In Part One I mentioned how publishers in the Golden Age, Fiction House in particular, made sure that a character in one of their anthology comics shared a name with the title of the comic (i.e. Fight Comics had Captain Fight, Rangers Comics had Rangers of Freedom). One I should have also mentioned that Wing Comics had Captain Wings (see below). The exception to this rule; Jumbo Comics. Jumbo Comics did not have a Captain Jumbo but, damn it, don’t you think they should have?

Which brings us back to Biff, Tex and Percy, the Rangers of Freedom…

There’s a lot to take in on in very strange splash page that incorporates a big block of typewritten text for no discernible reason, but this is the detail you should be focusing on…

While the previous Rangers of Freedom story gave every indication that it took place in the present of 1941 before America’s entry into WWII, in this one for no reason the clock has been reset seven years into the future. One where Pearl Harbor never happened and America managed to stay out of the war in Europe, that is, until Super-Brain gives Hitler his marching orders.

Please to note; between issues Super-Brain’s super brain has gone down several hat sizes. See the size of his dome in Rangers of Freedom #2…

…and compare it to a panel from Rangers of Freedom #1 when he’s a veritable dead ringer for MTV’s The Head (which was, for those of you who don’t remember the 90′s, was MTV’s desperate, lackluster attempt to duplicate the success of The Maxx).

And now, back to the story:

In the Rangers first adventure Super-Brain was referred to as a ‘prodigy’ and I freaking ran with it, theorizing he was a troubled teen who hatred of the world steam from his lack of a social life. But either writer ‘Captain Raymond Colt’ didn’t know what ‘rodigy’ actually meant or he changed his mind because in this issue Super-Brain refers to people as earthlings. Not once…

…but twice. Last time I wrote about how frequently not only was there “an undercurrent of sexual menace” towards women in Golden Age comic books there were overcurrents. Maybe you thought I was just trying to be clever but in a scene predating Revenge of the Jedi by several decades in this panel sweet, pure Miss America has been forced to dress like a futuristic disco hooker and is being led about on a golden chain by a hideous, lusting creature. That, my friends, is what I call an overcurrent.

Sadly Rangers of Freedom #3, the issue where Miss America Gloria Travers gets her own Rangers of Freedom costume (sadly a female version of the boys outfit and not the gold halter and hot pants number) and officially becomes Ranger Girl remains unavailable…

…but #4 is. Apparently that whole “1948″ thing was some kind of misprint because this Rangers story takes place in a present after America’s entry into the war. It’s a pretty prosaic little adventure where their enemy is the fiendish Japanese as much as it is Super-Brain and is completely lacking the apocalyptic elements of previous stories. And here Super-Brain’s head has been reduced to nearly normal proportions

Though the story does have one fantastic element; a submersible island being used by the Japanese as a base who have naturally enslaved native Hawaiians to serve as a work force. Bringing us to this memorable masochism tinged whipping scene where the gang is rescued by an unnamed half naked (save for some strategically placed strands of flowers) native girl. She’s a bit of a mystery as she’s drawn with standard ‘white’ features but is colored in that particular shade of gray that current DC Comics usually reserve for Middle Easteners and those for Middle Eastern descent. And though her traditional dress signals her belief in the traditional Hawaiian way of life she seems perfectly onboard about the whole annexation of Hawaii (“Me American Citizen too!”, “A fine country — America!”).

This proved to be the last appearance of the Rangers of Freedom because, although they made the cover to Rangers #5…

…inside we are greeted with an entirely different group of Rangers, U.S. Rangers led by a Captain Morgan.

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In the middle of Captain Morgan’s story we cut away briefly to Biff, Tex and Percy, dressed in regular army uniforms and on a plane, on their way to join Morgan’s unit. They say goodbye to Ranger Girl who has decided to become a Red Cross nurse, parachute into where Morgan is stationed…and are never seen again. Captain Morgan’s team was known as the Rangers of Freedom until Ranger Comics #7 after which they were known as U.S. Rangers.

Supposition; with America’s entry into the War the idea of these fantasy characters using the name “Rangers”, fighting fantasy laced battles was just not what the audience wanted to see. Which is kind of a shame because even when the Rangers of Freedom weren’t exactly good they were very, very weird. And sometimes that’s even better than being good.