WILDCAT SMITH

Real Name: Wildcat Smith (first name possibly a nickname)

Identity/Class: Human (Native American, World War II era)

Occupation: Soldier

Group Membership: US Military

Affiliations: Ronson Carpenter, Deadly Dozen, Richard Longtree

Enemies: Nazis

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Nazi concentration camp, 1940's
formerly, a southwestern native reservation, United States

First Appearance: Combat Kelly and the Deadly Dozen#2 (August, 1972)

Powers/Abilities: Wildcat Smith was a hard-brawling soldier and fierce fighter, despite his reputation as a coward.

History: (Combat Kelly and the Deadly Dozen#2 (fb) - BTS) - Wildcat Smith was a soldier during World War II who was accused of cowardice. Around 1942, he was captured by the Nazis, and sent to a concentration camp alongside Richard Longtree and Ronson Carpenter. Smith made three escape attempts, but the other prisoners refused to help him, Carpenter or Longtree, afraid of retaliation.

(Combat Kelly and the Deadly Dozen#2) - After two years in the camp, Longtree attacked a guard one day and was beaten badly. Smith, his temper flaring, wanted to join Longtree in fighting back, but Carpenter wisely kept Smith from a similar beating. Carpenter and Smith brought him back to their quarters to tend his wounds, and soon discovered that Jay Little Bear, Combat Kelly, Dino Manelli and Percival Pinkerton of the Deadly Dozen had tunneled into the camp to spearhead a rescue operation. Pinkerton had brought a medical kit, and saw to Longtree's injuries. Although the other prisoners had refused to help the three Native men in the past, they agreed to participate in this escape attempt. The Deadly Dozen set off an explosives in their tunnels, and used the explosion to help cover their escape attempt. Smith and Carpenter reached the woods, but learned that Longtree had gone back to help others. They went to join him, and they all opened fire on a German plane that was strafing the escapees, and managed to down it, but the plane crashed on top of them, killing them all.

Combat Kelly asked Captain Sam Sawyer to grant the three men the Medal of Honor, but Sawyer refused because their families hadn't been told about the earlier charges of cowardice, and the best he could do was to see to it that they never found out.

Comments: Created by Gary Friedrich, Dick Ayers and Mike Esposito.

by Prime Eternal

CLARIFICATIONS:
Wildcat Smith should not be confused with:

• Wildcat of Project X, @ Wolverine II#50
• Wildcats of Earth-8162, former team in the Game, @ Dragon's Claws#1

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