to attempt a mass evacuation of prisoners and civilians
before the Allies bombed the city.
(Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos#110) - Anti-war
reporter C. Thomas Sites was invited by Dugan to accompany the Howlers
in the field. He did, and after seeing children murdered by the Nazis,
his attitudes changed.
(Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos#112, 114) -
While on a mission in Africa, the plane the Howlers were aboard was
fired on, and Fury was lost, believed dead. He wound up in the clutches
of Baron Strucker, who was testing out a new drug, and exposed Fury to
it. Fury was overwhelmed by hallucinations. Although the Howlers
realized he was alive and saved him, Fury was seemingly completely
gone, mentally.
(Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos#115) - Learning
that the psychiatrist Irving Levine could help restore Fury's sanity,
the Howlers went on an unauthorized mission to rescue him from a German
prison camp. They succeeded, and Fury was soon fit for duty.
(Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos#116) - Fury was
taken off the Howlers to help train Larry Freese, Russ Talbert, James
MacReedy and Lon Wilcox, but eventually returned to the Howling
Commandos.
(Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos#117) - Fury put
the Howlers through intensive training to prove that he was over his
ordeal with Strucker. Later, Izzy attended the funeral of Jones' old
friend Danny "Drummer" Bellaman.
(Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos#120) - The
Howling Commandos journeyed to Roermond, Holland, to take photographs
of the Germans' Buzz-Bomber. They succeeded, but when Izzy learned that
his uncle was living nearby, he insisted on checking up on him.
Discovering that his uncle was in a concentration camp, the Howlers
disguised themselves to enter the camp, only to fall into a Nazi trap--
Izzy's uncle was dead and replaced with a Nazi agent who they intended
for Izzy to rescue and bring back to the United States for espionage.
The other Howlers escaped and warned Izzy, then killed the imposter.
(Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos Annual#1) -
During the Korean War, the Howling Commandos were reunited under the
command of Colonel Sawyer, and he led them into combat to destroy a MIG
base. They also reunited with Captain Savage on the mission as he
transported them to shore. When Sawyer was hit by a bullet, Fury
managed to talk him into sitting out the rest of the mission, but
Sawyer soon followed them to the MIG base to help them escape the
Koreans. After the base was destroyed, Sawyer granted a battlefield
commission of lieutenant to Fury so that he could eventually assume
command of the Howling Commandos from him.
(Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos Annual#3 (fb)) -
In recent years, Cohen took over the family garage in Brooklyn and
raised a family with his wife, but when Nick Fury contacted him to
request his aid in reforming the Howling Commandos on a mission to
prevent Vietnam from creating a hydrogen bomb, Izzy agreed to sign on,
despite his wife's concerns. General Sam Sawyer was placed in charge of
the assignment, and he assigned S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Jasper Sitwell to
the squad to fill out their numbers. In Vietnam, the squad took their
orders from Sgt. Bull McGiveney, who had been hand-picked by Sawyer.
McGiveney provided an escort as they set out to destroy the bomb, but
on the way back, McGiveney was captured. Fury sent the other Howlers to
make their rendezvous with Koenig's plane while he went to rescue
McGiveney.
(Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos Annual#3) - Fury
was captured as well, but the Howlers and McGiveney's green berets came
to their rescue, and the entire squad returned safely to the
S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier for a debriefing from Sawyer.
(Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos Annual#4) - The
one-time Howling Commandos gathered at Dugan's home in Boston to
celebrate Christmas, along with Dugan's wife, Carla Swain, Izzy's wife
and Izzy's three children. Fury entertained the children with a story
of the Howlers' mission during the "Battle of the Bulge."
(Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos#100) - The
Howlers were reunited at an event held by Marvel Comics to celebrate
100 isues of the Sgt. Fury comic book, but a sniper shot Reb because of
his pro-civil rights views. The Howlers and S.H.I.E.L.D. chased after
the gunmen, and Izzy was badly hurt when he fell from a motorcycle in
the chase. Fury killed the would-be assassin, and Reb and Izzy both
recovered from their injuries.
(Captain America I#273-274) - Cohen attended the
Howlers reunion alongside his one-time comrades and Captain America.
When General Sawyer was kidnapped by Hydra agents at the scene, Captain
America, Fury, Dugan and Jones set out to rescue him. Koenig, Cohen,
Manelli, Pinkerton and Ralston decided to join their old friends, and
Cohen's son provided them with jeeps. They saved their friends from
Hydra at the Grand Forks Air Base, although the LMD of Baron Strucker
holding Sawyer managed to escape them. They pursued Sawyer to Hydra
Island, where the LMD of Strucker tried to kill the Howlers by
self-destructing, but Sawyer shielded them from the blast, losing his
own life. Koenig and the other Howlers donned their old commando gear
to attend Sawyer's funeral.
(Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. II#44) - Gabe Jones
summoned Manelli, Cohen and Pinkerton to the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier
to help aid Fury in deprogramming S.H.I.E.L.D. agents who had been
brainwashed by Hydra. With Dugan and Captain America also aboard the
Helicarrier at the time, they enjoyed a brief reunion.
(Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. II#47) - Cohen,
Manelli, and Pinkerton attended the funeral of Kate Neville, Fury's
lover who had been killed by Baron Strucker. They all wore S.H.I.E.L.D.
uniforms to the ceremony, indicating that they had obtained some kind
of status within S.H.I.E.L.D.
(Incredible Hulk II#434) - Manelli, Koenig, Cohen and
Jones all attended Nick's funeral after he was seemingly killed by the
Punisher. Jones, Cohen, Manelli and Koenig refused to believe that Fury
was dead, and joked about the solemn event, but gradually began to
believe he was dead, and were stunned when it seemed that he was truly
gone forever.
(Secret Warriors I#17 (fb) ) - Now bound to a
wheelchair Izzy traveled to Sudan where he met many former Howling
Commandos, John Garrett, Steve Rogers, Fury and Sharon Carter at Fury's
Sandbox base for one last party together.
(Secret Warriors I#18 (fb) ) - Izzy told the story of
Cap and the Howlers killing around 50 to 60 Nazis on D-Day.
(Secret Warriors I#19 (fb) ) - Izzy toasted to the
fallen Howlers.
Comments: Created by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby and
Dick Ayers.
The Howling Commandos appeared in Captain America/Black Panther: Flags of Our Fathers#1-4 (June-September, 2010). Unfortunately the series just does not work well within Marvel continuity, which disqualifies their appearances in this series from this profile. Profile by Prime Eternal
CLARIFICATIONS:
--Markus Raymond
Isadore "Izzy" Cohen should not be confused with:
Irving was Izzy's father, and ran the Cohen and Sons Auto Repair shop next to their home in Brooklyn. Izzy learned his trade as a mechanic from Irving.
--Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos#24
Selma Geldberg Cohen was the sister of Emile Geldberg, and had come to the U.S. from Holland.
--Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos#24
The Nazi disguised as Emile Geldberg in Sgt. Fury#120 referred to Izzy's mother as Sarah; perhaps this was a slip-up that Izzy simply didn't notice because he was so happy to see the man he thought was his uncle.
Izzy's unnamed sister met the Howling Commandos when they came home with Izzy on furlough. She appeared to be a teenager at the time, several years younger than her brother.
--Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos#24
Izzy and his wife had at least three children, two boys and one girl. They came to the Howlers Christmas-Hannakuh party one year and heard a story about the Battle of the Bulge from their uncle Nick Fury (because his story about Nazis killing unarmed men in the snow is just what children like to hear at Christmas time).
--Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos Annual#3 (4
In Captain America I#273, Izzy mentions that the
jeeps they're using are from his son, indicating that one of his sons
entered the family business...but did either of his sons look old
enough to be working in their earlier appearances? They either grew up
real fast or maybe Izzy has one son who's a lot older than the others?
Izzy's wife was never named. She was not fond of the idea of Izzy getting back into combat when the Howlers went on their mission to Vietnam, but he came back to her in one piece. When Izzy was injured chasing the men who shot Reb, she stayed at Izzy's hospital bed while he recuperated.
--Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos Annual#3 (Sgt.
Fury and his Howling Commandos#100, Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos
Annual#4
Images taken from:
Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos#1, page 3
Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos#101, cover
Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos#54, cover
Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. II#44, page 12, panel 2
Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. II#47, page 22, panel 2
Irving- Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos#24, page 3, panel 3
Selma- Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos#24, page 3, panel 5
Sister- Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos#24, page 3, panel 5
Children- Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos Annual#3, page 8, panel 3
Wife- Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos Annual#3, page 8, panel 7
First Posted: 07/15/2006
Last updated: 02/23/2013
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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