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CAPTAIN CANUCKFIRST SERIES, 1975-1981 Appearances:
Captain Canuck Nos. 1–14 (Comely Comix, CKR Productions, 1975–April 1981); Captain Canuck: First Summer Special (CKR Productions, July–Sept. 1980); short-lived newspaper strip (Winnipeg Tribune, ca. 1980). Writers:
Richard Comely – Captain Canuck Nos. 1-12, No. 13 (co-author of plot); Summer Special. George Freeman – Captain Canuck Nos. 8, 10, 12, 13 (co-author of plots); Captain Canuck No. 14; Summer Special. Jean-Claude St-Aubin – Summer Special (co–author). Peter Dawes – Summer Special. Artists:
Richard Comely – Captain Canuck Nos. 1–2, 3 (pencils), 5, 6 (pencils). George Freeman – Nos. 3 (co-inker), 4, 6 (inks), 7-10, 11 (pencils & co-inker), 12–14, Summer Special. Jean-Claude St-Aubin – No. 3 (co-inker), No. 11 (co-inker), Summer Special; also major colourist: Nos. 3–4, 9–14; Summer Special. Peter Dawes – Summer Special (layouts). Verne Andrusiek – Summer Special (inks and portfolio page). Gene Day – Summer Special (portfolio page). Tom Grummett – Summer Special (portfolio page). Dave Sim – Summer Special (portfolio page). Background:
Ron Leishman, an artist who belonged to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons), began thinking about developing a Canadian superhero in 1971. About a year later, in the spring of 1972, he discussed his concept with a fellow church member, Richard Comely. For the next two years or so, Leishman and Comely played with the character until Leishman left Winnipeg on church business in 1974. Meanwhile, Comely developed the character further and decided to launch a comic book featuring "Canada's Superhero" in 1975. Origin:
While camping with a group of Boy Scouts, Canadian International Security Organization (CISO) officer Tom Evans awakes in the middle of the night and finds that the boys are missing. Evans discovers that the kids are being controlled by a group of aliens. Evans himself is seized by the aliens and exposed to Zeta rays. Neither Evans nor the boys are left with any memory of their close encounter, other than, in the case of Evans, a nagging dream-like recollection. However, the boys are actually still in the aliens' control, while Evan's exposure to Zeta rays has left him with twice his normal strength and speed. CISO decides to transform Evans into both a symbol of CISO power and authority and a showpiece for Canada by providing him with a costume and the code name Captain Canuck. Other Identity:
Tom Evans Costume: Red-and-white tights with white cowl, gloves, and boots. Maple leaf emblazoned on front of cowl and belt buckle (slight changes to costume in Captain Canuck No. 6). Powers:
Super-strength, super-speed Residence/Locale:
Canada (past, present and future)
Associates:
CISO super-agents Redcoat and Kébec, General Sunn, Earth Patrol's Lord West and Stardance Summary of Major Adventures/Enemies:
[The summary does not cover adventures that only appeared in the "Captain Canuck" newspaper strip.] 1. COMMUNISTS/MARSHALL REZERO/PROF. WALKER (Captain Canuck Nos. 1-2) This story is set in 1993, when Canada, because of its natural resources, has become a superpower! CISO super-agents Captain Canuck and Blue Fox are dispatched to respond to a nuclear attack by invading Communist aircraft on an Alert base in Northern Canada. Canuck and Blue Fox fly to a site near the invasion force and then continue their journey on snowmobile. After his snowmobile crashes, Canuck is saved from a polar bear by the Inuit Utak. Blue Fox and Canuck then succeed in entering an occupied Alert base, where the invasion force is located. Once inside, Blue Fox turns out to be a traitor and Canuck is captured. Canuck manages to grab a gun, but Blue Fox moves to press a nuclear launch button. Although Canuck wounds Blue Fox, the traitor still succeeds in initiating a nuclear attack. As Canuck rushes to stop the missiles, the Communist leader (a Lenin look-alike) prepares to shoot him, but before Canuck is hit, Utak kills the Communist villain. Canuck manages to short the missile power system and the attack is averted. CISO forces capture the invaders. Gen. Sunn, the head of CISO, sends super-agent Kébec to Montreal to track down the agents of the Communist conspiracy headed by Marshall Rezero. Meanwhile, Canuck and Redcoat, a new super-agent recently recruited from the RCMP, fly west to Alberta, where, as CISO has learned, Blue Fox is about to escape from prison. Canuck and Redcoat allow Blue Fox to lead them to the Communist headquarters in Montreal, where Rezero is working with the scientist Prof. Walker in perfecting a mind-control machine. However, when CISO attacks the Communist conspirators, Walker's machine malfunctions and transforms the scientist's mind into that of a child (ouch!).
2. ROSECHUK/MR. GOLD/SAMOTA (Captain Canuck Nos. 3-7) Canuck is seriously injured in an explosion when the enemy agent Rosechuk, an MP, escapes from CISO by blasting out of a skyscraper in a nuclear-powered jet. Canuck is taken to a Sudbury hospital to recuperate. As Canuck recovers, two different groups of criminals seek to kidnap him by entering the hospital in disguise. Canuck manages to fight off the attackers, but is eventually kidnapped, together with a nurse, by a team of criminals disguised as CISO agents who trick him into leaving the hospital in an ambulance. As the ambulance speeds along, Canuck assaults his kidnappers, causing a car crash from which he and his nurse escape. Not long after, though, Canuck is recaptured and taken to the arch-criminal Mr. Gold. Meanwhile, Kébec and Redcoat are on the trail of the kidnappers; however, before Canuck can be rescued, the bad guys escape in a rocketship. Canuck wakes up in a prison cell and quickly manages to escape. He soon discovers that he is in South America, in a lost Incan city, where Gold is running a weapons factory. Canuck then rescues his nurse from Rosechuk and steals a hover sled, tying Rosechuk to the controls to create a diversion that will enable Canuck to attack the factory. Canuck is pursued, but he still succeeds in destroying the factory and escaping from the city on a hover jet with the nurse! After his adventure in South America, Canuck meets with Gen. Sunn in a space station, where he is informed that Lord West, the founder of Earth Patrol, and Stardance, Earth Patrol's best operative, have been captured by Neo-Nazis in West Germany. Canuck leads a CISO rescue force. CISO planes are hit by Nazi laser cannons under the command of the new Führer (who is actually Mr. Gold in disguise). Canuck continues the attack on the ground, but the Nazi leaders escape in Canuck's hover jet, taking Lord West with them. Canuck follows Gold and his prisoner to the Incan city, while Kébec and Stardance pursue the drug trafficker Samota (Redcoat is working undercover on the same case). As Kébec and Stardance close in on Samota, Canuck finds Gold's city. Canuck is attacked by Gold's men and is eventually captured by Gold. Gold explains that he is planning to take over Canada under the guise of launching a Western separatist civil war. Gold offers to avert war, if Canuck will lend his prestige to a new political party supported by Gold. Canuck prays to God for help and escapes. Meanwhile, the Incas revolt, and in the confusion Canuck defeats Gold and rescues West. Following his victory over Gold, Canuck joins Kébec and Stardance in their efforts to destroy the drug baron Samota. Samota, however, manages to escape in a submarine and takes Redcoat with him. Defying Gen. Sunn, Canuck goes underground to rescue Redcoat. Canuck pursues Samota to a Halifax warehouse, where Redcoat is being held captive. Canuck boldly enters the warehouse and pretends to be a member of Redcoat's gang. Not long after, Kébec and Stardance arrive and maintain the pretence. Convinced that the CISO agents are fellow criminals, Samota leads them and the other members of his gang to Labrador, where he has arranged to rendezvous with other criminals in order to deliver huge quantities of drugs. A fight breaks out and Samota tries to flee in his submarine, but Canuck captures him and his gang.
3. ALBERTA/SPACE STATION/ART & GANG (Captain Canuck Nos. 8-9) Tom Evans is on vacation, visiting his brother, Mike, and his new sister-in-law, Saskia, at their recently acquired ranch in the Rockies. Canuck's vacation is interrupted by Gen. Sunn, who orders him to investigate evidence of sabotage activities on a Canadian space station. Canuck arrives at the station and investigates the mysterious accidents that have occurred. Canuck rescues a worker and then reviews videotapes from monitoring cameras for footage relating to the various accidents. Canuck finds that tapes relating to one particular area are missing, so he decides to comb that part of the ship. Canuck finds a bomb, but is attacked by two workers before he can defuse it. The bomb damages the station and sends it plummeting to Earth. Everyone but Canuck flees the station. Just before the station crashes, Canuck is able to escape in a small jet. Unbelievably, the station has crashed on the property of his brother's ranch! It turns out that Art, Mike Evan's handyman, is part of a gang which has been working to bring the satellite down in order to steal precious metals. As Mike investigates the crash, Saskia is kidnapped. Then Mike is attacked. Canuck rescues Saskia and escapes from the gang with her and Mike. As the gang hunts for the two Evans brothers and Saskia, Art meets them in the woods and tries to trick them. Canuck realizes that Art is part of the gang, however. Eventually, Art is killed, and his gang is defeated by Canuck.
4. LEONA/MASQUERADE (Captain Canuck No. 10) During the Winnipeg masquerade (Mardi Gras) Canuck comes to the aid of a beautiful woman named Leona, who is being pursued by a gang of costumed killers. As Canuck, Leona, and Fred, a cab driver, are pursued through an empty office building and warehouse, Canuck strips away Leona's masks and ever-changing roles, eventually discovering that she is actually a member of the gang, and that she has betrayed the other gang members. In fact, she is trying to flee with a new gun, the Jordan prototype, which is worth millions. Leona tries to kill Canuck, but she is tripped by Fred. Canuck breaks her fall and arrests her, informing her that "the masquerade is over." 5. COUNTERFEITERS (Captain Canuck: First Summer Special No. 1) Canuck is in Ottawa investigating thefts from top-security federal buildings. In a car chase, Canuck pursues a thief who has stolen the plates for the new Canadian $10 and $20 bills! The thief hits a child with his car. To avoid killing the child, Canuck slams his car into a pole. As Canuck takes the injured girl to the hospital, Kébec tracks the thief to the airport. Confronted at the airport, the thief takes a hostage, but is eventually knocked out by Canuck. 6. NU-EUNOCH & WALKER (Captain Canuck: First Summer Special No. 1) Canuck learns that the scientist Walker has linked up with Nu-Eunoch, a leader of a mysterious cult which is located on a commune in Northern Ontario. Sunn sends Canuck to investigate the commune after a transmission from Marcel, a CISO agent investigating Nu-Eunoch, is mysteriously interrupted. When he arrives in Northern Ontario, Canuck meets Heather, the nurse who shared his adventures in South America. It turns out that she is trying to find her husband Lowell, a cult member. Canuck then investigates a sighting of monsters in the vicinity of the commune. Heather follows him and is abducted by the monsters, notably her now-deformed husband. Canuck fights the monsters, but is knocked out. At the commune, Canuck discovers that Walker and Nu-Eunoch are using plutonium waste and Walker's newest invention, the Transmutator, for a baptism process that creates monsters! As Canuck tries to rescue Heather, Lowell tries to have her "baptized." Former CISO agent Marcel, now a monster, helps Canuck and then sacrifices himself to destroy the transmutator.
7. NYRO-KA & OTHER ALIENS (Captain Canuck Nos. 11-14) As he investigates thefts of top-priority computer data in Quebec City, Canuck finally remembers his encounter with aliens and comes to realize that all the parents of the boys involved in the incident now work in the computer field. Furthermore, Canuck discovers that the boys are still controlled by the aliens and are being used to steal sensitive data telepathically. The aliens, who have been monitoring Canuck, see that he has become a threat, and dispatch a robot to kill him. As Canuck fights the robot, one of his former Scouts, the boy Michel, grabs an axe and tries to kill Canuck. Canuck seizes the axe and uses it to destroy the robot. As Canuck races to inform CISO about his discovery, the aliens order all controlled subjects in the city to destroy Canuck. Canuck realizes the danger he is in and requests air support from CISO. Just before the army of zombies tears Canuck apart, Kébec rescues Canuck and uses gas to subdue the zombies. Later, at CISO H.Q., Canuck announces his discovery, using the remains of the alien robot as proof. Not long after, as Canuck unwinds in Vancouver, Rhodes, a CISO agent controlled by the aliens, succeeds in blowing up the alien robot to thwart Earth's attempts to understand the aliens.
As the nations of the Earth are united in the face of the alien threat, the aliens themselves prepare to leave the Earth, realizing that Canuck has disrupted their plans for controlling the planet's destiny. Canuck decides to try and contact the aliens, entering a secret alien base in New Brunswick, the location of which was extracted from Rhodes by Stardance. In the base, Canuck encounters, and tries to reason with, the alien Nyro-Ka. Nyro-Ka tries to kill Canuck and they both fall into a portal as robots destroy the base. It turns out that the portal is actually a time machine, and while the planet Earth mourns the apparent death of Canuck, he and Nyro-Ka re-emerge in the year 1040, just as the Vikings are in the process of trying to conquer the Mi'kmaq ["Micmacs" in comic – Ed.]. Canuck, who is part Native, leads the Mi'kmaq in battle against the Vikings! As the Earth forces of 1995 prepare to attack the departing aliens, Canuck (using an alien translation device) helps the Mi'kmaq to prepare as trap for the Viking invaders. Both the aliens and the Vikings are defeated by seemingly inferior forces. Following the defeat of the Vikings, Nyro-Ka and then Canuck return to 1995. Canuck re-emerges, not in New Brunswick, but rather aboard the alien mother ship, which is in the process of being captured by Earth Patrol forces. Canuck discovers that the fleeing aliens have left behind a self-destruct mechanism to destroy the ship. The alien commander, who is preparing to die with his ship, allows Canuck to warn the Earth Patrol forces. As the Earth Patrol forces escape from the ship, Canuck leaps at the last moment into the time field. When he re-emerges, however, he is no longer in 1995. Canuck, unsure of his location in either time or space, wanders through a wilderness looking for signs of habitation. Eventually, he stumbles into a town that has been evacuated because of forest fires and discovers that he's in 1980. Canuck is then drafted to fight the fire. While battling the fire, Canuck finds a dead parachutist who is carrying a platinum Aztec doll. That night, two men steal the doll and try to kill Canuck, throwing him into a river. Canuck survives the attack and returns to the evacuated town in pursuit of his would-be killers. Together with another firefighter, Sally, who turns out to be a cop, Canuck defeats the gang that is trying to steal the doll. |
 
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