MINOR SUPER-HERO 003: THE FLYING FOX
(More Fun Comics 037-051, 1938-1940) Rex Darrell! The Flying Fox! One of the most dull Golden Age aviator heroes, but as with so many of them, he has a cool name so here he is.
MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 048: THE EMPEROR
(Whiz Comics 006, 1940) A smuggler who founds an island haven for fugitive criminals, the Emperor makes a key mistake: he forgets that the citizens of his island empire are all murderers and acts like a tyrant. Predictably, he gets murdered. 2025 UPDATE: I just reread this story and I think that it’s imperative that I note that the Emperor, aka Scarface Otto Krug, was specifically an ambergris smuggler.
MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 046: THE BOMB
(Whiz Comics 003a, 1940) Explosives expert who blowed himself up and lived to tell the tale, only to go back into explosives-based crime, go up against Dan Dare (the Fawcett Comics detective, not the UK comics space guy) and get caught.
MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 044: THE MASK
(Whiz Comics 002-015, 1940-1941) This fellow right here is the spy that Spy Smasher was trying to smash for the first year and a half or so that he was in action. I tend to think of him as a bigger deal than he actually is because of my tendencies re: thinking too much about comics, but certainly if Spy Smasher himself had managed to remain a going concern after the 40s then the Mask would have eventually been brought…
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…