BLACK HOOD

PERSONAL DATA 

REAL NAME: Kip Burland 

OCCUPATION: Police Officer, private eye, adventurer 

IDENTITY: Public 

CLASS: Normal human 

LEGAL STATUS: Citizen of USA 

OTHER ALIASES: Da Hood 

PLACE OF BIRTH: Pelham, NY 

MARITAL STATUS: Married 

KNOWN RELATIVES: Barbara Sutton-Burland (wife) 

GROUP AFFILIATIONS: NYPD (former), Tyro Team (honorary member)

BASE OF OPERATIONS: NY City, USA 

FIRST APPEARANCE: Top-Notch Comics #9 (1940) 

HEIGHT: 6' 1" 

WEIGHT: 210 lbs 

EYES: Brown 

HAIR: Brown reddish 

HISTORY 

Kip Burland was a rookie NYPD officer who was charged with a crime he did not commit. Wanted by his own companions, Kip tried to clear his name by finding who had framed him, but they turned out to be a gang of corrupt cops who shot him and left him for dead. Burland was found by an elderly homeless man living in an abandoned subway tunnel (*). The old man took care of his injuries and, after hearing Kip's story, decided to help him get his life back. After months of hard training, Burland assumed the personality of Black Hood and caught the corrupt cops, managing to clear his name and being re-admitted to the police force. Kip had a girlfriend, Barbara Sutton, who worked as a reporter. Barbara became the super-heroine known as Thumbelina to help the Black Hood. For a time, Kip and Barbara shared adventures with the Tyro Team. Kip continued fighting crime as the Black Hood and as a cop until a criminal unmasked him. 

After losing his secret identity, Burland hung up the hood, left the police, married Barbara, and the two started a successful detective agency.

* It is highly likely that the subway old man was actually Don Wright, the Freedom Defender of the 1940s.

POWERS & WEAPONS 

The Black Hood was an exceptional fighter and rode a custom motorcycle. 

CAPTAIN FREEDOM & THE YOUNG DEFENDERS

PERSONAL DATA

REAL NAME: Don Wright
OCCUPATION: Newspaper publisher
IDENTITY: Secret
CLASS: Normal human 

LEGAL STATUS: Citizen of USA with no criminal records
OTHER ALIASES: Freedom Defender 
PLACE OF BIRTH: Harvey City 
MARITAL STATUS: Single  
KNOWN RELATIVES: NA 
GROUP AFFILIATIONS: Battle Squadron 
BASE OF OPERATIONS: Harvey City, USA
FIRST APPEARANCE: Speed Comics #13 (May 1941) 

HEIGHT: 6' 1" 
WEIGHT: 205 lbs 
EYES: Blue
HAIR: Blond 

HISTORY 

April, 1942. 

Don Wright was editor of the Daily Bulletin, in Harvey City. Don donned a disguise becoming the Freedom Defender to help the downtrodden and when World War II broke out, he focused on fighting Axis saboteurs. He was aided by the Young Defenders, four children named Lefty, Beanie White, Slim and Joanie (the latter being the couple in the group), who worked as newspaper boys for the Daily Bulletin. The foursome never realized that Don and Freedom Defender were one and the same. The gang persuaded Don that the Daily Bulletin could include a children's section, which they called "Cubs Copy". 

Don left the contents of it entirely in the hands of the kids. Lefty handled sports, Beanie did a crime column, Joanna focused on teen-oriented gossip, and they all worked together on a comic strip starring Freedom Defender. 

POWERS & WEAPONS 

Don was a good fighter, but he had no actual superpowers. 

Like many kid sidekicks, the Young Defenders originally relied on their strength and cunning to get the job done, but over the course of their adventures they learned ju-jitsu and detective skills.