The Curse of Skeleton Munroe

Category: minor super-villain

  • MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 094: THE GOLDFISH

    (Detective Comics 046, 1940)

    Love this guy. The head of a gang of smugglers who looks like a goldfish and is sensitive about it and tortures his foes by imprisoning them in a huge goldfish bowl where they have to stand for days or drown and the only thing to eat is what raw goldfish they can catch and they eventually go mad? Terrific.

    All that but it’s actually a mask and the Goldfish is actually a frustrated former actor? So much better.

    UPDATE: In a rare callback, a remnant of the Goldfish’s gang is the antagonist of the ‘Spy’ story in Detective Comics 048. Neat!

  • MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 093: THE SKULL

    (Detective Comics 043, 1940)

    A skull-faced propagandist operating out of the Belgian Congo, presumably Nazi but it’s pre-Pearl Harbor so he works for a “hostile power” or “the dictatorships” etc.

    The really intriguing thing about the Skull is his choice of themes – rather than go with an obvious skeleton motif like your average skull-faced goon would do, he instead opted for a Medieval theme, complete with sword-wielding henchmen and a jungle castle. I would praise him for making good and interesting choices but he’s probably a Nazi, so never mind.

    RETROACTIVE ADDENDUM: got a lot of guys named the Skull coming up so I’m going to start scoring them on how appropriate their nom de crime is. This guy is obviously SKULL SCORE: 5/5

    UNPRECIDENTED SECOND ADDENDUM: I messed up! this guy is pro war but he’s just a munitions profiteer! Sorry, skull-headed creep!

  • MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 092: THE PAINTER OF DEATH

    (Detective Comics 042, 1940)

    The Painter of Death (never actually called that in-comic, sadly) engaged in a campaign against the subjects of paintings by up-and-coming portraitist Antal. He first attacked the painting of the person and then killed them in the same manner: via dart, arrow, gunshot etc. Eventually, Bruce “Batman” Wayne commissioned a painting from Antal and used it to set a trap which netted Wylie, an art collector who had invested heavily in Antal’s work and saw the murders as a way to raise the value of his investment via morbid publicity.

    Though Wylie bumped himself off at the end of the adventure, the bullet-riddled Antal portrait of Bruce Wayne sticks around to become one of the minor stock trophies in the Batcave. The Painter of Death or Prophetic Portraits Case is also mentioned a couple of times as Batman and Robin’s “first big case” and the reason for their fame. Does this reflect some attitude of the creators about the story itself or is it just a plot contrivance? I have no idea!

  • MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 092: THE PAINTER OF DEATH

    MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 092: THE PAINTER OF DEATH

    (Detective Comics 042, 1940)

    The Painter of Death (never actually called that in-comic, sadly) engaged in a campaign against the subjects of paintings by up-and-coming portraitist Antal. He first attacked the painting of the person and then killed them in the same manner: via dart, arrow, gunshot etc. Eventually, Bruce “Batman” Wayne commissioned a painting from Antal and used it to set a trap which netted Wylie, an art collector who had invested heavily in Antal’s work and saw the murders as a way to raise the value of his investment via morbid publicity.

    Though Wylie bumped himself off at the end of the adventure, the bullet-riddled Antal portrait of Bruce Wayne sticks around to become one of the minor stock trophies in the Batcave. The Painter of Death or Prophetic Portraits Case is also mentioned a couple of times as Batman and Robin’s “first big case” and the reason for their fame. Does this reflect some attitude of the creators about the story itself or is it just a plot contrivance? I have no idea!

  • MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 091: THE MASKED MAN

    (Detective Comics 041, 1940)

    A common or garden-variety masked counterfeiter, the Masked Man operated out of an all-boys’ school, leading to him being the first solo foe of an undercover Dick “Robin” Grayson. Mostly. Batman shows up at the end for a punch or two.

  • MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 090: THE SPIDER

    (Detective Comics 036, 1940)

    The Spider, a notorious jewel thief, is in reality nightclub owner Durand. But Durand is in reality (shocked gasp) suburbanite Roberta Roberts!

    While the original thought process behind the character was likely no more complex than “I bet it would be fun to draw a lady in a bra and false mustache,” a few different narrative jump to the modern mind, the first being that Durand/ the Spider is the true identity of a trans man, with Roberta Roberts being maintained as a convenient cover story. Or perhaps Roberta simply has to adopt these male identities (including, it is mildly implied, a fictional husband) in order to succeed in the worlds of business and crime. Either version of this story could be pretty great in the hands of the right writer. BRING BACK the Spider, I say.

    I also find myself shipping two characters for maybe the first time ever? Speed Saunders is a rare Golden Age lawman character with a presence in (somewhat) modern comics, having been made cousin to the original Hawkgirl and grandfather to the 2000s version of same. There’s a non-zero if very low chance of him showing up in flashbacks to the 40s and 50s and I keep picturing him introducing “my associate, Durand” to people and thinking that it’s adorable. Is this what all the people on Tumblr see in making fictional characters kiss in their minds?

  • 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 088: THE BLACK-ROBED MAN

    (Blue Beetle Comics 004, 1940)

    It’s fairly unsupported right now as the only other example of a crossdressing villain so far is the Coin, but trust me when I say that an older woman adopting a younger male identity for crime is a comparative rarity as compared to the opposite. I may find myself compelled to note all of the times that non-super gangster types do it, just to lend weight to my claims.

    Anyway, the Black-Robed Man. Runs a gang out of a house that is technically owned by her niece, which is how the Blue Beetle gets involved, helping the damsel who is being run out of her home by dastards.

  • MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 088: THE BLACK-ROBED MAN

    (Blue Beetle Comics 004, 1940)

    It’s fairly unsupported right now as the only other example of a crossdressing villain so far is the Coin, but trust me when I say that an older woman adopting a younger male identity for crime is a comparative rarity as compared to the opposite. I may find myself compelled to note all of the times that non-super gangster types do it, just to lend weight to my claims.

    Anyway, the Black-Robed Man. Runs a gang out of a house that is technically owned by her niece, which is how the Blue Beetle gets involved, helping the damsel who is being run out of her home by dastards.