#ComicBytes: Do you know about the elite combat-group, Howling Commandos?
An illustrious group of fighters, Howling Commandos have appeared in the Marvel Universe in different forms and storylines to tackle evil. They have seen it all, from World War-II to supernatural beings. But the powerful auras of superheroes have overshadowed them from time to time, given the group's limited use in comics pop culture. So, who exactly are these elite fighters? Let's find out.
Cinematic representation is always a good starting point. Remember the team that fought alongside Steve Rogers in Captain America: The First Avenger to defeat Red Skull? Those were the Howling Commandos. While the rest of the team followed the acute comic book description, Nick Fury was replaced by Bucky Barnes for cinematic continuity. Now, why was Fury in the original group?
In the comics, the Howling Commandos were formed during World War II. It was a ranger squadron of the United States Army, led by Sergeant Nicholas Joseph Fury, with Captain Samuel Sawyer (Happy Sam), serving as its Commanding Officer. The team earned the name 'howling' during a mission in Italy when they commandeered a sound truck and let out a cry of 'Wah-HOOOOOOOO'.
Apart from Fury and Happy Sam, Corporal Timothy 'Dum-Dum' Dugan, British Special Operations Executive Percival 'Pinky' Pinkerton, Robert 'Rebel' Ralston, Dino Manelli, Gabriel Jones, Isadore 'Izzy' Cohen, and Eric Koenig formed the original team. After the war, Fury, Dugan, and some other former Howling Commandos became active in international intelligence and eventually came to work for S.H.I.E.L.D., with Fury as the Public Director.
In the Howling Commandos of S.H.I.E.L.D. series, to pay homage to the original team, a supernatural monster team was formed by the name of Howling Commandos, under the command of S.T.A.K.E. The team was led by the life model decoy of Dum Dum Dugan and had supernatural beings like Warwolf, Jasper Sitwell's zombie form, Vampire by Night, Man-Thing, Manphibian, Orrgo, Teen Abomination, and Hit-Monkey.
Apart from being functional in World War II and as a monster team, another team was formed in Nick Fury's Howling Commandos series where they worked as S.H.I.E.L.D.'s supernatural unit. Again, in Secret Warriors series, Fury, Dugan, Jones, and others come back together to fight against both HYDRA and H.A.M.M.E.R. Howling Commandos were reincarnated as a black ops unit, to apprehend the Punisher.
