(Flash Comics v1 007, 1940) The epitome of minor: Johnny Thunder spent one issue as a costumed hero named Thunderbolt. It’s possible that he tried his hand at the costumed crimefighter game some other time – I’m hardly a Johnny Thunder expert – but this is the only time I know of.
(Flash Comics v1 007, 1940) Like Echo or Hugo Strange’s Monster Men before him, Czar the Unkillable Man is arguably less a super-villain than a tool created by a super-villain, but where’s the fun in listing a buncha guys named Dr Samuels and Professor Tompkins or in this case Boris Nickaloff? Nickaloff is a bit of a mystery – he creates Czar by sculpting a complete human body – inside and out – out of “plasm-clay” and then shocking it to…
(Flash Comics v1 005, 1940) A simple concept, but an endearing one: the Snow-King is a famous spy who only works during the winter, hence the name. He’s possibly French (at least, he says “au revoir” a lot) and definitely cocky – he is so sure of success pulls the classic move of calling up the authorities to warn them of his next escapade. Eventually, crack government agent Cliff Cornwall is brought in on the case and works out just…
(Flash Comics v1 005, 1940) Johnny Thunder is made an FBI Agent. (fired in issue 7)
The Whip is an okay character aside from the brownface bit but one thing I absolutely love about him is that although he does a credible job at the Ineffectual Secret Identity act he also just travels from town to town with an enormous black horse. (Flash Comics v1 005, 1940) Names: This old dude shares his name with Kurt Busiek’s Astro City character Samaritan! The tally of comics characters named Asa Martin stands at 2! (Flash Comics v1 010,…
(Flash Comics v1 005, 1940) It’s another version of the old Order of Assassins, this time as a revival founded by a supposed descendant of Hassan-i Sabbah, the original Assassin of yore, though since he died in 1124 AD there’s a decent chance that anybody is his descendant. Legitimacy aside, this buncha yahoos operates out of a city-fortress called Alamut (but somewhere in the vicinity of Egypt rather than Iran) and is engaged in a somewhat nebulous plot to conquer the…
(Flash Comics v1 005, 1940) Long-running foe/ally/love interest of Golden Age master of disguise the King (or King Standish, if you want to go by his full name), the Witch probably deserves a more thorough examination than I’m going to give her, but the fact is that though she is a good character and an admirable foil to the King, the King himself is a bit dull. Sorry, Witchie. I will say that the New Orleans-set King story in World’s…
(Flash Comics v1 005, 1940) The Vandal is a wealthy art collector who kills artists to increase the value of their works and has a bunch of hired goons steal art for him. The best thing about him is his name/ concept, that his art collection would be as impactful to the art world as the ancient Vandals supposedly were in antiquity. Since he’s a Golden Age Flash villain, he mostly exists to be trolled at super-speed.
(Flash Comics v1 004, 1940) I have complicated feelings about the Thought Terror! He has both good and bad traits! Off the bat, the basics. His costume choice is pretty entry level for the Golden Age, but suitable for a guy who employs eye-based super-powers (which he does) and wants to project a certain aura of fear. His name, by contrast, is both unusual and bad, and made all the worse for the fact that it’s almost good. Terror is usually a…