On July 4th 1976, America’s bicentennial, Shawn Redman was given the highest honor a boy of his age could receive when he was dubbed the new Young American. He became the right-hand man to his country’s greatest hero, Countryman – a legacy that someday he too would carry on.

Since WWII and the emergence of the Uniques, there has always been a Countryman; a man that represented everything America stood for - life, liberty, and justice. He is our greatest ambassador and greatest warrior all at the same time, a true symbol to the world of the best of us. Each Countryman carries the same powers of the first, due to the particular chemistry of his Unique physiology which scientists were actually able to replicate and recreate in a small few people - only one in a million people have the potential to survive the Countryman Project, and the process has never been able to replicate the abilities of any other Unique. Some believe this to be a part of the original Countryman’s powers, and a natural ability to pass those powers on to others, but this obviously can’t be tested.

What can be tested are the amazing abilities bestowed on normal men - great strength, tremendous endurance, speed, physical prowess, and a lifespan that could extend well over a hundred years of vital, active life. The first successful graduate of the Countryman Project was Paul Heart, a young cadet and journalist who became the sidekick to the original Countryman. So was born the first Young American.

When the Countryman fell in the line of duty, Young American took on his mentor’s name. And, years later, after a long and difficult search, a new teen was found with the ability to endure the Countryman Project and emerge better than he was - stronger, faster. So it was that Shawn Redman became the idol of millions of teens, and together Countryman and the Young American fought the good fight at home and abroad, fighting both in the public eye and on covert missions fought in the name of freedom against the Communist threat during the Cold War.

Most prominently, the Patriotic Pair clashed repeatedly with the USSR’s own Super-man, the Comrade. This red-hued rogue was born of the very same process that created Countryman; stolen by Soviet spies to produce a counter-agent for The Party. Countryman and Comrade met in many battles over the two decades they opposed each other, and never was a clear winner defined - though propaganda of each nation would paint very different pictures of their conflicts.

In 1993, the Cold War came to a head and in a moment of understanding, Countryman and Comrade put aside their decades-long conflict to save the world. Not just for America, and not for the Soviet Union, but for the people of every nation. No country could survive the fallout of the coming disaster, and they joined forces with the psionic heroes Mentor and Kinetic to bring a final end to the madness that gripped their countries.

The Cold War ended, the world chose to celebrate the year anniversary on April 18th 1994 at the UN building in New York City. Countryman and Comrade were both commended and honored for the gift of piece they’d helped give the world. Mere moments later, they and nearly every world leader, many of the world’s heroes, and the entire population of New York City were killed in a massive nuclear explosion that destroyed virtually everything in its wake.

Young American, who had been on a mission with the rest of the Task-Force (the government-sponsored super-team led by Countryman) when the Disaster happened. While still in shock, Shawn was handed a new uniform. There had been a Countryman ever since the US joined the Allies in WWII, and there always would be. A message had to be sent to the world, and to the terrorists who perpetrated this horrific act.

In the whirlwind of chaos that immediately followed the New York disaster, the new Countryman led a force of Uniques from around the world that tracked down and ultimately defeated and killed the villains responsible for the New York Disaster. In the aftermath, Countryman worked to help his beloved nation put the pieces back together. Perhaps he hadn’t been expecting his time to come so soon, but he knew the day would come that he would wear the red-white-and-blue, and carry on the honor and dignity that his mentor and the great man before him had given to the title.

Currently, Countryman works as the leader of the Task-Force and has fully embraced his new role. Also, after years of searching and testing, a new Young American has finally been chosen, and has entered the Countryman Project. In a year’s time, he will be ready to take his place at Countryman’s side, thus completing the circle. The Patriotic Pair will return, and America will always have a Countryman.

"The Uniques" and all related images, text and characters Copyright 2008 Comfort Love and Adam Withers. All Rights Reserved.