The Crusaders is a team of DC Comics superheroes. The team was created by Bob Rozakis and Dick Ayers in the pages of Freedom Fighters #7 (March 1977).

They were based on the Invaders and part of an unofficial crossover.

Fictional team history

The Crusaders originate in Earth-One during World War II. In the 1970s, they offer their services to New York City District Attorney David Pearson to help capture the Freedom Fighters, who were at that time fugitives because they were believed to have been working with the villain Silver Ghost. Pearson gives the Crusaders the authority to pursue Uncle Sam and his group after a report that they had caused a blackout in upstate New York.

After a lengthy fight, at the end of which the Crusaders are defeated, the Freedom Fighters ask the Crusaders how they became the comic book heroes of World War II. The group revealed that Americommando had approached a group of young comic book collectors at a convention (Marvin, Lennie, Arch, and Roy) and offered to recreate them as his former teammates, using a special device to transform them into their superpowered identities.

In the 2007–2008 Uncle Sam series, a new team of Crusaders, gathered and controlled by the government, were introduced, including Captain Triumph, Citizen X, the Libertine, and Magno. After they are freed from their mind-controlled state, they team up with Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters. Citizen X and the Libertine are killed by aliens in battle.

Members

The Crusaders only appeared in Freedom Fighters #7–9. The names of the team are taken from obscure Golden Age superheroes:

  • The Americommando – in actuality the Silver Ghost.
  • Barracuda
  • Fireball
  • Rusty
  • Sparky

See also

  • Justice Society of America
  • All-Star Squadron
  • Young All-Stars
  • Freedom Fighters
  • Seven Soldiers of Victory
  • Liberty Legion

References

  • Obscure DC Guide: The Crusaders
  • Freedom Fighters bio and timeline
  • Index to the Freedom Fighters' 1970s adventures
  • Calling... The Crusaders!