323 – All-Winners Squad

A panel from All-Winners Comics #19, July 1946
A panel from All-Winners Comics #19, July 1946

Maybe the reason that Batman had sloppy writing is that Bill Finger was moonlighting for Timely (Marvel) Comics in 1946? Timely introduces their first real superhero team, the All-Winners Squad, in All-Winners Comics #19 (July 1946). The team includes Captain America, Bucky, Miss America, Human Torch, Toro, Namor, and The Whizzer.

It’s an interesting mix because every character except for Bucky Barnes is super-powered. It’s also interesting to see that not all heroes willingly work as a team and there is some classic Marvel hero in-fighting because Namor is suspected of working with the big bad of the issue. Namor keeps his characterization as a hot-head and storms out, only to have Toro follow him. Like the Justice Society stories of the time, each hero mostly works independently in a mini-story, but it’s nice to see this proto-Avengers team!