The Curse of Skeleton Munroe

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  • MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 211: THE MAD MADESPOS

    (Crackajack Funnies 038-040, 1941)

    It’s my favourite Golden Age Batman knockoff the Owl again and this time he’s up against the Madespos, a whole family of homicidal maniacs with their very own gorilla pal!

    The Madespos had already been collared by the Owl (in an unseen adventure of his civilian guise of Nick Terry, PI) some time earlier, so our tale begins with their escape from Lenmoor Asylum for the Criminally Insane with the help of their well-dressed gorilla friend. 

    In addition to the gorilla the family consists of Ma Madespo and her four unnamed, nearly identical sons (one wears glasses and two are taller than the rest. This is not relevant). They’re armed to the teeth and have holed up in a fortified mansion supplied by…

    The Masked Ambassador! A surprise second Minor Super-Villain 212 (if just barely) and smarter-than-average fifth columnist from Axis-coded Yugonia who has weaponized the Madespos rather than risk his own hide in sabotaging the American military. If he wasn’t caught by the Owl literally one panel after putting on his mask he might just be the most effective villain on this list.

    Sadly for the Madespos, the Owl soon takes advantage of a police siege of their mansion to befriend the ill-treated gorilla and bring the whole lot of them in.

  • MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 210: THE SPECTRE

    (Crackajack Funnies 035-037, 1941) 

    There’s a lot to like about the Spectre. His motivation is okay – his face was blasted off by American shelling in WWI and he wants revenge – and his execution is nonexistent as he ends up getting caught during the planning and preparation stage. It’s the trappings that really do it for me.

    Fist up: costumes. The Spectre’s own is okay, but I have nothing but joy in my heart when I see henchmen dressed in such simple yet effective outfits. Stylish, easily recognizable, easy to remove in a pinch… they have it all!

    Next: lore. The Spectre’s story isn’t told until the third issue of the three he appears in but part of it is that in the 20 years since he vowed revenge on America he hasn’t slept, and in support of this, in basically every panel he appears in he is chugging coffee. A small but fun (and visually charming) detail.

    Finally: progressive values. All of the above panels feature a blonde woman. This is Miss Owl, the Owl’s fiancé/ crimefighting partner who has been captured in the mistaken belief that she herself is the Owl. And the Spectre – outbursts about “American women” aside – is perfectly willing to accept this, and to accept the services of a seemingly turncoat Owl. He might be a partially-exploded revenge-driven warmonger who probably went insane from lack of sleep decades ago but he isn’t a misogynist.

  • MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 209: THE PANTHERMAN

    MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 209: THE PANTHERMAN

    (Crackajack Funnies 031-033, 1941) 

    The first costumed foe to face Dell Comics’ answer to Batman, the Owl, Pantherman strikes a very impressive figure and knows how to make an entrance. He does seem to be a very sloppy operator, however, as he initially attracts the attention of the Owl after mind controlling a man into stealing his own jewels but not somehow thinking to keep him from calling in the police (and renowned private investigator Nick “the Owl” Terry, natch) afterward.

    Subsequent issues reveal that the Pantherman’s sloppiness is more a recent thing, as he has been operating out of the city’s sewers for at least the past 4 years and is well on his way to uniting the underworld with himself at the head. It doesn’t take much to ruin a promising crime career, however, and once the Owl is on the case, Pantherman is soon caught.

  • MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 209: THE PANTHERMAN

    MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 209: THE PANTHERMAN

    (Crackajack Funnies 031-033, 1941) 

    The first costumed foe to face Dell Comics’ answer to Batman, the Owl, Pantherman strikes a very impressive figure and knows how to make an entrance. He does seem to be a very sloppy operator, however, as he initially attracts the attention of the Owl after mind controlling a man into stealing his own jewels but not somehow thinking to keep him from calling in the police (and renowned private investigator Nick “the Owl” Terry, natch) afterward.

    Subsequent issues reveal that the Pantherman’s sloppiness is more a recent thing, as he has been operating out of the city’s sewers for at least the past 4 years and is well on his way to uniting the underworld with himself at the head. It doesn’t take much to ruin a promising crime career, however, and once the Owl is on the case, Pantherman is soon caught.

  • MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 208: THE TERROR

    (Crack Comics 018, 1941)

    Not too much to distinguish this guy: he’s Bumps Bale, a former pinball racketeer (you’re just as likely to see Batman smashing up a bunch of pinball machines as an underground casino or a slot machine in the 40s. Gambling is Bad and Pinball is Gambling, was the attitude) who had hit hard times and decided to go into extorting mayors as a second career. Accordingly, he poisoned city comptroller Ezra Daves and promised Unnamed Mayor here some of the same if one million dollars in small bills was not produced post haste. Sadly for the Terror, the Clock got involved.

    I do have to say that I appreciate the cowl-style mask that the Terror is sporting. Personally I find it far more aesthetically pleasing than the executioner’s hoods and cloth draperies that have been more the norm thusfar.

    (also for those keeping track this is presumably the mayor who took over after the Big Shot was ousted, placing him somewhere on a very spicy alternate Wikipedia page for List of Mayors of New York City)

  • MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 207: THE BLACK WITCH

    (Crack Comics 018, 1941)

    The Black Witch is a member of a long comic book tradition: Haitian voodoo practitioners who use their sinister powers to get up to no good – in this case kidnapping the wife of one of Richard “Madam Fatal” Stanton’s friends as raw material in a search for eternal youth.

    The Black Witch is also part of a long-term demographic shift in comics: while the Haitian voodoo character is a staple villain s(and sometimes hero) into at least the 90s, in the early days they were basically all white folks like the Black Witch here, or the Master of Corpses. A question that I’m not qualified to answer: is this more racist than the state of things post 1960 or so when the population of voodoo villains more accurately represents the demographic makeup of Haiti or is it semi-vilifying an entire ethnoreligious group? 

  • MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 206: THE CROW

    (Crack Comics 018, 1941)

    The Crow! Wanted in every country on the Earth! A villain with a very impressive resume! It’s actually a bit disappointing when he just does some regular bank robbing in this issue.

    To be fair, he does give the Spider much more of a run for his money than his usual foe, and he does end up returning in Crack 021 the next year, in which he steals the Black Widow and uses it for evil deeds. I don’t know if it’s quite enough, but it’s something.

  • MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 206: THE CROW

    (Crack Comics 018, 1941)

    The Crow! Wanted in every country on the Earth! A villain with a very impressive resume! It’s actually a bit disappointing when he just does some regular bank robbing in this issue.

    To be fair, he does give the Spider much more of a run for his money than his usual foe, and he does end up returning in Crack 021 the next year, in which he steals the Black Widow and uses it for evil deeds. I don’t know if it’s quite enough, but it’s something.

  • MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 205: THE JACKAL

    (Crack Comics 017, 1941)

    Like the Cloak before him, the Jackal started out as a fictional villain: made up by promoter Paxton Forbes to obfuscate his own role in murdering sea Captain Bly and stealing his treasure map. But if you do the very things you say that a villain has done, I would contend that you are, in fact, that villain. And Madam Fatal agrees, so there.

  • MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 205: THE JACKAL

    (Crack Comics 017, 1941)

    Like the Cloak before him, the Jackal started out as a fictional villain: made up by promoter Paxton Forbes to obfuscate his own role in murdering sea Captain Bly and stealing his treasure map. But if you do the very things you say that a villain has done, I would contend that you are, in fact, that villain. And Madam Fatal agrees, so there.