The Curse of Skeleton Munroe

Category: arsonist

  • FASCIST GOON CLEARING HOUSE 015

    If there’s one thing I know it’s that the world has a seemingly-inexhaustible supply of odious little fascist worms.

    the All-American League:

    The All-American League is nothing so exciting as your Nazi spies trying to poison the reservoir or prevent and/or encourage the US entrance into WWII. Instead, they are the more banal type of fascism that is popular nowadays, in which patriotism is weaponized as a way to enrich and empower a few petty men (yes, yes that’s what the Axis was too but they killed a lot of people while doing it so we hold them in higher esteem). The Flame is more than a match for a collection of small-minded opportunists.

    Please note that this is the one and only adventure in which the Flame is said to live in a place called Metropolis before someone presumably thought better of it, and that it features an ethnic neighbourhood with the hilariously on-the-nose name of “Foreign Town.” (The Flame 007, 1941)

    the Nazi Bund:

    This is our second instance of a group called the Nazi Bund and as the other one occurred in Fantastic Comics I would be tempted to posit that it represents a rare connection between two Fox Features titles. Not a strong connection, as this particular branch is completely annihilated by the Green Mask, just as that other was by Samson. (Green Mask v1 005, 1941)

    the Yellow-Jackets:

    Though the Yellow-Jackets, the recurring foes of America’s Air Ace Bill Barnes, are described as a kind of freelance band of international bandit spies, in practice they are just another bunch of Nazis-by-another-name. It’s a good name, though. Menacing. (Shadow Comics v1 002, 1940)

    Unnamed Saboteurs:

    This band of Nazi saboteurs are not the most distinguished but also not the least. Their big plan involves starting a forest fire outside of the war production centre of Brownstown and then burning down the town itself while everyone is out fighting the first blaze. Not a bad plan, if doomed to failure because of the presence of human fire extinguisher Fire-Man, but what really sets these guys apart is their weird cloth masks that sport one big central lens to see out of. These are not given any sort of narrative justification, so one must presume that they are worn solely to look cool. (Man of War Comics 001, 1941)

  • GENERIC COSTUMED VILLAIN ROUND-UP 042

    GENERIC COSTUMED VILLAIN ROUND-UP 042

    Celebrated by none… until now. And then only mildly.

    Slavin:

    This masked man is the leader of a gang who have been systematically robbing warehouses and then burning them down. The culprit turns out to be Slavin, the general manager of the warehousing company, and not the red herring suspect Slivers, owner of the company (who is ugly, and therefore more likely to be evil than the handsome Slavin). PI Dan Williams is too enlightened to judge others based on their appearances though, and busts the right man.  (Exciting Comics 014, 1941)

    the Black Baron:

    After wandering around Europe and North Africa and only really hitting up the Crusades long enough to kill Saladin, Sir Richard of Warwick, aka the Golden Knight, returns home to find that his younger brother Roland is missing and a very rude man called the Black Baron is squatting on his lands.

    The Black Baron seemed like he might get a numbered entry by name alone but alas, he’s a true scrub. The Golden Knight and his friends murder all of his men with what I would call embarrassing ease and the Baron passes up an opportunity to get away with his life for another shot at the gold he is convinced that Roland is hiding from him. The Golden Knight then enacts a little Crusader-style justice on him. To death. (Fantastic Comics 014, 1941)

    Unnamed Fascists:

    What do you do when you’re notorious comic book oddball Fletcher Hanks and you need to draw a selection of Axis leaders but the US comics industry isn’t yet 100% on board with just explicitly depicting Hitler as an evil villain and so you need to have a bit of plausible deniability? Masked Axis leaders, obviously! (Fantastic Comics 014, 1941)

    Kong:

    This fellow, name of Kong, has a super-sub and is looking to use it to extort some quick cash from the future state of New America. A classic plan!

    Kong’s cachet is spoiled somewhat by the fact that the heroic Sub Saunders just walks in through the front door of his underwater base and lays him out with a single punch. As a villain it is very hard to come back from something like this. (Fantastic Comics 015, 1941)

  • MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 953: THE COUPLE KILLER

    MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 953: THE COUPLE KILLER

    (Daredevil Comics 006, 1941)

    New York’s dating scene is in trouble, as courting couples are being murdered at a blazing clip: six couples in two weeks as the story begins and a seventh just one page in – that’s fourteen people! That’s a person a day! On average!

    Nightro is on the case, but merely patrolling the parks and other canoodling spots is a bust as the killer knows to look out for costumed vigilantes and even leaves a taunting note with the bodies of the unfortunate Mert and Rita. 

    Nightro’s next move is to set up a sting, featuring him in a dress alongside a dummy boyfriend that he can “make love to,” and here I must pause to say that the physical transformation achieved by the Streamlined Robinhood by merely putting on a dress is phenomenal, no matter what kind of shaping undergarments he has on. He goes from a fairly beefy superdude to a slender woman who might be a few inches shorter than he is normally, despite wearing high heels. His face changes shape! This is a Bugs Bunny-level crossdress, is what I’m saying, which means that once the Couple Killer takes the bait he is immediately attracted to the disguised Nightro and so leaves himself open to a left hook.

    There’s a full page of Nightro beating up the Couple Killer, which is a lot for a five pages story but you just have to get as much mileage as you can out of having your hero in a dress when it’s 1941 and that it the height of comedy.

    So, after all that bloodshed and gender-bending, just what was the Couple Killer’s motivation? Turns out that he is actually a fellow known as Lonesome Larry, a known arsonist and misogynist who just got dumped and went “a little loco” and killed fourteen people. It’s not quite a “boys will be boys” situation but these cops sure do give him a lot more grace than he deserves.

    Categorized in: Crime (Killers), Ideology (Misogynists), Murder (Serial Killers)

  • GENERIC COSTUMED VILLAIN ROUND-UP 036

    Every one of them a disappointment to their parents. 

    Mr Axis: 

    He may just be a regular Nazi spy* lurking around Washington DC and disrupting trade deals between the US and the rubber-rich nation of Rumbia, but his name is Mr Axis! Such a perfect name for a fascist super-villain and yet one that seemingly was only used once**. Patriotic super-hero Miss Victory really puts the boots to him in her debut adventure. (Captain Fearless Comics 001, 1941)

    * Technically by my usual metrics I’d call this guy a crypto-fascist of no clear national origin but c’mon: his name is Mr Axis.

    **Except that he does reappear in Captain Aero Comics 011, in which this story is retold unchanged but with different art. Weird stuff.

    Categorized Under: Crime as Theme (Fascism), Generica (Misters)

    the Arson Ring:

    Considering the fact that his feature is called “Blaze Baylor and the Arson Ring” I really expected super arson investigator Blaze Baylor to be contending with the same group of arsonists – a ring, if you will – throughout his adventures. This is not in fact the case, or at least it is not supported in the text. Blaze does battle the Arson Ring in his first outing and they are heavily implied to be the ones who killed his dad Smoky Baylor, so that’s something. (Cat-Man Comics 001 1941)

    Categorized under: Crime as Theme (Arson), Generica (Rings), Narrative Footballs (Origin Guys)

    Igor and his Mother:

    This unnamed woman and her son Igor live in poverty on the outskirts of an unnamed city and come into conflict with the Black Widow after turning their inborn talents (Igor being very strong and his mother so ugly that she can stop a man’s heart) to crime. Igor ends up being shot by the Black Widow, while his mother dies in an attempt to burn their hovel down and kill the hero. (Cat-Man Comics 001 1941)

    Karl von Keilman: 

    Though you might think that Karl von Keilman is a mad or criminal scientist from the way he dresses, this is in fact stolen valour as it is Karl’s brother Abner who is the scientific mind of the family. Abner is the one responsible for creating the Dolls of Death, self-propelled and self-guided bombs that he had intended to turn over to the War Department before Karl showed up, killed him and started using them to blow up defense factories.

    Karl didn’t reckon, however, on the fact that his brother was friends with the Deacon and so a super-heroic nose would be poked into his business. He also never learned not to get into an indoor fight when your weapon of choice is exploding dolls. (Cat-Man Comics 002, 1941)

    Categorized under: Accessories (Little Robots), Murder (Fratricides)

  • GENERIC COSTUMED VILLAIN ROUND-UP 036

    Every one of them a disappointment to their parents. 

    Mr Axis: 

    He may just be a regular Nazi spy* lurking around Washington DC and disrupting trade deals between the US and the rubber-rich nation of Rumbia, but his name is Mr Axis! Such a perfect name for a fascist super-villain and yet one that seemingly was only used once**. Patriotic super-hero Miss Victory really puts the boots to him in her debut adventure. (Captain Fearless Comics 001, 1941)

    * Technically by my usual metrics I’d call this guy a crypto-fascist of no clear national origin but c’mon: his name is Mr Axis.

    **Except that he does reappear in Captain Aero Comics 011, in which this story is retold unchanged but with different art. Weird stuff.

    Categorized Under: Crime as Theme (Fascism), Generica (Misters)

    the Arson Ring:

    Considering the fact that his feature is called “Blaze Baylor and the Arson Ring” I really expected super arson investigator Blaze Baylor to be contending with the same group of arsonists – a ring, if you will – throughout his adventures. This is not in fact the case, or at least it is not supported in the text. Blaze does battle the Arson Ring in his first outing and they are heavily implied to be the ones who killed his dad Smoky Baylor, so that’s something. (Cat-Man Comics 001 1941)

    Categorized under: Crime as Theme (Arson), Generica (Rings), Narrative Footballs (Origin Guys)

    Igor and his Mother:

    This unnamed woman and her son Igor live in poverty on the outskirts of an unnamed city and come into conflict with the Black Widow after turning their inborn talents (Igor being very strong and his mother so ugly that she can stop a man’s heart) to crime. Igor ends up being shot by the Black Widow, while his mother dies in an attempt to burn their hovel down and kill the hero. (Cat-Man Comics 001 1941)

    Karl von Keilman: 

    Though you might think that Karl von Keilman is a mad or criminal scientist from the way he dresses, this is in fact stolen valour as it is Karl’s brother Abner who is the scientific mind of the family. Abner is the one responsible for creating the Dolls of Death, self-propelled and self-guided bombs that he had intended to turn over to the War Department before Karl showed up, killed him and started using them to blow up defense factories.

    Karl didn’t reckon, however, on the fact that his brother was friends with the Deacon and so a super-heroic nose would be poked into his business. He also never learned not to get into an indoor fight when your weapon of choice is exploding dolls. (Cat-Man Comics 002, 1941)

    Categorized under: Accessories (Little Robots), Murder (Fratricides)

  • MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 915: THE BAT

    (Cat-Man Comics 002, 1941)

    While rescuing the inhabitants of the mining town of Red Creek from the forest fire that threatens their town, Flying Legion leader Chute Harmon learns that the fire might in fact have been deliberately set and that the arsonist might be nearby. Donning his Asbestium suit, he sets off to investigate and soon finds himself in a confrontation with a masked man who calls himself the Bat.

    The Bat has a very succinct five-panel appearance, which is just long enough to explain his plan (burn down the town and then steal all of the miners’ gold after things cool down), get bopped on the head and flee into a raging inferno.

    There is some implication that the Bat might have lived to vex Chute Harmon and the Flying Legion another day, but as this was their only published adventure we must instead conclude that he was burned to a crisp.

  • MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 777: EMBER, THE EMPRESS OF FIRE

    (Super-Mystery Comics v1 003, 1940)

    This is a bit of a weird one. Vulcan, the Volcanic Man, has just saved both a field of gasoline tanks and a government arson inspector named Grace Horner from being incinerated by “notorious arsonist-spy” Torchy Fargo, who then retires to a nearby castle* to report his failure to Ember, the Empress of Fire. Just what is the deal with these two, you ask? We shall explore that momentarily.

    *Vulcan is plausibly based out of New York City, so this is another location in the Castle District of the Northeastern United States.

    Ember decides to deal with both Vulcan and Horner by the simple expedient of inviting them to her castle. It’s a simple trick, but an effective one.

    Ember first tries to kill Vulcan by dumping a bunch of gunpowder on him and then setting him on fire and then, once he proves to be as fireproof as his name might imply, she decides to recruit him to the cause. Why together they could dump gunpowder on entire nations and set them alight!

    Sadly for Ember, Vulcan does not want to become her Emperor of Fire and so declines her offer. Stung, she dumps him and Grace into a standard-issue super-villain’s death pit to rot or possibly be subjected to further deathtraps. And this is where things take a turn – everything up until now has been within the normal bounds of what on might expect in a super-hero comic: a spy who specializes in arson reports to some sort of fire-themed… cult leader? living in a castle staffed by ersatz Pacific Islanders. Regular stuff, like I said.

    But then, Torchy Fargo tosses Ember down into the hole as well, because he is the real head of the (fake?) fire cult and he heard her say that she would replace him with Vulcan. Ember was just a figurehead who let the power go to her head, as she says.

    But… what the hell was this arrangement? Ember isn’t going on television to claim responsibility for Torchy’s crimes or acting as a go-between with people looking to contract his services. Heck, the government already knew about Torchy because that’s why Grace Horner was on his tail! So just why was Torchy going back to a castle filled with (fake?) fire cultists and reporting to a fake superior in a bikini top every night?

    I’m going to deploy this carefully, because there are certain comic book theories and observations that are usually only trotted out by the intellectually tedious, but I think that this might have been a sex thing. We don’t need to explore it further, it’s just the conclusion that most fits the evidence at hand.

    But speaking of sex things, as in gender, a thing happens at the end of this comic that I have noticed a fair few times in the first three issues of Super-Mystery Comics, as having brought Torchy Fargo to justice via a massive gas explosion, Vulcan just lets Ember go so that she can “devote the rest of [her] life to serving humanity.” Did Ace Magazines hold the official position that women can not truly be evil? The evidence is mounting that they might have!

  • MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 681: BARON HOFF

    (National Comics 006, 1940)

    Here’s what Baron Hoff brings to the table: 1. Scale. Hoff’s goal in this comic is to rob one (1) bank, and as a distraction from that crime he sets the entire island of Manhattan on fire.

    2. Look. Not only does he have a striking face and a killer grin but Baron Hoff has a real flair for villainous fashion. Some might balk at accentuating an aviator’s outfit with a monocle and jodhpurs and big puffy sleeves but he really makes it work. The only real misstep in his look is the toothbrush mustache, which pairs misleadingly with the pseudo-military brown outfit to make you think he’s some sort of Hitler analog. Do not waste your time: Hoff is not fascist, he just has poor taste in facial hair.

    3. Ride. I love an auto-gyro, and the fact that Baron Hoff not only flies around in one but uses its blades as a deadly obstacle to those seeking to enter the bank while he’s robbing it is just a bit of a bonus.

    Anyway, Hoff is up against super-speedster Quicksilver and such things as whirling blades of death mean nothing to such a fast man. Hoff is jailed in record time.

  • MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 681: BARON HOFF

    (National Comics 006, 1940)

    Here’s what Baron Hoff brings to the table: 1. Scale. Hoff’s goal in this comic is to rob one (1) bank, and as a distraction from that crime he sets the entire island of Manhattan on fire.

    2. Look. Not only does he have a striking face and a killer grin but Baron Hoff has a real flair for villainous fashion. Some might balk at accentuating an aviator’s outfit with a monocle and jodhpurs and big puffy sleeves but he really makes it work. The only real misstep in his look is the toothbrush mustache, which pairs misleadingly with the pseudo-military brown outfit to make you think he’s some sort of Hitler analog. Do not waste your time: Hoff is not fascist, he just has poor taste in facial hair.

    3. Ride. I love an auto-gyro, and the fact that Baron Hoff not only flies around in one but uses its blades as a deadly obstacle to those seeking to enter the bank while he’s robbing it is just a bit of a bonus.

    Anyway, Hoff is up against super-speedster Quicksilver and such things as whirling blades of death mean nothing to such a fast man. Hoff is jailed in record time.

  • MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 517: THE BULL

    (Blue Bolt v2 004, 1941)

    Community. That’s what the Bull’s all about. Specifically a crime community, one of the top kinds of communities (to read about at least – most of them don’t sound too great to live in). Situated in the Florida Everglades, the Bull’s nameless crime community consists of him, about five other guys and a pet crocodile living in a bunch of ramshackle shacks. It’s not much, but it’s home.

    There’s not much else to the Bull – if I’m honest he only gets the nod because I love crime communities and there aren’t enough of them. He does a kidnapping and tries to burn down a town and the Twister runs him in for his troubles. The real victim here is that poor crocodile who has to find its way down from that tree. And also that kidnapped woman, of course.