Junior Juniper

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Junior Juniper
Sgt. Fury and the Howling Commandos #1
(May 1963)
Created byStan Lee (writer)
Jack Kirby (artist)
In-story information
Alter egoJonathan Juniper
Team affiliationsHowling Commandos

Jonathan "Junior" Juniper is a fictional character appearing in

Sgt. Fury and the Howling Commandos vol. 1 #1.[1] He is known to be the first major character death in a Marvel comic and the only Howling Commando ever to die in battle.[2][3][4]

Publication history

Jonathan "Junior" Juniper appears in Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos #1-4. In the fourth issue, he was killed, with his death continuing to haunt Nick Fury all the way up to modern day stories.[5][6]

In What If? #14 (April 1979), an alternate version of the character appears in What If... Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos Had Fought World War II In Outer Space?.

Fictional character biography

Jonathan "Junior" Juniper was a founding member of the original

B-17 Flying Fortress in bombing raids as a tail gunner.[9][10]

Juniper saves the group on its first mission. The group was surrounded by

Nazis. As they were waiting in the snow, Juniper read the Biblical story of Gideon frightening his enemy with raucous noise. The commando stole a sound trunk and used its loudspeakers to frighten the Nazis with their cries. With this mission, the group earns the nickname "Howling Commandos"[10][11]

With the Howling Commandos, Juniper participated at a rescue mission of the leader of the

U-boat pens. After, they are reassigned on a mission to destroy a German atomic energy research facility. In the process, they also end up liberating a concentration camp.[12][13]

Percival Pinkerton, replaced Juniper in the team.[14][17][18] Jonathan Juniper was the grand-uncle of S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Roger Juniper.[19][20]

Abilities and accessories

Junior Juniper was a trained commando and an ace

Thompson Submachine gun M1.[10]

Death impact

Jonathan "Junior" Juniper was killed in action after a few issues of Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos. As the magazine

Jack Kirby Collector wrote in 1999, "Today that's no big deal but in 1963, comics heroes simply didn't die; not permanently, anyway. Suddenly, with the death of 'Junior' Juniper, the series acquired some real cachet. It now played like a true-life war drama where people got killed and never came back. You wondered who would be next".[3]

This question is clearly written in the comic book when the Howling Commandos react to the death of their youngest member. The character

Izzy Cohen answered "What's the diff? We're all expendable".[4][5] Paul Brian McCoy reviewed this issue for Comics Bulletin and considers it as the "best thing Marvel's publishing in 1963". The story "Lord Ha-Ha's Last Laugh!" mixes emotional complexity, action and adventure. This is the first time a main character has actually died in a Marvel Comic.[4] As the comic writer and editor Tom DeFalco told it in an interview, some of the early Marvel fans were startled by the death of "Junior" Juniper.[21]

Alternate versions

What If?

An alternate version of the character appears in "What If... Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos Had Fought World War II In Outer Space?", What If? #14 (April 1979). In this reality, the space is divided into the alpha and the beta sectors as the earth was divided into eastern and western fronts during the World War II. Junior Juniper is a member of the Howling Commandos of this reality. They are soldiers of the alpha sector and they received orders from a command computer. Their first mission is to protect the earth station midway against the betans. At the beginning of the attack, their objective was changed, they had to capture a traitor, the Baron Strucker. The villain died into space and the mission was a success.[22]

X-Men Forever

A second alternate version of the character appears in "The Fury of the Howling Commandos", X-Men Forever vol. 2 #7 (November 2009). During a S.H.I.E.L.D. investigation in South America, the agent Tommy Juniper is killed. Learning this, the S.H.I.E.L.D. leader Nick Fury thought "Not another Juniper. Not again!". Kitty Pryde, Jean Grey, Rogue, Beast, and Nightcrawler join Nick Fury on a second investigation in the South American jungle. The events remembered him another mission with Jonathan Juniper who is the grand-uncle of Tommy, the rest of the Howling Commandos and a Canadian soldier named Logan.[23][24][25]

In other media

Television

  • Junior Juniper appears in the Agent Carter episode "The Iron Ceiling", portrayed by James Austin Kerr. He was among the soldiers that assist Peggy Carter and Dum Dum Dugan into raiding a Russian military complex that was going to sell stolen weapons to Leviathan. Junior was killed by a young girl who is part of the Black Widow program.[26][27]

References

  1. ISBN 978-1-59967-501-5
    . Retrieved June 12, 2011.
  2. ISBN 978-1-59967-528-2
    . Retrieved June 12, 2011.
  3. ^
    Jack Kirby Collector
    #24 (April 1999)
  4. ^ a b c d McCoy, Paul Brian. "Mondo Marvel #19 - November 1963". Comics Bulletin. Archived from the original on September 8, 2011. Retrieved July 4, 2011.
  5. ^ a b c Lee, Stan (w), Kirby, Jack (p), Bell, George (i). "Lord Ha Ha's Last Laugh" Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos, no. 4 (Nov. 1963). Marvel Comics.
  6. ^ Jonathan "Junior" Juniper at The Appendix to the Handbook of the Marvel Universe
  7. ^ a b Lee, Stan (w), Kirby, Jack (p), Ayers, Dick (i). "Seven Against The Nazis" Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos, no. 1 (May 1963). Marvel Comics.
  8. ^ a b McCoy, Paul Brian. "Mondo Marvel #12 - May 1963". Comics Bulletin. Archived from the original on December 28, 2010. Retrieved July 4, 2011.
  9. ^ Thomas, Roy (w), Ayers, Dick (p), Tartaglione, John (i). "The origin of the Howlers!" Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos, no. 34 (Sept. 1966). Marvel Comics.
  10. ^
    Marvel Publishing Group
    . 2006. p. 32.
  11. ^ Gary Friedrich, Roy Thomas (w), John Severin (p), John Severin (i). "The Howlers' first mission!" Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos, no. 44 (July 1967). Marvel Comics.
  12. ^ Lee, Stan (w), Kirby, Jack (p), Ayers, Dick (i). "Seven Doomed Men!" Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos, no. 2 (July 1963). Marvel Comics.
  13. ^ McCoy, Paul Brian. "Mondo Marvel #14 - July 1963". Comics Bulletin. Archived from the original on May 7, 2011. Retrieved July 6, 2011.
  14. ^
    ISBN 978-0-313-35746-6
    . Retrieved June 12, 2011.
  15. ^ Lee, Stan (w), Kirby, Jack (p), Roussos, George (i). "At The Mercy of Baron Strucker!" Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos, no. 5 (Jan. 1964). Marvel Comics.
  16. ^ McCoy, Paul Brian. "Mondo Marvel #21 - January 1964". Comics Bulletin. Archived from the original on June 5, 2011. Retrieved July 6, 2011.
  17. ^ Lee, Stan (w), Ayers, Dick (p), Roussos, George (i). "The Death Ray of Dr. Zemo!" Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos, no. 8 (July 1964). Marvel Comics.
  18. ^ McCoy, Paul Brian. "Mondo Marvel #27 - July 1964". Comics Bulletin. Archived from the original on September 8, 2011. Retrieved July 4, 2011.
  19. Patrick Olliffe (i). "Cry Havok!" Hercules and the Heart of Chaos, no. 2 (Sept. 1997). Marvel Comics
    .
  20. ^ Roger "Buddy" Juniper at The Appendix to the Handbook of the Marvel Universe
  21. Marvel.com
    . December 5, 2008. Retrieved July 5, 2011.
  22. Don Glut, Gary Friedrich (w), Herb Trimpe (p), Pablo Marcos (i). "What If... Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos Had Fought World War II In Outer Space?" What If?, no. 14 (April 1979). Marvel Comics
    .
  23. ^ Chris Claremont (w), Tom Grummett, Steve Scott (p), Al Vey (i), Lee Loughridge (col). "The Fury of the Howling Commandos" X-Men Forever, vol. 2, no. 7 (Nov. 2009). Marvel Comics.
  24. ^ Comic Book Resources Team (September 3, 2009). "Preview: X-Men Forever #7". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved July 6, 2011.
  25. Comic Bulletin. Archived from the original
    on July 22, 2012. Retrieved July 6, 2011.
  26. ^ Leto, Peter (director); Jose Molina (writer) (February 3, 2015). "The Iron Ceiling". Marvel's Agent Carter. Season 1. Episode 5. ABC.
  27. Marvel.com
    . Retrieved January 16, 2015.

External links

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