This weekend’s light-hearted, escapist superhero post here at Balladeer’s Blog will look at a French-created figure.
GARDIEN DE LA REPUBLIQUE (Guardian of the Republic)
Origin: This costumed hero works in a semi-official capacity to safeguard the people and government of France against external and internal enemies plus menaces created by super-science or the supernatural.
Various figures have been trusted with the Gardien mantle ever since the 1780s and in my opinion this fictional character has the most detailed chronology of any multi-generational line of costumed heroes outside the Phantom.
In a nice touch the Marquis de Lafayette was secretly the very first Gardien de la Republique (seen in costume at right) when he returned to France after America’s Revolutionary War. Since then, as mentioned above, the title and costumed identity have been passed down to other figures for nearly 250 years.
Beginning in World War Two, several Gardiens have had costumed female sidekicks who all used the nom de guerre “Marianne.” Continue reading
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