Johnny Cloud IS A SUPERHERO!

After several weeks of exploration ...

Is he? Or, isn't he?

Here is the answer:  Johnny Cloud IS a Superhero – one word. Not a hero that is super. Not a super hero. No, he is a Superhero! Cloud is unique among his peers, as he acts by the hand of the Great Warrior Spirit: Cloud is an Avatar!

Sure, I love Sgt. Rock. And Jeb Stuart. But they are super heroes. Amazing? Yes. But they do not fit the definition laid out previously in the blog: Powers + Mission + Costume/Brand Name. But Cloud, yeah ... he has it all.

A coherent listing of Cloud's superpowers boggles the imagination; yet his needs in the moment marshal the forces of nature. Put another way, he is strong and lucky when he desperately needs it, and only in proportion to what is required to prevail. But he has to fight for it, and he never really understood who he was.

His mission, too, was preordained. He did not have a day of reckoning when he decided to fight for freedom. No, he was born into it. And given his premonitions, he was prefigured to become a fighter pilot in a world war that was years away when he was born.

As for his costume marking his special identity, the winged warrior cloud that his father witnessed says it all. Cloud is that warrior come to earth. His identity is secret only to the extent that no one realizes how special he is. And despite his winged-warrior insignia, he is a superhero in plain view.

        In sum, Johnny Cloud stands tall in the gallery of superheroes. Cloud is every bit as tough as Sgt. Rock whose heroism stems from his relentless courage. Cloud commands more magic than Jeb Stuart ever did – his ghostly guardian rarely, if ever, stepped in to protect him. No disrespect is intended here. His fellow warriors were spectacular in every way – yet, neither of them could summon the guiding hand of the spirit world to their advantage.

Our creator and writer made Johnny Cloud special. But like the character he created, Kanigher did not broadcast who or what Cloud was. Instead, he let the reader (me ... you?) discover the secret on our own. Yeah! Go Johnny Cloud!

Image Credit:

AAMOW#89 (February 1962) Writer: R.Kanigher; Story Art: I.Novick

Johnny Cloud TM DC Comics