Superhero Media: Ultimate Adventures - One Tin Soldier

Kind of a bit of background to this one, so hold tight for a minute. I've had a copy of Ultimate Adventures: One Tin Soldier in my collection for a good decade now, having bought it after enjoying a scanned copy that a friend handed me. When going through my 'spare' Heroclix, I found a Doctor Mid-Nite that I wasn't using and thought he'd make a cool Hawk-Owl with a little work, so I handed him over to a friend for some greenstuffing, along with the comic for reference. When I got the mini and book back, my friend told me that he had come across a list of the "Most Hated/Worst Comics of the 2000s" and that One Tin Soldier had been included. I was puzzled, as I enjoyed the comic and didn't think it was all that well known, with most of my comic fan friends being unaware of it. The criticisms centre around the writer being bad with fan-management, a delayed release schedule and the portrayal of [Ultimate] Captain America as a Bush-era militant conservative. I do kind of 'get' the last complaint, but I really love this comic and what it's about, certainly enough to go out of my way to get a miniature of the central hero made up. 

One Tin Soldier is a pastiche of Batman set in the Ultimate Marvel Universe, Jack Danner is a rich orphan who patrols the streets of Chicago at night as Hawk-Owl, costumed defender of the innocent. Jack adopts our protagonist, Hank Kipple, an orphaned tween (and basically Bart Simpson) with a view to training him to be his sidekick. Most of the comic is from the perspective of Hank, following his journey from unwilling recruit to a young man who respects his adoptive family and wants to make a difference. Not only is One Tin Soldier one of the best Robin origin comics I've read, but one of the more refreshing takes on Batman out there. Jack Danner's parents and older brother died in tragic accidents, rather than being murdered, so his motivation is altruism instead of revenge, he is Hawk-Owl because Hawk-Owl is needed, not that he needs to be Hawk-Owl. Danner's team, his aunt, butler and valet, are equals, with the latter two having the same training and as much input into the crime-fighting as he does, rather than being secondary players in his life. Maybe Danner's not as good a crime-fighter as Batman, but he has way less damage. 

So what about the controversial Captain America sequence? The Ultimates come recruiting for Hawk-Owl but find their offer rebuked and Danner's irreverence towards the team irks Captain America. Cap and Danner end up in a fight, which Giant Man breaks up and Danner explains that he's not a good fit for the team, needing to operate, as he does, in his city, his way. Cap comes across as a massive jerk in this sequence, which isn't totally out of character for Ultimate Steve Rogers, but keep in mind that One Tin Soldier is a pastiche, hence Cap is a jingoistic drill sergeant, Hank Pym is an abusive coward and Iron Man is an insecure drunk. One Tin Solider is intended to not be taken seriously, people get that right? The villain is a mashup of Joker and Penguin, being an insane school Principal with weaponised spanking paddles and a "hot for teacher" sidekick reminiscent of Harley Quinn. As I've said, I'm a big fan of One Tin Soldier, certainly enjoying it more than I do many actual Batman stories. Expect to see Hawk-Owl gracing my gaming table more often once I get him painted up.