Unknown Soldier

The Unknown Soldier is a fictional soldier, assassin and spy featured in comic books published by DC Comics. He first appeared in Star-Spangled War Stories #151 in July, 1970, and maintained his own back-up feature in the title until branching off into his own Unknown Soldier ongoing title in 1971. He was also featured in a four-issue limited series in 1998 published under DC's Vertigo imprint.

Biography
The Unknown Soldier was an unnamed young man who joined the United States Army together with his brother Harry less than two months before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Assigned to the Philippines when the Pacific War broke out, he and Harry were present when the Japanese swept across the islands. In their foxhole, Harry told his brother not to lose hope even though they are outnumbered, because "one guy can affect the outcome of a whole war! One guy in the right place... at the right time..."

The two were fighting off wave after wave of invading Japanese soldiers when a hand grenade landed near their foxhole. Harry threw himself on the grenade and was killed instantly, but the explosion also injured the unnamed soldier's face. In a rage, the soldier defeated the remaining Japanese single-handedly, but his face was obliterated by the grenade and doctors were unable to restore it. Turning down a Congressional Medal of Honor for his actions, the soldier instead volunteered to be that "one man in the right place" that Harry spoke of. His previous identity was erased and he underwent intensive training to become an intelligence operative code-named "The Unknown Soldier".

Over the course of his missions, the Unknown Soldier built up a supporting crew, including Sergeant Chat Noir, an African American soldier and former French Resistance leader whom the Soldier first encountered a few days prior to D-Day. The Soldier also occasionally used the services of an informant known only as "Sparrow", who worked behind enemy lines.

During the Battle of Berlin, the Unknown Soldier was sent on a mission to stop a Nazi super-weapon, vampiric octopuses called "Nosferatu". During the course of the story both Sparrow and Chat Noir were killed.

On April 29, 1945, the Soldier infiltrated Adolf Hitler's bunker, killing him and assuming the dictator's identity to call off the weapon's deployment. He then made Hitler's death look like a suicide so people would assume Hitler took the coward's way out. As the Soldier made his way to the Allied lines, he saved the life of a civilian girl from a bomb blast, apparently being killed himself.

It was later revealed that the Soldier did survive, but was officially declared dead by his superiors, his continued existence being kept top-secret from that point on.

Abilities

 * Disguise: The Unknown Soldier is also a master of disguise.
 * Espionage: His specialty is espionage and counterintelligence.
 * Counter-intelligence


 * Firearms: The Unknown Soldier has military training, which includes the operation of various firearms.
 * Hand-to-Hand Combat (Basic): The Unknown Soldier has military training, which includes basic combat training.
 * Military protocol: The Unknown Soldier is expertly trained in a manner of military combat.
 * Mimicry: His talent in this regard is so effective, that when impersonating an individual, even their closest colleagues cannot tell that they have been duped.

Notes & Trivia



 * Although this character was originally introduced during DC's Earth-One era of publication, their existence following the events of the 1985–86 limited series Crisis on Infinite Earths remains intact. However, some elements of the character's Pre-Crisis history may have been altered or removed for Post-Crisis New Earth continuity, and should be considered apocryphal.


 * The Unknown Soldier received his own character profile in Who's Who: The Definitive Director of the DC Universe #25 in March, 1987.


 * The Unknown Soldier's face is so gruesomely disfigured that he is required to wear special protective bandages at all times.

Appearances
Incomplete
 * Unknown Soldier 205
 * Unknown Soldier 268