In January 1940, Pep Comics debuted with the Shield, created by writer and managing editor Harry Shorten and artist Irv Novick.

The Shield was one of the first superheroes with a costume based upon United States patriotic iconography, first appearing 14 months earlier than Joe Simon and Jack Kirby's Captain America.

[2][3] MLJ's Golden Age heroes also included the Black Hood, who also appeared in pulp magazines[4][5] and a radio show;[5][6] and The Wizard, who shared a title with the Shield.

[12] Adventures of The Fly appeared two months after Private Strong #1 and ran for 30 issues under that title, until October, 1964.

[13] During this time, Archie Comics licensed the 1930s pulp character The Shadow, whom they portrayed first as a spy in a James Bond mode, before turning him into a costumed superhero.

In November 1966, with issue 40, Fly Man changed its name again to Mighty Comics, which featured various Mighty super-heroes (The Shield, The Web, The Hangman, Steel Sterling, Mister Justice) in rotating solo adventures until its cancellation ten issues later.

[11][16] Several stories from this period were published in the mass-market paperback High Camp Super-Heroes by Belmont Books in 1966 (Belmont was owned by the same company that owned Archie),[17] which featured an introduction by Siegel, as well as in a 1966 deluxe special, Super Heroes Versus Super Villains.

[18] The name "Red Circle" was based on the previous business that Michael Silberkleit's father had with Martin Goodman, with Gray Morrow as editor.

The second issue was titled Archie's Super Hero Comic Digest Magazine, and is notable for publishing the previously unpublished revamp of the Black Hood done by Gray Morrow and Neal Adams.

[20][22] Though this 1980s incarnation featured Rich Buckler's work prominently, it also featured contributions from others, including artists Jim Steranko, Alex Toth, Steve Ditko, Rudy Nebres, Alan Weiss, Carmine Infantino, Dick Ayers, John Severin and Pat Boyette.

In the late 1980s, Archie Adventure Series published The Adventures of Bayou Billy, based on a popular video game, and in the early 1990s the imprint published Mighty Mutanimals, a superhero team comic spun off from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Archie planned to begin publishing superheroes again in the late 1980s with an imprint called Spectrum Comics, featuring a number of high-profile talents, including Steve Englehart, Jim Valentino, Marv Wolfman, Michael Bair, Kelley Jones, and Rob Liefeld.

Planned Spectrum titles included The Fly, The Fox, Hangman, Jaguar, Mister Justice, and The Shield.

Ian Flynn had pitched the idea as "I was really excited by all the prospective stories to be told between the end of the '80s series and our relaunch...

A five-issue The Fox miniseries by Mark Waid and Dean Haspiel began in October 2013, with The Shield back-up strips by J.M.

[41] However, that May, Liefeld announced his departure from the project, after objecting to a variant cover being publicized by its artist that allegedly spoiled the end of The Shield one-shot.

[42] David Gallaher was then brought in to script a new story for the one-shot based on Liefeld's completed artwork.

Despite the creative change, The Mighty Crusaders: The Shield #1 officially sold out at Diamond Comic Distributors.

[44] That November, Archie Comics released the one-shot Bob Phantom, which re-imagined the superhero's alter ego, Walt Whitney, as a struggling journalist who daydreams of a secret adventurous life.

[45] In November 2023, Archie Comics rebooted the Red Circle superhero, Darkling (Darla Lang), with a one-shot by Sarah Kuhn and Carola Borelli.