The Curse of Skeleton Munroe

Category: good henchmen

  • MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 191: THE DEVIL

    (Crack Comics 007, 1940) 

    There is no textual evidence for this, but since this guy is dressed exactly like the unnamed boss of the Skull Gang (plus some rad horns) and uses the very similar tactic of dosing his minions (the Robbers from Hades – good name) with toxins that make them all shriveled and weird (and in this case more pliable and obedient), I like to think that it’s the same guy back for another shot at making his fortune in the crime boss game, albeit without taking the very sensible precaution of, say, switching cities or otherwise trying to avoid the Clock. This time, alas, he meets his end, so we won’t be treated to a green-hooded man with a tail leading squads of Demonic Monkey Marauders, or a green-hooded man with a tinfoil halo commanding his Larceny Angels. Sad days.

  • MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 191: THE DEVIL

    (Crack Comics 007, 1940) 

    There is no textual evidence for this, but since this guy is dressed exactly like the unnamed boss of the Skull Gang (plus some rad horns) and uses the very similar tactic of dosing his minions (the Robbers from Hades – good name) with toxins that make them all shriveled and weird (and in this case more pliable and obedient), I like to think that it’s the same guy back for another shot at making his fortune in the crime boss game, albeit without taking the very sensible precaution of, say, switching cities or otherwise trying to avoid the Clock. This time, alas, he meets his end, so we won’t be treated to a green-hooded man with a tail leading squads of Demonic Monkey Marauders, or a green-hooded man with a tinfoil halo commanding his Larceny Angels. Sad days.

  • MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 187: THE MASTER

    (Crack Comics 006, 1940)

    The best thing about the Master is absolutely his henchmen, the Kite Men. Identical shirtless bald guys who shoot lightning from their bracelets as they soar above unnamed, probably American cities, the Kite Men are some terrific weirdo henchmen. They all get blasted by the Black Condor by the end of the story, but until then they have a good run.

    The Master himself is your typical world conqueror, whose motivation seems to be that he’s sick of being laughed at because he’s a dwarf. And as if to illustrate, when Black Condor discovers the leader of this plot who has already killed tens or hundreds of thousands of people, he too laughs. HE’S PART OF THE PROBLEM.

  • MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 183: X-1

    (Crack Comics 003, 1940)

    What makes them a super-villain? While X-1 is concerned with that most banal of crimes, insurance fraud, he does it at scale, employing a fleet of pirates in souped-up submarines to steal his own goods and sink his own ships for the sweet cash payout.

    What is interesting about them? Well first off, his real name is Wilhelm Wotan, a true banger of a moniker the likes of which we have seldom seen so far. A real villain’s name that is frankly wasted on this capitalist pigdog.

    The real draw, though, is those submarine pirates! Check out those dreamy mantled masks, that skull-and-crossboned conning tower! It’s hard to go wrong with submarine pirates but by Jove I’ve seldom seen any done more right.

  • MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 183: X-1

    (Crack Comics 003, 1940)

    What makes them a super-villain? While X-1 is concerned with that most banal of crimes, insurance fraud, he does it at scale, employing a fleet of pirates in souped-up submarines to steal his own goods and sink his own ships for the sweet cash payout.

    What is interesting about them? Well first off, his real name is Wilhelm Wotan, a true banger of a moniker the likes of which we have seldom seen so far. A real villain’s name that is frankly wasted on this capitalist pigdog.

    The real draw, though, is those submarine pirates! Check out those dreamy mantled masks, that skull-and-crossboned conning tower! It’s hard to go wrong with submarine pirates but by Jove I’ve seldom seen any done more right.

  • MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 169: THE SWAMP MASTER

    (Blue Beetle Comics 010, 1941)

    Once again I am faced with the painful dichotomy of a villain with all of the trappings I love – he’s a bombastic loudmouth with a bunch of costumed henchmen, who uses simple trickery to appear superhuman – but uses them in service to some frankly uninspired crimes.

    In this case, the Swamp Master (great name, too!) emerges from the swamp (natch) with his wet-suited Swampmen and a saurian monster that is actually a disguised series of cranes and flatcars. Driven by a lust for cold hard cash, he and the Swampmen steal whole trains and remove them to the swamp for looting.

    The problem with this scheme is… everything? Stealing and looting entire trains (and murdering everyone on board!) might be a viable money-making scheme if you’re mobile, but just sitting in one place and doing it over and over, particularly in a super-hero universe, is a surefire ticket to jail or the grave, and the Swamp Master is lucky that he got the former.

  • MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 155: MAZDA THE GREAT

    (All-Star Comics 003, 1940)

    Much of the information that we have on Mazda the Great comes from the mouth of one of his dying henchmen at the end of the story, but what reason would he have to lie? According to this man, Mazda was a scientist (I assume a vulcanologist. An enormous one!) who developed both technology to control/ redirect the energies of a volcano and also volcano-proof suits. Thus equipped, he set up shop in the crater of Mount Krakatoa along with his minions, dubbed the Fire Ghosts.

    It’s a bit unclear whether Mazda actually planned on taking over the world or destroying it – he said destroy while his minion said conquer – but either way, he was chucked into the volcano for his troubles, once Hawkman showed up on the scene.

    A lot of reasons to like this fella – I love a huge guy and I love a skull hat, and on a scientist? Beautiful. He also manages to maintain enough gravitas that I always remember him as having a pseudo-noble goal for his conquest/destruction but on further examination it seems that he just has volcano-weaponizing technology and wants to use it.

  • MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 149: KING COBRA

    (All American 029, 1941)

    A simple first costumed foe for Dr Mid-Nite: a mine owner founds his own secret society in order to control public opinion about such things as unionization and also to have a ready-made lynch mob if needed. Really appreciate how on-theme the Cobra Kingdom – wearing a version of King Cobra’s own costume, natch – were at all times, down to referring to their enemies as “mongoose.” It wasn’t a big shock that they almost killed King Cobra himself when it was revealed to them that they had been duped into doing his bidding.

  • 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 140: IKER

     (Adventure 064, 1941)

    Yet another Hourman mad scientist foe, Iker (properly Dr T.Z. Iker, but the only time that shows up is on a mailbox) is a classic Victim of Orthodoxy, having been kicked out of the Science Club by the hidebound Dr Orr for espousing “fake theories”.

    Said fake theories enable Iker to build a machine capable either of creating lifeforms out of energy drawn from the 5th Dimension or of drawing lifeforms from the 5th Dimension and giving them form – it’s explained in a bit of a rush in the second-last panel – and he uses them for a bit of crime and revenge before being driven mad by his technology’s destruction in the climactic battle of the adventure. The important part is that some of them are knife-wielding dwarves and one of them is a giant version of himself named Normo.

    SHOULD THEY BE BROUGHT BACK? is a moot question as I discovered when I did my customary check: he already has, in JSA v1 005, 1999, as a rehabilitated employee of Tylerco!