WARD STOCKER

Real Name: Ward Stocker

Identity/Class: Normal human (World War II to 1950s era)

Occupation: Retiree, briefly mercenary

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: Jake (dog)

Enemies: Herr Fleger, Adolf Hitler (and clone), Herr Lohmann, Nazi Germany and its soldiers

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Somewhere in the USA

First Appearance: Rugged Action#4/2 (June, 1955)

Powers/Abilities: Despite his advanced age, Ward Stocker was in excellent physical shape. Although he required spectacles, the slim-built and quick-thinking Stocker was one of the finest sharpshooters in the world and extremely accurate with a rifle. As a hobby, he enjoyed hunting pheasants with his dog.

Because of his extraordinary marksmanship, Stocker was hired to assassinate Hitler; he was armed with an unspecified model of hunting rifle.

Being a moral man, Stocker experienced a moment of hesitation during his mission when he considered that he was about to kill another person; but after thinking about all the deaths caused by the mad Fuhrer, he was able to steel his resolve and squeeze the trigger, thus completing the task.   


Height: 5' 10" (by approximation)
Weight: 155 lbs. (by approximation)
Eyes: Grey (obscured by spectacles)
Hair: Brown (black mustache)

History:
(Rugged Action#4/2 (fb) - BTS) - The aged Ward Stocker had built a reputation as being one of the most accurate sharpshooters in the world. While keen to join the American war effort against Nazi Germany, he was considered too old to enlist.

(Rugged Action#4/2 (fb)) - While happily hunting and shooting pheasants with his dog Jake, Stocker was approached by two German resistance agents, Herr Fleger and Herr Lohmann, who promised to pay him $100,000 to shoot Nazi leader Adolf Hitler and end the war that threatened to destroy Germany. Although disbelieving at first, Stocker prized the hunt and selected his best gun from his lodge.

   Soon, they were flying over the Bavarian Alps--during the flight, Stocker spent his time looking over maps of the terrain surrounding Hitler's mountain retreat and positions of the guards. It was late at night when they landed, and Stocker began his solo mission; creeping through the dark woods, he physically overpowered a pair of Nazi guards. When he reached the ledge that overlooked Hitler's hideout, Stocker lay there without moving for hours and waited for his target to appear at the balcony, as per the Fuhrer's usual schedule.

   Finally at 8:00 AM, a door opened on the balcony, and out stepped "Hitler" (secretly a decoy clone). Stocker took aim, then hesitated for a moment, thinking over what he was about to do to another person; but after considering all the deaths that were attributed to the human monster, he squeezed the trigger and fired a single shot that (seemingly) killed "Hitler". With his mission completed, Stocker raced back to the plane, shooting and wounding some German soldiers to escape.

   But once aboard the plane and in the air, the two resistance agents turned on him--while Lohmann piloted the plane, Fleger aimed a gun at Stocker, intending to silence him so that their involvement would never be discovered. But the quick-thinking Stocker kicked the gun from Fleger's hand, causing it to accidentally fire and hit Lohman in the process. As the plane spun out of control, Stocker escaped with a parachute while the plane crashed. Landing in water, Stocker was picked up by fishermen and eventually made his way home.

(Rugged Action#4/2) - Stocker regaled a listener with his account, showcasing a twin of the rifle he had used; he assured the listener that he had killed Hitler, but that the Nazi leader had been replaced with a duplicate (...although he didn't realize it was actually the reverse).

Comments: Created by uncredited writer & Robert Q. Sale.

The "Hitler" killed by Stocker in this 6-page story was confirmed to be a clone decoy in the Arnim Zola profile of the All-New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z#12 (2006).
...however, that profile erroneously reported that Stocker killed the clone in 1955, but it was definitely sometime during World War II. Also, the main character in this story was never identified, but his name was revealed in that same Zola profile.-- Ron Fredricks

Thanks to John Holstein for the images.

This profile was completed 06/06/2021, but its publication was delayed as it was intended for the Appendix 20th anniversary 's celebratory event.

Profile by Grendel Prime. Expansion by Ron Fredricks (sub-profiles).





CLARIFICATIONS :
Ward Stocker has no known connections to:

Herr Fleger has no known connections to:

Herr Lohmann has no known connections to:

The Adolf Hitler clone should not be confused with:

Herr Fleger and Herr Lohmann

During World War II, Fleger and Lohmann (first names unrevealed) were a pair of German resistance agents who wanted to arrange the death of Adolf Hitler. They represented the people of Germany who were tired of the mad Fuhrer's rule and foresaw only destruction ahead for their country, but they reasoned that if he was killed, the war would end. To accomplish this objective, they hired marksman Ward Stocker to assassinate Hitler.

They flew Stocker in their plane and landed near Hitler's mountain retreat at night, then awaited the sharpshooter's return after he accomplished his task.

The next morning, Stocker came running back and climbed aboard the plane. While Lohmann piloted the aircraft and took flight, Fleger questioned Stocker, who confirmed that his mission was successful. But then Fleger drew his handgun, with the intent to kill Stocker--Fleger apologized for what he was about to do, but the two men feared Nazi reprisals if Stocker ever told anyone who had hired him.

Then the quick-thinking Stocker kicked the gun from Fleger's hand, causing it to accidentally fire and hit Lohmann. As the aircraft spun out of control, Stocker managed to jump out with a parachute, but presumably Fleger and Lohmann died when the plane crashed.

--Rugged Action#4/2

Adolf Hitler clone

Although it appeared to be the German Fuhrer, it was actually an exact duplicate of Hitler created by geneticist Arnim Zola (see comments).

Early one morning, while it was out on the balcony of Hitler's mountain retreat, the clone was shot and killed by marksman Ward Stocker.

--Rugged Action#4/2

images: (without ads)
Rugged Action#4/2, p5, pan6 (Main Image - Ward Stocker)
Rugged Action#4/2, p5, pan2 (Headshot - Ward Stocker, taking aim at "Hitler")
Rugged Action#4/2, p5, pan4 (Ward Stocker hesitates and considers his actions)
Rugged Action#4/2, p6, pan7 (Ward Stocker tells listener his story)
Rugged Action#4/2, p2, pan1 (Herr Fleger introduces himself and Herr Lohmann to Ward Stocker (left))
Rugged Action#4/2, p2, pan3 (Herr Fleger, Herr Lohmann)
Rugged Action#4/2, p6, pan5 (Ward Stocker kicks gun from Herr Fleger's hand, as bullet hits Herr Lohmann)
Rugged Action#4/2, p5, pan3 ("Adolf Hitler" (actually a clone) standing on balcony, as viewed through Ward Stocker's telescopic gun-sight)

Appearances:
Rugged Action#4/2 (June, 1955) - uncredited writer, Robert Q. Sale (pencils & inks), Stan Lee (editor)

First Posted: 09/02/2021
Last updated: 11/07/2021

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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