Old Soldier

From Herocopia

The origins of the Old Soldier are lost to time, although speculation runs rampant. Most notably that he is believe to have existed in ancient Britain. He is an almost mythological figure. What is known is that he fights for justice as he sees it. He seems to appear at the turning points of wars. His recent history has him siding with the United States for the most part, with sightings in the Civil War, the Spanish-American war, and both world wars. One exception to this is Vietnam, where he reportedly stood against American soldiers. There is no film footage of him, and no photographs.

1 Vital Stats
2 Physical Appearance
3 Speculations, Observations and Theories
4 Known Appearances
5 Appearances (in published order)

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Vital Stats

Status: Unknown

Debuted: Kurt Busiek's Astro City Vol. 1 # 2

Earliest Known Appearance: 1863

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Physical Appearance

Witnesses have described him as a old man, wearing a breastplate over chain mail, gauntlets, worn pants, and cavalry boots with unrowelled spurs. Over time, he has apparently added to his equipment, as he carries a sword that is rumored to be the fabled Excalibur, a flintlock pistol, grenades, and a bayoneted rifle. Quite a few of his armaments and outfit predate the Civil War and his earliest mentioned appearance so far. He is also been described as standing eight-feet tall and has a face of granite.

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Speculations, Observations and Theories

It's possible that he might be King Arthur himself with the information given above. He returns when someone is in their time of need and gives them the inspiration to fight on.
And it might tie into Douglas MacArthur's quote 'Old Soldiers never die, they just fade away...'
Elliot Mills mentioned his last appearance, prior to 1959, as being in 1944. But there are also reports of an appearance in the early 1950s presumably in the Korean War.

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