The Freedom Fighters as individual characters first appeared in The Golden Age of Comics, between 1939 (when Doll Man made his debut) and 1941 (when Phantom Lady, the Human Bomb, and Firebrand all made their debut in Police Comics #1). Thirty-plus years later they first appeared as a group, in Justice League of America #107 in 1973. Seventy-plus years later they are still recognized. In 2008 they appeared on an episode of Batman: The Brave and the Bold entitled, "Cry Freedom Fighters!" (S02E22)
After the Freedom Fighters found their past re-written and ret-conned out of existence by The Crisis in 1986, they quietly faded away.
Then in 1989, a new, Post-Crisis Earth-1 Phantom Lady made her debut in Action Comics Weekly #636. She had her own series for four issues, then popped up in the DCU several times in various '90s comics.
In 1992 The Ray made its debut, starring Ray Terrill, the son of the original. He had all the same powers as his father, but was a teen-ager with an attitude. I lived outside of the United States in the Nineties so I read very few comics. I did, however, manage to read some of this series. It was lively for the first year or so, but near the end it got very ponderous. His series lasted through 1994, and he eventually joined the Justice League.
In 1992 Black Condor was re-imagined as a totally new character, with no connection to the original. this Black Condor was a victim of super-hero experiments. He had his own series for twelve issues, then hung out with the Justice League before being killed in Infinite Crisis #1.
In 1994, the Human Bomb and the Phantom Laddy appeared as supporting characters in various issues of Damage.
In 1996 Firebrand was also re-imagined as a totally different character, again with no connection to the original. This Firebrand only lasted nine issues of his own series, then disappeared until he was killed in the pages of JSA Secret Files #2.
In 1997 Uncle Sam appeared in a two-issue mini-series which chronicled the darker side of American History. This series is famous because it featured painted art by Alex Ross.
In the previously mentioned Infinite Crisis #1 (Dec 2005) the Freedom Fighters Black Condor II, Phantom Lady II, and Human Bomb were killed by the Secret Society of Super-Villains. I vaguely recall this with a strong sense of distaste.
In 2006 an all-new, all-different Freedom Fighters made their debut in The Battle For Bludhaven, followed by atleast two Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters mini-series. Although I picked up the first series, I don't remember anything positive about it. Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray's re-imagined characters were not pleasant, although I liked the new Black Condor, who I think was a Native American. I especially disliked their Human Bomb, who seemed more "Black Ops" then "Bomb Squad." I believe he eventually got a white uniform similar to the original, but I was not reading the series by then.
Several of the Freedom Fighters have been made into action figures, starting with Phantom Lady and Uncle Sam in June, 2002. A few years later we also got a Ray II and another Uncle Sam, this one with Doll Man. I don't have any of these; in fact, I've never even seen them out there in the real world. However, I have seen photos of them by collectors, who also tend to make the rest of the Freedom Fighters as so-called "cusom (hand-made) figures."
In 2015 the classic Freedom Fighters returned (sort of) in the Convergence cross-over issues, Plastic Man and the Freedom Fighters. The good thing about this two-parter is that it is set on Earth-X, where the Nazis have taken over the world. It's not quite the same as Len Wein & Dick Dillin showed us back in 1973, but it is interesting. It's definitely worth picking up.
In 2000, and again just recently in August 2024, DC Comics reprinted Police Comics #1. This comic features the debut of Plastic Man (its main selling point), but incidentally also features the first appearances of the Human Bomb, Phantom Lady, and Firebrand (the cover star who didn't quite make it.) If you have a chance, you should pick it up. It's Golden Age goodness at its silly best.
For a detailed look at the Freedom Fighters and their Quality Comics brethren, I recommend you order a copy of The Quality Companion (published 2011). It will tell you all you want to know (and more) about these wonderful characters. You can get it here: TwoMorrows Publishing
In the past year, thirteen heretofore unknown sidekicks to Golden Age super-heroes have been "returned" to the current time-line. Amongst them was a teen-aged girl code-named Cherry Bomb. She was supposedly the sidekick of the Human Bomb. She first appeared in The New Golden Age #1, then was one of the players in the mini-series Stargirl: The Lost Children. Since then, she has not re-appeared, and there has been no mention of her mentor still being alive.
And that brings us to the end of the long and winding history of the Freedom Fighters. I can only hope that someone at DC Comics is thinking of these characters and wants to bring them back. Did they NOT go to Earth-X, after all? If they didn't, why they form as a sub-team of the All Star Squadron? Perhaps they were turned to silver in the Fifties or Sixties and are only now returned to normal? (THAT would be a cool idea!) Did Phantom Lady and Iron Munro really get married and have dangerous children? Didn't the Black Condor really grow up in South America, and not in Tibet where badly informed journalists told us he was? I'm sure I'm not the only fan out there waiting for a return of these great characters....let's just hope DC Comics eventually does something fun with them.
Black Condor Moment
Black Condor had his own series in 1992,
illustrated by then-unknown Rags Morales
Doll Man Moment
Doll Man knocks out series Qwardian warriors in
the 2008 episode of Batman: The Brave & The Bold
Firebrand Moment
Firebrand had his own series in 1992 for about a year.
Human Bomb Moment
The Human Bomb never looked as good as he does in his
debut in Police Comics #1
Phantom Lady Moment 
Phantom Lady got a lot of exposure from her series in
Action Comics Weekly.
The Ray Moment
Uncle Sam Moment
Uncle Sam in his infamous Alex Ross illustrated story
Freedom of Information
- Although the Freedom Fighters appeared on the Batman: The Brave and The Bold cartoon, only Uncle Sam and Doll Man were given lines. Peter Renaday voiced Uncle Sam and Jason Miller voiced Doll Man. .
The Freedom Fighters
assembled by Len Wein
