Superhero of the day: the two issue triumph of Blue Diamond

Everyone believes that the roots of Marvel comics is in 1963 with the coming of the Silver Age, Stan Lee and the mighty Mavel Bullpen.  Before there was Marvel and Stan, there was Timely and Jack and Joe, and a billion overworked and uncredited writers and artists who were doing their best to introduce  nazi busting heroes into the hearts and minds of red blooded American boys.

Admittedly, the Justice Society of America dominated the Golden Age and kept America safe from Hitlerian shenanigans, Most of those characters have been burned into the Collective Pop Culture Conciousness.

But the company that would become Marvel was not to leave the Nazi threat untormented.  Everybody knows the Histories of Captain America, the Sub-Máriner, and the Original Human Torch. But that is only three vs. dozens of characters at the distinguished competition.

Often forgotten from those war years are " the one issue army", a group,of characters that had limited appearances, perhaps only one issue.  These characters return decade after decade only to disappear back into obscurity.  You should remember the term " one issue army". I will refer to it in future entries.

Today we'd like to salute a character that appeared for two issues, and keeps coming back to remind us that Marvel kicked Nazi butt too.

Blue Diamond (comics)

Publication history

The Blue Diamond first appeared in Daring Mystery Comics#7 (April 1941), published by Marvel's 1940s predecessor, Timely Comics, during the period fans and historians call the Golden Age of Comic Books. During that time, he appeared only in that issue and its subsequent, final issue, #8 (January 1942). He was drawn and possibly written by writer-artist Ben Thompson.

The majority of the character's World War II adventures appear in a flashback story in Marvel Premiere #29-30 (April, June 1976), Marvel's flashback series The Invaders #6 (May 1976), #35-38 (December 1978-March 1979), and #41 (September 1979), and in later series in New Invaders #2 (November 2004) #9 (June 2005), and Citizen V and V Battalion: The Everlasting #1 (March 2002), along with an appearance with the WWII superhero team the Liberty Legion in Marvel Two-in-One #20 (Oct. 1976) and Marvel Two-In-One Annual #1 (1976). He also appears in flashbacks as a member of the Crazy Sues in All-Winners Squad: Band of Heroes (2011).

The Blue Diamond made an appearance in modern-day continuity, in Marvel Two-In-One #79 (Sept. 1981).

Fictional character biography

Elton T. Morrow is an archaeologist who finds a mysterious blue diamond on an expedition to Antarctica. The diamond is a piece of the Lifestone Tree, which powers the alien Chosen Eight of Fate. A German sub attacks Morrow's ship on the way home and Morrow is the only survivor. An explosion shattered the diamond during the battle, forcing innumerable tiny diamond particles into Morrow's body. After he is rescued by a British ship, he finds that the shards of the diamond gave him diamond-hard skin, giving him superhuman strength and nigh-invulnerability. Dubbing himself the Blue Diamond, he battles Nazi spies during World War II as part of the Crazy Sues.^[1]

After spending years in retirement, the Blue Diamond returns to assist the Fantastic Four's Thing against Shanga, a crystal based alien. Shanga falls in love with Blue Diamond, and turns him into a living humanoid diamond creature as her consort.^[2] Morrow returns to Earth to join the new Invaders.^[3]

Powers and abilities

The strange blue diamond particles embedded in Blue Diamond's body have made his skin as strong as a diamond, giving him superhuman strength and nigh-invulnerability. After his body was altered by Shanga, Blue Diamond gains the power of flight and the ability to survive in the vacuum of space. The alterations to his body also reversed the effects of aging.