My DCU - Freedom Fighters Redesigned

Part nineteen of my head canon DC Universe teams.

ORIGINS

In late 1941, President Roosevelt greenlit a covert operation codenamed Freedom Fighters. With the Axis taking over much of western Europe and the Pacific, the program was designed to train and empower seven exceptional individuals in order to transform them into an elite fighting squad. The initial group consisted of Phantom Lady, Human Bomb, Firebrand, Black Condor, the Ray, Doll Man and the team's leader Uncle Sam. The Freedom Fighters were deployed in missions to both Europe and Asia, where they fought on the frontlines alongside Allied forces.

Following the conclusion of the war in 1945, the Freedom Fighters resumed their lives and started families amid the Cold War climate in the United States. When the Vietnam War broke out they were once again called upon to fight on behalf of the government. However, this war was not like before. Not only had the Freedom Fighters aged and become mothers and fathers, but they found that the war was ambiguous in its justness. After Uncle Sam was seemingly killed in battle and the Human Bomb was destroyed, the Freedom Fighters disbanded.

Decades later, a mysterious figure claiming to be Uncle Sam has reformed the Freedom Fighters. Believing in the ideals of the nation, Uncle Sam has sought to create a force that exists independently from the government in order to fight for truth, justice and the American Way without shady politics or discrimination. This new team consists of Human Bomb, Phantom Lady, Plastic Man, Black Condor, Firebrand, the Ray and team leader Miss America.

HUMAN BOMB

When it came to science and superheroes, Andy Franklin is the expert. As a superhero fanboy, Andy has long been obsessed with superheroes since the debut of the Justice Society. This is part of what influenced him to go into science. He sought to push the boundaries of biology and technology in order to explore how such magnificent heroes could exist.

Andy was at S.T.A.R. Labs the day that the Titans and the Fearsome Five tore through the facility, resulting in an explosion that killed numerous employees and that subsequently led to Victor Stone becoming Cyborg. But he was not the only hero created that day. Andy survived the explosion and was taken into observation by the government agency A.R.G.U.S. When it was discovered that his body was radiated and was biologically capable of generating explosions, a suit was immediately fashioned for him. Though initially sought to be part of Amanda Waller's Task Force X program, Andy was spirited away by Uncle Sam and was instead enlisted onto the Freedom Fighters.

PHANTOM LADY

Jennifer Knight is the granddaughter of the original Phantom Lady, Sandra Knight. She's an ambitious and determined young woman double majoring in law and political science, with the dream of becoming a politician. On a day like any other, she was approached by a man claiming to be the deceased hero Uncle Sam. He told her about her family's legacy and that she too could be a great force for good like her grandmother.

As Uncle Sam's first recruit, Jennifer worked closely with him to meet with the others and trained relentlessly in martial arts in order to become combat ready. Jennifer was further outfitted with special bracers that bend light to allow her to appear invisible.

PLASTIC MAN

Patrick "Eel" O'Brian was the definition of a bad seed. A thief and trafficker, Eel and his gang were overseeing the arrival of a shipment of illegal chemicals when they were busted by Green Arrow and Black Canary. During a skirmish that broke out, Eel was shot in the shoulder and fell into the canisters of chemicals. When stray bullets from the guns of his fellow gang members pierce the canisters, Eel was covered in the mystery chemicals.

After being taken to jail, Eel soon discovered that his body had changed and that he now had a malleable physiology that granted him the abilities of shapeshifting and elasticity of his overall physique. He broke free from jail, only to be taken down by the Justice League. He was eventually detained in Belle Reve, which is where Uncle Sam found him. He recognized the good within him and that his laissez-faire jovial attitude had merely led him astray. With his newfound freedom, Eel became Plastic Man and joined the Freedom Fighters.

MISS AMERICA

When it comes to investigative reporting, not even Lois Lane has ever managed to eclipse the success of Joan Dale. Dubbed "The Voice of America," Joan's reporting has earned her many awards and has made her a household name in the United States. Her relentless pursuit for justice and overall lack of bias (and a lack of an obsession for a certain blue and red superhero), has given her a sense of credibility that is matched by no one else in the country. For this reason, Uncle Sam sought out the intrepid reporter in order to transform her into the leader of the Freedom Fighters.

Imbued with the mystical spirit of America, Joan has become the hero Miss America and possesses the abilities of telepathy, superhuman strength and durability, and flight.

BLACK CONDOR

John Trujillo is a loner at heart. Having left the reserve he grew up on, John settled into the deserts of Arizona. It was here where he was visited by the goddess Tocotl. He was imbued with the great elemental abilities of the wind and became the champion known as Black Condor.

Having fought crime independently in the west, Black Condor was initially disinterested in joining the Freedom Fighters. He was eventually convinced by Tocotl herself to branch out and lend his powers to the greater good.

FIREBRAND

Danette Reilly is the great granddaughter of the original Firebrand, Rod Reilly (for whom her twin brother is named). Danette and Rod are opposites of one another. Danette, the brainy twin, has always been an ambitious individual who has long been fascinated by geology and has explored this in depth as a university student. Rod, meanwhile, has instead been more of a party animal and sees no merit to education. When the twins were kidnapped by Vandal Savage, the newly formed Freedom Fighters came to their rescue.

Though Rod was initially desperate to join their ranks, it was ultimately decided that Danette would be the successor to the Firebrand mantle due to her latent metahuman abilities. With the help of teammate Andy Franklin, Danette's powers were unlocked and she became a powerful pyrokinetic.

THE RAY

Much like Danette, Raymond "Ray" Terrill is a metahuman who inherited his abilities from his great grandfather - the original Ray. Able to generate light and create solid constructs, Ray is further able to turn himself into a powerful living laser. Unlike his fiery teammate, Ray had developed his powers as a teenager and became a hero shortly thereafter. While he was initially offered invitations to the Justice League and the Justice Society, Ray never felt either team was the right fit for him. As such, when Uncle Sam came knocking he knew he'd finally found his home.

DESIGNS

These were a lot of fun to do. In fact, the Freedom Fighters may very well be my favourite looking team thus far in my DC head canon project. By and large, they're all more or less intended to be updates of their iconic costumes from the past. Human Bomb is wearing an armoured look with a helmet similar to the relaunched Freedom Force Post-Infinite Crisis. Phantom Lady is wearing a full bodysuit that draws its inspiration from the lemon and lime PL look as well as Silk Spectre's appearance from the film version of Watchmen (fitting, since Silk Spectre was partly based off of Phantom Lady). Plastic Man's is a simple update of his famous red suit. Miss America is a little more of a reboot of sorts. Her original looks left a lot to be desire and lacked a iconic visual aesthetic, so instead I drew inspiration from Liberty Belle to create this design. Black Condor's is pretty straightforward I'd say. Firebrand here actually started out as an unused Black Canary redesign. Yep. I had this sitting on my computer before it struck me that it could be repurposed to suit Firebrand and boy did it ever come out looking really modern. Lastly we come to the Ray. He's really just a hodgepodge of the different takes on this character. He's wearing a black bodysuit with gold helmet, bracers and boots, which are all accented with light that glows from his body. Given the design of his helmet, I wonder if Marvel's artists were inspired by the Golden Age Ray when they designed the OG Captain Marvel. In general, I don't think that the Freedom Fighters characters get quite the recognition they deserve. People often forget that the original versions of these characters were among some of the first ever superheroes in the world of comic books. It's lamentable that I don't know as much about them as I could. My limited readings have mostly been the more modern material written for these guys.