The Above Image is taken from THE RED CIRCLE: THE SHIELD #1 with my text caption.
News I’ve recently read that has not had much of a buzz is that DC Comics will publish once again books starring the Archie/MLJ publications Superheroes in DC books. Characters such as The Shield, The Web and others are returning in a DC mini-series called The Red Circle. The series is named after the company name that published them.
Plus their will be spin-off books of the four main characters used: The Shield, The Web, Inferno, Hangman.
I think the situation is interesting because the MLJ Heroes are not DC owned properties. Instead their is an agreement between the MLJ Heroes owners that DC Comics can publish books with their characters.
I’m not sure exactly the agreement or how it’s been worked out. But about a decade ago I remember the DC Impact mini-series which was the last appearance of the MLJ Heroes.
It looks like a reboot of the characters and all the previous DC history no longer counts.
I think MLJ wants DC to publish the characters because they don’t want to lose their copyright or ownership rights of the characters. DC probably likes the characters and wants them in their universe.
Though the Red Circle Heroes never could quite mesh into heroes with enough personality and character that they could build a long term sustaining book and audience. Their characters had quite a few iconic bits that influenced others.
An interesting fact is that the Shield, is the 1st patriotic hero in comic books, and that Captain America ripped off his gimmick. And to add further indications of how obvious the rip-off was, Captain America’s first triangle shield is almost an exact copy of the the Shield’s chest symbol!
But the funny thing is that Captain America developed into a much better character, and became the iconic patriotic superhero character. Whereas the Shield never really could get the chemistry needed to be a lasting hit.
I guess it just goes to show you that just because something is first, does not mean it necessarily will be good or connect with the audience. And just because something might start off uninspired, or a rip off, does not mean that it can’t be developed and become something unique and stand out in it’s own right.
The Web, from his name alone has a spider themed motif. And while I’m not sure if The Web is the first spider themed motif character in comics, he’s probably not. It’s a cool name, and the spider motif sure does not hurt. I don’t have to tell you who is the iconic spider motif hero. 
The Comet is a character with a gimmick that others in particular Marvel’s Nova, and the mutants Cyclops and Cannonball seem to have similar powers. And Cyclops took the Comet’s visor as well as using glasses to control his eye beams idea.
While they were once popular to a degree, in terms of today’s comic book market the MLJ Heroes do still have a certain niche and popularity. But it’s never been one to build a long and sustaining audience, at least in terms of today’s comic book market. And it probably never will be again.
I predict, like the 90′s that the DC versions of the Red Circle heroes will be around for a few years, then fade away again.
Until then, it’ll be fun to read the books in this new revival and see what happens. And enjoy these new stories for what they are.
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