Is Johnny Cloud a Superhero? The Big Grab says it all!

The spectacular feats that I have described in the past few weeks are not surprising in comic book land. Sure enough, Sgt. Rock and Jeb Stuart have similar combat records.

But. I have not yet shared what I consider to be Johnny Cloud’s most amazing combat feat – the one that nudges him to the brink of superhero territory. 

In AAMOW#108: Cloud's mission is to destroy a bridge, as German Panzers are crossing the river to attack Allied infantry. Cloud sets up for his bombing run when a Stuka swoops down and latches on to his tail. Cloud risks being shot down to drop his egg on the target, but he misses! The Stuka blasts him, and his P-51 explodes. Cloud is thrown from the wreckage, but he grabs onto the tail of the Stuka as it dives past the fireball that was his plane.

What? He grabs the tail!

Now this is impossible! There’s nothing close in comic book land unless one has extraordinary strength coupled with invincibility. Superpowers. This is the stuff of Superman, or at least Hawkman, or in this case, the Great Warrior Spirit.

Cloud grips the tail rudder and fires at the nose of the aircraft with his Colt. The engine begins smoking, and the German pilot opens his canopy to return fire as the Stuka careens out of control.

The gas line explodes, and Cloud is thrown free once again. As his parachute opens, he watches the fireball crash into the bridge, blocking the German tank column.

The whole ordeal is squeezed into seven panels (plus a gripping cover shot) – yet for me, this fight has lasted a lifetime.

How incredible! Let’s look at this again. The Stuka was in a steep dive, nearly vertical, at 300 mph (at least!), and yet, Cloud held on with an iron grip and a singular resolve to blow the bridge. He was lucky that the Stuka crashed into the bridge, but luck favors those who put forth the effort.

Is this not the mettle of a superhero?

I ask you: Could Batman have clung to that Stuka? I suppose so, but he would have used his grappling Bat-hook. Cloud just had five fingers. Of all his exploits, the Stuka tail-grab is tops.

So, does Cloud have a superpower or what? When compared to Superman, he does not seem close. But what about Batman? Batman has no superpowers whatsoever; yet he is considered a superhero because of his skill-set and ingenious weaponry.

Is Cloud akin to the man with the pointy ears? Frankly, I think Cloud is more. Much more. Sure, he is modestly appointed with a standard issue P-51, but he brings forth something that mortals do not have. He commands the fates. His powers are less well defined, and even Cloud is unaware of his reach, but his magic comes on precisely when he needs it.

Cloud’s glow is there for all who pay attention. He always completes his mission. And, he always gets exactly what he needs to prevail. His Big Brother is always present, always ready to bend the rules – whether it be the addition of cloud cover, a do-over, or a muscular feat that defies physics. 

Image Credit:

AAMOW#108 (June 1961); Art: I. Novick; Writer: R. Kanigher.

Johnny Cloud TM DC Comics

Is Johnny Cloud a Superhero? Taren Attacks

In the past few weeks, we have examined Johnny Cloud's amazing combat record. Sure enough, he is an ace 30 times over. Is this enough to call him a superhero? 

No. Not yet. But there is more. Much more!

Cloud’s heroics do not stop at the quick draw. He used his P-51 as a battering ram when his guns jammed or ran out of ammo. This is not an easy maneuver, as seasoned fighter pilots are quick to break away. But Cloud was quicker. And here is the most amazing part: Cloud survived the impact and kept on fighting. All told, he rammed eight bandits, plus he stalled his plane in front of a ninth one that was on his tail so as to cause a crash.

Crazy? Maybe. 

Aerial ramming – or taren, as the Soviets called it – was not unheard of, particularly on the Eastern Front where poorly equipped Russian fighters used taren to down vastly superior Me-109s. In fact, nine tarens were reported on the first day of Operation Barbarossa, and over the course of the war, over six hundred taren attacks were reported. 

REAL Soviet pilot, Lt. Boris Kovzan, survived four such attacks. So once again, Cloud is not alone in dishing out medieval terror in the skies.

Aerial ramming was not limited to the Eastern Front – the Brits did it too! During the Battle of Britain in September 1940, REAL pilot Sgt. Ray Holmes discovered his guns jammed, so he flew his Hawker Hurricane into a German Dornier Do-17 bomber, cutting off the rear tail section with his wing; the bomber hit the waves and Holmes returned to base with a dented wingtip.

Another aerial ramming occurred a month later when REAL pilot Lt. Ken Mackenzie attacked a group of four Me-109s. He damaged one of the bandits and chased him as he skimmed across the channel at about 100 feet. Mackenzie used up his ammo, so he flew alongside and motioned the German to ditch his plane – but the stubborn Hun refused. That’s when Mackenzie dipped his right wing and knocked off part of the bandit’s tail, bringing him down – the Hurricane lost a wingtip but was able to return to base.

Cloud’s best ram came while escorting a B-17 carrying vital information about a Nazi terror rocket site. The fort was badly damaged and was being picked apart by a gaggle of Fw-190s. Cloud downed two of them but ran out of ammo. He tried to intimidate the other two, but they called his bluff and regrouped to make a frontal pass on the fort. Cloud inserted his P-51 between the B-17 and the bandits ramming both Fw-190s at once. Cloud was thrown free just as the rest of his flight arrived to escort the battered fort back to base.

And here is another thing to think about: Cloud aways survived unscathed. This is perhaps the most amazing part. Somehow, in the heat of battle when desperation was all he had, Cloud found a way to win the day ... with help from the Great Warrior Spirit (aka Big Brother in the Sky). This was his superpower! But, we are not done.

Image Credit:

AAMOW#96 (April 1963); Art: I. Novick; Writer: R. Kanigher.

Johnny Cloud TM DC Comics

Is Johnny Cloud a Superhero? Here are some amazing pistol shots!

Aside from killing enemy planes from behind the stick, Johnny Cloud was extraordinary in ways that can only happen in comic books. 

Did you know that he downed four enemy planes with just his sidearm – a .45 caliber pistol? It takes a precise shot, as the bullet has to sever a fuel or coolant line tucked under an armored cowling. And Me-109s and Fw-190s move fast – 150 to 300 mph fast! And, let's not forget the MiG-15 he downed with a flare gun.

None of them were easy targets.

In fact, the RAF estimated that a British Spitfire had to shoot 4,500 rounds from their .30 caliber wing guns (on average) to down one German aircraft. That’s a lot of lead! So, imagine having to face-off against one of these killing machines when you only have a pistol with eight rounds.

Such a feat has only been documented once during WW2 when REAL pilot Lt. Owen Baggett bailed out of his burning B-24 bomber over Burma in March 1943, and while drifting in his parachute, he shot (four times) into the cockpit of a Japanese Ki-43 cruising close to see if he was alive or not. He was alive!

The bullets from his Colt hit the Japanese pilot and the fighter fell out of the sky. In contrast, Cloud shot down two Me-109s, one Fw-190, and one Ju-87 with his sidearm. Plus, he fired a flare gun to destroy a MiG-15, but that was just a dream … or was it?

My favorite pistol match: Cloud faced down a Me-109 strafing him on an iced lake after his P-51 had been destroyed in AAMOW#104.
He had nowhere to hide. Most men would have dove to the ground, rolled, or jumped into the frozen lake where the ice had broken. But not Cloud!

He turned to face the enemy, braced himself in a combat stance, and aimed his Colt at the bandit flying so low that it seemed as if he wanted to sweep me off the ice floe contemptuously – with a wingtip. As he fired, Cloud vowed to fight on to my last bullet. His shots were precise, and the Me-109 exploded and crashed into the lake.

For sure, Cloud knew that pistoling a fighter was crazy as he once lamented when a Me-109 strafed his base, and he chased it with his pistol: I really must have flipped my props to trade pistol shots with a fighter.

Image Credit:

AAMOW#102 (April 1964); Art: I. Novick; Writer: R. Kanigher.

Johnny Cloud TM DC Comics

Is Johnny Cloud a Superhero? Let's check out his Combat Record

Last time, I list the three basic criteria that define who is and who is not a Superhero.

Does Johnny Cloud meet these criteria? Well, let’s apply these three superhero criteria to Johnny Cloud to see where he lands. 

Let’s start with his combat record. Cloud had at least 156 kills – and yes, I counted them. He downed 81 Me-109s, 47 Fw-190s, and 28 bombers of various types. Plus, he destroyed tanks, railroad cars, and terror rocket bases. Now keep in mind that a fighter pilot only needed five kills to be recognized as an Ace – the honor was not an official one, but it was widely used during both World Wars. So, Cloud was an Ace 30 times over.

We can compare this tally to REAL pilot George Preddy of the 352nd fighter group with 26.83 confirmed kills over Europe – 23.83 of them in a P-51. Note that he had two partial credits: one-half a kill plus one-third. Of course, many German pilots had over 100 kills, but most of these were on the Eastern Front against slow and poor handling Soviet fighters. In contrast, Allied pilots were up against Me-109s and Fw-190s, two advanced killing machines that were not easy targets.

Other American Aces included REAL pilot Richard "Dick" Bong who downed 40 E/A in the Pacific where he flew a P-38. He was followed closely by REAL pilot Thomas McGuire who tallied 38 kills, also in a P-38. The top REAL ace over Europe was Frances Gabreski with 28 kills in a P-47 (plus another 6.5 victories in Korea).

Preddy did rival Cloud over Europe in number of kills in a single day. In early August 1944, he claimed six Me-109s while escorting bombers to Berlin. Thirty bandits attacked the formation, but Preddy dove behind them, and at 300 yards, he shot down one, two, then three … six in all by the time the melee was over. He out-climbed, out-turned, simply out-smarted the enemy – and so, amazing combat feats did happen in actual warfare.

As we have seen, Cloud’s highest kill total was six on a single mission – but three of them were bombers. This all happened during his second sortie in AAMOW #82. There’s more: Cloud once nudged a terror rocket with his wing into a swarm of five Fw-190s, destroying them all in a single blast in AAMOW #99.

Still, we expect the numbers to be off the charts for a comic book Ace like Cloud. Certainly, Sgt. Rock destroyed more than his share of Tiger tanks and aircraft with just hand-held weapons! But, there is more to Johnny Cloud that nudges him into superhero territory ...

Is Johnny Cloud a Superhero?

Johnny Cloud was my Superman. No wonder … I was a navy brat, the son of a flyer. And with a nine-year-old brain, I had just enough smarts to know that a pilot with over a hundred combat kills, who rams his enemies, and fist fights them on the way down has to have a superpower of some sort.

What sort?

Well, I wasn’t sure, but no mortal is that good or lucky. So, I must ask: Is Johnny Cloud a superhero (one word), or is he a super hero (two words)?  ... just hang with me here, and I'll explain.

While pondering this, I was surprised to find a book (yes, a whole book, and a hardback no less) on this very topic, aptly titled: What is a Superhero? The editors – Robin Rosenberg and Peter Coogan – had PhDs and years of study. They know more than most of us: Rosenberg is a shrink and Coogan is the Director of the Institute of Comics Studies.

The introductory chapter by Coogan puts it succinctly. Three features define who is, and who is not, a superhero. Let’s make a table …

A superhero must:

1. possess a superpower;

2. devote oneself to the mission;

3. wear a costume.

Okay, let’s take a look. First off, the superhero has at least one Super Power – for example, Superman flies (or jumps); plus he can crush rocks with his bare hands; and he has x-ray vision too! His powers stem from his being an alien from the planet Krypton.

Powers can also come from skills training with some high-tech gadgets thrown in – this nudges Batman into the fold. He’s not an alien, but he’s super skilled and has lots of bat-shit.

Next comes The Mission, namely, to fight against evil and protect the vulnerable. The mission reflects a high moral standard to which the superhero is selflessly devoted. Both Superman and Batman are crime-fighters, and they risk their lives, without pause, to capture bad guys like Lex Luther and the Joker.

Finally, we have the Costume. The colorful garb signals a special identity, often defined by a codename. A secret identity is also included. The title Superman represents the codename whereas his shorts, tights, and cape – plus the big S emblazoned on his chest – make up the costume. You can’t miss him when he is dressed for success, but you hardly notice the man when he puts on his Clark Kent blazer and tie. Clark, the gumshoe news reporter, is his secret identity.

Same with Batman, although he’s cooler – you can’t beat those pointy ears! But after the bad guys are licked, he’s just a rich dude, eating steak, sitting alone in a mansion. Bruce Wayne is his secret identity.

Mission Three: Death Dive - The Debriefing

Death Dive is a strong story with an important detail.

Once again, Johnny Cloud rushes to aid his comrades, and despite being unable to save Jolly Roger, he fights alongside him, and learns a valuable lesson.

Jolly Roger’s bombing experience comes to the fore when he tells him: “Wait for the right moment.” Keep in mind that bomber pilots had to hold the course despite the onslaught of flak and bandits -- the bombs had to be released at precisely the right time.

This advice was critical here too and likely saved the day. It is the wise path to respect one’s elders, and Jolly Roger was just that, a sage B-17 pilot who had completed all of his missions and was about to ring the bell.

Cloud’s Big Brother also supports Jolly Roger’s message of restraint – there is no need for the Great Warrior Spirit to intervene in this instance.

As before, the specter of discrimination is in his face, this time from a sociopathic commandant who berates his captors as feebleminded savages. But it was the commandant that was duped in the end. Irony never fails to entertain.

And now the important detail. Cloud reveals his mission statement in the next to the last panel as he drowns the sociopathic commandant. "I fought not for myself alone ... but for all men who never had the American chance of battling tyrants who called themselves the 'Master Race' -- face to face -- man to man."

This mission statement defines Cloud's purpose ... and as we shall see, the mission is similar to those made by other superheroes endowed with great powers and skills. So too, the message of restraint is an essential part of the mission.

Image Credit:

AAMOW#84 (April 1961); Art: I.Novick; Writer: R. Kanigher.

Johnny Cloud TM DC Comics

Mission Three: Death Dive Part Two

As you recall, Johnny Cloud is at the controls of a captured B-17, flying the fort with a pistol aimed at his head. Jolly Roger, the critically injured B-17 pilot, is slumped next to him. He coaches Cloud to "Wait for the right moment." So too, Cloud's Big Brother appears as if to underscore the message.

Cloud wants to act, but he holds back. For now ...

Cloud reluctantly heads for the battleship. The commandant gloats about his plan to use the fort to destroy the unsuspecting Allied ship. Just as they angle towards the target, Jolly Roger leans over and whispers with his last breath: “Finish the mission.”

The right moment is here.

Cloud starts to descend towards the battleship, but then whips the fort to the right and puts it into a steep dive aimed at the blocked German warship. The commandant waves his Luger and roars: “Fool … Madman … Savage!” He reminds Cloud that he has no parachute – he will die. 

The fort is hit with cannon fire from the ship, and Cloud grabs the commandant as they are blasted out of the cockpit. They struggle beneath a single parachute, as the burning fort crashes and sinks the ship. WHAAM!

Mission Complete!

Cloud drowns his captor. And in a moment of clarity, Cloud acknowledges that he fights, not just for Jolly Roger, but also against all men who claim to be of a master race. 

He looks to the sky and sees his Big Brother alongside the face of Jolly Roger smiling at him – Cloud had waited for right moment.