The Curse of Skeleton Munroe

Category: wrecker

  • MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 755: STRADIVOUS

    MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 755: STRADIVOUS

    (Smash Comics 017, 1940)

    There are a lot of comic book characters who derive their powers from or express them through music, but Stradivous here is the only one I know of who does so using a clarinet. This is going to be huge if we ever want to draft an all-star comics orchestra someday. He also has a really terrific look, with an eccentric choice in every single aspect of his head and facial hair – I’ll even grudgingly admit that he pulls off a fu manchu, traditionally my least favourite mustache.

    Like many other super musicians, Stradivous specializes in mind control: he can make the people dance and caper as he pleases with but a toot.

    More importantly to the plot, Stradivous can also enthrall the entire crew of a ship by broadcasting his music over the radio, and he and his employer Dock Commissioner Jennings have been doing just that from a nearby lighthouse. Jennings gets the info on valuable incoming shipments and Stradivous wrecks the ships and then the gather up the loot.

    The Ray is of course none too happy about all of this wanton wrecking and looting and steps in to put a stop to it. He approaches as Happy Terrill for some reason, and is thus vulnerable to Stradivous’ hypnotic music. This doesn’t stop Happy/the Ray for long, of course, but as he proceeds to beat the ass of every goon in the lighthouse a secondary drama plays out: two cops, drawn to the island by the hypnotic broadcast, spot Jennings and Stradivous fleeing the scene and summarily execute them for running. It’s like a dog with a ball – if they see someone moving fast enough they just can’t help themself.

  • MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 755: STRADIVOUS

    (Smash Comics 017, 1940)

    There are a lot of comic book characters who derive their powers from or express them through music, but Stradivous here is the only one I know of who does so using a clarinet. This is going to be huge if we ever want to draft an all-star comics orchestra someday. He also has a really terrific look, with an eccentric choice in every single aspect of his head and facial hair – I’ll even grudgingly admit that he pulls off a fu manchu, traditionally my least favourite mustache.

    Like many other super musicians, Stradivous specializes in mind control: he can make the people dance and caper as he pleases with but a toot.

    More importantly to the plot, Stradivous can also enthrall the entire crew of a ship by broadcasting his music over the radio, and he and his employer Dock Commissioner Jennings have been doing just that from a nearby lighthouse. Jennings gets the info on valuable incoming shipments and Stradivous wrecks the ships and then the gather up the loot.

    The Ray is of course none too happy about all of this wanton wrecking and looting and steps in to put a stop to it. He approaches as Happy Terrill for some reason, and is thus vulnerable to Stradivous’ hypnotic music. This doesn’t stop Happy/the Ray for long, of course, but as he proceeds to beat the ass of every goon in the lighthouse a secondary drama plays out: two cops, drawn to the island by the hypnotic broadcast, spot Jennings and Stradivous fleeing the scene and summarily execute them for running. It’s like a dog with a ball – if they see someone moving fast enough they just can’t help themself.

  • MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 729: THE WRECKER

    (Science Comics 008, 1940) 

    The Wrecker is a very good example of how a good name can elevate a project out from the ordinary. Comics books are full of corporate extortion schemes – it’s one of the classic scheme types for a reason. You can ramp the threat to life up or down with ease depending on just what is being sabotaged and likewise there are opportunities for big action setpieces as buildings or other corporate infrastructure are targeted. But while I would be hard pressed to find something to write about every time some gang of miscreants shakes down a construction company, once one of them starts calling themself “the Wrecker” well then my interest is piqued.

    The Wrecker himself is nothing special, even if he has a very good thick gangster accent. Somewhat charmingly, though, the Wrecker’s gang are also occasionally referred to as the Wreckers. Wrecker and the Wreckers! Gang name, band name, bowling team name, pub quiz name.

    Dynamo runs out of juice and gets captured during his initial battle with the gang (evidently trading pot-shots with some low-level goons is as energy-intensive as travelling to Betelgeuse) but as with most of his foes, the Wrecker is… a great believer in ironic deaths or something, I don’t know. They all try to electrocute him for some reason is all I can say, and maybe it’s just down to it being 1940 and all of the villains just aren’t genre-savvy enough to know the basics of comic book pseudo-elementalism. Regardless, the Wreacker electrocutes Dynamo and then Dynamo returns the favour – so long Wrecker.

  • MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 729: THE WRECKER

    (Science Comics 008, 1940) 

    The Wrecker is a very good example of how a good name can elevate a project out from the ordinary. Comics books are full of corporate extortion schemes – it’s one of the classic scheme types for a reason. You can ramp the threat to life up or down with ease depending on just what is being sabotaged and likewise there are opportunities for big action setpieces as buildings or other corporate infrastructure are targeted. But while I would be hard pressed to find something to write about every time some gang of miscreants shakes down a construction company, once one of them starts calling themself “the Wrecker” well then my interest is piqued.

    The Wrecker himself is nothing special, even if he has a very good thick gangster accent. Somewhat charmingly, though, the Wrecker’s gang are also occasionally referred to as the Wreckers. Wrecker and the Wreckers! Gang name, band name, bowling team name, pub quiz name.

    Dynamo runs out of juice and gets captured during his initial battle with the gang (evidently trading pot-shots with some low-level goons is as energy-intensive as travelling to Betelgeuse) but as with most of his foes, the Wrecker is… a great believer in ironic deaths or something, I don’t know. They all try to electrocute him for some reason is all I can say, and maybe it’s just down to it being 1940 and all of the villains just aren’t genre-savvy enough to know the basics of comic book pseudo-elementalism. Regardless, the Wreacker electrocutes Dynamo and then Dynamo returns the favour – so long Wrecker.

  • MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 095: DR RODENT

    (Feature Comics 028, 1940)

    As far as a guy who attaches bombs to rats in order to sink and subsequently loot ships goes, Dr Rodent has it all: a great name, a rodentlike cast to his features, and, best of all, his heroic foil is Doll Man so we get to see a little guy ride around on a rat:

    This is the kind of thing that comics are for!

  • MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 095: DR RODENT

    (Feature Comics 028, 1940)

    As far as a guy who attaches bombs to rats in order to sink and subsequently loot ships goes, Dr Rodent has it all: a great name, a rodentlike cast to his features, and, best of all, his heroic foil is Doll Man so we get to see a little guy ride around on a rat:

    This is the kind of thing that comics are for!