The Curse of Skeleton Munroe

Category: fatale

  • MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 227: FRAULEIN DOKTOR’S DAUGHTER

    (Feature Comics 046-055, 1941-1942) 

    If you, like me, aren’t familiar with WWI-era espionage figures, then this one will require some explanation. Fraulein Doktor was the only name that German spy Elsbeth Schragmüller was known by, even after the war had ended and up until German records were seized in 1945, in fact. And once Captain Bruce Blackburn’s adventures had wrung all of the interest they could out of the German-American Bund, a sexy spy nemesis was just the ticket! Thus: Sonya (presumably) Schragmüller, Fraulein Doktor’s Daughter!

    Sonya’s a fine foe for a regular-style espionage character like Bruce Blackburn, full of all of the staples of the genre: poisons, disguises, fake cults, horniness, etc., but she has three real features of interest aside from being the made-up child of a real person:

    -she has an enormous body count relative to her number of appearances, managing to knock off at least a couple of US intelligence agents per operation.

    -even though she refers to her country of origin as “the Homeland” as is standard in the Counterspy strip, she is presented as the daughter of a German intelligence agent – this is about as close to outright saying she’s a Nazi as you get in mid-1941! (I sometimes feel weird getting so excited for actual Nazis to show up in the books I’m reading, but if it’s so I can see them get beat up a bunch I guess it’s fine)

    -since she’s the major ongoing villain of the Bruce Blackburn strip, and since the industry standard way to keep an espionage villain around is to have them escape at the end of every story, she never really gets caught, and since the strip ends in mid-1942, she ends her time in comics at large, a rare fate.

    ADDENDUM: CARL

    In the first Fraulein Doktor’s Daughter story she has no henchmen. In the second, she has three, Carl, Fritz and Otto, all apprehended. In the third, a second Carl, probably also arrested. In the fourth, Karl, who ends up dead. What does this mean beyond the writers having a limited pool of German names to draw from? I have no idea!

  • SUPER-VILLAIN YEARBOOK: CATWOMAN 1940

    I have decided that I’m neglecting non-minor super-villains! Thus: super-villain yearbooks! We’re hopping back in time slightly to round up the ones who appeared in comics I have already read as I revisit them, so here comes a big blob of Batman villains!

    So, what was Catwoman up to in 1940?

    1. Batman Comics v1 001, ‘Untitled’ **first appearance**

    In Catwoman’s first appearance, she’s a mysterious figure known as the Cat about whom little enough is known that Robin’s chief suspects are a couple of chunky dudes in their 50s.

    Key to Batman’s relationship with Catwoman, however, is that he is very horny for her. Thus, my theory is that he horny-sensed that seeming frail old lady Miss Peggs is actually a hot dame with nice gams, no matter what he tries to tell Robin later about “clues” and “evidence.”

    The reveal of the Cat’s true identity is of course the source for a couple of the classic out-of-context comics panels.

    Finally, this is the first of many times that Batman will just let Catwoman go because, as mentioned, he’s horny for her. 

    2. Batman Comics v1 002, ‘Untitled’

    Most of this is a Joker story, but there are a few points of interest for the Cat.

    The little old lady disguise is back in play!

    As befits the subject of Batman’s affections, she shows moments of virtue even as she plunders the castle of a dead man.

    At the very last second, as she plunges to her potential doom, a “-Woman” is added to her name, basically for all time.

    3. Batman Comics v1 003, ‘The Batman vs the Cat-Woman!’

    The most important part of this adventure comes early:

    The cat head Catwoman costume! Not well-loved but it has a place in my heart. Catwoman has at least as many lackluster costumes as great ones, so one that goes all-out like this definitely ranks in the top 50% over mediocrities like the 60s green outfit or the black one-piece swimsuit with buccaneer boots.

    The story is less about Batman vs Catwoman than it is about crappy business partners. Specifically, two of the three men involved in a diamond business team up and hire the Catwoman to steal their goods and then one of them betrays the other one. Things look bad for Catwoman until Batman and Robin show up.

    Batman again lets her get away because he like-likes her, but this time:

    The feeling is mutual! Fireworks go off! The nations rejoice! The nascent spirits of fanfic grow stronger! WHAT A 1940 CATWOMAN HAS HAD!

    Body Count: 0 (assuming that the security guard that gets taken out in her first appearance was just knocked out, which I am because even Golden Age Batman didn’t get horny enough to excuse murder)

    End-of-year Status: At Large

  • MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 195: THE SOPHISTICATED LADY

    (Crack Comics 010, 1941)

    The Sophisticated Lady is a femme fatale thief of the kind that comics love. She has a decent career going as the comic opens but the Black Condor shows up to put the kibosh on it. Sadly she doesn’t actually get to do that much on-panel, but the terrific name makes up for it a little.

  • MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 195: THE SOPHISTICATED LADY

    (Crack Comics 010, 1941)

    The Sophisticated Lady is a femme fatale thief of the kind that comics love. She has a decent career going as the comic opens but the Black Condor shows up to put the kibosh on it. Sadly she doesn’t actually get to do that much on-panel, but the terrific name makes up for it a little.

  • MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 019: THE TIGRESS

    MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 019: THE TIGRESS

    (Action Comics v1 001, 1938)

    The Tigress was both Zatara’s first foe and his only real recurring villain, showing up a dozen times over 3 years. She acted in the role of what was occasionally called a “friendly enemy”: a villain of the opposite gender who the hero has a soft spot for, implicitly or explicitly because they’re horny for them. A Catwoman situation, in other words.

    Like Catwoman and Batman, the Tigress occasionally teamed up with Zatara against a worse foe, and Zatara frequently let her escape at the end of a case out of horny sentimentality. Unlike Catwoman, the Tigress was absolutely a multiple murderer, running armed robbery, assassination and extortion rings at various times as well as acting as lieutenant for several other super-villains such as the Mad Lama.

    Ultimately, Zatara caught the Tigress for the last time and seemingly persuaded her to reform. Whether it stuck or not, she never appeared in a comic book again.