The Curse of Skeleton Munroe

Category: costumes

  • MINOR SUPER-HERO 053: T.N.T.

    (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 it like a regular pistol except for one time when he shoots a goon’s bullets out of the air.

    As with all one-off super-heroes it’s a toss-up whether he chose not to continue adventuring after one success or was immediately shot dead the next time he set out.

  • MINOR SUPER-HERO 050: THE BLUE BLAZE

    (Mystic Comics v1 001, 1940)

    Spencer Keen AKA the Blue Blaze is an interesting character. His origin for example has a couple of classic elements that were not yet classic at the time because it was 1940. Or rather it was 1852 because Spencer Keen is from the Past.

    Costume: like Barbara Gordon twenty-odd years later, the reason that the Blue Blaze has a super-suit ready to go is that he was on the way to a costume party when his origin happened.

    Origin: while the Blue Blaze is possibly the earliest super-hero to have the costume party outfit origin (and a cursory search turns up Miss Fury as the only other contender), the origin of his powers was probably already a cliche in the pulps. My Science Dad Made a Thing and I Got Powers From It has to be one of the all-time most common origins (particularly once Science Moms start getting equal representation) – heck, you could probably include Superman’s origin in that category if you were feeling puckish.

    Spencer Keen’s Science Dad discovered a weird blue flame that killed whatever it touched, only for them to come back stronger after some time had passed. For slightly unclear reasons he had resolved to destroy this blue blaze (the name of the guy! that’s where it’s from!) but before he could do so a tornado ripped through the area. Spencer Keen was seemingly killed buy in actuality was blasted with blue flame.

    (the tornado also ties into the origin of the Blue Blaze’s costume, by the way. It killed so many people that they were all buried as quickly as possible, meaning that Keen went into the ground in fancy dress)

    Spencer Keen hibernates in his coffin for 88 years, then emerges as the Blue Blaze when he is disturbed by graverobbers working for Professor Maluski. As the Blue Blaze, Keen is generically physically and mentally enhanced and invulnerable to small arms. He also has some degree of telepathic power – he passively absorbs knowledge about the world while in hibernation and has some sort of sense of where and when danger is afoot. Initially, the Blue Blaze operated as a regular-style super-hero with a secret lair, a laboratory and a cool car, but his last adventure introduced the very cool concept of him returning to the grave once he had dispensed justice upon some fools and then reemerging in a new location when he is needed once again.

    I am honestly surprised that the Blue Blaze hasn’t been BRUNG BACK in some capacity yet. Not only is he conceptually interesting with his whole “emerge from the grave to smite evil” gimmick but he’s preloaded with an interesting state of being: a completely knowledgeable and up-to-date human whose social development stopped when he was early 20s at latest, in the 1850s. Rife with potential!

  • MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 447: THE MANX

    (Mystery Men Comics 026, 1941)

    It’s the Manx! Our second catsuit-clad cat-themed villain after the Cat’s Paw! This fella doesn’t share too much about himself but seems to be a bit of a criminal opportunist – here he’s attempting to steal a pistol used in a 25 year-old murder so that he can blackmail the murderer, now a wealthy and successful man. Given his sneaky climbing style of getting about I’d wager that he’s usually some sort of burglar. A cat burglar, natch.

    Mustn’t forget to note his themed weapon: a cat’s claw mounted on his wrist that he uses to slash up his foes in a surprisingly gory fashion. Also: no tail, just like a real manx!

    Ultimately, the Manx seems to have the wrong ratio of sneaking around vs committing horrific violence going on, particularly once he’s aware that he’s facing a super-powered foe in the Green Mask. With a little more creeping and a little less clawing he might have gotten away with some swag rather than being caught by an oaf.

  • MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 438: THE GLOVE

    (Tip-Top Comics 054-056, 1940)

    The Glove here is the head of a gang of international criminals that come to the attention of super-hero brothers the Triple Terror when they make off with a load of radium. Why the radium, you ask? Why, so that the Glove and his pal Mr Mario (good name) could run their death ray cannon.

    Unfortunately for the Glove he only ever managed to capture 2/3 of the Triple Terror. The final confrontation does reveal the reason that he is called the Glove: like our old friend the Hook he has a prosthetic hook hand covered by a false plastic one. The hook proves to be his ultimate undoing, as a fumbled grab for a light switch ends in his electrocution (and, through some literary contrivance, that of most of his men. Only Mr Mario survives).

    But who are the Triple Terror? They are triplets Barton, Richard and Bruce Brandon, who operate respectively as Chemix, Lectra and Menta, the masters of chemistry, electricity and men’s minds. Though they are technically nonpowered they are sufficiently adept at their specialties that they effectively are. Chemix has for instance created what is essentially Spider-Man’s webshooter while Menta has access to hypnotic powers that are tantamount to mind control. All three are of course physical paragons capable of bursting chains and scaling walls with ease

    The only real weak point in the Brandons arsenal of abilities is in their faculty for naming: “Triple Terror” and “Chemix” are okay but “Lectra”? “Menta”? Even the family estate is called “Brandwell” which is frankly mid-tier.

    I do enjoy their Platonic Ideal super-hero outfits, complete with dumb logos and a variable number of pouches depending on how many accessories each uses as part of their role in the team. I will be starting a pool to bet on how long the belt thing lasts.

  • MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 435: KAR THE DESTROYER

    (Shadow Comics v1 003, 1940)

    Here is a list of elements that are in the three-issue story that Kar the Destroyer is the antagonist of: 

    -a dissolving gas called the Smoke of Eternity

    -a diving bell repurposed as a deathtrap

    -multiple pirate ships

    -Thunder Island, a place with a prehistoric remnant ecosystem complete with dinosaurs

    -Doc Savage

    Here is how the story made me feel:

    -bored

    It’s a real shame because love most of those things! I love Kar’s look! I feel like I should love Doc Savage but I don’t and it  might be for the same reason I didn’t like this: it was a slog to read just like any time I try reading Doc Savage. It’s a real shame!

  • MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 428: THE WHITE FACE

    (Mystery Men Comics 001, 1939) 

    I have made an error! Two errors! The first was in skipping the Blue Beetle’s very first foe, and it was because of the second, that I had the antagonist in this story marked down as the White Face Gang rather than the White Face, plus his gang. If it was the former, the best their unnamed leader would get was a place in the Generic Costumed Villain Round-Up, but no, he has a special name!

    Mind you, he’s still a very unremarkable guy: a banker’s personal secretary gone bad, ho hum. Much more interesting is the Blue Beetle’s original suit-and-tie-vigilante costume and modus opperandi, down to a Green Hornet-like facade of criminality, the better to lure crooks into his confidence. It was gone by his next appearance, but he had it and that’s all that matters.

  • MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 428: THE WHITE FACE

    (Mystery Men Comics 001, 1939) 

    I have made an error! Two errors! The first was in skipping the Blue Beetle’s very first foe, and it was because of the second, that I had the antagonist in this story marked down as the White Face Gang rather than the White Face, plus his gang. If it was the former, the best their unnamed leader would get was a place in the Generic Costumed Villain Round-Up, but no, he has a special name!

    Mind you, he’s still a very unremarkable guy: a banker’s personal secretary gone bad, ho hum. Much more interesting is the Blue Beetle’s original suit-and-tie-vigilante costume and modus opperandi, down to a Green Hornet-like facade of criminality, the better to lure crooks into his confidence. It was gone by his next appearance, but he had it and that’s all that matters.

  • MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 425: THE ONE THOUSAND AND ONE

    (Keen Detective Funnies v2 019-020, 1940)

    Love a number name, particularly one so precise as the One Thousand and One. It’s tied to the number of criminals in their employ, but does it go up and down as they gain or lose members? Is the One a very harried HR guy frantically filling positions as they are vacated? Is it just a nice-sounding number and the actual staffing is a bit more loose? These are the important questions.

    It’s a shame that for all their skill at recruiting, the three leaders of the One Thousand and One were unable to secure the services of a decent tailor. The sheet ghost look is surely in the F tier of villain costumes (unless your theme is sheet ghost, of course) but a little love and it could be made to work a lot better than it is here.

    The One Thousand and One are of course taken down, but not entirely by the hero of the piece, G-Man TNT Todd. No, he is bailed out of a real jam at the last second by an eerie figure called Mr Death. There’s a promise that Mr Death will return in Keen Detective Funnies 021 but that story is instead devoted to TNT Todd getting explosion-based superpowers and the opportunity never arises – Mr Death will forever remain a mystery.

    (an informed guess based on my knowledge of the genre: Mr Death would either turn out to be a criminal rival of the One Thousand and One or a hypercompetent female vigilante. If a mysterious figure bails out the hero at the last second it’s almost always one of the two)

  • MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 425: THE ONE THOUSAND AND ONE

    (Keen Detective Funnies v2 019-020, 1940)

    Love a number name, particularly one so precise as the One Thousand and One. It’s tied to the number of criminals in their employ, but does it go up and down as they gain or lose members? Is the One a very harried HR guy frantically filling positions as they are vacated? Is it just a nice-sounding number and the actual staffing is a bit more loose? These are the important questions.

    It’s a shame that for all their skill at recruiting, the three leaders of the One Thousand and One were unable to secure the services of a decent tailor. The sheet ghost look is surely in the F tier of villain costumes (unless your theme is sheet ghost, of course) but a little love and it could be made to work a lot better than it is here.

    The One Thousand and One are of course taken down, but not entirely by the hero of the piece, G-Man TNT Todd. No, he is bailed out of a real jam at the last second by an eerie figure called Mr Death. There’s a promise that Mr Death will return in Keen Detective Funnies 021 but that story is instead devoted to TNT Todd getting explosion-based superpowers and the opportunity never arises – Mr Death will forever remain a mystery.

    (an informed guess based on my knowledge of the genre: Mr Death would either turn out to be a criminal rival of the One Thousand and One or a hypercompetent female vigilante. If a mysterious figure bails out the hero at the last second it’s almost always one of the two)

  • MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 422: THE MASTER

    (Keen Detective Funnies v2 002, 1939)

    Another day, another guy named the Master. This Master is escaped lunatic Pierre Lacroix, leader of the Hooded Cult and would-be world conqueror. Lacroix maintains the loyalty of his cult via drug addiction and has a castle HQ. This is all penny-ante stuff.

    The most important thing about the Master is his shirt. It’s like, a sweatshirt with attached cowl? Obviously other villains have been doing similar things with robes for years at this point but I feel like this was something special even if my knowledge of the future of super-villain costume design tells me that it is an evolutionary dead end. 

    Anyway, he dies in an explosion but his contributions to villainous fashion will live on.