Line #28 ComicBook/UnknownSoldier


1	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Unknown_Soldier_1997_4_cover_3321.jpg]]
2	->"''One guy can affect the outcome of a whole war! One guy in the right place... at the right time...''"
3	-->-- '''Harry, brother of the Unknown Soldier'''
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5	The Unknown Soldier is a Creator/DCComics war hero created by Creator/RobertKanigher and Creator/JoeKubert and borrows the name from the various [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomb_of_the_Unknown_Soldier Tombs of the Unknown Soldier]] in the world. Originally a UsefulNotes/WorldWarII hero, the character debuted in ''Our Army at War'' #168 (June, 1966), featuring ComicBook/SgtRock. Figuring the character to be interesting enough, DC featured him in ''Star Spangled War Stories'' starting from issue #151 (June-July, 1970). Once the character had begun featuring exclusively in the comic, it was later renamed to ''Unknown Soldier'' and continued for 64 more issues, ending in October, 1982. The character has also made appearances in more modern Franchise/DCUniverse titles.
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7	Since then, there have been a few more limited series and minis, including one in 1988 by Jim Owsley (aka [[Creator/ChristopherPriestComics Christopher Priest]]) and Phil Gascoine, which was popular with fans, though the characterization differed and may not actually be about the same character who fought in WWII. In 1997, a mini written by Creator/GarthEnnis and illustrated by Kilian Plunkett was released and portrayed a DarkerAndEdgier version of the character. It was released by Creator/VertigoComics and focused on a CIA agent trying to uncover the details about the Unknown Soldier.
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9	In 2008, another series titled ''Unknown Soldier'' was released by Vertigo Comics. It features another character taking up the mantle of the Unknown Soldier. It was written by Joshua Dysart, with Alberto Ponticelli as artist. It was nominated for an Eisner Award in 2009 for Best New Series. Unlike his predecessor, the character has a known real name, Dr. Moses Lwanga. The series features a hero from Uganda who moved to the States with his family when he was young, before eventually returning to help the people of his land.
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11	In 2012, ''G.I. Combat'' vol 3 introduced the ComicBook/New52 version of the Unknown Soldier in a back up strip written by Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray with art by Dan Panosian. This version is initially introduced as an anonymous US soldier in present-day Afghanistan, before revealing that there are Unknown Soldiers dating back to Ancient Rome. Following the cancellation of ''G.I. Combat'', the Soldier joined the ComicBook/SuicideSquad.
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13	Not to be confused with the Finnish war novel ''Literature/TheUnknownSoldier'' or the films based on it.
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15	----
16	!! ''Unknown Soldier'' provides examples of:
17	* BadassNormal: Most incarnations of the character has nothing supernatural about him.
18	* BandagedFace: All incarnations.
19	* ButNotTooForeign: Dr. Moses Lwanga. He was born in Uganda but moved to the U.S. with his parents at a young age and attended Harvard. When speaking, he sounds fully American.
20	* CaptainPatriotic: In the original comics, at least.
21	* ChildSoldiers: The second Unknown Soldier has to constantly fight (and kill) child soldiers under the control of the Lord's Resistance Army.
22	* DarkerAndEdgier: Both the series that followed the original were this. The original itself was a lot darker than other WWII heroes such as Sgt. Rock.
23	* DownerEnding: [[spoiler: Dysart's Vertigo series. Lwanga is killed by the Lord's Resistance Army, Joseph Kony continues his reign of terror and Uganda remains an unstable nation.]]
24	* DyingDream: [[spoiler: Lwanga has one after infiltrating Joseph Kony's camp and getting shot by a child soldier. In it, he survives getting shot at point blank range, charges into Kony's tent and brutally kills him. The Lord's Resistance Army all drop their weapons and Sera, Lwanga's wife, appears out of nowhere to tell him that his actions have bettered the world.]]
25	* FictionalizedDeathAccount: In #268, the Soldier infiltrates Adolf Hitler's bunker, killing him and assuming the dictator's identity to call off the deployment of a secret weapon. He then makes Hitler's death look like a suicide so people will assume Hitler took the coward's way out.
26	* FlashbackNightmare: Lwanga constantly has nightmares about his killing.
27	* FromNobodyToNightmare: Dr. Moses Lwanga. Introduced as a highly educated doctor and humanitarian but winds up waging a one-man war on the Lord's Resistance Army.
28	* {{Immortality}}: The 1988 series featured an Unknown Soldier who was pretty much immortal, which is one of the reasons it's generally not considered canon.
29	* HopeSpot: Something of a minor one, but in Dysart's Vertigo series, the very last image is of a child soldier wrapping his face in bandages like the Unknown Soldier. Said child soldier is actually preparing to fight against the Lord's Resistance Army despite being outgunned. This scene may seem tragic, but it also serves as a reminder that there are people in war-torn nations fighting for ''positive'' change.
30	* TheInfiltration: Where the whole MasterOfDisguise thing comes into play
31	* LatexPerfection: He uses latex masks to assume identities, but using them for too long causes his face to itch.
32	* MasterOfDisguise: The original used to use latex masks to assume the identity of other men.
33	* MoralMyopia: In the 1997 miniseries, the Unknown Soldier presents an array of atrocities as both moral and necessary, likening anyone who opposes American interests as being akin to Nazi death camp officers. The Unknown Soldier seems aware on some level of his own blatant hypocrisy, although that may only be because of the revelation of [[spoiler: America cutting a deal with the Nazis to save Hitler's life]]. He refuses to give an inch, but eventually becomes consumed by extreme self-loathing.
34	** Joshua Dysart's take on the original Unknown Soldier [[spoiler: subverts this, following a near death experience, as he takes his weaponized successor and offers him the choice to turn him into a peacemaker rather than a godlike killer]].
35	* NightmareFace: Under all those bandages is one horribly disfigured mug.
36	* OldSoldier: Garth Ennis's miniseries depicts the Unknown Soldier as a UsefulNotes/WW2 veteran who continued fighting for his country in military conflicts right up to then-present day of 1997.
37	* PinPullingTeeth: The Unknown Soldier pulls the pin from a grenade with his teeth in a hallucination/flashback to Vietnam in ''G.I. Combat'' #0.
38	* SecretIdentity: The Unknown Soldier presents a unique example of this trope since his identity is a mystery to not only the characters in universe, but to us, the readers, as well.
39	* TragicDream: Lwanga's desire to hunt down and kill Joseph Kony, leader of the Lord's Resistance Army. While it seems feasible given Lwanga's extensive combat skills, [[spoiler: he is gunned down by a child soldier when trying to infiltrate his camp]].

Context ComicBook / UnknownSoldier