Shield (Archie Comics)
| The Shield | |||||||||||||||||||
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Pep Comics #1 (January 1940) by Irv Novick. | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Publisher | MLJ/Archie | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Team affiliations | Mighty Crusaders | ||||||||||||||||||
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The Shield is the name of several superheroes created by MLJ (now known as Archie Comics). Appearing months before Captain America, the Shield has the distinction of being the first superhero with a costume based upon United States patriotic iconography. The character appeared in Pep Comics from issue #1 (January 1940) to #65 (January 1948).
The name was used by MLJ/Archie for four characters. DC Comics' Impact line, which licensed the Archie properties, also used the name for several characters. In 2010, DC announced plans to integrate the Shield and other MLJ characters into the DC Universe, but the rights to the characters reverted to Archie Comics in 2011. A fourth Shield was introduced in October 2015.