(Green Mask v1 006, 1941) It’s a classic scheme: dress up like a super-hero – or super-heroes in this case: the Green Mask and Domino the Miracle Boy – to commit crimes, and rely on the public and the police to draw attention away from you and toward them in the subsequent outcry and investigation. The only real trick to the hero-imposture game is not to push your luck. As long as the super-hero is free to do so, they…
If we criminalize mad science then only criminal scientists will be mad. Mauser: Mauser is the second of two foes battled by two-fisted chemist Guy Gorham and also the second rogue biologist. Was this comic setting up some sort of biologist/chemist beef that never got a chance to pay off? Mauser’s plans are never really spelled out, but he’s got a colony of vampire bats that he seems to be training to attack human targets, which isn’t great but which…
We regret to inform you that more super-heroes have been wounded. the Blue Beetle: The very first thing that happens in the very first Blue Beetle comic: Dan “the Blue Beetle” Garret gets shot in the left arm. (Mystery Men Comics 001, 1939) Domino the Miracle Boy: It’s a miracle (a boy miracle?) that Domino survives 1941, because he gets hit by a dang car. (Green Mask v1 006, 1941) Not two issues later, Domino gets shot in the ever-popular…
Real people? In comic books? Now I’ve seen everything. Abu Khan: I sincerely cannot tell if this Black Knight foe is supposed to be Abu Sa’id Bahadur Khan, last ruler of the Mongol Ilkhanate, or if they just pulled a couple of syllables out of the air and added “Khan” to the end and called it a day. On the one hand, the real Abu Khan never tried to invade Egypt, as the Black Knight is trying to prevent him…
Super-heroes. Like heroes, but super. Captain Midnight: Like the second, more popular (though still pretty obscure) Captain Midnight that will be published by Fawcett starting in 1942, this fellow is an adaptation of the radio character, and unlike the second Captain Midnight, this one is a pretty direct adaptation. It’s a bit abbreviated and you kind of have to keep referring to the Captain Midnight Wikipedia page to fill in the gaps where your assumed familiarity with the radio show lies, but…
(The Flame 007, 1941) The Black Legion is a mysterious cult who recruit members by sending them a sternly-worded letter through the mail. Presumably they have some way of researching their potential inductees to screen for susceptibility to peer pressure and so forth, because the initiation process involves carving a large letter D into your own chest while swearing fealty to the cult’s leader, the skull-masked Master of Death. The Black Legion takes its vows seriously, as member Graves finds…
(The Flame 006, 1941) The Hooded Men are a cult of Tibetan fire worshippers who show up one day and kidnap the daughter of the Flame’s friend Doctor Roy. This is a huge coincidence, as the Flame (as I’m sure you all remember) is also a member of a sect of Tibetan fire worshippers! How lucky for Doctor Roy and his child, No First Name Given! The Flame is able to follow the cult back to Tibet thanks to the fact that…
It’s astonishing. They just keep on coming up with more super-heroes. the Flame **UPDATE**: Like many other long-running Fox Features characters, the Flame gets a bit of an overhaul late in 1941. In the Flame’s case, this includes an expansion to his powers: long able to get around by running on the stream of fire produced by his flame gun, the Flame is now simply able to fly. He can also now pick up and move fire around, as seen…
(The Flame 004, 1941) Doctor Drool* is a medical doctor who was recently executed for an unspecified crime. He has, however, planned for this eventuality, and his assistant Scully is on-hand to collect him from his mausoleum at the earliest opportunity so that he can administer a revivification treatment to him. Thus restored, Doctor Drool swears revenge on the Judge, District Attorney and jury who convicted him, a fourteen-person death list that would eventually grow to include the Flame as…
I’m beginning to think that the super-hero scene is pretty hazardous. the Blue Bolt: The Blue Bolt’s first outing against the Green Sorceress is marred by the fact that he gets near-fatally clawed by her vulturoid monsters. (Blue Bolt v1 001, 1940) the Cloak: Jeff Cardiff, aka the Spy-Master, aka the Spay-Chief and the future Cloak, gets a classic skull crease. On purpose! This is the way that that goon chose to knock him out! Such confidence! (Big Shot 002,…