MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 056: MR A-X
(More Fun Comics 046, 1939) Air pirate who bedeviled minor aviation hero the Flying Fox on multiple occasions.
MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 055: MR BIG
(Feature Comics 022, 1939) Just a regular counterfeiter, but he’s our first Canadian crook who squeaks over the line into the realm of the super-villain, so here you go.
MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 043: THE PHANTOM OF THE PYRAMIDS
(More Fun 049, 1939) An archaeological dabbler who loots digs in the Valley of the Kings until he is put paid by short-lived detective character Bulldog Martin. Really really enjoy his gold mask/ pharaonic headpiece/ dark red robe combo.
MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 042: THE GORILLA
(More Fun 048, 1939) A man has a mental health crisis and starts living in a swamp, emerging only to mug strangers. That’s a sad story! Put a gorilla costume on him though… a compelling villain!
MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 042: THE GORILLA
(More Fun 048, 1939) A man has a mental health crisis and starts living in a swamp, emerging only to mug strangers. That’s a sad story! Put a gorilla costume on him though… a compelling villain!
MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 041: THE SPEAKING FROG
(More Fun 045, 1939) The Speaking Frog is possibly the most obscure villain in the DC Universe, and that’s including Fawcett, Quality and Charlton characters in the mix. This is a shame because simply based on their name and appearance they are the strongest BRING THEM BACK candidate I have ever encountered. Some backstory: in 1938 a strip called “Marg’ry Daw” began in More Fun Comics, running for just a few issues. A Little Orphan Annie knockoff, it featured the titular…
MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 040: THE INVISIBLE TERROR
(More Fun 044, 1939) Not much to this fellow, just a scientist who turns himself invisible and immediately starts criming it up. He is our first invisible guy though, and he’s yet another collar by the Radio Squad. Well, almost – he hurls himself out a window rather than go to jail.
MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 039: THE SLUGGER
(More Fun 043, 1939) A common or garden-variety mugger, the Slugger’s technique (sneak up and bash ’em on the head) and the frequency of his attacks lead to a lot of press coverage, starting a city-wide panic (as in our previous entry). In response, the Slugger leans into it, up to and including sending taunting messages to the police, a favourite villainous move of mine. Crime can’t be seen to pay in a comic book, though, so he is eventually…
MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 038: THE MONSTER
(More Fun 039, 1939) A man who trained a pair of great danes to steal, leading to a city-wide panic after glimpses of the dogs caused people to assume that some sort of creature was involved, which then lead to newspaper front pages. The Radio Squad eventually got their man, though sadly the dogs did not survive.
MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 037: THE GORILLA KING
(Action v1 019, 1939) Classic mad scientist stuff here: work out a revolutionary technique to transplant human brains into gorillas and then aim no higher than sending your gorilla-men out on horseback to plunder Mexico. Blows himself up, as per the above image.