Johnny Cloud's Magical Connections - Part 2

As we have seen, Johnny Cloud was destined to be the earthly hand of the Great Warrior Spirit for whom he was named. He was born to fight in WW2. His connection to the Great Warrior Spirit is in the clouds and known to him as his Big Brother in the Sky. But there are elements of this connection to explore in the comics - namely, the smoke-maker and the hawks.

The Smoke-maker shared many prophecies that Cloud not only anticipated, but also experienced, time and again. For example, he was told that a hungry hawk would attack him after he had been blinded – the specter haunted him – and finally, it came in the form of an Fw-190 that continued to attack him as he floated helplessly at the end of a parachute while temporarily blinded.

Was this a prophecy unfolding or was it Cloud’s way of interpreting events? Put another way: Was it Navajo magic or Navajo perspective? As I have mentioned before, Kanigher's writing is so clever that we cannot be sure. But the magic is there: Cloud prevails against the hungry hawk with a head-on pistol shot that defies reality.

The most critical prophecy, of course, is the one that started it all. The Smoke-maker saw Cloud’s trajectory from the start. He was to become a winged warrior who fights (and wins) against evil in the skies. In fact, he once shared this vision to a young Cloud wherein he caught a glimpse of his flight of P-51s before the war and before the P-51 even existed.

Now let's look at the hawks more closely ... In a flashback we learn that when Cloud was a boy, he saved a hawk by shooting a mountain lion that was about to attack the injured bird. The hawk stayed with Cloud – perching on his shoulder – until its wing had healed. The Smoke-maker observed that the feathered ones had adopted him.

But let’s be clear. It was not a just a local kettle of hawks that adopted him. No, hawks the world over had his back. What more needs to be said. 

And so it was that a hawk appeared when Cloud was navigating a treacherous ravine in his P-51 that led to a terror rocket base shrouded by smoke. The hawk landed on his shoulder in mid-flight and squeezed his left talon, then his right, so as to guide Cloud to the German base. The Huns were surprised to see Cloud’s P-51 emerge from the ravine directly over their base – the attack was successful.

In a later episode, a hawk guided Cloud to a formation of German bombers hiding below the cumulus. His flight was able to disperse the enemy before they could press their attack on Allied shipping. Once again, the mission was successful with guidance from the hawk.  

In the end, the hawk helped Cloud find a German destroyer in the Channel. But when a Me-109 latched onto Cloud’s tail during his attack, the hawk hurled itself at the German pilot through his open cockpit causing him to lose control of his plane. The bandit was unable to pull out of his dive and crashed into the destroyer.

These amazing tales suggest a magical link between Cloud and the hawks. Add to this, the powers bestowed by his Big Brother, coupled with the Smoke-maker’s prophecies that showed how all this would unfold, and the idea that Cloud’s access to Navajo magic is certain.

Still not sure ... I will review Johnny Cloud's superhero status, putting it all together next time.

Image Credit:

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

Johnny Cloud TM DC Comics.