Young Allies
Membership:
Bucky, Geoff (Geoffrey Worthington Vandergill;
Timely era Jeff / Jefferson Worthington Sandervilt), Knuckles (Pat
O'Toole; Timely era Percival Aloysius O'Toole),
Toro, Tubby (Henry Yosef Tinklebaum; Timely
era Henry Tinkle), Wash (Washington Carver Jones; in Timely era
Whitewash)
Purpose: To fight for their country when it was endangered by criminals and Nazis
Affiliations: Captain America, Human Torch, Sub-Mariner
Enemies: Red Skull
Base of Operations: New York City, New York, U.S.A.
First Appearance: Young Allies #1 (Timely Comics, Summer 41)
History: (Young Allies #1) Wanting to set an example for the youth of America as juvenile crime rates rose in the days prior to America joining the Second World War, teenage superheroes Bucky and Toro gathered together a gang of spirited youths from different areas and social backgrounds - Knuckles was a tough kid from Brooklyn, Jeff a rich bookworm and inventor, "Whitewash" a black kid from Harlem, and Tubby, a fat kid. This group, dubbed the Young Allies, went on to fight both crime and Nazi agents.
(Young Allies Comics #1-20) No synopsis available
(Amazing Comics #1) No synopsis available
(Captain America Comics #8) No synopsis available
(Complete Comics #2) No synopsis available
(Kid Komics #2-10) No synopsis available
(Marvel Mystery Comics #75-83) No synopsis available
(Mystic Comics #4) No synopsis available
(Sub-Mariner Comics #22) No synopsis available
Comments:
Created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby. The first of the "kid gang" groups that
plagued the Golden Age.
Before anyone writes in, I know exactly how stereotyped and insulting the character of Whitewash is. He was drawn in a caricatured manner, his sole contribution to the team seems to be summed up with "he's the black one", and even his name can be considered derogatory, drawing attention to him being the only non-white member of the team. If I am trying to keep a proper record of heroes of the era however, I have to include him. I would like to point out that in his own way, Knuckles is also a caricature of a Brooklyn kid, and Tubby is frankly just as insulting to fat children - like Whitewash, his contribution is being the "fat one", and his name draws attention to this.
To
make some defense for the writers of the Young Allies strip, during a period
in history when there was a lot of enforced segregation of people of different
colours, at least they attempted (however poorly) to provide a black character
as a hero and shown to be a member of the team. "You don't climb the ladder
in one huge step, you climb it in lots of little steps."
Given the above, and the fact that based on the covers, the non-superhuman members of the Young Allies spent most of their time tied up and being rescued by Toro and Bucky, perhaps it's unsurprising that the Young Allies weren't seen after the Golden Age until 2009, some 60 plus years after their last appearance; in the Young Allies Special Whitewash finally got a full name and a non-caricatured portrayal, while his fellow Young Allies gained new real names too. The 1940s versions were revealed to be fictionalised accounts of the group's actual adventures.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Not to be confused with
anyone else who is "Young"
Any Additions/Corrections? Please let me know.
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