Howling Commandos

The Howling Commandos were an elite combat unit that had been led by Captain America during World War II. At the end of the war and Captain America's apparent demise, their unit continued to be active and was led by Dum Dum Dugan.

History

World War II

Recruited by Captain America

The Howling Commandos were formed during World War II out from various P.O.W.s after they were rescued by Captain America. The new unit, led by Rogers and Bucky Barnes, traveled around Western Europe to eliminate every HYDRA base they could find. Their operations were some of the most successful of the entire war.^[1]

HYDRA Raids

The Howling Commandos were responsible for the capture of Arnim Zola during a raid on a train in the Alps. It was on this mission that Bucky Barnes was lost and presumed dead.

They also participated in attacking Johann Schmidt's last base along with other U.S. forces led by Colonel Chester Phillips. The battle was eventually won. However, despite Schmidt's apparent death and foiled plans, Captain America was missing in action after crashing Schmidt's plane to save the mainland United States.^[1]

After Captain America was lost over the Arctic Ocean, the Howling Commandos assisted the Seventh Army during Operation Undertone.^[2]

Dum Dum Dugan and Jim Morita were sent to Austria with Strategic Scientific Reserve agent Peggy Carter to take possession of artifacts at the last known HYDRA Facility located there. They captured HYDRA General Werner Reinhardt, his troops and an Obelisk classified as an 0-8-4.^[3]

On V-E Day, the Commandos assembled in London and mourned the loss of Captain America.^[1]

Post-War

Following World War II the Commandos served as a tactical team for the 107th Infantry Regiment. Some members eventually abandoned the unit but new recruits came.^[4] In 1946, the Howling Commandos were called by Peggy Carter to help her, SSR agent Jack Thompson, and his team in infiltrating a Leviathan base camp in Belarus. They met Carter and the team and escorted them to Belarus. Infiltrating the facility, they discovered various methods of dispensing subliminal messages. They encountered a little girl supposedly left behind, and Dum Dum Dugan went to comfort her, only to be non-fatally stabbed by the girl, who quickly shot and killed Junior Juniper before escaping.

Going deeper into the facility, the team found the scientists Nikola and Ivchenko. Freeing them, they ran into an ambush where Nikola tried to use Happy Sam Sawyer as a hostage. Ivchenko killed Nikola, allowing the Commandos and Carter's team to escape.

The Howling Commandos said goodbye to Carter and her team, with Dugan giving Ivchenko his bottle of bourbon.^[5]

Exhibit

The Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. created an exhibit which featured Captain America with the original Howling Commandos. After his battle with and rescue of Captain America,^[2] Bucky Barnes went to see the display, which reminded him of his past.^[6]

Equipment

Howling Commando Gear

Main article: Howling Commando Gear

Antoine Triplett's mother allowed her son to have a suitcase filled with many of the gadgets that the Howling Commandos used over the years, so that Coulson's Team could take down the Centipede Project.^[7]

Symbols

The insignia used by the Howling Commandos on their uniform.

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Appearances

Trivia

• In the comics, the Howling Commandos were a elite US military unit formed by Happy Sam Sawyer and lead by Nick Fury, that fought many Axis supervillains like Wolfgang von Strucker, Heinrich Zemo and the Red Skull during World War II. After the war, many of the Commandos members joined S.H.I.E.L.D., and different iterations of the team were created.
• The Marvel Cinematic Universe's version of the Howling Commandos share traits with the Invaders, a WWII's superhero group that was led by Captain America and included James Barnes and James Montgomery Falsworth among their ranks. In the non-canon video game Captain America: Super Soldier, the Howling Commandos are called the Invaders.^[8] They were also called the Invaders in Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely's first draft of the Captain America: The First Avenger script.^[9]
• S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Antoine Triplett's grandfather is one of the Howling Commandos.^[10]
• Jim Morita and Morita, his grandson, were both played by the same actor.

References

The Marvel Cinematic Universe wiki has a collection of images and media related to Howling Commandos.

External Links

• Howling Commandos on the Marvel Wiki
• Howling Commandos on Wikipedia