Mission Five: Top - Gun Ace

We meet the top gun-ace at the start: He is Kid Cole, a young, brash pilot who claims that he will rise to the top. Big words for a newbie who has not seen action!

Kid Cole's declaration jolts Johnny Cloud and elicits a flashback of a fistfight between an upstart brave named Swift Fang versus an older, and respected, warrior known as Brave Eagle. The older man wins the fight, but he bemoans that there is always “some reckless one that will risk death” to gain status.

This sets the stage for Cole’s bluster.

During their first sortie together, Cloud tells Cole that he will look out for him, as he has never lost a man first time out. Cole is dismissive, but Cloud looks to his Big Brother and muses that the brash young man will have to learn the hard way.

The flight spots a gaggle of Fw-190s in the distance; Cloud orders his Happy Braves to climb and prepare for attack. But Cole requests permission to open fire before the P-51s are staged. Cloud reluctantly allows it, and Cole sprays the sky with bullets.

To Cloud’s surprise, Cole’s early salvo nails one of the bandits.

The remaining Fw-190s quickly form up and close the gap. Cloud realizes that the bandits are experienced and out for blood.

Cloud and Tex peel off to draw fire, but as they are angling for position, Cole zips by at full speed to lead the attack. His exuberance causes him to make a critical mistake, as two Fw-190s dodge his assault and get on his tail. 

They hammer Cole’s Mustang causing smoke to stream from his cowling. Cloud swings in behind the two bandits, but a third one catches his tail. Is Cloud cooked? And how about Cole? In that critical moment, Cloud sees an apparition of Mack reminding him to not lose a man first time out.

Can Johnny Cloud save Kid Cole?

Image Credit:
AAMOW#86 (August 1961): Cover Art: J. Grandenetti; Writer: R. Kanigher.
Johnny Cloud TM DC Comics

Mission Four: Battle Eagle - The Debriefing

Battle Eagle misses its mark as compared with Cloud’s previous adventures. 

The title does not reflect the plot line. And the wonderful cover by Russ Heath is not associated with any of the action in the story. 

And what about the action? The combat is secondary to the machinations that Cloud goes through to please Sandy's son Billy. After hearing about Johnny Cloud's heroics, coupled with his Navajo heritage, Billy expects to see an Indian from the Wild West.

Cloud wants to cheer the boy up, especially after Billy is injured following a bombing raid over London. 

Desperate to cheer the boy, Cloud stains his honor by donning a headdress of a Chief, which he is not. Plus, it is not clear if the costume is Navajo, which again, would be shameful.

But the rude irony is that his father, the Chief, bid him to act honorably at the start of the story. Is dressing up the honorable thing to do? Really?

Part of the problem is that Billy is an insolent brat. His demand to see a cinema-style Indian adorned with feathers deserves a spanking with a paddle, not a show. 

Hell, I'd paddle his ass myself if he were real!

If I may be bold, I can think of several ways to improve the story and add depth to Cloud’s character; for example, why didn’t Cloud intrigue the boy by sharing a proud keepsake that uniquely reflects his Navajo heritage – a warrior’s arrowhead or protective amulet perhaps. Better yet, he could have regaled him with a story about his Great Warrior Spirit emblem – I think Kanigher missed an opportunity here.

Instead, our writer took the simple route. As a result, this story is watered-down. It could have been a pivotal event wherein Cloud shares some of his own insight about his role as an avatar of the Great Warrior Spirit.

On its face, Battle Eagle tries to show Cloud as empathetic and forgiving – but at what expense? 

Yeah, Kanigher should have gone with the Great Warrior Spirit emblem! 

Image Credit:

AAMOW#85 (June 1961); Story Art: I. Novick; Writer: R. Kanigher.

Johnny Cloud TM DC Comics

Mission Four: Battle Eagle

Let's get back to the missions, shall we?

Johnny Cloud’s fourth saga opens with a flashback: His father bids him farewell and implores him to “do honor to the Navajos.” Cloud asserts that in this war he is an American first. Cloud recounts how he endured racial taunts from his crew until he proved his gallantry in combat. We also learn that he was awarded a medal for Conspicuous Valor. At last, Cloud felt vindicated.

The action starts with a mission to intercept German bombers headed for London. The Happy Braves tangle with a swarm of Me-109s, but Cloud urges his pilots to press on and catch the heavies. Four planes get through and we briefly meet three members of his flight: Sid, Hank, and Sandy – not to ignore Tex who is Cloud’s loyal wingman.

Cloud destroys the first bomber, but a bandit finds his tail. Cloud half-loops away, now inverted, and blasts the wing off a second bomber – the hapless Me-109 pilot crashes into the severed wing. SMAASH!

The bombers make a hasty retreat.

Back at base, Sandy introduces Cloud to his son Billy who is staying in London with his mother. Despite the tales that Sandy has told his son about Cloud’s valor and Navajo background, Billy frowns when he meets the man himself. Cloud tries to regale the boy, but Billy sulks because Cloud is not dressed as an Indian warrior.

That night, alone on the tarmac, Cloud laments to his Big Brother that wearing a war bonnet to impress others is what he had been fighting against all his life.

A short while later, Billy is injured during a raid over London. Desperate to cheer the boy, Cloud tries to find an Indian headdress at several costume shops. But the shops are closed.

The next day, Cloud misses his morning flight due to a clogged fuel line. With the line partly fixed, Cloud rushes to intercept a lone bomber reported nearby. He locates the marauder dropping incendiaries on a supply depot located next to an opulent manor. Cloud strafes the bomber when suddenly his fuel line clogs again – now he has to maneuver with a dead stick.

Undeterred, Cloud dives at the bomber. The turret gunners rattle his ship with lead, but Cloud zeroes in and scores hits all along the bomber’s fuselage, detonating its deadly load. WHAAM!

Without power, Cloud is forced to make a hard landing at the doorsteps of the manor. As he climbs out, Lord Leslie greets him and invites him inside. It just so happens that the Leslie collects military uniforms from around the world.

What happens next stretches credibility: Cloud borrows an Indian war bonnet and heads to London to visit Billy much to the boy’s delight. Afterwards, Cloud reflects that wearing the headdress was the medicine needed to help cure the boy.

Image Credit:

AAMOW#85 (June 1961); Cover Art Russ Heath; Writer: R. Kanigher.

Johnny Cloud TM DC Comics.

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 ...