CARLA SWAIN

Real Name: Carla Williams

Identity/Class: Human (World War II era to modern day)

Occupation: Singer

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: Howling Commandos (Isadore "Izzy" Cohen, Timothy "Dum-Dum" Dugan, Nick Fury, Gabe Jones, Eric Koenig, Dino Manelli, Percival "Pinky" Pinkerton, Robert "Reb" Ralston)

Enemies: Nazis

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Unrevealed; formerly Paris, France (during World War II)

First Appearance: Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos I#56 (July, 1968)

Powers/Abilities: Carla was a skilled nightclub singer and entertainer.

History: (Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos I#56 (fb) - BTS) - Carla was an entertainer in the United States who became fed up with bigotry and wound up in Nazi-occupied France, entertaining Nazi troops. She preferred singing to the Nazis because they appreciated her talents.

(Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Update '89 I#4 - Gabe Jones) - Carla took the stage name of "Carla Swain."

(Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos I#56) - Carla met Gabe Jones, one of the Howling Commandos, who had come to Paris to rescue her. Carla was reluctant to go with him, but he convinced her that she was needed to help advance the rights of black people, and that she wouldn't be helping anyone but herself if she ran away. She watched as Gabe came to the rescue of his fellow Howling Commandos against Nazis who had tried to capture them, and she was surprised when Robert "Reb" Ralston came to her aid, assuming that as a southerner, he would be prejudiced. She left Paris with the Howlers with the intention of returning to the United States.

(Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos Annual I#4) - In the modern era, Carla attended a Christmas party at the home of Timothy "Dum-Dum" Dugan which all of the one-time Howling Commandos attended. She and Gabe had become engaged, and Fury congratulated them.

(Captain America I#184 (fb) - BTS) - At one point, the Falcon visited Gabe Jones at S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters and heard about his engagement to Carla. However, some time soon after, Gabe and Carla called off their engagement.

Comments: Created by Gary Friedrich, Dick Ayers and John Severin.

Fury called Carla "Miss Williams" in Sgt. Fury Annual I#4, which came out just a month after she'd been introduced by the same creative team. The OHOTMU Update '89 reconciled Carla's two surnames by identifying "Carla Swain" as her stage name.

Carla had a headshot in the Sgt. Fury Annual I#5 featurette "Fury's Friends -- and Foes!"

by Prime Eternal

CLARIFICATIONS:
Carla Swain should not be confused with:

• Mr. Swain, Global Security, Inc.--Punisher: The Intruder
• Dr. Swaine, mutant, colleague of Professor X--X-Statix#6