Agent Liberty #1 (1992)
Agent Liberty #1 (1992)
The secret origin of Agent Liberty! If you were wondering! This one-shot special explains that Liberty was once CIA operative Benjamin Lockwood, who was sent on a secret mission to Iran during the US embassy hostage crisis (or a US embassy hostage crisis, since they don't specify the year). He's the one with the Macklemore haircut and the Viewmaster:
Lockwood and his buddy Paul were supposed to help rescue the hostages, but then the whole mission went wrong and the government just dumped them in Iran. Poor Paul was grabbed by a mob of angry Iranians, so Lockwood had to survive on his own for months before he managed to get back to the US. Somewhat disenchanted with his government, Lockwood joined a shadowy paramilitary organization called the Sons of Liberty, who have the vague mission of "saving America." The Sons gave Lockwood a jetpack and a shiny suit, and now he's their private superhero.
In this issue Agent Liberty runs into another shadowy paramilitary organization that's breaking into the Pentagon to steal something. As it turns out, that something is evidence of the botched mission in Iran, and the leader of those other guys is… Sean Bean! I mean, Liberty's old pal Paul!
Paul reveals that he survived by giving up all of America's secrets (that he knew) to the Iranians, and now he works for them. Also, he has a nuclear bomb and is about to use it to blow up the White House. Liberty stops the evil plot at the last minute and apparently kills Paul, yet the Sons of Liberty are still unhappy with him for being too much of a loose cannon, and one of them implies that they might have to put Agent Liberty down in the future. More specifically, in upcoming Superman and Adventures issues. But until then, THE END!
Plotline-Watch:
I'm taking a short break from "Blackout" to cover this special, even though it came out a month after our current spot in the Superman chronology, because I too am a loose cannon. I'll put this post in its proper chronological place once we get there (and delete this clarification, so enjoy it while you can).
We already met the Sons of Liberty back in Superman #53, when they tried to kill the dictator of Qurac to prevent him from revealing that they've done business with him. You know, to save America! Hey, if Qurac is basically the DC Universe's version of Iraq, shouldn't Paul be working with "Nurac" or something in this issue?
Speaking of Paul, the last time we see him his own bullet had ricocheted off Agent Liberty's magnetic shield and hit him in the face (we know because he shouts "My face! My face!"), causing him to fall off a plane and into the sea… but we never see his body, which means that by comic book rules he's still alive. I get the impression that if Agent Liberty had ever gotten his own solo series, Cyborg Paul would have been the first surprise villain. Alas, that never happened.