We're starting a Mutants and Masterminds game which takes place during WW2, and I was wondering (it may take place in Marvel continuity) were there any "Masked Marvels" before the war started?

Going with the moniker "Gentleman Archer" and I'm just trying to hash out a background. Any help would be great....... thanks!

Weren' the Invaders before WWII?

Ka-Zar comes from 1936. Namor in 1939. The android human torch is 1939. Their was an angel and a vision, both whom had nothing to do with the modern versions. These are all pre WWII. During there are lots

the fin
the challenger
blue diamond
the thunderer
captain daring
the defender
the black marvel
captain terror
captain wonder

just to name a few.

If they don't post on here, I'd suggest PMing Golden_Age and Kalel21 - this is right up their alley.

Well, before the funny book people came along, you also have non Marvel 'masked' avengers showing up on Radio, and at news stands (in what are refered to as pulp magazines).

The Shadow, The Lone Ranger, The Green Hornet, Blue Beetle, Dick Tracy, Green Lama (although I believe he may have come out during the war)

Various non 'costumed' do-gooders: John Carter, Flash Gordon (one of the earliest of all comic heros), Tarzan, Conan, Doc Samson, The Saint (Vincent Price voiced him on the radio before Moore portrayed him on TC), and so forth.

Captain America actually predates American involvement in the war as well (comming out in 1940). He was intended to help get America into the war.

where did you get this fact from? i know that the creators all had opinions against nazism and fascism, but was it actually started that Cap was created to push the us to join the war? Cap came out in march 1941, 9 months before the attack on pearl harbor, but marvel characters had been fighting the nazis for over a year before the us entered the war. from what i read they were jsut looking to have a character to fight hitler and they thought up Cap to fight and triumph over evil.

pre war characters- there was also the angel, the vision, phantom bullet, phantom reporter, ruby the robot, marvex-super robot, dyan man, stuporman, marvel boy, the blue blaze master mind excello, merzak the mystic, flexo the rubber man, the 3 xs, the black widow, the witness, father time, the destroyer, headline hunter,and more. most of the characters were like for one issue and sucked.

It's in one of the reprint alblums. Many comic characters were created, or generated at the time, to push America/American's towards a more active involvement against the Axis powers.

Cap was created as he could be the all American, very overtly symbolic, character to fight and take on the Axis goon squads.

okay, and which album was this? did they have direct quoutes from the creators or was it supposition? at the time of cap's debut there were the human torch and sub-marinier actively out and about in any sort of popular fashion. the throw away heroes, that were around for maybe a few issues sometimes, fought the nazis and other axis powers, but they didnt really stay around. even the whizzer who was created right after cap, didnt do alot with the war until after the us joined the fight. it just doesnt seem that any of the heroes were created before the war to push us into joining with the allied powers. the heroes that came after as a response to the US joining the war is another story.
since namor and the torch were fighting the axis over a year before we entered the war, we can know that the creators had strong opinions about US invovlment and even if the country wasnt getting involved they could send our heroes over there. i just dont think cap was a piece of propagana. or at least didnt start out that way. i think they just had him at the right time and he got lucky. we needed him and there he was.