Old Soldier

OLD SOLDIER

Real Name: Unrevealed

Class: Human magic-user?

Occupation: Soldier

Group Affiliation: formerly Honor Guard

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Mobile, Earth-Astro City

First Appearance: Kurt Busiek’s Astro City I (Image) #2 (September, 1995)

Powers: The Old Soldier was seemingly immortal. He was a master of warfare and skilled with firearms, explosives and swords.

History: (Kurt Busiek’s Astro City I (Image) #2 (fb, BTS)) - The Old Soldier seemingly came from nowhere when his presence was needed in times of war, popping up in 1863, 1898, 1918 and 1944. He became a figure of legend even though evidence of his adventures was scant and he never appeared in any photographs.

(Kurt Busiek’s Astro City I (Image) #2) - The occultist Karnus and his cult snuck into an Astro City subway tunnel and used the corpse of a shark to summon the otherworldly Shirak the Devourer. Shirak brought part of his dimension to the subway tunnel, planning on using it as a beachhead to wage war on Earth. He transformed the devoted Karnus and his cult into humanoid sharks he called Ravagers. The Honor Guard arrived to oppose them, but Shirak was capable of vomiting forth an endless stream of Ravagers, threatening to overwhelm them. The Old Soldier, who hadn’t been seen in years, appeared because he was needed. He instructed the Honor Guard to destroy Shirak’s alter, which kept him tethered to our dimension. Silver Agent destroyed it with his bare hands, banishing the entity and winning the day.

Comments: Created by Kurt Busiek, Alex Ross & Brent E. Anderson.

Old Soldier was originally published by Image Comics.

Old Soldier appearance in Kurt Busiek’s Astro City I (Image) #2 was reprinted in Kurt Busiek’s Astro City: Life in the Big City #2.