YOUNG AVENGER

Real Name: William "Bill" Bryon (see comments)

Identity/Class: Human mutate (?) (World War II to modern era)

Occupation: Retired; former adventurer, vigilante, soldier (see comments)

Group Membership: "Crazy SUES" (Specialized Unit, Enhanced Soldiers) - Archie the Gruesome, Blue Diamond (Elton Morrow), Captain Flame (Frank Cortez), Davey Drew and the Demon, Father Time (Larry Scott), Fighting Yank, Fin (Peter Noble), Robert "Flash" Foster, Invisible Man (Leonard Gade (see comments)), Doug "Jap-Buster" Johnson, Albert "Slow-Motion" Jones, Merzah the Mystic, Moon-Man, Secret Stamp (Roddy Colt), Captain Bob Strong, Jim "Taxi" Taylor and T-Mech, Vagabond

Affiliations: "A FRIEND", American Ace (Perry Webb (see comments)), Bucky (James Barnes), Sergeant Byrd, Captain America (Steve Rogers), Victory Boys, unidentified person (shadow seen only), U.S.A. Comics

Enemies: Eric von Himmel, Nazi agents, Axis soldiers (in general)

Known Relatives: Unidentified wife (deceased), unidentified son (Alyssa's father), unidentified mother, Alyssa Bryon (granddaughter), Piotr (last name unrevealed, deceased "cousin")

Aliases: Grandpa, Grampa, Gramps (as called by Alyssa)

Base of Operations: His house in the suburbs of New York, USA

First Appearance: U.S.A. Comics#1/6 (August, 1941)

Powers/Abilities: Bill Bryon displayed enhanced level strength, stamina and durability, and had an amazing sense of direction.

   By the time Bill Bryon reached the age of 92, he wore eye glasses, and he was in poor physical shape--having suffered a leg injury at some point earlier, he used a cane to move about. He was overweight (possibly due to all the fast food he ate over his lifetime) and he had a heart-condition which required him to take nitroglycerine pills; he eventually suffered a heart attack and later died.

Height: 5'10" (by approximation)
Weight: 220 lbs. (by approximation); 170 lbs. (in his prime years)
Eyes: Blue
Hair: White; formerly blond

History:

(All-Winners Squad: Band of Heroes#2 (fb) - BTS) - William Bryon was born in March, 1920.

(U.S.A. Comics#1/6 (fb) - BTS) - Bill Bryon gained the powers and identity of Young Avenger through unknown means, and responded to the voice of a shadow to perform heroic deeds.

(U.S.A. Comics#1/6) - Having overheard Nazi agent Eric von Himmel's plans to destroy the USA's aviation industry, a shadowy figure went to Bill Bryon, gently sleeping, and told him that his help was needed. Now awake, Bryon received his instructions and transformed into Young Avenger. He ran to the next target of the Nazi agents and stopped them before they could detonate any explosives. Young Avenger then beat the identity of their boss out of one the saboteurs and left the Nazis behind tied up for the police. He traveled quickly to Southern New York State and broke into von Himmel's hideout, overcoming several guards, even surviving gunfire scorching on his face. Young Avenger continued to wreak havoc until stopped by a gas grenade. von Himmel had Young Avenger tied up with chains while the youth was unconscious. Soon recovered, the Nazi master spy taunted the hero but Young Avenger snapped through the chains and proceeded to beat up the foreign agents. In the fracas, von Himmel escaped, detonating his hideout as he flew away. His superior resilience saving him, Young Avenger smashed his way out of the rubble, again leaving the Nazis behind for the police, but swearing to stop von Himmel in the future. He rushed to be home by dawn lest his mother see him. Although getting little sleep, he cheerfully greeted his mother at breakfast.

(All-Winners Squad: Band of Heroes#2 (fb)) - During World War II, Young Avenger was recruited into the "Crazy SUES," a specialized military unit attached to the 101st Air Assault Division--these "super-soldiers" were minor heroes under the command of Sgt. Byrd and Captain America, and they would be sent on combat operations deep behind enemy lines. Young Avenger wore a standard-issue infantry uniform, but continuded to wear his mask, and he was armed with a standard military rifle. In the company barracks, he bunked next to Merzah the Mystic.

(All-Winners Squad: Band of Heroes#2 (fb) - BTS) - At some point on or about May 13th, 1942, Young Avenger was at the offices of Timely Comics for unspecified reasons (possibly a promotional appearance?)--he managed to take a copy of Super Hero Comics#1 (featuring a story about Captain Flame) from the presses before the government ordered the entire print-run of that issue destroyed.

(All-Winner Squad: Band of Heroes#2 (fb)) - On August 7th, 1942, Young Avenger and the other Crazy SUES were aboard a transport plane flying over the South Pacific. During the flight, the racially bigoted Captain Strong was harassing "Slow-Motion" Jones, and Captain Flame warned Strong to leave Jones alone or else he'd make Strong's eyes boil from the inside out--Moon-Man asked Young Avenger if Flame could really do that, and Young Avenger admitted he didn't know, but he'd sure like to see him try it. When the plane reached the jump-zone, the Crazy SUES along with Captain America and Bucky parachuted down to Guadalcanal to take on the forces of the Imperial Japanese Army.

(All-Winners Squad: Band of Heroes#3 (fb)) - On August 13th, 1942, Young Avenger and the Crazy SUES were still fighting the Japanese at Guadalcanal.

(Avengers/Invaders#10, 12) - In 1943, the Red Skull (Johann Shmidt) came into possession of the Cosmic Cube, which led to the creation of alternate reality Earth-93198; in this timeline, Young Avenger was one of the many superheroes who were killed and impaled on a massive wall. The same Cube was later recovered by soldier Paul Anselm, who used it to resurrect the heroes. The heroes (including Young Avenger) combined their efforts with the Invaders and the time-displaced Avengers to battle the forces of the Red Skull. When the Skull was defeated, the Cube was used to wipe the heroes' memories of the entire event.

(All-Winners Squad: Band of Heroes#4 (fb)) - At some point, Young Avenger and the other Crazy SUES were aboard a transport plane headed to Europe. After reaching the jump-zone, they all parachuted down near the Normandy village of Sainte Mere Eglise.

(All-Winners Squad: Band of Heroes#1 (fb)) - On June 25th, 1944, in Vimoutieres, France, Young Avenger, along with "Taxi" Taylor and T-Mech, freed Blue Diamond and the Invisible Man after the two had been captured by the Nazis--Young Avenger wore his full costume during the rescue.

(All-Winners Squad: Band of Heroes#5 (fb)) - On July 7th, 1944, Young Avenger and the Crazy SUES were planning battle tactics with Sgt. Byrd in a barn on a farm near Bretteville-sur-Laise, France.

   The Crazy SUES participated in the liberation of France. On August 29th, 1944, Young Avenger and his teammates were celebrating their battlefield victories at an outdoor cafe in Paris. The men spotted four attractive women walking down the sidewalk, and Young Avenger asked Merzah for a "situation report"; using his powers, Merzah was able to ascertain that the women were young, single, and didn't speak English, so Young Avenger and some of the other Crazy SUES went to pursue them.

   Shortly afterward in a small town in Belgium, Captain America, Bucky, Sgt. Byrd, and the Crazy SUES were clearing the town of Nazis. Moon-Man was shot by a sniper and the Nazis suddenly attacked in force; Young Avenger and the other Crazy SUES were pinned down by enemy fire until Captain Flame eventually repelled the attack after "Slow Motion" Jones forced him into action.

(All-Winners Squad: Band of Heroes#1 (fb)) - By December 6th, 1944, Young Avenger was in Saarlautern, Germany with the Crazy SUES, Captain America, Bucky, and the Victory Boys. Merzah sensed German soldiers approaching. During the ensuing battle, one of the Victory Boys--Piotr--was gravely wounded; seeing there was no hope for the youngster, Young Avenger ordered "Slow-Motion" Jones to look away as he reluctantly helped Piotr put a handgun against his head and pull the trigger, assisting in Piotr's suicide to relieve his suffering.

(The subsequent events during World War II for the Young Avenger and the Crazy SUES remain unrecorded at this time (see comments))

(All-Winners Squad: Band of Heroes#1 (fb) - BTS) - The events of the life of Bill Bryon following the war are largely unrevealed--presumably, he (like Albert Jones) signed a confidentiality contract with the government regarding Operation: Firefly. At some point (possibly during the war), Bryon had apparently saved the life of "A FRIEND". Bryon had suffered an unspecified injury to one of his legs (possibly a battlefield wound) which required him to use a cane; he had also grown a moustache by some point.

   In the intervening years, Bill Bryon got married and fathered at least one son; he had a home in the suburbs, in which he maintained a locked room where he stored his costume, old Timely comic books, and various memorabilia pertaining to his heroic identity and his service in the war. At some point still later, Bill became a grandfather when Alyssa (whom he affectionately called "Pug") was born.

   Bill never told his family about his costumed identity or his wartime experiences, instead telling them that he had been rejected from military service due to his injured leg.

   The Victory Boy Piotr had been buried in the United States, so Bill made annual visits to his grave to pay his respects--Bill told his family that Piotr had been a cousin.

   In modern times, Bill was a widower and nearing the age of ninety-two; Alyssa acted as his caregiver, spending much of her time visiting him in his home.

(All-Winners Squad: Band of Heroes#1) - On a rainy day, Bill Bryon was accompanied by Alyssa when he made his annual visit to Piotr's grave.

   When they got back to his home, Bill decided it was time to reveal his secrets to Alyssa (Being a novelist, she had always wanted to write about his life during the war), so he had her follow him to the locked room; he opened the door to reveal the contents to a stunned Alyssa. Bill gave Alyssa a handful of old comic books, including a very special one--the first issue of Super Hero Comics, with the first (and only) Captain Flame story. Bill insisted that Alyssa read the old books first, then he would give her the interview she always wanted. As Bill went to bed, Alyssa sat and read the old comics throughout the rainy night--unknown to Alyssa, a shadowy figure was lurking outside (see comments).

   The next morning, Alyssa gave her grandfather her opinion of the old books ("Those comics might be the worst thing I ever read.")--she was particularly offended by the character Slow-Motion Jones, whom she considered to be overtly racist. Bill asked her what she thought of the Captain Flame story, and Alyssa told him it was the worst of the lot--she wondered what was so special about it; Bill replied that that particular comic book was the only copy in existence (see comments) because he had stolen it from the presses just before they destroyed the entire print-run, and it was probably worth a few million dollars.

   As they walked back to the locked room, Bill admitted the old comic stories were terrible, but they had been helpful in promoting the war-effort and increasing enlistment. He explained to Alyssa that the characters in those books had been based on real people who went away to war and died on foreign soil, and their books went out of print because so many of them didn't make it back home ("No one wanted to read the adventures of a dead person"). Then Bill asked Alyssa if he were to tell her his story, would she promise to write the truth--although she was beginning to get a bit apprehensive because her grandfather's strange behavior was starting to scare her, Alyssa agreed to do so. Bill told her he was about to entrust her with a very big secret--bigger than the biggest story she ever thought of; then Bill opened a cabinet, and showed her his old costume, revealing to his shocked granddaughter that he had once been the Young Avenger.

(All-Winners Squad: Band of Heroes#2) - Alyssa started to record the interview as Bill began to tell her about his war-time experiences as the Young Avenger and his time serving with the "Crazy SUES". After a while, Bill paused and got up to take a bathroom break. Alyssa used her laptop to do some research on Captain Flame; she called to Bill and told him she couldn't find any mention of Captain Flame, or the comic book he appeared in, on any websites--unknown to Bill, Alyssa then received a cryptic message on her computer from "A FRIEND"--the message simply stated: "OPERATION: FIREFLY. IMPORTANT".

   When Bill returned and the interview resumed, he warned Alyssa that what he was about to tell her about Captain Flame was quite possibly the biggest secret of the war, and perhaps one of the most significant events in the nation's history; then he asked her if she was still willing to keep her promise and write down his recollections exactly as he told them to her, because it was going to change her life. Although she was a bit taken aback, Alyssa agreed to his request, then she asked Bill if it had anything to do with Operation: Firefly; suddenly, Bill Bryon suffered a heart attack and collapsed to the floor. Panicking, Alyssa put a nitrous pill in his mouth and tried to telephone for help; but the room was filled with a strange lightning-like display as the Norse god of trickery--Loki--appeared.

(All-Winners Squad: Band of Heroes#3) - While Bill lay unconscious on the floor, Loki demanded that Alyssa tell him the identity of the person who sent her the message regarding Operation: Firefly--Loki told Alyssa that mortals couldn't hide from him, yet this particular individiual had somehow managed that feat (see comments). But Alyssa honestly didn't know the person's name, so Loki told her that when she met the person, she should tell her mysterious friend that Loki wanted the information to remain a secret, and he was prepared to do whatever it took to keep it that way. After he warned Alyssa not to press the issue any further, Loki departed in the same manner as he appeared.    After Alyssa contacted emergency services, she rode along with the unconscious Bill in an ambulance as it rushed him to a hospital; shortly afterward, the comatose Bill lay in a hospital bed with his tearful granddaughter sitting by his bedside.    At some point, Bill Bryon passed away, never having regained consciousness; among those attending his funeral service in the cemetery were Alyssa, Steve Rogers, the elderly Sgt. Byrd, and Albert Jones.    Bill Bryon was buried with full military honors.

Comments: Created by uncredited writer and "Michael Robard" (see comments) (art).

Unfortunately, there is no indication who the shadowy figure in his original appearances was.

It seems evident that Young Avenger had further adventures that weren't documented. Is it time for "Untold Tales of Young Avenger"?
    ---All Winners Squad: Band of Heroes (2011) features Young Avenger in WW2 battlefield action,

The story gathering the main heroes of U.S.A. Comics was text only.

Michael Robard was a pseudonym used by artist Mike Roy; this was revealed in the introduction to U.S.A. Comics Marvel Masterworks volume.

Although his last name is spelled Bryan (with an A), his last name (and Alyssa's) was spelled Bryon (with an O) in the All-Winners Squad: Band of Heroes mini-series.

All-Winners Squad: Band of Heroes was supposed to be an 8-issue mini-series, but it was cancelled with the fifth issue due to low sales, so unfortunately the story was never completed, and the significance of many plot details was never resolved.

In regards to that shadowy figure lurking outside Bill's house: Perhaps it had something to do with the shadow from the Young Avenger's origin?

Also, Marvel Boy (Martin Simon Burns @ Daring Mystery Comics#6) received his costume from a shadowy figure--could it possiblly have had some connection to Young Avenger's shadow?

And the other Marvel Boy (Martin Oksner Burns @ USA Comics#7) had something in common with the first Marvel Boy--a connection to "Hercules". Could all three of these characters--Young Avenger and both Marvel Boys--somehow be linked together?

Apparently (per Alyssa), Bill Bryon told his family he worked for Timely Comics during the war--maybe this was just a cover-story created by the government to account for the time Bill secretly served during the war.

Bill was mistaken that he had the only copy of Super Hero Comics#1--another copy was shown to be in possession of the Department of Defense (@ All-Winners Squad: Band of Heroes#5); for an image of the cover of this comic book, see the Comments section of the Captain Flame profile.

Of all the Crazy SUES, the only known survivors of the war confirmed by their modern-day appearances in the mini-series were Sgt. Byrd, Young Avenger, and "Slow-Motion" Jones (...and, of course, Captain America, Bucky, and Merzah (X-Men Legacy...where he died)...also Blue Diamond (Marvel Two-in-One among other appearances), Fin (New Invaders stories), Flash Foster and Fighting Yank (both Ant-Man: Last Days) (as pointed out by Loki) by way of their later appearances).

Since the series ended prematurely, the only Crazy SUES who were confirmed as killed in action were:

1. "Jap-Buster" Johnson (accidentally killed by Captain Flame @ All-Winners Squad: Band of Heroes#3)
2. Vagabond (shot in Guadalcanal @ All-Winners Squad: Band of Heroes#4)
3. Moon-Man (shot by German sniper @ All-Winners Squad: Band of Heroes#5)
4. Captain Flame (died at some unspecifed point by the unpublished end of the series)

Other casualties include:

1. Secret Stamp (broken leg in Guadalcanal; presumably taken out of action to recuperate @ All-Winners Squad: Band of Heroes#2)
2. Davey Drew (face accidentally disfigured by Captain Flame (@ All-Winners Squad: Band of Heroes#3, although he was present at a celebratory get-together with the Invaders @ All-Winners Squad: Band of Heroes#4)
      (Speaking of Davey Drew--I wonder if he was actually "A FRIEND". In the original Timely stories, Davey and the Demon were two distincts entities; but the Davey Drew of the Crazy SUES seemed to be possessed by a demon, so presumably he had supernatural powers--that could account for "A FRIEND" being able to conceal his identity from Loki.)

And since this is the only profile in which I figured this information would be appropriate, I noticed a few minor errors in this mini-series:

1. While the captured Invisible Man (Leonard Gade) was being interogated by the Nazis, he gave his civilian name as William D. Gade--since this story sequence was a flashback, maybe we could attribute it to the elderly Bill Bryon's memory being a little fuzzy on some details.
2. When American Ace (Perry Webb) introduced himself to Captain Flame, he gave his name as Ace Masters -- maybe he was just using an alias.
3. After Timely Comics publisher Martin Goodman was ordered to hold off on publishing any adventures of Captain Flame, he told his secretary to fetch his nephew Stanley to "knock out" a few books--presumably he was referring to Stanley Lieber, AKA Stan Lee; but Goodman wasn't Stan's uncle, he was actually married to one of Stan's cousins (so I guess he'd be Stan's cousin-in-law?).

In All-Winners Squad: Band of Heroes#2, Bill Bryon states "I'll be ninety-two years old next March." Although now a topical statement from 2012, this indicates he was born in March of 1920.
--Wolfram Bane

Profile by Grendel Prime. All-Winners Squad: Band of Heroes update by Ron Fredricks.

CLARIFICATIONS :
Young Avenger has no known connections to:

• Young Avengers, team of young heroes organized by Iron Lad from data in failsafe program @ Young Avengers#1
• or any other "Young" or "Avenger" characters

Bill Bryon's house Located somewhere in the suburbs of New York, it was a two-story house where the elderly Bill Bryon lived. --All-Winners Squad: Band of Heroes#1 (All-Winners Squad: Band of Heroes#1-3

Bill Bryon's locked room One of the rooms of Bill Bryon's house, it was where he hid war memorabilia pertaining to his career as the Young Avenger. Some of the contents included a treasure trove of old Timely Comics (in near perfect condition) and Bill's Young Avenger costume. --All-Winners Squad: Band of Heroes#1

images: (without ads)
U.S.A. Comics#1/6, p1, pan1 (main image)
U.S.A. Comics#1/6, p2, pan8 (head shot)
All-Winners Squad: Band of Heroes#1, p8, pan2 (Young Avenger (left) in infantry uniform, about to help relieve Victory Boy Piotr's suffering, ordering "Slow-Motion" Jones to look away)
All-Winners Squad: Band of Heroes#1, p22, pan1 (elderly Bill Bryon shows his old costume and reveals to Alyssa that he was the Young Avenger)
All-Winners Squad: Band of Heroes#2, p1, pan9 (elderly Bill Bryon begins interview for Alyssa)
All-Winners Squad: Band of Heroes#3, p9, pan3 (elderly Bill Bryon laying comatose in hospital bed following heart attack)
All-Winners Squad: Band of Heroes#1, p17, pan3 (Young Avenger attacks Nazi during rescue of Blue Diamond and Invisible Man)
All-Winners Squad: Band of Heroes#3, p11, pan3 (Bill Bryon's coffin lowered in grave; onlookers include Alyssa Bryon, Sgt. Byrd (in wheelchair), Steve Rogers, Albert Jones)
But do include this one in Comments section where I mention shadowy figure All-Winners Squad: Band of Heroes#1, p19, pan5 (shadowy figure lurking outside Bill Bryon's house)
Bill Bryon's house sub-profile All-Winners Squad: Band of Heroes#1, p19, pan1 (Bill Bryon's house on a rainy night, Alyssa reading old Timely comic books in lighted room)
All-Winners Squad: Band of Heroes#1, p20, pan1 (Bill Bryon's house on the morning after, conversation between Bill and Alyssa about old comic books)
Bill Bryon's locked room sub-profile All-Winners Squad: Band of Heroes#1, p10, pan6 (Bill Bryon opens door and shows Allysa the contents of the locked room)
All-Winners Squad: Band of Heroes#1, p11, pan1 (Bill Bryon and Allysa inside locked room, Allysa looks at shelf of old Timely comic books)

Appearances:
U.S.A. Comics#1/6 (August, 1941) - uncredited writer, Mike Roy (art), Stan Lee (editor)
U.S.A. Comics#2/5& (November, 1941) - Stan Lee (writer/editor)
Avengers/Invaders#10 (June, 2009) - Alex Ross(plot), Jim Krueger (plot/script), Steve Sadowski, Patrick Berkenkotter (pencilers), Stephen Wacker (editor)
Avengers/Invaders#12 (August, 2009) - Alex Ross (plot), Jim Krueger (plot/script), Steve Sadowski, Patrick Berkenkotter (pencilers), Stephen Wacker (editor)
All-Winners Squad: Band of Heroes#1-5 (August-December, 2011) - Paul Jenkins (writer), Carmine Di Giandomenico (artist), Bill Rosemann & Alejandro Arbona (editor)

First Posted: 12/07/2009
Last updated: 07/16/2023

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

Non-Marvel Copyright info
All other characters mentioned or pictured are ™  and © 1941-2099 Marvel Characters, Inc. All Rights Reserved. If you like this stuff, you should check out the real thing!
Please visit The Marvel Official Site at: http://www.marvel.com

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