THE MANATELLI BROTHERS
Membership: Angie Manatelli,
Joe Manatelli, Pete Manatelli, Tony Manatelli
Purpose: Acrobatic performers and soldiers
Affiliations: Combat Casey, Percival P. Pennington, Sgt. Rocky
Enemies: Chinese army
Aliases: The Four Aerial Aces
Base of Operations: Korea (during the Korean War)
First Appearance: Combat Casey I#13 (December, 1953)
History:
(Combat Casey I#13 (fb) - BTS) - The Four Manatelli Brothers - Tony,
Pete, Angie and Joe - were famous acrobatic aerial aces. They suspended
their performance careers to join the U.S. Army during the Korean War.
Captured by the Chinese, the four were placed into a POW camp.
(Combat Casey I#13) - One day, Combat Casey and Percival "Penny" Pennington were captured and sent to the same POW camp. "Penny" was familiar with the brothers' act and came up with a scheme to effect their escape." Penny" had the brothers perform their "human totem pole" maneuver in which each man sat on another's shoulders. The brothers then raised Combat Casey to the top of the "totem pole" so he could jump from the top and over the barbed wire fence. Casey knocked down the only guard then opened the gates to the camp, setting all the POWs free.
The prisoners discovered a truck full of ammunition and used it to make their escape as the Chinese were afraid of setting off the explosives. Instead, Casey and "Penny" threw the explosives at their pursuers. When a tank blocked their path, they all bailed out of the truck so it would ram the tank and destroy it. As the escapees headed south together, one of the prisoners thanked Casey and "Penny" for rescuing them. The Four Manatelli Brothers formed their human totem pole again to remind the soldiers they were "in the act, too!"
(Battle I#23) - The Four Manatelli Brothers went on patrol together and used their acrobatic abilities to surprise and take Chinese soldiers captive. When they returned to camp with the captives, they were jeered by Sgt. Rocky, who assumed they would claim to be too tired to perform their routine for the camp as they had volunteered. Tony Manatelli insisted on pushing his brothers to complete their performance but their field assignment had indeed left them weak; when attempting a human totem pole routine, Tony grew too tired and collapsed. Likewise Angie attempted to perform a tight rope routine but slipped. Sgt. Rocky led the other soldiers in mocking the Manatelli Brothers.
After days of being mocked, the Manatellis joined a patrol and when their captain asked for volunteers to scout a valley ahead, Tony volunteered on behalf of his brothers. Entering the valley, the brothers encountered an ambush of Chinese troops and used their acrobatic abilities to thwart the enemy, such as using a Chinese soldier as a shield against a grenade and bowling other enemy troops in a mine field. The last Chinese soldier was caught by the brothers' "leaning tower of Pisa" routine where they formed a totem pole then fell forward to catch him. The entire squad watched the Manatellis defeat the ambush and applauded them, even Sgt. Rocky, who claimed he had always supported them. Even one of the captured Chinese soldiers applauded the brothers' showmanship.
Comments: Created by an unidentified writer (likely Hank Chapman) and Robert Q. Sale.
This is a neat little instance of supporting characters graduating to their own story but what an oddity - you would have expected their solo adventure to appear in Combat Casey but nope - it appeared in a random issue of Battle.
This profile was completed on
10/23/2025 but its publication was delayed, as it was intended for the
Appendix's 25th anniversary celebratory event.
Profile by Prime Eternal.
CLARIFICATIONS:
The Manatelli Brothers should not be confused with:
Angie Manatelli was one of the four Manatelli Brothers. Angie's particular specialty was performing a high wire act, which required him to have particularly good balance.
--Combat Casey I#13 (Battle I#23,
Joe Manatelli was another of the four Manatelli Brothers.
--Combat Casey I#13 (Battle I#23,
Pete Manatelli was another of the Four Manatelli Brothers.
--Combat Casey I#13 (Battle I#23,
Tony Manatelli was one of the four Manatelli Brothers. Tony was the lead brother (likely the eldest of the four) and usually guided his brothers in their acrobatic performances.
--Combat Casey I#13 (Battle I#23,
Sgt. Rocky was a soldier who served alongside the Manatelli Brothers. He was skeptical of their acrobatic abilities and jeered them when they were too tired to put on a successful exhibition for the camp. However, when the Manatelli Brothers used their skills to defeat a number of Chinese soldiers in the field Sgt. Rocky happily applauded them.
--Battle I#23
images: (without ads)
Battle I#23, page 1, panel 2 (Manatelli Brothers, main)
Combat Casey I#13, page 8, panel 8 (Manatelli Brothers in action)
Battle I#23, page 4, panel 4 (Angie)
Combat Casey I#13, page 6, panel 1 (Joe)
Combat Casey I#13, page 5, panel 8 (Pete)
Combat Casey I#13, page 5, panel 8 (Tony)
Battle I#23, page 3, panel 5 (Rocky)
Appearances:
Combat Casey I#13 (December, 1953) - unidentified writer, Robert Q. Sale
(artist), Stan Lee (editor)
Battle I#23 (November, 1953) - unidentified writer, George Tuska
(artist), Stan Lee (editor)
First posted: 09/20/2026
Last updated: 10/23/2025
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
Non-Marvel
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