Say this hero soldier fought in WW2 and was with a team of other special soldiers that secretly helped in the Allies defeating the Axis powers and winning the war. Only this soldier was only 21 years old at the end of war in 1945. Is it believable at his age he would of had enough training? Then that same soldier would by the early 60's like in 63' and 64' be a top spy working to defeat the Soviets on a secret mission. Would he be too old by then to be a chosen spy for the job in the early 60's?
I don't think so. Spies are supposed to blend in and not draw suspicion. So having a 60 year old? I don't think that's out of question.
This seems entirely plausible. WW2 was a crazy time for promotions. Basically, if he quickly proved himself with some heroic acts and good leadership during the early parts of the war, and managed to get noticed by the right people for his intelligence, perseverance, and quality as a soldier, that might be all he needs to get on a special team of those sorts, with the required rank. It was basically a time of almost pure field promotions, sometimes within months of the previous rank. Teams pulled who they needed whenever they did, because the war needed to be won no matter what the cost. The soldier being 21 by the end of the war is just fine too. That actually fits the age bracket for enlistment after high school, so no problems there. And being a top spy by forty is the perfect zone. By then, he would probably be at the top of his game as far as the intelligence methods, and physically would be fine too. Men peak in physical fitness around their forties, so this wouldn't be anywhere out of the question, as long as he kept it up without debilitating injuries.
Sorry I meant during the early 1960's. After he was a young soldier in his early 20's serving in WW2 as one of the heroes of the Allies, he'd then be a top spy by the early 1960's on a secret mission to stop a nuclear attack from happening. Assuming during the end of WW2 he was in his early 20's, being a spy in the early 1960's he wouldn't be too old for the job I'm thinking? Okay great! So he could of become a special soldier operative with a team of other spec op soldiers fighting these super human nazis in WW2. Then by the early 1960's like if I have his secret missions take place in 1963 and 1964 fighting a covert mission to stop these Soviets from releasing an attack which would make him at least around 39, 40 years old by then. Would it make him seem more professional if by this time he's working this mission solo? Or would it lessen his character if he met up with one or two other secret spies on the same mission who were younger like in their mid to late 20's or early 30's? Would that be adding too many protagonists?
Depending on the mission of the spies, they would likely work together in very critical ways, playing off each other. Your MC, by his age and experience, could easily be a team lead, with the more junior agents doing much of the legwork while he falls more along the lines of plan design and coordination. Point is, unless the spy is in a deep cover mission and serving as a basis for informant status, he's probably working with a team to go after specific targets. If he's an informant though, his entire existence would be virtually on his own, especially in Russia.
If there were other spies involved it would only be about three to four. One being a Korean War veteran during the 1950's and had done a Bay of Pigs mission in 1961. He'd be in his late 20's to early 30's. Another being a female young spy in her mid-late 20's but I'm not sure if she should be Russian, American or another nationality like basically going against her Soviet homeland? Another one would be a young guy in his early 20's but he's got supernatural abilities and is half human. Another one would be an older female spy that served along with the older WW2 veteran spy who was his lover during the end of WW2, only now she would be like some kind of double agent that appears to have defected from the US to the Soviets but really is against them. She'd have some special abilities do to experiments done on her during WW2. They wouldn't all be working for the same team, they'd kind of just meet up by coincidence but the older WW2 veteran guy was on his mission on his own to begin with. So would this make for an interesting and plausible story if all five of them were somehow intertwined and just all happened to of crossed each others path on their secret missions and somehow take part in being responsible for stopping a secret nuclear attack from happening? Or better off I keep it just focused on the older WW2 veteran guy?
Could have. Could HAVE dammit! What kind of "special soldier"? Is your character basically Captain America?
Not really! Well during WW2 he's just a regular good trained soldier with many skills. During the Cold War he gets some cyber enhancements but I don't think that would count as Captain America?
In a sense yeah, except not a brainwashed assassin. And he would age unless I decide to have him held captive by a secret government organization that releases him only when in need of a special mission so he'd age slowly. Do you like this idea?
Alright but I originally planned on him having enhancements added after the second world war that the CIA gave him before he fights the Soviets in the 60's. Is this still too similar?
I wouldn't be so worried about originality. Stick with your story line, since it seems logical in outline. The writing ability is going to be the deciding factor on whether it's done well or not. Just put pen to paper and see how it turns out. Editing is your friend.
But what about the idea of him meeting up with the other spies on the mission to stop the Soviets. Does this still have a good angle to it? Or does it take away from him working alone on a solo mission?
Are the other spies important to your story? If so, keep them. If not, ditch them. It doesn't matter, as long as you tell a good story, which is what @EFMingo is telling you. It's up to your skill to make it work. You can have the best character design in the world, but if your storytelling is flat, no amount of good plotting will save it.
They might be important so I might have to keep them. My concern is many might be offended by there being so many Soviet bad guys since he not only would have been fighting against the Soviets in the 60's in parts of his story, but also fighting against Soviets in the 50's and there would be even segments of during the Vietnam War with the Soviets involvement and even Soviets from the 80's. Will this sound like some sort of anti-Russian/Soviet plot? Or will readers understand it's just due to the time period? I would also include other bad guys like Americans, Central and South America, Chinese too.
I suggest you do more internet research. For example, lookup Audie Murphy as he was 20 when mustered out. As for cybernetic enhancements in the 50’s or early 60’s, just bear in mind that’s getting into comic book sci-fantasy like Captain America.
