Every once in a while I hit a particularly dense seam of aliens and so forth and this week is one of those times. Neptunii: The Neptunii (and that name is a guess based on the fact that one guy uses “Neptunus” as a singular version of the noun) live in Neptunia, an underground kingdom that could be described as “a big cave” at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. There, they seem to just kind of fly around shouting,…
If the last group of minor Marvel super-heroes had a tiny chance of appearing in a modern comic book I would say that this group’s chances are tiny-plus. Like a further 5% chance. Except for Dynaman. Dynaman: Dynaman, aka Lagaro, which means “Dynaman”, was born in the ancient super-advanced Kingdom of Korug, located somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean. Endowed with super strength, a photographic memory and enhanced intelligence, the ability to fly and a general superiority to even his peers in the…
In contrast to the last group of minor super-heroes, 3/4 of these guys have a teeny-tiny chance of appearing in a modern comic. Like, 5% more. Mister E: Mister E, aka “wealthy sportsman Victor Jay,” is a masked vigilante of the suit-and-cape type, and is remarkable mainly for the fact that Marvel Comics doesn’t really have that many of those kind of guy. In his one recorded adventure he battles the very entertaining Vampire to a stalemate. After this singular adventure, Mr…
We got your aliens right here. Martians: While I think that we might have a couple of Fletcher Hanks aliens in our future, the number is definitely going down at a fairly rapid clip, so let’s enjoy these here Martians while we have them. Like so many aliens, these guys are looking to conquer the Earth, and like so many Fletcher Hanks antagonists they have come up with a completely bonkers and over-the-top method of doing so: by stupefying the…
Welcome to “The Four Characters Least Likely to Return in a Modern Comic” Theatre. Marvex the Super-Robot: Marvex the Super-Robot! Created to be a slave by a Fifth Dimensional jerk named Bolo, Marvex rejects his fate, kills Bolo and his associates and accidentally blasts himself to Earth while smashing up Bolo’s lab equipment. If you’re already aware of who Marvex is then it’s likely because of the Michael Kupperman strip featuring the character during Marvel’s 70th Anniversary run of comics,…
Aliens. Fifth Dimensional Beings: These big-headed fellows feature in the origin story of Marvex the Super-Robot, but since we only see Marvex’ creator Bolo and his associates, we can’t really say too much about the culture of these Fifth Dimensional creatures. They have big heads, certainly, and a high enough degree of technology that Bolo is able to whip up a sentient robot on a whim, but whether that’s the sort of thing the population at large is getting up…
(Daredevil Comics 005, 1941) Everything gonna be all right – the Claw hasn’t been seen for 10 days after he was set on fire and disappeared into the Hudson River. Psych, he’s back after maybe a month or two total, getting his huge fingerprints all over the skyscrapers and gassing on about taking over the US. And who will stop him this time, with the Daredevil out of the Claw-fighting game, Bill Hopkins understandably keeping a low profile and Jerry…
Oh boy! Minor super-heroes! 13: 13 (aka Thirteen, although the numerical version of the name is the official one) is the alias of Harold Higgins, whose life has been haunted by a series of misfortunes related to the number thirteen. A timeline of some of them: February 13, 1940: Harold’s brother Bob dies in a plane crash. March 13, 1940: Harold loses his life savings in the stock market. May 13, 1940: Harold’s sister Margy is paralyzed in a car…
You just can’t keep ’em out of comics, those real people. Adolf Hitler: Dispatches super-spy Miss X to America. (Daredevil Comics 005, 1941) Raymond Stokes, the actor playing Hitler in a British propaganda film about London (the super-hero, not the city) inexplicably also turns out to be a Nazi agent who attempts to murder the Prime Minister when he makes a cameo appearance in the movie. (Daredevil Comics 005, 1941) Al Capone: No-first-name Perrone here is another classic example of…
In keeping with my decision to split the Claw updates for 1941 by heroic foe, here are the details of his three-issue dalliance with engineer Bill Hopkins. When last we saw the Claw… he was in the Pacific, roughing up Adolf Hitler. But before that, at the end of his long back-and-forth with the Daredevil, there was the small matter of his asking Lucifer for aid and getting it, with the caveat that if he still lost in his next…