The BLACKHAWK strip started in MILITARY COMICS (which changed to MODERN COMICS after the war), and UNCLE SAM became BLACKHAWK with the ninth issue (so there's no use looking for the first eight issues of BLACKHAWK, eh?). It was mostly a serious, downbeat, even pessismistic strip. Blackhawk himself was a former Polish pilot who organized a squad of volunteers from countries which had been overrun by the Nazi war machine. There was Hendrickson (Dutch), Stanislaus (a fellow Pole), Andre (French)and Olaf from Sweden. Chuck was an American, I don't know what he was doing there unless he just wanted to fight the Nazis and couldn't serve in US forces for some reason. Then there was Chop-Chop from China. He was the comic relief you saw with other Golden Age characters like Doiby Dickles, Woozy Winks, Ebony and Etta Candy and as such he was grotesque. The fact that he was Chinese makes his gruesome depiction racist, but he fits right in with the white sidekicks.

Anyway, the Blackhawk team fought Nazis and Japanese forces until the war ended. Then they switched to fighting Communism, and the stories hardly changed. Except for swastikas, the enemy wore red stars. Then as the Silver Age started, Blackhawk went from the defunct Quality group to be published by DC, which meant aliens, giant monsters, bizarre transformations over and over. By 1967, BLACKHAWK had cancellation hovering overhead and a last-ditch effort turned the grizzled veterans into garish costumed super-heroes.

Blackhawk himself remained Blackhawk, which made sense as he had always been a no-nonsense, single-minded slave driver from the first strip. Chuck became a communication expert called the Listener, and wore a jumpsuit decorated with little pink ears all over it. Yes. I couldn't make this stuff up. Olaf became the Leaper in a super-bouncy rubber suit that looked like the Michelin Man. Hendrickson and Andre became the Weapons Master and M'Sieu Machine, or something like that, using gadgetry. Chop-Chop wore metal gloves and was now Dr Hands. These all seemed like super-hero identities cooked up by the editor and writer over a quick lunch.

The only "new" Blackhawk that was halfway decent was Stan, who stripped the armor off a dead villain and put it on. (Ick, if you ask me. I hope that's not where he got all his clothes.) The Golden Centurion was obviously an imitation of Iron Man. Flight, enhanced strength, armored protection. Instead of energy blasts, though, the Golden Centurion sprayed his foes with a stream of liquid gold that hardened on them. Where was he getting all this gold? How much did it cost? You'd think Blackhawk would say, "Hey, Stan, spray these lead bricks for me, okay pal?"

Anyway, this phase didn't last long. In their final couple of issues, the team had their costumes and weaponry destroyed by a sneak attack. They went back to the dark blue military uniforms and fighting skills that had served them well for decades. The Blackhawks have been revived any number of times since then, sometimes in well-done stories and sometimes in trashy sleaze. But those issues of MILITARY COMICS and BLACKHAWK still exist, safely beyond the reach of meddling and revisionism.