Starkville’s House of El Podcast

Today’s SF takes us back in time to June 17th, 2008. In issue #17 of Smallville Magazine there was an origin story for Warrior Angel. Our very own Derek Russell was the writer for the article and and he was kind enough to provide me with the origin story. I see no need to rewrite or summarize the material, take a look after the jump and enjoy!

Early History
Speedier than the wind, brighter than the stars, and stronger than an airline jet, Warrior Angel is the most beloved comic book hero that you’ve never heard of. Created by Stephen Glosson in early 1947, the character was later sold to Fantasy Comics and appeared in their issue #1 in June of 1948. In subsequent years, the character of Warrior Angel has appeared in multitudes of media transitions, including radio, television, action figures, feature films, and breakfast cereals.

Humble Beginnings
Warrior Angel was born Lon-Gino from a planet called Altrizar in a distant other dimension.  With their galaxy facing inevitable apocalypse, Lon-Gino’s father, the brilliant technician Harth-Yon, developed a transport for altering his race’s genetic code for entering other dimensions and sent his son to the planet Earth in the final moments of their own dimension. Lon-Gino was 12 years old when Jeffery and Molly Dash found him wandering the streets of small town Coseyton, Ohio.  The older couple took the boy in and raised him as their own, naming him Thomas Dash. Thomas grew up more privileged than most in life and was want for nothing, not only due to the shear generosity of his adopted parents but also the amazing gifts he possessed as a result of the environment of his home world. Thomas gifts were only matched by his knowledge of his new surroundings. Dash’s abilities on Earth gave him the power to fly faster and farther than the strongest bird, and have the strength of the gods.
However, everyone knows everyone else’s business in Coseyton, and keeping these gifts a secret to stay off the radar proved challenging over the years.
Thomas’ best friend, Rick Riley, lived next door to Dash since they were kids. In college, the two were roommates at Grand Central University. Rick had always known of Thomas’ abilities, but vowed to keep them a secret until the fateful day when Thomas inadvertently had Riley arrested and expelled from the university. After years of studying criminal justice, Thomas joined the Grand Central Police Department as a detective, vowing to always put a stop to evil wherever he could.  However, Dash knew that a man can only do so much, but a force would show the criminals of his fair city that crime led nowhere but behind bars.  With the help of his parents, Dash created the alter ego of Warrior Angel, a hero for the masses and an inspiration for the citizens of Grand Central.
In jail, it didn’t take long for Rick Riley to take notice of Warrior Angel’s acrobatics and connect the dots. Upon release from prison, Riley vowed to hurt Dash and those closest to him and adapted the persona of Devilicus to destroy his former best friend once and for all, not by exposing him, but by defeating him and all that he stood for.
Over the years of detective work, Dash had taken notice of the number one television journalist for Grand Central, Dana Dane.  Dash and Dane had always had an on again/off again relationship for many years before Thomas finally came clean with her on his heritage, his home, and his real mission. Dana vowed to always keep Thomas’ hero ideal a secret, no matter how big a story and break it would be for her. After years of dating, it was announced that a graphic novel would be devoted to the Warrior Angel Wedding. Thomas Dash and Dana Dane were set to marry on New Year’s Eve 1999. The evil Devilicus shot and killed Dana Dane on her way to the ceremony, and Thomas arrived too late to save her life. Dash vowed to defeat Devilicus at whatever cost, not knowing his enemies real identity.  Warrior Angel retreated to his Isolation Bubble deep in space to find solace and solitude for several months while he grieved over the loss of his bride before returning to Earth to fight the evil forces that gathered against him.

Media Frenzy
Over the years, the character of Warrior Angel could be seen everywhere: from pillowcases to figurines, the face and crest of heavenly crusader was a common sight in any teenage boy’s possession.  After the initial Fantasy Comics run of the character, which had already caught up with a grown Thomas Dash and his alter ego, the hero was re-tooled a bit for a younger reading audience in the early 1950’s, and told the story of Halo Kid, a high school age Dash who fought for the same beliefs on a much smaller scale in his hometown of Coseyton.  This publication paved the way for multiple stories of the hero over the years, leading to a successful weekly radio program in 1954 that later was adapted into a television series entitled “The Warrior Angel Escapades” and starred Benjamin Murphy in the title role of Grand Central’s number one protector. However, the show had to be adapted for the primetime viewing audience, and certain changes were made for the American family’s viewing pleasure.  The main villain Devilicus was renamed The Mole, and the series featured the characters of Dash and Riley as detective partners for the police department, both seeking the attention of the lovely journalist, Dana Dane. The show ended after only two seasons, but the character of Warrior Angel lived on in the weekly comic strips and homemade costumes of every young fan.
In the late 1970’s several animated incarnations of Warrior Angel were developed, including a few team-up shows with him and other superheroes that called themselves, the GrandGuys. Each week they would battle an array of villains known only as The Elite, who were led by Devilicus. The Elite wanted only to rule the Guardian Realm, which was an orb of power from the transport that brought Warrior Angel to Earth’s dimension as a child. Whoever controls the Guardian Realm has the ability to travel to any dimension, and rule them all. Devilicus tried several times to convince Warrior Angel to rule the Guardian Realm with him, but the hero always prevailed.

Larger Than Life
In 1989, the first ever feature film was released, showing the genesis story of the hero, from his birth on Altrizar to his arrival of Warrior Angel. The film, starring Tracey Graham as the iconic hero, was a box office success, and spawned 3 sequels over the next 6 years that further expanded the story and fanbase for a whole new generation of Warrior Angel fans. Currently, the first feature film in over 15 years is being shot in rural Smallville, Kansas with famous actress Rachel Davenport starring as Dana Dane and unknown actor Lake Colburn suiting up in the cape as Thomas Dash/Warrior Angel. This new incarnation of the character will take a turn from the regular story, and will instead have Warrior Angel save Dana’s life at the hands of Devilicus instead of watching her die. This turn of events gained media attention and fan criticism in the past few months, when devoted Warrior Angel followers were soured by the story’s alteration and an employee on the set of the film almost had Rachel Davenport killed to prove his point. A local Smallville hero saved Ms. Davenport from the murder attempt, and the film is set to be released next year.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 16th, 2010 at 12:21 pm and is filed under News. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.