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MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 450: COUNTESS BELLADONNA

MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 450: COUNTESS BELLADONNA

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(Mystery Men Comics 029, 1941) We first see Countess Belladonna at the Westchester Flower Show, where she meets young Brenda Talmadge and murders her for her recently-inherited Riviera Ruby. Now here I’m going to jump ahead and spoil the twist of a comic book that was published more than 80 years ago: Countess Belladonna is actually Judge Talmadge, stepfather to Brenda Talmadge. As with any modern reading of a story with gender ambiguity there is a temptation to read more…

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MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 449: DR LEECH

MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 449: DR LEECH

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(Mystery Men Comics 028, 1941) In addition to being a member in good standing of the Name Sounds Like It’s a Thematic Choice But Isn’t Club, Dr Leech is a charter member of the The Protagonist Just Wandered into My Place of Work Instead of Having to Do Any Detective Work to Find Me Society. When the Green Mask intercepts a clearly mind controlled bank robber he hauls him into the nearest doctor’s office, which turns out to be Dr…

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MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 448: THE GHOST

MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 448: THE GHOST

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(Mystery Men Comics 027, 1941) As is so frequently the case, this here ghost is in fact an elaborate hoax carried out to keep people away from a particular location. This time it’s a gang of smugglers operating out of an old abandoned inn evocatively named “the Tombstones” by the locals. The Green Mask makes short work of these rascals despite the extra effort they put in, including wholesale grave robbing in order to keep themselves stocked up with enough…

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MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 447: THE MANX

MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 447: THE MANX

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(Mystery Men Comics 026, 1941) It’s the Manx! Our second catsuit-clad cat-themed villain after the Cat’s Paw! This fella doesn’t share too much about himself but seems to be a bit of a criminal opportunist – here he’s attempting to steal a pistol used in a 25 year-old murder so that he can blackmail the murderer, now a wealthy and successful man. Given his sneaky climbing style of getting about I’d wager that he’s usually some sort of burglar. A…

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MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 446: THE ROOK

MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 446: THE ROOK

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(Mystery Men Comics 018, 1941) This here is the Rook, the only recurring antagonist of Golden Age duo the Lynx and Blackie the Mystery Boy. In terms of crime, he’s your basic thief and murderer with a sideline in opportunistic kidnapping and extortion. He does have several notable attributes, however: Tactics: The Rook has a hypnoray and he is going to use it, dammit. He’s not one of those fickle super-villains who blame their tools every time a plan doesn’t…

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MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 445: DR DODO

MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 445: DR DODO

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(Mystery Men Comics 024, 1941) Gotta say: while I was initially quite excited to have a non-gang boss foe for the Blue Beetle after a run of four or five of them and even moreso after seeing that it was a guy named Dr Dodo who looked like a brute mob from a mid-tier FPS with a supernatural theme (you know, he’d be dressed in a bloody butcher’s apron and take like a minute to kill until you figure out…

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NOTES – FEBRUARY 2024

NOTES – FEBRUARY 2024

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Good reactions by the people in this crowd to Amazing-Man passing through in his Green Mist form – people usually treat it as if he’s invisible but this is much more satisfying. (Amazing-Man Comics 014, 1940)  Origins: The Shark is not just the son of Father Neptune, he’s part of a long line of father/ son Neptunes and Sharks! I was right in my belief that the Shark was more interesting than most ocean dwelling super-heroes! (Amazing-Man Comics 014, 1940)…

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MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 443: THE UGLY QUEEN

MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 443: THE UGLY QUEEN

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(Mystery Men Comics 022-023, 1941) The Ugly Queen is our first real foray into the heady world of societal beauty standards as motivation for evil (though there’s an element of that sort of thing in Setap’s first appearance and we’ve certainly encountered a fair few characters rejected by society for ugliness and deformity). Her status as a royal is called into question by the end of her appearances but she does cut a powerful figure, with an undersea castle full…

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