Yet more super-heroes for your delectation. the Black Widow: There are a lot of Black Widows in comics, but Linda Masters is the first one who I have encountered who is actually a widow and not just a woman named after a spider as a way of emphasizing how creepy-deadly she is. And since her husband was Murdered by a Crimeâ„¢, she expresses her grief by becoming a crimefighter. We don’t see a lot of the Black Widow’s modus operandi during her…
Just which comic book character has taken the most punishment down through the years? join me as we compile the definitive guide to bodily trauma in the super class. Blackhawk: Blackhawk must set off an explosion from closer-than-optimal range and ends up getting lightly shredded. (Military Comics 003, 1941) Blackhawk’s next two adventures feature him getting whipped badly enough to mark up his torso, by the Black Tigress and the Scavengers, respectively. (Military Comics 004 & 005, 1941) Blackhawks: Blackhawk…
(Cat-Man Comics 004, 1941) The Upper New York Castle District appears to also exist in the Temerson/Helnit universe, because when NYC-based vigilante the Ragman is hired to investigate a supposed haunting at a place called Glascow Castle he hops in his car and drives there. Glascow Castle’s owner, Sir Wilkens Sidney, claims to have seen the ghost of 18th Century murder victim Duke Edgeroy wandering the halls of his home and believes that the Ragman is the man to get…
Every one of them a disappointment to their parents. Mr Axis: He may just be a regular Nazi spy* lurking around Washington DC and disrupting trade deals between the US and the rubber-rich nation of Rumbia, but his name is Mr Axis! Such a perfect name for a fascist super-villain and yet one that seemingly was only used once**. Patriotic super-hero Miss Victory really puts the boots to him in her debut adventure. (Captain Fearless Comics 001, 1941) * Technically…
(Cat-Man Comics 003, 1941) The Stinger is in most respects an extremely generic masked gang boss of the kind that we have seen so frequently before, right down to the fact that he is wearing one of those hanging cloth face masks, an item only worn by generic masked gang bosses of the 1940s. The real difference between all those other guys and the Stinger is that the Stinger’s very first move was to send out some goons to ambush and murder local…
Every hero comes with a free sidekick! the Deacon: An otherwise unnamed man headquartered in the disused Marshlands Church that is located in a kind of liminal space just outside of several urban areas (including but not limited to: Coast Town, Midland City and Central City), the Deacon was himself once a young criminal mastermind. Two years after his original gang is rounded up by the police, the future Deacon is still on the wrong side of the law as…
We got Fish-Men, we got Fishmen, we got other kinds of men. Fishmen: Adventurer Lance Rand has acquired a map showing the location of the sunken continent of Atlantis and so naturally he sets out to see if it’s accurate and more importantly to find out if there’s any ancient Atlantean treasure there for him to loot. Making his way to the ocean floor, Lance and his pal Tubby are almost immediately accosted by a Fishman riding on a sea…
(Cat-Man Comics 002, 1941) While rescuing the inhabitants of the mining town of Red Creek from the forest fire that threatens their town, Flying Legion leader Chute Harmon learns that the fire might in fact have been deliberately set and that the arsonist might be nearby. Donning his Asbestium suit, he sets off to investigate and soon finds himself in a confrontation with a masked man who calls himself the Bat. The Bat has a very succinct five-panel appearance, which…
Some more of those “minor super-heroes” you like so much. the Cat-Man **Update**: Hey, it’s the Cat-Man! As you may or may not recall, the Cat Man (sans hyphen) debuted in Crash Comics Adventures in 1940 and was the only survivor of that comics short run. The most obvious change to his character is his costume, which goes from its former jungle chic look through a blue-and-orange phase before settling on the orange-and-darker orange look that he will stick with for the…
Not every villain is super and they must learn to accept that. Miguel Greeze: He may just be a regular style crooked gambler looking to murder Golden Arrow in order to win a bet, but Miguel Greeze here is decked out in too good a costume to just ignore. Plus it’s impressive that he can make his legs go like that. (Whiz Comics 023, 1941) Konrad Schtienker: Fascist assassin Konrad Schtienker is all-in on a tobacco product theme: he uses…