Drake didn't mention it here because it wasn't relevant to the video, but the whole Freedom Ring thing was very controversial at the time. You see, Freedom Ring was Gay, and he was one of the first Marvel superheroes to be openly so. For this reason, while his first appearances were still being published, Joe Quesada (Marvel's editor-in-chief at the time) promoted him as the company's main LGBTQ+ hero. The problem is, Kirkman was planning to write a hero who would die quickly due to lack of experience first, and he never had any bad intentions, but seeing the supposed "flagship Gay character" die unceremoniously was pretty shocking to a lot of people. Years later, Kirkman stated that if he could rewrite Marvel Team-Up he would not have killed Freedom Ring, since at the time he wrote the story he did not realize how few gay characters there were in mainstream comics. .
Thank you so much for detailing that out. It was kind of difficult to squeeze in because the video is ultimately about Crusader and not Freedom Ring, but this is definitely something that I want to talk about in future. Robert Kirkman and/or Joe Quesada deep dives.
@@ComicDrake No problem! I've talked about it a few times on Twitter already, so I know the story by heart. As for in which video you could talk about Freedom Ring, perhaps a general retrospective of LGBTQ+ characters in Marvel would be a good place, especially to see how far we've come, from Arnie Roth to Aaron Fischer.
Thanks to the 2022 Secret Invasion book we know that some Skrulls work for Maria Hill to protect the Earth, so Crusader might appear working for her down the line
This is wild because I was literally thinking about this guy just two days ago. I have no idea why but of nowhere I just found myself going "Huh, did they ever resolve that whole thing about Crusader disappearing at the end of that book?"
I'd be curious to see if they bring Zarreg/Crusader into the MCU for the Secret Invasion show they have going on right now on Disney Plus, might be a good way to reintroduce the character before bringing him back in the comics or whatever.
Maybe the Nick Fury Tonal thing was an attempt to show his denial turning into anger? Sort of like a bitter acceptance trying to tell himself and the world he made the right choice. Before returning to bargaining when hes questioning himself and is feeling more guilt about the choices surrounding his decision
It somewhat reminds me of the "Lost Decade" story, with the Skrull hero Effigy. The original 3D-Man was one of my favorite characters, and Morrison's OG Skrull Kill Krew was pretty good. Thanks, Drake! This was pretty cool.
Tbh the freedom ring story was what got me into comics so this video gives me a weird nostalgic feeling thanks drake for reminding me about this long forgotten story
I'd absolutely love if this kind of character is shown in the Secret invasion show. A Skrull conflicted with wanting to help Earth. Being here so long inspired by witnessing so many heroes and something like the Avengers forming. Yet still feeling a pride a love for his people and planet, just so against their plans what some stand for now.
the most tragic thing about this is probably that the nature of the skrull invasion would make it impossible for anyone to trust a known skrull, so him coming out would have possible ended worse than just a quick death
he was forced to come out to save everyone because of the toxin which was harmless to skrulls everyonethere found out he was a skrull thats why everyone hated 3d man for murdering him
Dude, thank you. I recall reading this like a while ago and being quite moved by it and def felt that more ppl need to know about it, and you addressed it with the gravitas and nuance it needed. Such a tragic character and story but hits just right. Kudos to you for shining a light on the obscure greatness out there in comics.
Every time there is something to do with training or a mercenary i feel like they just wheel out Taskmaster, it makes sense but it just looks like everyone has bro on speed dial
Love The inititave so thanks for talking about it, Camp hammond & the 50 state initive is still one of my favourite plot threads and im sad that we didnt get to have a good look at alot of the teams.
You're one of the only you tubers to Acknowledge the Initiative series. Its really one of my favorites! I have every issue along with the specials. never bought the trades because I've never needed to! So happy to see someone else show it love! some it not the best Secret Invasion tie Ins!
I do like these kind of videos because I think it's needed in the current landscape of readership of comics but in particular the long serialized stories of Marvel and DC. There's just a toss up of what can actually be good and I think the greatness of these two publishers come from the hidden gems in between the big and bombastic stories because it kind of reflects the type of realness in a way that in the thick of a larger story, there are other lifes playing their own role within their own story. Important more so because the content of comics in social media is more about vitriol and summary of facts than actually talking about the interesting stuff within these comics.
I always thought that Crusader getting murdered mid catharsis and 3D Man's blaise reaction of ". . . What?" was an apt metaphor for marvel editorial's disdain for new characters Especially Skrulls
I would like if Crusader returns and takes on 3-D Man, especially when he joined AIM. Something like he was put in the Freedom Ring's dimension to heal and see all of his old friends
Have you read the whole black hammer saga? I genuinely think that series/univers has some of the most genuinely brilliant comics analysis and deconstruction ever done and a ton of beautiful storytelling obvs, id love to hear ur thoughts on that work some day.
I’m surprised you didn’t point out the similarities between Crusader and Kirkman’s other character Shapesmith. In many ways, they follow similar storybeats and have essentially the same general concept
A few years ago I had had read (some of) the back issues for part of this story that I was given. I read most of the parts with 3D Man and Crusader, but I didn't have all of this context and backstory to put it all together. It definitely completely changes how I see Crusader. It'd be pretty cool if they would bring him back and continue his story from where it ended. The character has a LOT of potential that can be exploited without relying on all of the overused tropes. EDIT: ...without what I just learned here I saw him like 3D Man did - I thought Crusader actually was a Skrull spy and therefore the enemy 🙀
I remember reading the comic where Freedom Ring died and the Skrull mentor/sidekick/whatever took off with the ring, but I never read the Avengers Initiative comic series, so I didn't know about the Crusader. Thanks for enlightening me on this character. I now have some back issues to track down!
I loved the Avengers Initiative Series. It's still among one of my all time favourites. Crusader was one of the great characters there. I never knew about the Marvel Team up with Crusader. I'll have to hunt that issue down now. I always wanted a writer to follow up on Crusader for what happened after he disappeared. It's too bad Avengers Initiative isn't talked about since it was full of great new characters that will likely never show up again. I'd definitely buy a book that brought back characters like Cloud 9, Trauma, Ultra girl, Komodo, Hardball and others. At least Slott's FF run brought wrapped up things with Gauntlet and the Tactigon. That was nice to see. Someone needs to follow up on MVP and the device that Slapstick had with his mind in it. That was a great story. Things are pretty rough over at Marvel right now actually. Aside from Daredevil and Captain Marvel (which is now over anyway) there's not much I've enjoyed for a while.
I feel like I've seen a recent movie with a magic ring found on the street. Luck had something to do with it. A girl had bad luck until she possessed the ring, you know, jelly side down when she dropped her toast.
Freedom Ring, with the Power of limited Unlimited Power! "What's the limitation?" It won't protect you from Dramatic Bullcrap When Dramatic Bullcrap Needs To Happen! From the Creator of Invincible! "... Yeah."
there were others who were killed by the skrull invaders the beatles skrulls .....yep a group of skruls disguised themselves as the beatles john one was the last one to be killed
I totally forgot this character from team up, I got to go back and reread that whole run someday (loved how epic it got in the end). Interesting to see where they went with him, I completely skipped the initiative stuff at that time but it seems like it added some interesting depth to secret invasion
Hey Comic Drake! First of all, I’m a huge fan of your videos, so I want to see if you could probably make an in-depth video of how they screwed over Ben Reilly, the Scarlet Spider, and how comics turned him into the Devil. I’m not joking-I really wanna see a video of this, and yes, Ben Reilly did take over Limbo, which is conceptually hell.
I'm curious, can you do a video about mutant genetics? Does it work by just a lottery system, or does two mutants... doing the deed, cause some influence in what power they get? I'm really curious.
What if the Avengers Initiative Retcon was Crusader's attempt to change things or maybe the less honored ending with Skrull honeys feesing him fruit was.... 🤔
Cool, a character that came, and went. Nothing wrong with that. I would agree he needs to return, but the Freedom Ring/Crusader Ring could and create a new Crusader
Drake didn't mention it here because it wasn't relevant to the video, but the whole Freedom Ring thing was very controversial at the time. You see, Freedom Ring was Gay, and he was one of the first Marvel superheroes to be openly so. For this reason, while his first appearances were still being published, Joe Quesada (Marvel's editor-in-chief at the time) promoted him as the company's main LGBTQ+ hero. The problem is, Kirkman was planning to write a hero who would die quickly due to lack of experience first, and he never had any bad intentions, but seeing the supposed "flagship Gay character" die unceremoniously was pretty shocking to a lot of people. Years later, Kirkman stated that if he could rewrite Marvel Team-Up he would not have killed Freedom Ring, since at the time he wrote the story he did not realize how few gay characters there were in mainstream comics. .
Thank you so much for detailing that out. It was kind of difficult to squeeze in because the video is ultimately about Crusader and not Freedom Ring, but this is definitely something that I want to talk about in future. Robert Kirkman and/or Joe Quesada deep dives.
Thank you for pointing that out
@@ComicDrake No problem! I've talked about it a few times on Twitter already, so I know the story by heart.
As for in which video you could talk about Freedom Ring, perhaps a general retrospective of LGBTQ+ characters in Marvel would be a good place, especially to see how far we've come, from Arnie Roth to Aaron Fischer.
Thanks to the 2022 Secret Invasion book we know that some Skrulls work for Maria Hill to protect the Earth, so Crusader might appear working for her down the line
Betrayal is such a sad thing. Zarreg killing his friend actually made me quite sad.
One anime has a child get abandoned by their only source of acknowledgement :( thankfully an other awkward kid likes her
gotta love betrayal
SPOILERS!
@@senritsujumpsuit6021what a vague comment
@@protalghulnist4126 well do u want spoilers :p
@@senritsujumpsuit6021what anime is it
This is wild because I was literally thinking about this guy just two days ago. I have no idea why but of nowhere I just found myself going "Huh, did they ever resolve that whole thing about Crusader disappearing at the end of that book?"
that moment you realize your a nerd :)
Huh, always odd to see TH-camrs I watch commenting on other videos
Ay a crossover! Lookin' forward to Part 2 of the Street Fighter Retrospective!
@ThorgisArcade… Professor Thorgi?!!!
THIS is a character that needs a comeback. Never heard of him before but I loved this story. Hope all the current Skrull hype gets this guy a return!
I'd be curious to see if they bring Zarreg/Crusader into the MCU for the Secret Invasion show they have going on right now on Disney Plus, might be a good way to reintroduce the character before bringing him back in the comics or whatever.
that would be a really interesting way of granting his last wish. allowing things to truly end differently!
Unfortunately that didn't happen.
Maybe the Nick Fury Tonal thing was an attempt to show his denial turning into anger? Sort of like a bitter acceptance trying to tell himself and the world he made the right choice. Before returning to bargaining when hes questioning himself and is feeling more guilt about the choices surrounding his decision
I had no idea that Crusader teleported away at the end because I haven't read that issue since it came out; hopefully he'll be back someday
This is perfect for an "Invincible"-esque animated series adaptation. I'd love to watch a couple of seasons of the Freedom Ring and Zarreg teamup.
It somewhat reminds me of the "Lost Decade" story, with the Skrull hero Effigy. The original 3D-Man was one of my favorite characters, and Morrison's OG Skrull Kill Krew was pretty good. Thanks, Drake! This was pretty cool.
0:42 was smooth editing
Tbh the freedom ring story was what got me into comics so this video gives me a weird nostalgic feeling thanks drake for reminding me about this long forgotten story
Holy hell… what a compelling character! This is what I love about comics and this channel, always discovering something new
I'd absolutely love if this kind of character is shown in the Secret invasion show. A Skrull conflicted with wanting to help Earth. Being here so long inspired by witnessing so many heroes and something like the Avengers forming. Yet still feeling a pride a love for his people and planet, just so against their plans what some stand for now.
Thank you Comic Drake for partially covering The Initiative; it’s a great book that doesn’t get talked about nearly enough.
the most tragic thing about this is probably that the nature of the skrull invasion would make it impossible for anyone to trust a known skrull, so him coming out would have possible ended worse than just a quick death
he was forced to come out to save everyone because of the toxin which was harmless to skrulls everyonethere found out he was a skrull
thats why everyone hated 3d man for murdering him
Dude, thank you. I recall reading this like a while ago and being quite moved by it and def felt that more ppl need to know about it, and you addressed it with the gravitas and nuance it needed. Such a tragic character and story but hits just right. Kudos to you for shining a light on the obscure greatness out there in comics.
Every time there is something to do with training or a mercenary i feel like they just wheel out Taskmaster, it makes sense but it just looks like everyone has bro on speed dial
Love The inititave so thanks for talking about it, Camp hammond & the 50 state initive is still one of my favourite plot threads and im sad that we didnt get to have a good look at alot of the teams.
This was so well-written and sad. F for Z'Reg. A true hero.
I loved that story line. Not everything about that run worked, but that character definitely did. I didn’t know the Marvel Team Up connection.
You're one of the only you tubers to Acknowledge the Initiative series. Its really one of my favorites! I have every issue along with the specials. never bought the trades because I've never needed to! So happy to see someone else show it love! some it not the best Secret Invasion tie Ins!
I do like these kind of videos because I think it's needed in the current landscape of readership of comics but in particular the long serialized stories of Marvel and DC. There's just a toss up of what can actually be good and I think the greatness of these two publishers come from the hidden gems in between the big and bombastic stories because it kind of reflects the type of realness in a way that in the thick of a larger story, there are other lifes playing their own role within their own story.
Important more so because the content of comics in social media is more about vitriol and summary of facts than actually talking about the interesting stuff within these comics.
Crusader's story from Secret Invasion lives rent free in my mind.
I always thought that Crusader getting murdered mid catharsis and 3D Man's blaise reaction of ". . . What?" was an apt metaphor for marvel editorial's disdain for new characters
Especially Skrulls
I would like if Crusader returns and takes on 3-D Man, especially when he joined AIM. Something like he was put in the Freedom Ring's dimension to heal and see all of his old friends
love how it started with just "hey neighbour you wanna team up as superheroes"
Jazinda and Lyja and K'lrt are my favorite Skrull characters. Never knew Zarreg
Have you read the whole black hammer saga? I genuinely think that series/univers has some of the most genuinely brilliant comics analysis and deconstruction ever done and a ton of beautiful storytelling obvs, id love to hear ur thoughts on that work some day.
I love this channel! Really cool getting these quick dives into cool comic characters
This guy needs to come back seriously love to see him in the Mcu what a compellingly Awesome story ! ✅
As close to a Mar-Vell heel turn as they will likely ever do for a Skrull.
I’m surprised you didn’t point out the similarities between Crusader and Kirkman’s other character Shapesmith. In many ways, they follow similar storybeats and have essentially the same general concept
I remember Crusader. Screw Triathlon for what he did to him.
A few years ago I had had read (some of) the back issues for part of this story that I was given. I read most of the parts with 3D Man and Crusader, but I didn't have all of this context and backstory to put it all together. It definitely completely changes how I see Crusader. It'd be pretty cool if they would bring him back and continue his story from where it ended. The character has a LOT of potential that can be exploited without relying on all of the overused tropes.
EDIT: ...without what I just learned here I saw him like 3D Man did - I thought Crusader actually was a Skrull spy and therefore the enemy 🙀
If the MCU was onto something, this would've been a great candidate for the Secret Invasion...
That ending upset me almost as much as your opinion on Red Vines.
I remember reading the comic where Freedom Ring died and the Skrull mentor/sidekick/whatever took off with the ring, but I never read the Avengers Initiative comic series, so I didn't know about the Crusader. Thanks for enlightening me on this character. I now have some back issues to track down!
I really thought this was gonna be about forgetmenot
When I saw the thumbnail I thought you were referring to Freedom Ring
I loved the Avengers Initiative Series. It's still among one of my all time favourites. Crusader was one of the great characters there. I never knew about the Marvel Team up with Crusader. I'll have to hunt that issue down now.
I always wanted a writer to follow up on Crusader for what happened after he disappeared.
It's too bad Avengers Initiative isn't talked about since it was full of great new characters that will likely never show up again. I'd definitely buy a book that brought back characters like Cloud 9, Trauma, Ultra girl, Komodo, Hardball and others. At least Slott's FF run brought wrapped up things with Gauntlet and the Tactigon. That was nice to see. Someone needs to follow up on MVP and the device that Slapstick had with his mind in it. That was a great story. Things are pretty rough over at Marvel right now actually. Aside from Daredevil and Captain Marvel (which is now over anyway) there's not much I've enjoyed for a while.
That, was surprisingly good
Could be interesting if he rewritten reality so he would be the human he dreamed of being
What would he do in that case because it likely won't just be starting from newborn
@@senritsujumpsuit6021probably just living his life in world that care for him more
I feel like I've seen a recent movie with a magic ring found on the street. Luck had something to do with it. A girl had bad luck until she possessed the ring, you know, jelly side down when she dropped her toast.
In the mean marvel universe there was A time of superheroes in the al Capone times
i'm happy that my boy 3-D Man got a mention! i would love to see a vid on him one day, he's a lesser known character that i'm obsessed with
Dude I love the shit you add in your videos 😂
00:53 wtf you wearing on the TV? 😂
And the strawberry and pickles 🤣
Love the sense of humour
SUBSCRIBED
Freedom Ring, with the Power of limited Unlimited Power!
"What's the limitation?" It won't protect you from Dramatic Bullcrap When Dramatic Bullcrap Needs To Happen! From the Creator of Invincible!
"... Yeah."
6:00 Speaking of, could you do a breakdown of what the 50 teams were? I have tried looking into it, to little avail. It could even be a short.
Now talk about Marvel's most tragic villain, Guitar Johnny, who appeared in the same run as Crusader over here.
Basically, he became much like Mar-vell.
Question about the sponser site, will it end up that a chunk of them require personal info?
Captain Vietnam is underrated.
That was a beautiful ending man. Thank you for showing me this.
He might've created a alternate timeline or something like that
It would be nice to see new stories starring this Skrull hero
Hold up now…did Drake just diss Red Vines? The most glorious candy known to man? 😮
it taste like ass
Honestly I really like that freedom ring guy, sad that he died to fast
So there were good skrulls back then I assumed the mcu started that
there were others who were killed by the skrull invaders
the beatles skrulls .....yep a group of skruls disguised themselves as the beatles
john one was the last one to be killed
couldnt freedumb ring just manifest a brick inside someone's head?
what a great story
I totally forgot this character from team up, I got to go back and reread that whole run someday (loved how epic it got in the end). Interesting to see where they went with him, I completely skipped the initiative stuff at that time but it seems like it added some interesting depth to secret invasion
@@Comicsdrake huh?
@@marvelmite1seems like a poser
I know for a fact that at one point Johnny Storm married a Skrull and had a kid with her. I don’t know if that’s still canon or not
That edit in the beginning threw me off did you pronounce it"eyepso eyesay" and dunn the correct pronunciation?? Gold man gold
He looks so badass he needs to return And appear in the Mcu
Hey Comic Drake! First of all, I’m a huge fan of your videos, so I want to see if you could probably make an in-depth video of how they screwed over Ben Reilly, the Scarlet Spider, and how comics turned him into the Devil. I’m not joking-I really wanna see a video of this, and yes, Ben Reilly did take over Limbo, which is conceptually hell.
Crusader sounds really cool!!!
Interesting character. Great vid.
He talks about comic books and his name is Drake! I miss your uploads
I haven't gone anywhere.
Minus the crack at my favorite licorice, this is another great vid, Drake.
Awesome video, damn good character. Slott was doing his thing back in the day
This sounds like a great read! Much better than the mess the secret invasion show is trying to tell!
This is how they should fix mcu Gaia by giving her the freedom ring and making her Crusader!
I'm curious, can you do a video about mutant genetics? Does it work by just a lottery system, or does two mutants... doing the deed, cause some influence in what power they get? I'm really curious.
WTF?? JUSTICE FOR CRUSADER!!!! AND I'M BEING SERIOUS!
Freedom ring is so good 😭
That ending jeez
Red vines is the worst u earned urself a sub lol
Is that evil Iron Man, Iron Maniac?
7:59 *gasp* DRAKE'S A SKRULL!!!!!
8:02 Wait, nevermind...
I read the Initiative and really enjoyed Crusader! Although I always kept waiting for him to come back 😅
What did you say first that you dubbed the Ipsos name over? I am very curious
I think he would look cool with his suit in Avril form
It took me a second to get freedom ring = free dumb ring... i love it lol
Love obscure characters but whenever I see a title like this I always think it’ll be about Forget-me-not. Great video nonetheless.
I loved the The Initiative comic, but felt it got bogged down by too many crossover events too close to each other.
2:09 is that the botw menu scrolling sound effect?
What if the Avengers Initiative Retcon was Crusader's attempt to change things or maybe the less honored ending with Skrull honeys feesing him fruit was.... 🤔
Amazing video as always bro!
Stuff like this is why I love your channel!
Great vid!!!
If I ever get a position at marvel I hope to write about this character and do his character justice
@Comicdrake....-. what is it
Man, xenophobia in the marvel universe was heavy in the late 2000s. Especially to the "evil empire" alien races.
This whole story is really neat
Marvel should start writing characters more like this tbh.
Wow, someone caught that scam bot rather quick.
Awesome job
🫡
@ComicDrake I was gonna report it after I dropped off my daughter but it wasn't there lol
Thank you, Have a good day/night
You should make a video on Cardiac
Cool, a character that came, and went. Nothing wrong with that. I would agree he needs to return, but the Freedom Ring/Crusader Ring could and create a new Crusader
.... This is a good video and love that you're giving Crusader the spotlight, but don't you *ever* slander Texas Twister again.
i hope he comes back