CAESAR


Real Name: Gaius Julius Caesar (possibly)

Identity/Class: Unknown; presumably human/extra-temporal but could be something else (See Comments)

Occupation: General and statesman

Group Membership: Led a legion of Roman Centurions (at least)

Affiliations: Amiable relationship with Captain America and presumably sent to correct time/space period by Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D. (in modern era)

Enemies: None (in the modern era)

Known Relatives: Other Caesars

Aliases: Imperator; Pontifex Maximus; Consul (all official titles for Gaius Julius)

Base of Operations: Ancient Rome (presumably);
    presumably New York's Central Park (briefly in the modern era)

First Appearance: In a Hostess ad appearing in August editions of Marvel comic books (example: Defenders I#62, 1978)

Powers/Abilities: Caesar had skills as a leader politically as well as militaristically.  One such skill included a command of persuasive public speech.  Even if Caesar were a Space Phantom, he would still retain these characteristics.

History: Through some quirk in space/time, "Caesar" and a legion of his Roman Centurions appeared in a modern age American park (presumably Central Park).  SHIELD's director, Nick Fury, dispatched Captain America to control this unexpected arrival.  As the Captain arrived, he observed Caesar and his men enjoying delicious Hostessâ Twinkies pulled from abandoned pic-a-nic bas-kets (as Yogi Bear would put it).  After an amiable exchange, Captain America assured Caesar that he and his men would be returned to their proper place and time.

Comments: Creators unknown/uncredited. 
    Bob Almond, inker extraordinaire, theorizes, "...I'm not sure about who penciled the ad (Ron Wilson? Sal Buscema?) but it seems to be the ink work of Joe Sinnott as far as I can tell."

Which historical Caesar this is supposed to represent is unknown.  Presumably, this Caesar was based upon the most well known Caesar, Gaius Julius.  If this is supposed to be Gaius Julius Caesar, then he made his first historical comic appearance within Ideal #1 (July 1948) during an Antony and Cleopatra story.  Julius Caesar made another pre-modern comic book story appearance in Adventures into Weird Worlds #21 (See the Hitler entry) and in Tales to Astonish#31.  Finally, Caesar appeared within these Marvel Comic titles: Dr. Strange: Sorcerer Supreme #33 (See the Zota entry),  Savage Sword of Conan#106/2 (Bran Mak Morn story, adaptation of Men of the Shadows), and Hulk #210 (See the Maha Yogi entry).  Thanks to Per Degaton for catching the Conan and Ideal appearances.
    Also present at the death of Gaius Julius Caesar (in addition to the Maha Yogi) was Cole.

Of all the Hostess villains, only Icemaster has shown up in an Earth-616 title.  He could have crossed over to Earth-616 from "Earth-Hostess, " but I say leave them on Earth-616 until proven otherwise.  Nonetheless, until they do show up in regular continuity, they remain outside regular canon. Surely someone will write a story teaming them all together--Snood.

This is not true anymore as some Hostess ad villains were mentioned in the Fantastic Four Encyclopedia as natives of Earth-616. And lets not forget about Printout Man in the New Avengers Most Wanted Files.

To make things even more complicated, I like to believe that Caesar and his Centurions were Space Phantoms sent in some heretofore-unrevealed plot of Immortus.  To back this up, Caesar and his men did refer to the people in the park as "creatures."  Plus, I bet that if these guys were the real time-traveling deal they would be droppin' turd piles out from under their man-dresses due to shock !  Of course if Caesar had a literal legion of men (3.000 to 6,000 foot soldiers PLUS cavalrymen) at his disposal, he wouldn't have much to fear from a park filled with modern-day picnickers.

You can get the whole story, and some clever commentary from Seanbaby's The Hostess Page.  It might not meet with the Comics Code Authority's approval, so kids, ask your parents before checking that out!

Finally, here's some background info on the name Caesar:
Caesar, name of a patrician Roman family and an imperial title.  The family of the Julian gens (clan) called Caesar was active in Roman public life from the time of the Punic Wars.  The most renowned member of this family was Gaius Julius Caesar.  His adopted son, Gaius Octavius, assumed the name Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus in accordance with Roman custom, later adding the title Augustus (Latin, "majestic"), by which he is generally known.  The four Roman emperors of the Julio-Claudian line—Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius I, and Nero—were also adopted into this family and thus properly called Caesar. After the dynasty ended with the death of Nero in AD 68, the name Caesar was retained to designate the imperial rulers.  Emperor Hadrian adopted the imperial title Augustus; Caesar then became the title of the heir apparent to the Roman throne.  In AD 285 Emperor Diocletian appointed a colleague, Maximian, to share the throne.  Maximian was called Caesar until 286, when he was given the imperial title Augustus; two assistants, intended to be successors to the Augustuses, were selected and given the title Caesar.  Each Augustus and each Caesar was assigned a portion of the Roman Empire to administer.  Although this complex system did not survive, the title continued to be used for emperors-designate.  The imperial significance of the title Caesar was preserved in medieval and modern derivations, including the German kaiser and the Russian czar
(Info from "Caesar," Microsoft® Encarta® 97 Encyclopedia. © 1993-1996 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved).

Image provided by Bob Almond, inker extraordinaire!

Profile created, updated, and edited by Kyle Sims

CLARIFICATIONS: Caesar of the Hostess ad has no known connection to:

 

images:
"The Time Warp!", pan5 (main image)

Last updated: 06/29/05

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

Non-Marvel Copyright info
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