10 More TV Shows Marvel Must Make

5. Howling Commandos

howlingcommandosWhat Is It? Set during World War II, the First Attack Squad was a racially and ethnically diverse elite special unit operating in Europe. Nicknamed the Howling Commandos, they were led by Sgt. Nick Fury and made up of Timothy €œDum Dum€ Dugan, Isadore €œIzzy€ Cohen, Gabe Jones, Dino Morelli, Robert €œRebel€ Ralston, Percival €œPinky€ Pinkerton, Jonathan €œJunior€ Juniper, and Eric Koenig. In Captain America: The First Avenger, the Howling Commandos appeared as the squad led by Cap and Bucky, and included Dum Dum Dugan, Gabe Jones, and added some other characters who appeared in the comic, such as Jim Morita, Montgomery Falsworth (who was the superhero Union Jack in the comics), and Jacques Dernier. How To Do It Right? Captain America: The First Avenger is one of my favorite Marvel films, because of its awesome pulp sensibilities (not surprising given that it€™s from Joe Johnston, the same director who magnificently brought The Rocketeer to the big screen). But if there€™s one flaw, it€™s that there is way too much of the Marvel version of World War II to cover in that short time frame. Johnston indicated that what we see in The First Avenger just barely scratches the surface of Cap€™s time in WW2, and that could also be extended to the Commandos as well. There€™s also the question of when did Cap fall into the ocean? In the comics it€™s been loosely described as €œthe closing days of WW2,€ but I don€™t believe it was ever placed at any definitive point in the film. If Cap went missing in 1942 or 1943, you could have stories with the Commandos dealing with the fallout of losing not only their leader but also one of their own (Bucky). Maybe even have some stories dealing with other WW2 heroes, like the Invaders (we already got a glimpse of the original Human Torch in the World€™s Fair scene). This would also be a great chance to bring in either a young Nick Fury (and the Infinity Formula) as the team€™s new leader, or you could go the route of The Avengers: Earth€™s Mightiest Heroes animated series and use Fury€™s father, Jack. If you could get all, or at the very least some, of the actors from the film to reprise their roles for the series (particularly Neal McDonough as he makes the perfect Dugan), all the better.
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Percival Constantine is the author of several novels and short stories, including the Vanguard superhero series, and regularly writes and comments on movies, comics, and other pop culture. More information can be found at his website, PercivalConstantine.com