The kinds of character that are a part of comics history so it would be wrong to ignore them but are also pretty racist (usually – I’m sure that eventually I’ll find something else distasteful enough to put here) and unpleasant to dedicate a whole lot of time to. We’re going with a round-up! Our first culprit is George Harvard AKA Big Sun, a guy with a way too complicated plan to sell oil to the Axis out of the…
The thing is that they have some but not all of the attributes of a super-villain. A sea-raider who uses a stolen acid gun to build a psychically-controlled army of skeleton men? If only he had a name or had a bit more swagger! Alas for him the Shark puts him down before he could do enough to elevate himself out of this gathering of also-rans. (Amazing-Man Comics 021, 1941) This gang of guys dressed as mailmen don’t give the…
It’s time for more mad and criminal scientists! Round ’em up! The fantastically-named Doctor Evecloud has a plan: shrink everyone else on the planet so that he, the only big person, will be in charge. As so often happens, one of his first guinea pigs is a super-hero, in this case the Shark. Things end poorly for Doctor Evecloud. (Amazing-Man Comics 016, 1940) This fellow is Dr Scowl and so far we’re sitting at 2/2 great scientist names. Dr Scowl…
King of Darkness: Radio engineer Bruce King develops the amazingly-named Black Zero Transmitter that selectively allows him to negate light and/or heat in its range of operation, plus an insulated costume and night-vision goggles so that he is immune to its effects. He ends up dealing with nosy reporters and spies inadvertently egged on by said nosy reporters and so adopts the alias of the King of Darkness. Probably the best thing about him is the fact that he will…
Still lotsa super-heroes to add. the Marksman: Single appearance hero trained by his father to be completely accurate with thrown or projectile weapons. Uses the alias John Courage. Throws a spear through a guy’s head one time. (Amazing-Man Comics 023, 1941) Miraco the Great: Circus magician with real powers. His one adventure involved running a sex pest gorilla trainer out of the circus. (Amazing-Man Comics 023, 1941) Super Ann: A young woman who was given super strength by a weird…
Some minor super-heroes I only have a small amount to say about: the Wraith: The Wraith is a very similar concept to the Spectre: a murdered cop comes back to mete out justice. They even have the same white/ green colour scheme, only reversed. A few things about the Wraith that sets him apart: though he does have some general ghost powers his main trick is possession, he is limited to the hours between midnight and dawn, and he has…
(Amazing-Man Comics 023, 1941) The Sewer Rat is actually Major Strabo, who says that he just wanted to graft off the government by selling military supplies to foreign governments but actually just ran a gang that, like, robbed museums and held up nightclubs and so forth. Aside from his rad name is notable for being the only foe of minor Centaur hero the Marksman.
(Amazing-Man Comics 021, 1941) A single-appearance hero notable for two reasons: 1) His name is Treve N. Thorndike and he got his super-hero name because he was careless enough to wear a belt with his initials on it while crimefighting (in his mild defense the more well-known super-hero named TNT also has those initials – maybe it’s a compulsion associated with having a cool name) 2) TNT carries a gun that is powered by atomic fission but he mostly uses…
(Amazing-Man Comics 019, 1941) Mighty Man was always a lot for crooks to deal with even when he was just a 12 foot tall guy with super strength but after he gained complete control over his physical form he really gave them a run for their money. I assume that’s why he was assigned an actual, factual magic-using witch as a recurring enemy. At least, at first. In her first appearance, the Witch had a magic broom that allowed her…
(Amazing-Man Comics 019, 1941) Mighty Man was always a lot for crooks to deal with even when he was just a 12 foot tall guy with super strength but after he gained complete control over his physical form he really gave them a run for their money. I assume that’s why he was assigned an actual, factual magic-using witch as a recurring enemy. At least, at first. In her first appearance, the Witch had a magic broom that allowed her…