Happy Sam Sawyer

General Samuel "Happy Sam" Sawyer is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. His first appearance was in Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos #1.

Publication history
Sawyer first appeared in Sgt. Fury and the Howling Commandos #1, and was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby.

Fictional character biography
Happy Sam Sawyer was assigned to the British Commandos by the U.S. Army. He trained in parachuting in Britain in 1940 by Finley's Flying circus that comprised daredevil parachutist Nick Fury and pilot Red Hargroves where they nicknamed him Happy Sam ironically, because of his deadly serious and consistently stony demeanor. In 1942 Sawyer, who had been wounded in North Africa and was deemed unfit for combat missions, organised and led the Howling Commandos, Bull McGiveney's Maulers, Jim Morita's Nisei Squad, and Sgt Bob Jenkin's The Missouri Marauders as well as the Deadly Dozen. When artist John Severin joined Sgt Fury and his Howling Commandos with issue #44, Severin drew Sawyer as being much older and balder than his original depiction as a young man.

In a Sgt Fury annual set in the Korean War, Sawyer was a Colonel, in another annual set in the Vietnam War, Sawyer was a full general.

In modern times, Baron Strucker created an LMD of Sawyer that attacked the original Howling Commandos as well as Captain America. Sawyer would sacrifice himself when the LMD detonated itself while trying to gain missile navigation override codes.

In the wake of his death, a S.H.I.E.L.D. assault Helicarrier has been named in his honor in the mini-series Iron Man: Hypervelocity. There is also a Samuel J. Sawyer Memorial Veterans Hospital.

In other media
Happy Sam Sawyer appears in the X-Men episode "Old Soldiers," voiced by Lorne Kennedy.

Corporal "Happy Sam" Sawyer appears in the Agent Carter episode "The Iron Ceiling" portrayed by Leonard Roberts. This version is an African-American. Corporal Sawyer is among the soldiers that assist Peggy Carter, Jack Thompson, and Dum Dum Dugan into raiding a Russian military complex that was going to sell stolen weapons to Leviathan.