Looking Back
From the William Davidson Digital Archive of Jewish Detroit History
accessible at www.djnfoundation.org
54 | OCTOBER 7 • 2021
Jewish ‘Superheroes’
I
t was recently announced that Americans
will have a new hero. To be precise, a new
Jewish superhero. DC Comics, creators of
Superman, Batman, the Flash and other comic
book and movie superheroes, debuted Jewish
Superhero, “Whistle,
” in September.
“Whistle” is the heroine in a graphic novel
written for young adults: Whistle: A New Gotham
City Superhero. She hails from the same fictional
city as Batman and is the first
explicitly Jewish superhero in
DC Comics in 44 years. Whistle’s
secret power (superheroes almost
always have a secret power) is
the ability to communicate with
dogs. May Whistle have a long
run thrashing the bad guys.
The one Jewish superhero in
DC Comics before Whistle was
“Seraph.
” She was an Israeli who gave Superman
a hand in “Super Friends #7” in 1977.
It is also worth noting that two Jewish guys,
Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel, began the comic
book superhero genre in 1938 with debut of
Superman in “
Action Comics #1.
” By the way,
a nice copy of this pathbreaking comic book is
worth several million dollars. If you have one,
don’t lose it!
Regarding Jewish cartoon heroes, have you
heard of Captain Tov? The JN published “The
Adventures of Captain Tov” from November
1950 to March 1951. You will find this serial
in the William Davidson Digital Archive of
Detroit Jewish History. Just search for “Captain
Tov.
”
Captain Tov may be a bit dated, but his
adventures still offer a peek into a historical
era, both in Israel and the U.S. His adventures
occurred less than two years after the found-
ing of Israel.
In the first episode of the “
Adventures
of Captain Tov,
” one learns that Joseph
Steinmerz (aka Captain Tov) came of age
during the Nazi’s rise to power in Germany.
He escaped to France but lost his parents in
the Holocaust. Steinmerz then joined the
famous Jewish Brigade and fought the Nazis
during WWII. Afterward, when “the roar of
the guns rumbled in Palestine,
” he joined the
Haganah. While Steinmerz had no super-
power, his extreme heroics earned him the
rank of captain. Men under his command
gave him his nickname, “Captain Tov” (or
Captain “Good” in English).
After the Israeli War of Independence,
Captain Tov returned to a village in the
Negev. But he had no respite. There was a
bad guy lurking about, and the captain must
fight once again to protect a group of pioneers.
Riding his majestic steed, “Mazel” (a horse that
is a lot like the Long Ranger’s “Silver”), the saga
of Captain Tov begins. I’ll say no more about
the storyline … except that, like all superhe-
roes, Captain Tov does prevail.
The creation of Captain Tov was a religiously
diverse effort of three WWII veteran soldiers.
A Jew and a Protestant, Joe Harrison Freid
and Henry W
. Larson, wrote the text, and a
Catholic lad, John Belcastro, drew the cartoon.
There is a brief introduction to
the Adventures of Captain Tov in
the Nov. 10, 1950, issue of the JN.
Danny Raskin also writes about
Captain Tov in the same issue.
Captain Tov last appears on
March 30, 1951, as he leaves for a
new unknown assignment
behind the Iron Curtain. His
parting words are to thank
his readers, and “God Save
Israel.
”
Want to learn more? Go to
the DJN Foundation archives,
available for free at
www.djnfoundation.org.
Mike Smith
Alene and
Graham Landau
Archivist Chair
the guns rumbled in Palestine,
” he joined the
bad guy lurking about, and the captain must
fight once again to protect a group of pioneers.
Riding his majestic steed, “Mazel” (a horse that
is a lot like the Long Ranger’s “Silver”), the saga
of Captain Tov begins. I’ll say no more about
The creation of Captain Tov was a religiously
diverse effort of three WWII veteran soldiers.
Catholic lad, John Belcastro, drew the cartoon.
March 30, 1951, as he leaves for a
Catholic lad, John Belcastro, drew the cartoon.
Catholic lad, John Belcastro, drew the cartoon.