The Curse of Skeleton Munroe

Category: scientist

  • MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 139: IVAN BORLOFF

    MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 139: IVAN BORLOFF

     (Adventure 061, 1941)


    Ivan Borloff is a strange combination of things: a scientist with a super airship (the Cylindecraft) and a metal-destroying ray, he rains destruction down on New York City in pursuit of his goal of conquering the US (and by implication, the world), but also, it’s implied that he is affiliated with *foreign powers*, ie, fascists – possibly ones who didn’t quite know what they were getting into. 

    His name ringing more Russian might mean that he is a rare pre-Cold War Commie villain, but a more likely explanation is plain old lazy naming – German, Russian… it’s all basically the same, right?

  • MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 139: IVAN BORLOFF

    MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 139: IVAN BORLOFF

     (Adventure 061, 1941)


    Ivan Borloff is a strange combination of things: a scientist with a super airship (the Cylindecraft) and a metal-destroying ray, he rains destruction down on New York City in pursuit of his goal of conquering the US (and by implication, the world), but also, it’s implied that he is affiliated with *foreign powers*, ie, fascists – possibly ones who didn’t quite know what they were getting into. 

    His name ringing more Russian might mean that he is a rare pre-Cold War Commie villain, but a more likely explanation is plain old lazy naming – German, Russian… it’s all basically the same, right?

  • MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 138: DR DOOG

     (Adventure 061, 1941)


    Starman’s first foe is also his first super-foe: the diabolical Dr Doog. Doog (and nothing is ever made of his name being Good, backward) has stolen a device called to Ultra-Dynamo from Professor Davis (above right) and is using it to disrupt electrical power across North America in service to his dreams of world domination.

    Doog brings in deathtraps, a hollowed-out mountain base and perhaps most importantly, a group of henchmen with the excellent name the Secret Brotherhood of the Electron. It’s small wonder that he’s already been brought back once or twice, a decision that I wholeheartedly endorse.

  • MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 138: DR DOOG

     (Adventure 061, 1941)


    Starman’s first foe is also his first super-foe: the diabolical Dr Doog. Doog (and nothing is ever made of his name being Good, backward) has stolen a device called to Ultra-Dynamo from Professor Davis (above right) and is using it to disrupt electrical power across North America in service to his dreams of world domination.

    Doog brings in deathtraps, a hollowed-out mountain base and perhaps most importantly, a group of henchmen with the excellent name the Secret Brotherhood of the Electron. It’s small wonder that he’s already been brought back once or twice, a decision that I wholeheartedly endorse.

  • MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 089: SCRAG

    (Blue Beetle Comics 005, 1940)

    Scrag attempts to extort (New) York City using remote controlled bombers – not a terrifically unique plan but he’s just so gleeful about his evil that I love him. Blown up while battling the Blue Beetle.

  • MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 089: SCRAG

    (Blue Beetle Comics 005, 1940)

    Scrag attempts to extort (New) York City using remote controlled bombers – not a terrifically unique plan but he’s just so gleeful about his evil that I love him. Blown up while battling the Blue Beetle.

  • MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 080: THE EMPEROR OF AMERICA

    (All American Comics 021, 1940)

    An old man who lives in a cave outside of Calvin City, the Emperor of America takes a bunch of Al “the Atom” Pratt’s classmates prisoner as potential mind-controlled minions. Honestly, if it weren’t for the fact that he already has a cadre of identical huge men in his employ he might be more believable as a delusional hermit than a credible threat – and since he never actually gets to demonstrate his mind control techniques before dying in a cave-in, the jury is and will always be still out. He’s the Atom’s first super-villainous opponent, though, so we’ll allow it.

  • MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 078: MR GLIB

    (All American Comics 011 & 013, 1940)

    What makes them a super-villain? He’s a guy who kind of looks like Satan (named I.M. Glib, natch) who uses such as invisibility fields and food spoiling chemicals to ransom cities and US Senators. A slam dunk, definitional villain.

    What about them is interesting? He’s a Golden Age scientific villain who made two appearances and used the same technology in both of them. This is almost unprecedented, I assure you – ordinarily someone who made their first foray into crime with invisibility tech would be sporting a time machine or an army of robots in their second.

  • MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 078: MR GLIB

    (All American Comics 011 & 013, 1940)

    What makes them a super-villain? He’s a guy who kind of looks like Satan (named I.M. Glib, natch) who uses such as invisibility fields and food spoiling chemicals to ransom cities and US Senators. A slam dunk, definitional villain.

    What about them is interesting? He’s a Golden Age scientific villain who made two appearances and used the same technology in both of them. This is almost unprecedented, I assure you – ordinarily someone who made their first foray into crime with invisibility tech would be sporting a time machine or an army of robots in their second.

  • MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 067: ZOLAR

    (Action Comics 030, 1940)

    In thinking about Zolar I realized that he engages in a surprisingly common plot-expedient activity which I, unwilling to root around on TVTropes for whatever twee thing they might dub it, am hereby going to call “the Reel”: the villain sends a minion from their exotically-located HQ to wherever the hero is located to accomplish some sort of McGuffin task – collect an item, kill or kidnap someone, etc – thereby alerting the hero to the threat and drawing them to the exotic location. As soon as I thought about this I realized that many of the minor super-villains on our list employ the Reel: the Gorilla King sends a squad of gorilla-assassins to kill his enemy, thereby alerting Zatara, for instance.

    In Zolar’s case, he sends some of his men (mind controlled desert tribespeople, natch) to Metropolis to eliminate an impediment to his plans, which involves first Lois Lane and then Superman. Cut to the Sahara Desert, where Zolar is trying to conquer the lost city of Ulonda using a combination of mind control, rocket planes and flesh-destroying death orbs.

    The whole thing ends in bloodshed: Zolar and his lieutenant attempt to death orb Superman only to have it bounce back on themselves, while his fleet of mind controlled rocket pilots are caused to crash by a slightly-pre-anti-killing-code Superman. The lost city of Ulonda, though battered, survives.