History:
RUSTY
Real Name: Rusty (last name unrevealed)
Identity/Class: Human (World
War II Era)
Occupation: U.S. Marines mascot, vigilante
Group Membership: U.S. Marines
Affiliations: Major Anders, Captain Terror, Defender, the FBI, Jack Frost, Sally Kean, Major Liberty, Rockman, Vagabond, Whizzer
Enemies: Dame Kackle, P. J. Evans, the Fog, Nazis, Oldow
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: A U.S. Marines camp nearby Middleton, New York, USA
First Appearance: U.S.A. Comics I#1 (August, 1941)
Powers/Abilities: Despite his age, Rusty was an excellent hand-to-hand combatant, capable of overcoming grown men in fisticuffs. He proved capable of driving and firing a one-man tank.
Height: Unrevealed
(approximately 4'10")
Weight: Unrevealed (approximately 100 lbs.)
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Red
History:
(U.S.A. Comics I#1 (fb) - BTS) - At some point, Rusty joined the U.S. Marines as their unofficial "mascot." He befriended Don Stevens of the Marines and when Don took up the red, white and blue costumed identity of the Defender, Rusty joined him on his adventures by taking on costume and mask.
(U.S.A. Comics I#1) - Rusty and Don accompanied their friend Sally Kean for a trip on the Staten Island ferry when they saw a man thrown overboard from a schooner. Don and Rusty dived into the water and found the man (a Japanese person) was dead so they climbed up into the schooner to confront the parties responsible. Don and Rusty fought the entire crew until their leader, Dame Kackle, emerged and when she questioned her crew, they claimed they hadn't thrown a body from the ship. Don and Rusty swam back to the ferry and wondered if the schooner was responsible for smuggling Japanese operatives into the United States.
Back on shore, Rusty and Don put on their costumes and continued their investigation at the docks, finding the crew had been smuggling Japanese agents, as they'd guessed. Dame Kackle threatened them with her whip, forcing them surrender. Dame Kackle's crew tied the Defender and Rusty to a post and lit a powderkeg to destroy them, but the two heroes escaped before the explosion. However, they couldn't pick up Dame Kackle and her crew's trail.
The next day, Sally asked Don and Rusty to accompany her as she went on her own investigation of Dame Kackle's crew. Don and Rusty slipped away and donned their costumes again, just as Dame Kackle's agents took Sally prisoner. Back at the scene of the previous day's explosion, Rusty found a trapdoor leading to an underground cavern where Dame Kackle's crew were hiding. After defeating the agents hidden there, they discovered a ladder leading to a false buoy near where Dame Kackle's ship was waiting. The Defender and Rusty burst aboard the ship and defeated Dame Kackle's crew, rescuing Sally. Rusty was flattered when Sally referred to them both as "brave men." As the FBI arrived to arrest Dame Kackle's gang, the Defender and Rusty swam away, returning to the Marines' camp.
(U.S.A. Comics I#2/4) - After hearing from Don about gunrunners at the Mexican border, Rusty opined they should head to the border and investigate because things were "pretty dull" at their camp. Arriving at the border, they donned their costumes and discovered the gunrunners were Nazi agents who used a fake fog to help conceal their late night activities. Two of the Nazi agents captured the Defender and Rusty, tying them up and bringing them to their superior officer's base. The Nazis placed Rusty on a rack to torture him into revealing who they were working for but the Defender broke out of his bonds and saved Rusty. Escaping the torture dungeon, the Defender and Rusty each commandeered a tank to blast their way out of the Nazis' ranks. The Defender determined businessman P. J. Evans was responsible for the supplying the fog to cover the Nazis' gunrunning. When the Defender and Rusty confronted him one of his henchmen tried to kill them but Rusty disarmed him and the Defender summoned the FBI to arrest Evans.
(U.S.A. Comics I#2/text) - Rusty accompanied the Defender as he attended a meeting with fellow costumed crimefighters Captain Terror, Rockman, the Whizzer, Major Liberty, Jack Frost and the Vagabond. The heroes decided they would meet together regularly and swap stories about their adventures. Rusty claimed he had "some swell stories to tell, but nobody ever gives me a chance."
(U.S.A. Comics I#3/4) - Don and Rusty went to a village carnival and saw the monstrous strong man Oldow in the sideshow. Later that night, Oldow went on a rampage. The Defender and Rusty fought Oldow but he overpowered them, hurling Rusty at a tree. While the Defender checked on Rusty, Oldow fled. The next day at their camp, Don and Rusty saw the carnival was coming for a performance at the camp, so they decided to attend again. That evening, Don and Rusty awoke to the sound of Oldow assaulting Major Anders. Donning their costumes they fought Oldow but when Rusty tried to choke Oldow, Oldow grabbed him and ran away from the Marines camp. Oldow climbed a hill so he could hurl Rusty to his death from a great height but the Defender caught up to them and threw a rock at Oldow's head. Oldow let Rusty go so that he couuld fight the Defender and the Defender knocked Oldow over the cliff's edge.
(U.S.A. Comics I#4/3 (fb) - BTS) - Don and Rusty joined their U.S. Marine division on an assignment in Nicaragua.
(U.S.A. Comics I#4/3) - Returning from Nicaragua, Don was eager to see Sally Kean again, although Rusty wished Sally had a "kid sister" he could date. As they returned to Middleton they discovered a gang working for the Fog had been looting the city under the cover of a fog that rendered people drowsy and sluggish. Don, Rusty and the rest of their Marin division fought the looters and defeated them. Don went to see Professor Rhinestone, who confirmed the fog wasn't a natural phenomenon. Later that day, the Fog assaulted the coal merchant Snyder and the Defender and Rusty fought him but the Fog fled. Snyder was fatally wounded by the Fog and before dying admitted he'd been supplying contaminated coal for use in the Fog's fake fog. The Defender and Rusty notified the police commissioner and they removed the afflicted coal from homes in Middleton. As the Defender and Rusty were overseeing the release of the coal into the river, the Fog and his gang attacked them. The Defendeer and the Fog fought each other and fell into the water, where the Defender discovered he was Professor Rhinestone and drowned the Fog underwater.
Comments: Created by an unidentified writer and Charles Nicholas.
The Defender and Rusty were basically the Captain America and Bucky of U.S.A Comics; at some point - probably because Stan Lee replaced Cap's co-creator Joe Simon as editor - someone must have asked, "why not just publish Captain America and Bucky in U.S.A. Comics?" Then they got the boot and in issue #6, Captain America and Bucky became U.S.A. Comics' headliners.
This profile was completed on 02/23/2026 but its publication was delayed, as it was intended for the Appendix's 25th anniversary celebratory event.
Profile by Prime Eternal.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Rusty should not be confused with:
images: (without ads)
U.S.A. Comics I#1, page 6, panel 4 (main)
U.S.A. Comics I#3/4, page 5, panel 3 (face)
U.S.A. Comics I#1, page 9, panel 8 (in action)
Appearances:
U.S.A. Comics I#1 (August, 1941) - unidentified writer, unidentified
penciler, Charles Nicholas (inker), Joe Simon (editor)
U.S.A. Comics I#2/4 (November, 1941) - unidentified writer, George Klein
(artist), Joe Simon (editor)
U.S.A. Comics I#2/text (November, 1941) - Stan Lee (writer),
unidentified artist, Joe Simon (editor)
U.S.A. Comics I#3/4 (January, 1942) - unidentified writer, George Klein
(artist), Joe Simon (editor)
U.S.A. Comics I#4/3 (May, 1942) - unidentified writer, unidentified
penciler, George Klein (inker), Stan Lee (editor)
First posted: 09/05/2026
Last updated:
02/23/2026
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
Non-Marvel
Copyright info
All other characters mentioned or pictured are ™ and © 1941-2099 Marvel
Characters, Inc. All Rights Reserved. If you like this stuff, you
should check out the real thing!
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