River City History: The final stand against Yankee Doodle Jones

With the insanity of Yankee Doodle Jones now an institution even as World War II neared its conclusion in the European theatre. With police thinned by the fighting overseas, they didn’t stand a chance against the massive super-powered being more powerful than any mortal. Heroes of comparable power existed—but most were also too busy aiding the war effort to lend a hand.

The Midwest city found itself alone against a power it could not hope to control. Jones declared himself emperor and set out to systematically destroy anyone that opposed him. The police and city government saw no choice but to bow to his whim when it was clear no one would aid them in their plight.

The other heroes of the city took up the call. The Dragon would gather Echo, the Enchanted Dagger and California-based hero Barry Kuda to join him in his fight against the insane created man. Kuda was a mysterious underwater hero only in the area by chance. But when The Dragon looked for heroes, the undersea adventurer answered the call.

Everything came to a head on October 14, 1944. The four heroes confronted Yankee Doodle Jones face to face…and the battle would rock the city to its core.

In his mad quest to take total control of the city, Jones now ruled from city hall, flying off to destroy anyone or anything he might see as a threat. As night fell, the combined might of the heroes made their move.

The details of the battle can only be pieced together in hindsight. The heroes succeeded in ending the life of the artificial man, but Echo and the Enchanted Dagger were both killed in the conflict. The Dragon disappeared from the city, his whereabouts to this day still unknown. Barry Kuda returned to California after the victory, but refused to speak of that night for the rest of his life.

The Dragon left Yankee Doodle Jones’s body little more than a burning corpse, his components melting away. Only dental records were capable of identifying the former hero. River City was free of his rule, but now stood with a broken government, a police force in shambles and no super powered protector to help its through the post-war transition.

River City History: The Echo

The detective known as Echo was really a professional ventriloquist named James Carson. Carson and his wife Cora were a pair of traveling showmen, but they regularly worked and performed in River City.

Jim Carson was many things, but never was he a man that lived a slow easy life. He lived for adventure and with the rise of the costumed adventurer, he seemed bent on carving his own path as a hero. But as a famed celebrity and well known public figure, he knew he needed an edge that would keep him from the public eye.

His brother in law Cornelius Doom would provide him the answer to his quest. Doom stumbled upon a strange chemically produced gem that he embedded in a belt buckle. When twisted the gem would cause a field of light to bend around the person wearing the belt and make them invisible. Along with another special weapon, a ring that created paralyzing rays of energy, Carson was able to become the invisible hero known as the Echo.

The Echo’s adventures would continue for much of the World War as a bad knee would keep Carson stateside during the war (though he did work in ad campaigns for war bonds.) Though he rarely faced challenges as great as other heroes, he would still be forced into battle with the mad Yankee Doodle Jones.