User blog:LB&SCR/Marvel & DC: The Howling Commandos vs. The Losers



Both Marvel and DC are more well known for their their superheroes than their, well.... above-average humans who use guns instead of superpowers that can demolish entire city blocks. Today, we focus on Army Special forces of both Marvel and DC. In the right side, we have DC's the Losers, a group composed of.. well, losers who apparently had nothing to lose, so they created a spec forces unit out of all of them, and they wreaked havoc among the Axis. They face Marvel's Howling Commandos, the Unit led by Sergeant Nick Fury himself, the elite unit that tore their way across Europe during the fall of Hitler's Germany. Being on a roughly equal level, which unit will be the Deadliest Warrior?!

Howling Commandos


Recruited by Captain Sam Sawyer, the Howling Commandos are a handpicked group of rangers that make up the first squad of Sawyer's 'Able Company,' alongside Bill McGiveney's Maulers, and later Jim Morita's 'Nisei' squad. The 'Howlers' as they are called, have fought Africa, Europe, and the Pacific. Although an American unit through and through, the unit was actual incorporated in the British Army. If you listen to what the comics mention, they are also the reason that Adolf Hitler stopped the developement of nuclear weapons, after the Howling Commandos sabotaged on of the plants building atom bombs.

Nick Fury


Sergeant Nicholas Joseph 'Nick' Fury was the eldest of three chidren born in 'Hell's Kitchen.' Fury officially joined the US Army Rangers after the death of his friend Red Hargrove at Pearl Harbor. There, he once again was seen in action by Sam Sawyer, who recruited him to lead First Squad of Able Company. Alongside his Howling Commandos, Fury struck blow after blow against Germany and it's allies by attacking from behind the enemy lines. He led them against Nazi villains like the Red Skull and Baron Henreich Zemo.

'Dum-Dum' Dugan


Corporal Timothy Aloysius Cadwallader 'Dum-Dum' Dugan was a former circus strongman who first met Nick Fury and Captain Sawyer when the circus he was traveling with aided Fury and Sawyer in escaping Nazi captivity. Later, when Captain Sawyer was given the job of forming the first attack squad of Able Company, Dugan was invited to go become the groups second-in-command. An expert in small-arms, his exceptional strength has saved the day for the Commandos time-and-time again.

Gabe Jones


Private Gabriel Jones was a former trumpeteer trained by Louis Armstrong himself. After he and a friend joined the military, intelligence took note of his music talent and sent him to a school to learn German Classical Music. Despite segregation being in practice at the time, Gabe Jones was selected to be a member of First Squad of Able Commandos. As strange as it may seem, him playing jazz music while fighting the Germans has a strange, effective use during battle.

Rebel Ralston


Private Robert 'Rebel' Ralston was a former horse jockey who was recruited by Captain Sawyer to be an original member of the Howling Commandos. He is the person credited with creating the Commodos' battle cry, 'Wahoo!' After the war, when terrorist organization A.I.M. came to be a powerhouse while he was a senator from Texas, he was impaled and killed by Yelena Belova (one of multiple Black Widows), after having shot her as she was attacking Daisy Johnson.

Percival Pinkerton


Private Percival 'Pinky' Pinkerton was a London playboy who had attended some of England's finest military academies (though he spent most of his time chasing skirts and  partying), he fell behind and was asked to resign. Unable to face his family, when World War II broke out he enlisted and became a commando, and a private. He was assigned to the Howling Commandos as a replacement for Junior Juniper, who had been killed in action. Unsure if Pinky was up to snuff, he soon proved himself in the fight against Baron Zemo.

Weapons

 * -| Long Range =

M1 Garand




 * Weight: 9.6 lbs
 * Cartridge: .30-06 Springfield
 * Muzzle Velocity: 2,800 ft/s
 * Feed System: 8-round en bloc clip
 * Arming Rebel Ralston
 * -| Mid Range =

Thompson M1A1




 * Weight: 10.6 lbs
 * Cartridge: .45 ACP
 * Rate of Fire: 700 rpm
 * Muzzle Velocity: 935 ft/s
 * Feed System: 30-round magazine
 * Arming Nick Fury, Gabe Jones, Percival Pinkerton, and Dugan
 * -| Short =

Colt M1911




 * Weight: 2.44 lbs
 * Cartridge: .45 ACP
 * Muzzle Velocity: 825 ft/s
 * Feed System: 7-round magazine
 * Arms most
 * -| Melee =

Bumbershoot
 * Percival's Umbrella
 * Used as a sword, a climbing tool, a parachute, and as protection from the sun.^^

Losers


The Losers were an elite, detached service taskforce special forces group made up of men from all branches of the US armed forces. They are called the Losers because every person who has passed through the ranks of the group has been a loser in some shape, form, or fashion. According to official US documents, the Losers all died in 1944, defending the country of Markovia from invasion. This is later proved false as the Losers, Mademoiselle Marie, and Gravedigger were at America's Bicentennial. Also according to DC, Gunnar McKay and Ben Hunter of Hunter's Hellcats are two of the few remaining WWII DC Characters still living in the present.

Captain Storm


Captain William 'Bill' Storm joined the US Navy before Pearl Harbor, was a US Navy PT Boat Captain until a bloodred Japanese Submarine cost him his PT Boat, the boats crew, and his left leg. He returned to Pearl Harbor a broken man, but the love of a nurse brought him back around, and he fought the naval courts, who then decided to give him another chance. With another boat and new crew, Captain Storm went out on death-defying adventures with this new crew. Though, disaster came again, and Storm's boat sank again, with most of the crew. Alone and lost, he was picked up by Jeb Stuart and the Haunted Tank, alongside several other 'losers.' They formed a spec forces unit, and went on to take the fight to the Germans and the Japanese. It is during these adventures that Storm also lost his right eye.

Johnny Cloud


Lieutenant Johnny "Flying" Cloud was a member of the Navajo Tribe of Indians. He became a pilot in the US Army Air Corps, but his Captain wouldn't let him fly because of predjuidice against Native Americans. However, Cloud disobeyed the orders and stole a plane, saving an entire squadron of aircraft by destroying every aircraft by himself. Despite being angry, the Captain let him fly. He performed alone, until given a rookie wingman. Long story short, the wingman was killed, and in his depression... Johnny flew into the side of a mountain. There, wanderng and wounded, he was picked up by Jeb Stuart and the Haunted Tank. Alongside these other 'losers,' he formed a Spec Ops unit that proved to be the bane of the Axis everywhere.

Sarge Clay


Sergeant "Sarge" Clay was a Marine Corps veteran with a very tough, brash, cigar-chomping attitude, and alongside having firearm skills was not afraid to get in close and punch or kick the enemy into submission. He is the direct partner of Gunner McKay, and before partnering with McKay was  30+ year  vet of the Corps. His age is never verified, but with with being able to join the Corps at 17 (with parental consent), that makes him at the time of his team up with Gunner at most 47 years old, and adding onto the time they were a team before the Losers, possibly at most 48-50 years of age.

Gunner MacKay


Private "Gunner" MacKay was the youngest member of the Losers, and at the time he teamed up with his partner Sarge, was supposedly the youngest serving marine. Inseparable from both Sarge and 'Pooch,' a dog that follows him around. In the previous canon, Gunner is killed alongside the other Losers in 1944, however he was resurrected in 1947 to be the Field Commander of the Creature Commandos, and was semi-ressurected again to be a member of Team 7. However, since flashpoint, whether or not that remains true is unseen.

Ona Tornsen


Ona Tornsen was the only female to ever serve with the Losers. When the Germans invaded Norway in 1940, the Germans razed her village and murdered her father in front of her. At the war's height, Ona joined the Norwegian resistance; it was here that she first met the Losers; and upon the conlclusion of their operations in Norway that she opted to join them in their adventures: the only volunteer in the unit.

Weapons

 * -| Long Range =

M1 Carbine




 * Weight: 5.2 lbs
 * Cartridge: .30 Carbine
 * Muzzle Velocity: 1,990 ft/s
 * Feed System: 15-roung magazine
 * Arming Gunner
 * -| Mid Range =

M3 Grease Gun




 * Weight: 8.51 lbs
 * Cartridge: .45 ACP
 * Muzzle Velocity: 920 ft/s
 * Rate of Fire: 450 rpm
 * Feed System: 30-round magazine
 * Arms Storm, Sarge, Ona, and Johnny Cloud
 * -| Short Range =

Browning Hi-Power




 * Weight: 2.2 lbs
 * Cartridge: 9 x 19mm Parabellum
 * Muzzle Velocity: 1,100 ft/s
 * Feed System: 13-round magazine
 * Arms Most
 * -| Melee =

Storm's Wooden Leg
 * Storm's unfeeling, fake leg
 * Used as a weapon aboard his PT Boat several times to bludgeon Japanese soldiers to death

X-Factors
The Howling Commandos come from all walks of life, and plagued Nazi Europe for several years before briefly fighting in the Pacific.The combined expertise of all the players in Fury's squad are what give them a very slight edge over the Losers. The Losers, despite not all of them being ground troops, have their experience from their previous branches and compile them into a very workable team. Sarge Clay's 30+ years of XP doesn't help them enough to get the overall XP bonus, but it will come in very handy.

This is where the Losers get an edge. Despite their different backgrounds, the men of the Losers all accept that their pasts are something they can't change, and have decided to work together to get themselves through the next fight.. and the next one, and the next one. The Commandos, despite their longer time working together, often get into scrapes and fights with each other due to the different agendas each member holds. However, Nick Fury keeps them together.

Niether Captain Storm nor Sergeant Fury are perfect leaders. Nick Fury is brash and headstrong, heavily prefering to shootout problems without giving many tries at solving it any other way. Captain Storm on the other hand, while not headstrong and brash, tends to think out all the issues with a plan before saying "Well, we are all losers anyway" and going on the offensive.

Factoid

 * Sources indicate that Stan Lee said that Pinky Pinkerton was originally supposed to be homosexual, but whether or not that is actually true hasn't been explained.
 * The Losers weren't an original creation, all members (minus Ona) were retired DC characters. Captain Storm had his own comic book, and Johnny Cloud and the duo of Gunner & Sarge having appeared in issues of Our Army at War.