The Curse of Skeleton Munroe

Category: thief

  • MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 167: ARMO

    (Blue Beetle v1 007, 1941)

    What makes them a super-villain? It’s the helmet! That kind of welder’s mask-looking helm is the key to my super-villain-appreciating heart. Otherwise, Armo is a gang boss who robs armoured cars and ends up launching himself into the sea while trying to run down the Blue Beetle.

    Honestly, Blue Beetle antagonists in this era are almost all guys in suits wearing masks but otherwise acting like standard gang bosses. If I didn’t include the filter of having to be just a leetle bit interesting this blog would be a parade of unnamed guys with brown/ white/ blue masks for weeks. Just chumps for days.

  • MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 154: THE YELLOW-FACED TERROR

    (All-Star Comics 002, 1940)


    What makes them a super-villain? He’s a money-mad maniac who murdered his own brother to steal a radiation-orb called the Life-Taker, which he uses to rob by the simple act of lobbing it into an area and waiting until it has killed any resistance. He also has a pretty great look, achieved via a crust of a sulphur/lead compound which shields him from his own orb’s radiations. What he doesn’t really have is a name, so I snitched the one used in the above text box.

    What’s interesting about them? Well, it’s a bit debatable but the Sandman might have murdered him. He discovers Wesley Dodds’ secret in the course of the adventure and then in the final struggle… it kind of looks like the Sandman arranges for him to be shot through the head a bit more enthusiastically than needed. Maybe.

  • MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 154: THE YELLOW-FACED TERROR

    (All-Star Comics 002, 1940)


    What makes them a super-villain? He’s a money-mad maniac who murdered his own brother to steal a radiation-orb called the Life-Taker, which he uses to rob by the simple act of lobbing it into an area and waiting until it has killed any resistance. He also has a pretty great look, achieved via a crust of a sulphur/lead compound which shields him from his own orb’s radiations. What he doesn’t really have is a name, so I snitched the one used in the above text box.

    What’s interesting about them? Well, it’s a bit debatable but the Sandman might have murdered him. He discovers Wesley Dodds’ secret in the course of the adventure and then in the final struggle… it kind of looks like the Sandman arranges for him to be shot through the head a bit more enthusiastically than needed. Maybe.

  • MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 142: DR DARRK

     (Adventure Comics 065, 1941)

    Another in a long line of scientist-villains faced by Hourman, Dr Darrk has a moderately cool name, a lighthouse HQ and an invisibility ray but ultimately is overshadowed by his really excellent robot goon, Giganto:

    Just look at that cool robot!

  • MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 141: THE UNSEEN MAN

     (Adventure 064, 1941)

    The Unseen Man, aside from his pretty great name, is fairly run-of-the-mill: an art supply owner or employee who somehow develops an invisibility paint, he subsequently turns to crime and is captured by the Sandman.

    The reason that the Unseen Man gets such short shrift is that a lot of story real estate is taken up with a subplot of Dian Belmont wanting to be in on the adventure and generally getting in the way, despite discovering at least one key clue. It’s all fairly depressing, especially as her earlier, hypercompetent self was still showing up only a few issues prior and she mostly gets pushed out by Sandy the Golden Boy going forward.

    Anyway, a shame that the Unseen Man didn’t get more to do.

  • MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 141: THE UNSEEN MAN

     (Adventure 064, 1941)

    The Unseen Man, aside from his pretty great name, is fairly run-of-the-mill: an art supply owner or employee who somehow develops an invisibility paint, he subsequently turns to crime and is captured by the Sandman.

    The reason that the Unseen Man gets such short shrift is that a lot of story real estate is taken up with a subplot of Dian Belmont wanting to be in on the adventure and generally getting in the way, despite discovering at least one key clue. It’s all fairly depressing, especially as her earlier, hypercompetent self was still showing up only a few issues prior and she mostly gets pushed out by Sandy the Golden Boy going forward.

    Anyway, a shame that the Unseen Man didn’t get more to do.

  • MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 136: THE LEGION OF THE MASKED

    (Adventure Comics 058, 1941)


    The Barry O’Neill serial in Adventure Comics had basically been about Barry battling the dastardly villain Fang Gow (Minor Super-Villain 001) from its inception in 1935 to his death by sea mine six years later and evidently someone thought that it could continue as more of a free form adventure strip despite losing that structure (as well as its setting, having started as a comic set in Paris that had quietly moved to London about the time that the German Army marched in). In fact, it lasted for two issues before Barry and his pal Inspector LeGrande retired to New York City and Starman took over the page real estate.

    The Legion of the Masked are the one other super-foe that Barry faced after the death of Fang Gow and… they did okay, getting up to a little arson, a little insurance fraud and a fair bit of theft and murder. Why they chose to dress like they are in the Klan while doing it, we will never know.

  • MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 125: THE GORILLA MAN

    (Slam-Bang Comics 005, 1940) 

    A jewel thief who dresses up in a gorilla costume to commit crimes, what really stands out about the Gorilla Man is that he does so for no real reason? He just likes it?


    Hell, if anything it makes him more likely to get caught since he has pulled this sort of job before and the gorilla costume is a bit of an attention getter. Is it reasonable to call this fictional character from more than 80 years ago a furry? Perhaps not, but I shall leave the question open to debate.

  • 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 066: MR LEOPARD SKIN

    (Action Comics 028, 1940)

    AKA the Leopard Skin Thief AKA the Strongarm Bandit – this is our first example of a clear super-villainous character who has not bothered to give themself a name and so we must take one from the text boxes or (as in this case) from the names given to them by the other characters.

    Mr Leopard Skin is fun because he is obviously dressed as a circus strongman, and that is because his crime career is an attempt to frame a circus strongman. The actual culprit, the circus clown, has to basically be caught before anyone else at the circus thinks to mention that the clown used to be the old strongman before a stronger strongman showed up and he got demoted and maybe might want revenge.