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Category: 1941

MAD AND CRIMINAL SCIENTIST ROUND-UP 002

MAD AND CRIMINAL SCIENTIST ROUND-UP 002

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Back again with another collection of science-villains who didn’t quite make the grade! Fritz Cardif here has a gunpowder-exploding ray and a lot of big plans. He probably would have made the main list except that I personally find his antics very dull, with the exception of the lil’ stinker moment pictured above. (Hit Comics 006, 1940) Dr Marko figured on using kidnapped scientists as research slaves in his Grand Canyon hideout, but he too was corralled by Neon the…

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SEMI-MINOR SUPER-HEROS: FIGHTER PILOT EDITION

SEMI-MINOR SUPER-HEROS: FIGHTER PILOT EDITION

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Conundrum: Golden Age fighter pilot characters are essentially a very minor subset of super-heroes, and they are also very boring to me. I  feel a compulsion to write something about them and also to slump sideways in my seat when contemplating their existence. Solution: since the only really interesting thing about them is their cool names, I will list those. the Flying Flame (Daring Mystery Comics 006, 1940) the Flying Fox (More Fun Comics 037, 1938) the Hell Diver (Hit…

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MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 312: PLUTO

MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 312: PLUTO

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(Red Raven Comics 001; Captain America Comics 001-003, 1940-1941) As originally presented, this is the literal Roman god of the underworld come down (up?) to Earth to stir up trouble as Rudolph Hendler, dictator of Prussland (mild aside – recently saw a fascist complaining about Nazis being vilified like it was a new thing, but we’ve always known that you suck, bro).  Jupiter and the other Roman gods aren’t so hot on this plan and send Mercury down to Earth…

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MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 310: ZARPO

MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 310: ZARPO

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(Captain America Comics 009, 1941) Zarpo is a classic example of why if you are a government or large business, etc,  you should have a process for vetting wild crackpot claims from scientists who come to your door. When a man says to you, for example, “my name is Zarpo and I have invented a bomb that blows up after spending a certain amount of time near a human being,” perhaps consider not calling him a crackpot and throuwing him out…

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MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 309: THE WHITE DEATH

MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 309: THE WHITE DEATH

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(Captain America Comics 009, 1941) Like the Black Witch before him, the White Death is inspired to murder by a kooky clause in a recently-deceased’s will, and it’s one I forgot to mention then: if any of the heirs dies before the money is divvied up then their portion is divided among the rest. This clause! More fictional bloodshed has resulted from it than can be counted. This time, the culprit is one of the heirs rather than the lawyer,…

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GENERIC COSTUMED VILLAIN ROUND-UP 005

GENERIC COSTUMED VILLAIN ROUND-UP 005

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They’re back! They’re insufficiently interesting! They’re costumed! For the fifth time!  This fella is just a regular degular Nazi spy, but I like his confidence, even if Super Spy G-5 does wrangle him almost instantly. (Hit Comics 015, 1941) These fellas are a rare example of subway pirates, who derail and loot in the New York underground. My delight in this is dampened somewhat by their habit of carrying off ladies for unspoken but surely unpleasant reasons – happily the Human…

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MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 308: THE BLACK WITCH

MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 308: THE BLACK WITCH

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(Captain America Comics 008, 1941) So: the Black Witch is a witch’s ghost that supposedly haunts Hagmoor Castle, one of the many castles that dot the landscape around Camp Lehigh (and don’t imagine that it’s the same on from the Hunchback of Hollywood case, because that was called Ebony Castle). Hagmoor Castle, coincidentally, is the subject of an eccentric will that sees one Karin Lee having to spend three nights there alone in order to  inherit her uncle Jonathan’s estate. Perhaps…

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MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 307: RA THE AVENGER

MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 307: RA THE AVENGER

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(Captain America Comics 008, 1941)  Ra the Avenger is actually Henry Sanders, an explorer who discovered and eventually sold the fabulous Egyptian Ruby of the Nile, then dressed up in faux Ancient Egyptian gear to murder all who stood in his way on a quest to steal it back again. That is, unfortunately, about all we can say about this guy because he’s one of those fellas who gets punched out and hauled off to jail without really spelling out…

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