HAN RIVER HELEN
Real Name: Unrevealed (first name is possibly Helen)
Identity/Class: Human (post-World War II era)
Occupation: Guerrilla, submarine commander
Group Membership: None
Affiliations: The People's Army of China
Enemies: Sgt. "Gunny" Gorski, Iron Mike McGraw
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: Mobile in Korea during the Korean War
First Appearance: Marines in Battle I#2 (October, 1954)
Powers/Abilities: Han River Helen carried a pistol. She appeared to be a capable naval commander.
Height: Unrevealed (approximately 5'2")
Weight: Unrevealed (approximately 104 lbs.)
Eyes: Black
Hair: Black
History:
(Marines in Battle I#2) - Han River Helen schemed for her Communist
allies to deploy midget submarines to assault U.S. Marines along the
Han River. When Iron Mike McGraw and Sgt. "Gunny" Gorski investigated
the submarines, Han River Helen ambushed them and took them prisoner.
Feeling boastful, Han River Helen led the two Marines through the
secret submarine pen the Communists had built and brought them aboard
one of their submarines so they could witness their next attack. Han
River Helen's submarine led a fleet of submarines to surface at the
mouth of the Han River then began firing shells at the U.S. Marines'
bivouac camp.
McGraw and Gorski jumped
overboard of the submarine and Han River Helen ordered her crew to fire
where they had disappeared underwater but the duo had swam underneath
the submarine then up the opposite side. While Sgt. Gorski held Han
River Helen prisoner, Iron Mike took command of the submarine's guns
and used them to shell the other submarines, destroying them. Han River
Helen remained a prisoner of the U.S. Marines.
Comments: Created by an unidentified writer and Bob Forgione.
Although she was Iron Mike's
principal adversary in her lone appearance, she had a knack of lurking
on the edge of panels, making it difficult to get a clear visual on her.
All Asian femme fatales owe a
great debt to Milton Caniff and his creation the Dragon Lady from the
newspaper comic strip Terry and the Pirates. Han River Helen
seemed to be an attempt to give Iron Mike a female adversary similar to
the likes of Yalu River Rosie from Combat Kelly-- who also happened to
command midget submarines in one of her appearances.
Profile by Prime Eternal.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Han River Helen should not be confused with:
- CHU SAN - Clark Mason foe--Spy Fighters I#11
- COMRADE CHINA - Combat Casey foe--Combat Casey I#14
- KAESONG KATIE - Combat Casey foe--Combat Casey I#10
- KIMA - Doug Grant foe--Spy Cases I#15
- KOREA KATIE - Combat Kelly foe--Combat Kelly I#13
- LEE-SIK - Iron Mike McGraw foe--Marines in Battle I#1
- LING - Combat Kelly foe--Combat Kelly I#28
- MANCHURIA MARY - Battle Brady foe--Battle Brady I#11
- MUKTONG MOLLIE - Combat Kelly foe--Combat Kelly I#19
- NITA - Combat Casey foe--Combat Casey I#15
- GENERAL OLGA - Buzz Brand foe--Battle Action I#11
- PANTHER LADY - Combat Casey foe--Combat Casey I#8
- THE PEARL OF PYONGYANG - Battle Brady foe--Battle Action I#8
- PUSAN POLLY - Combat Kelly foe--Combat Kelly I#24
- RED MARY - Combat Kelly foe--Combat Kelly I#21
- RED POPPY - Combat Casey foe--Combat Casey I#17
- THE SNAKE LADY OF SINYONG - Combat Casey foe foe--Combat Casey I#18
- SWEET LOTUS - Doug Grant foe--Spy Cases I#14
- THE WASP - Battle Brady foe--Battle I#25
- YALU RIVER ROSIE - Combat Kelly foe--Combat Kelly I#7
- other "Han," "River" or "Helen" characters, groups, items, races or events, or any other beautiful Asian Communist women
images: (without ads)
Marines in Battle I#2, page 3, panel 2 (main)
Marines in Battle I#2, page 3, panel 4 (face)
Appearances:
Marines in Battle I#2 (October, 1954) - unidentified writer, Bob Forgione (artist), Stan Lee (editor)
First posted: 09/15/2025
Last updated:
09/15/2025
Any Additions/Corrections? please let
me know.
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