Sgt. Fury And His Howling Commandos #23



"The Man Who Failed!"
writer: Stan Lee
Pencils: Dick Ayers
inks: Frank Ray
letters: Artie Simek

grade: C+

It's inevitable. The better the Agent of SHIELD story, the more bored I become by the following Sgt. Fury story, no matter how good it is. In this case, we have a reasonably good Sgt. Fury story that tries to do a few interesting things, but I was so bored that I had to take numerous breaks from it. Maybe I'm just not a war mag guy. Whatever the case, I liked this series well enough until Agent of SHIELD started offering me a far more exciting story featuring the same central protagonist.

Regarding this issue, there are four things about it that make it stand out from other Sgt. Fury issues:

1. Children involved. We've had one previous story in which a child showed up, but he was an aspiring soldier who sought conflict. In this case, we have far younger innocent children, protected by a fearless nun, who look at the Howers as saviors (well, not sacrilegiously) and who bring out some of their humanity in contrast, which is pretty much as adorable as it had the potential to be. Dum-Dum, in particular, admits that he's terrified of children (an amusing yet believable comment) and then quickly warms up to them. I also loved Gabe making the little guy on his back promise that, if Gabe doesn't make it out of this alive, to "study the trumpet when ya grow up! You got a great pair of lungs, little fella!" However, it's interesting that we only see the children's reactions when the Howlers are winning. While this creates a great feel-good sense, it's hard to miss the omission of NOT seeing these kids react when doom seems inevitable.

2. A closer look at the Japanese. Though the Howlers have fought the Japanese before (two times now, I believe) this is the first time that Lee gives them the same level of attention he gives to the Nazis, depicting conversations between their superior and lower soldiers in which ideologies and assumptions are revealed. While it was rarely disturbing to see how simplistically and foolishly Lee depicted the Nazis (after all, it was more a reflection of a political party/ideology that had swept the nation than a reflection of the German people themselves), the depiction of the Japanese in this story, in which they must commit hari-kari whenever they fail, care nothing about harming innocents, and even make up elaborate and unnecessary lies to justify burning missionaries and killing their occupants for no particular reason, absolutely comes off as a reflection of the race. Unfortunately, this was a pretty widely accepted double-standard about the war, depicted in much of its propaganda. However, Lee actually manages to make the depiction even more offensive while trying to do just the opposite when he has Fury say this of the Japanese commanding officer:

"I ain't got the heart [to kill him], Corporal! He can't help bein' the way he is -- He don't know no better! But he's sure got all the courage a guy could want. Mebbe when he wakes up, somebody'll be able ta drum some sense into 'im--somehow--!"

Essentially, the Japanese are depicted as naive children playing at war, too foolish to know any better. Subsequently, the entire idea of the Howlers courting the innocent Burmese children throughout the issue seems related to this idea -- attempting to educate the next generation of non-allied Asians to be less child-like than its predecessors (See, Dan? I used the word correctly this time!)

And, perhaps the most offensive segment of the entire issue (though certainly not seen that way at the time):

Little Burmese girl to Fury: Me love you, Yonkee! You so big and pretty!

Yes, but will she love him long time?


3. Religious issues raised in this story. It's hard to miss the fact that the virtuous heroine of this story is a Catholic nun (albeit a young and attractive one). A purposeful ideological subtext to this story is revealed when, in response to the Japanese commander's assertion that his race will one day be supreme, she comments that "You are wrong, general! There is but ONE supreme being in the universe!" suggesting that part of what makes Americans right in this war is their humility and god-fearing nature.

Of course, this gets more interesting when one considers that Lee is Jewish. In fact, he brings this to the forefront of the story by the close as Izzy (always implied to be Jewish, but it has never outright been stated) comments, "Sister, we don't pray in the same church, but you're okay in MY book," and, in the final line of dialogue in the final panel of the story, seemingly arbitrarily reminds her that it's "Cohen, not Cohan!" Of course, one is a Jewish last name, and one is not.


4. Percy's characterization. There's a lot going on with Percy in this one, and it extends beyond the origin story he's finally given here. Much as with Izzy, Stan has spent time hinting that Percy stands apart from the mainstream in some sense (specifically that he might be gay), and Lee seems to struggle with this possibility in the story. On the one hand, Stan and Dick make a deliberate (albeit subtle) point about Percy being the ONLY Howler who does not take well to the children, bothered by their playing with his umbrella and being the only one not to pair up with an individual child later in the story. While, in modern society, the idea of being gay is not necessarily consistent with not wanting kids, that seems to be an assumption that Lee and Ayers were taking here.

Even Percy's utter shame at the mention of the leader of the Burma Dragons arouses suspicions. If this were a modern day story, my first guess would have been that this man had been an ex lover of his. Certainly, that's the feel I get from Percy's bashful reactions. And, ultimately, when we learn that Percy was kicked out of the officers' academy for his lifestyle choices and felt he'd disgraced his family, this brings a whole other guess to mind.

And yet, in Percy's origin story, Percy describes his past self as having been "more interested in good times, pretty girls, and fast times" than his studies. Truly, none of that characterization aligns with the Percy we've known all throughout these stories and sounds like an overkill effort to make Percy seem like a regular, red-blooded heterosexual man.

And yet, it's hard to miss that look on Percy's face in the second to last panel when his brother talks about them having grandkids.

Truly, which is more believable -- that Percy was kicked out of the academy and feared disgracing his family due to a lifestyle of fast partying and loose women, or that he was a sensitive and serious soldier who also happened to be gay?

Not sure what the story behind this issue is; whether there was a difference of opinion between Lee and Ayers, Lee and the powers that be, or simply in Lee's own head, but there's some clear indecision about Percy here, even as this origin story seeks to finally explain who he is to us.


minor details: I find it hard to believe that the Japanese military would work so hard to pursue one nun and her charges just for practicing religion (what a waste of resources!), I fail to understand what the Japanese commander gained by lying about why he wanted her, and while I love Lee's belief in our government, I can't imagine that an outfit like The Howlers would be tapped for such a low priority mission when all out war was waging across the globe. This just feels like an over-simplified demonizing of the Japanese (nun and children killers!) and an over-simplified glorifying of the Allies (protectors of nuns and children)! This is all a stereotype going back to the medieval code of chivalry, in which knights were to be the protectors of widows, orphans, and the faith.

Clever how we spend most of the story believing the title pertains to the Japanese officer told to bring in the Howlers and warned not to fail, and yet it ends up pertaining to Percy.

Best line of the story:

Fury: Pinkerton, I figger we'll make a Howler outta you yet!

Percy: I say! All this time I thought I was teaching you!


plot synopsis: Fury and the gang are sent to Berma to rescue a nun and her Bermese orphans, all being pursued by a Japanese commander who claims they carry stolen Axis plans, Percy provides a reluctant origin story about his dismissal from officers' academy and the shame that brought him, and Percy is reunited with his brother, leader of the Berma Dragons, who tells him he's proud of what Percy has accomplished.