Enemy Ace is the name of DC Comics property about the adventures of a skilled but troubled German flying ace in the World Wars, Hans von Hammer AKA The Hammer of Hell.
Enemy Ace', first appeared in Our Army At War February of 1965. It was a backup story that quickly gained popularity. As a WWI pilot flying for the Germans, his stories told the other side to the war. For once, the Germans weren't bloodthirsty villians. But quite the contrary, Hans von Hammer was a man of honor and chivalry, a flying knight in his Fokker Dr. I, but he was haunted by his duties and the constant death surrounding it.
Created by Robert Kanigher and Joe Kubert, the Enemy Ace was taken almost directly from the real-life Red Baron, Manfred von Richthofen. Both flew vermillion aircraft. Both were of aristocratic blood. But the comic book character was able to delve deep into the realm of fantasy where no history book could reach.
The character's stories have been praised as among DC's strongest war stories of the Silver age of comic books. He was revived for a few graphic novels. The first was War Idyll where Hammer is revealed to have lived until 1969 where he died peacefully upon concluding his interviews with a troubled Vietnam War veteran turned journalist.
A more recent work is War in Heaven that recount the pilot's activities during World War II where he is persuaded to fly again as a pilot of the Luftwaffe in defence of Germany even while he grows increasing disgusted with the Nazis around him. The breaking point was when he was forced to bail out of his plane in combat and he inadvertently parachuted into a death camp and was outraged at what his government was doing in perpetrating the Holocaust. Upon returning to his airbase, he led a mutiny and surrendered to Allied troops, namely Sgt. Rock's unit, at his first opportunity.
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