Consume All Media! Blackhawk: "Chapter One: Distress Call From Space!"
Joe Heath is a big fan of comic books and watching things in order. So they made this spreadsheet containing every serial, short, film, television episode, commercial, motion comic, and web series based on a comic book. Now they're watching them all. Previously, Joe watched the first feature-length Superman film. This time, they watch the last ever comic book serial.
Blackhawk (also known as The Miraculous Blackhawk: Freedom's Champion or Blackhawk: Fearless Champion of Freedom)
Film Info
Release date: July 1st, 1952
Studio: Columbia Pictures
Written by George H. Plympton, Royal K. Cole, & Sherman L. Lowe
Based on the Quality Comics (later bought out by DC Comics) character created by Chuck Cuidera, Bob Powell, & Will Eisner
Produced by Sam Katzman
Directed by Spencer Bennet & Fred F. Sears
Writer Highlights
George H. Plympton (1889-1972)
Other comic book media credits: Hop Harrigan (1946), The Vigilante (1947), Superman (1948), Congo Bill (1948), Batman & Robin (1949), & Atom Man vs. Superman (1951)
Royal K. Cole (1907-1993)
Other comic book media credits: Captain America (1944), Superman (1948), Batman & Robin (1949), & the 1954 episode of Adventures of Superman: “Beware the Wrecker”
Creator Highlights
Chuck Cuidera (1915-2001)
Other comic book credits: Artist for Blue Beetle, Hawkman, & The Brave and the Bold. Bob Powell (1916-1967)
Other credits: Artist for Sheena, Queen of the Jungle, Mr. Mystic, and Mars Attacks trading cards (which were later adapted into the 1996 Tim Burton film).
Will Eisner (1917-2005)
Other comic book credits: Created the incredibly popular The Spirit (later adapted into the 2008 Frank Miller film), released the graphic novel classic A Contract with God, & is the namesake for the highly respected Eisner Awards.
Producer Highlights
Sam Katzman (1901-1973)
Other comic book media credits: Hop Harrigan (1946), The Vigilante (1947), Superman (1948), Congo Bill (1948), Batman & Robin (1949), & Atom Man vs. Superman (1951)
Director Highlights
Spencer Bennet (1893-1987)
Other comic book media credits: Superman (1948), Congo Bill (1948), Batman & Robin (1949), & Atom Man vs. Superman (1951)
The Blackhawks are a team of pilots led by... well, a guy named Blackhawk. They first appeared in Military Comics #1 in August 1941 and have been fighting bad guys ever since.
In animation, they've popped up in the 2002 Justice League episode "The Savage Time," the 2005 Justice League Unlimited episode "I Am Legion," & the 2008 film Justice League: The New Frontier.
On the live-action side of things, in the 2013 Arrow episode "Trust But Verify" and the 2014 The Flash episode "Going Rogue," the Blackhawks were updated to a security company. In the 80s, it was rumored that Steven Spielberg was attached to direct a Blackhawks feature film with Dan Aykroyd set to star. In 2018 Spielberg was once again attached to a film adaptation of the World War II-era pilot (no word if Aykroyd was still in the picture), but neither adaptation took flight.
But before all of those adaptations, there was the 1952 serial Blackhawk. It would be the last comic book serial ever made. But would it be any good?
Let's dive in further to find out.
Blackhawk: “Chapter One: Distress Call From Space!” - 25:28 (Available on Dailymotion)
The narrator quickly informs us that there's a secret airbase with super secret planes that are flown by the Blackhawks, a group of pilots led by Blackhawk (Kirk Alyn).
Actor Highlights
Kirk Alyn (1910-1999)
Other comic book media credits: The titular hero in Superman (1948) & Atom Man vs. Superman (1951) and a non-titular cameo in Superman (1978).
Working with Blackhawk are the Blackhawks. That is as confusing as it sounds. The other Blackhawks have names, but with few exceptions are indistinguishable from each other. And even though they have names, they are usually just referred to as Blackhawks. These characters originated in the comics and include Chuck (John Crawford), Stanislaus AKA Stan (Rick Vallin), Hendrickson (Frank Ellis), Andre (Larry Stewart), and Olaf (Don Harvey).
Actor Highlights
John Crawford (1920-2010)
Other comic book media credits: A couple of episodes of Adventures of Superman & 1966's Batman, as well as an episode each of 1978's The Incredible Hulk & The Amazing Spider-Man.
Rick Vallin (1919-1977)
Other comic book media credits: Barry Brown in Batman & Robin (1949), a worker in Atom Man vs. Superman (1951), & multiple episodes of Adventures of Superman.
Frank Ellis (1897-1969)
Other comic book media credits: Sadlow in The Vigilante (1947), a security guard in Superman (1948), a policeman in Batman & Robin (1949), & a policeman in Atom Man vs. Superman (1951).
Larry Stewart (1930-1977)
Other comic book media credits: Director of multiple episodes of The Incredible Hulk & The Amazing Spider-Man.
Don Harvey (1911-1963)
Other comic book media credits: Nolan in Batman & Robin (1949) & Albor in Atom Man vs. Superman (1951).
After the briefest of introductions, the team immediately jumps into action when they get a distress call from another plane.
Blackhawk pilots his way above the other plane and throws down a rope ladder.
Blackhawk and the other pilot both climb into the upper plane, leaving the lower plane to crash.
The pilot has a letter for one of the Blackhawks, Stan. Once Stan has read the letter, he asks to go on leave and heads out with the pilot. The other Blackhawks find this suspicious, so they decide to follow him just in case.
Stan lands his plane and Blackhawk parachutes down nearby.
Stan meets up with a woman named Laska (Carol Forman).
Forman had previously played opposite Kirk Alyn as the villainous Spider-Lady in Superman and she returns to be his foe in Blackhawk. She is one of the few highlights of this serial, though it's not quite as meaty of a role as the Spider Lady.
Laska wants Stanislaus to ditch the Blackhawks and return to their homeland. He refuses. So they're going to replace him with his twin brother, Boris (also Rick Vallin).
Stan fights them and Blackhawk runs up and joins in. In the chaos, Laska gets away with Stan and Boris takes his place.
Back at the Blackhawk base, Boris says he's not feeling well and goes to bed. After everyone goes to sleep, he fires a weird telescope gun into the plane hangar.
The hangar catches on fire and the Blackhawks spring into action.
The Blackhawks get it under control and discuss how it was definitely sabotage. Before they can do much about it, they head out on another mission.
Laska and her men go to a helium gas works plant and attempt to bomb it. The Blackhawks arrive and stop them. However, Laska and most of the henchmen manage to get away and run to a cabin hideout.
Once there, Laska calls in and updates the Leader.
We've seen this setup of the faceless evil leader who doesn't get revealed until the final chapter in nearly every serial before this one. The eventual reveal in this serial is one of the weaker ones and not at all a solvable mystery. Nor is it one I was particularly interested in. But more on that in the final chapter.
Laska is warned of the Blackhawks impending arrival, so she and her men get out of dodge. The Blackhawks break into the cabin and free Stan. Knowing that the Stan back at the base is an evil twin imposter, they rush back to stop him.
Chef to the Blackhawks, Chop Chop (Weaver Levy) sees the evil twin Boris sneaking around and punching out a plane mechanic.
Chop Chop is the Chinese comic relief racist stereotype sidekick. Though his original role in the comic was much worse. I don't want to call attention to it, but you can see him on the cover of the comic in the introduction. The character was eventually refined over the decades and the rougher edges shaved off. Chop Chop was eventually rebooted as a new character named Weng Chan, a full-fledged member of the Blackhawks.
Chop Chop calls the Blackhawks and fills them in. But while he's doing this, Boris buries a bomb on the runway.
Should you watch it, though? There's some good ideas here, like the evil twin plotline and the plane rescue, but it feels very empty and lifeless. The characters are pretty interchangeable and aren't particularly interesting. Nothing about Kirk Alyn's Blackhawk sets him apart from the other Blackhawks, other than the logo on his chest and the fact that he kind of looks like Superman.
Tune in next time for Blackhawk: "Chapter Two: Blackhawk Traps a Traitor!" (Available on Dailymotion.)
A version of this article was previously published on The Dipp.
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