SEMI-MINOR SUPER-HEROS: FIGHTER PILOT EDITION

SEMI-MINOR SUPER-HEROS: FIGHTER PILOT EDITION

Comments 0 comment

Conundrum: Golden Age fighter pilot characters are essentially a very minor subset of super-heroes, and they are also very boring to me. I  feel a compulsion to write something about them and also to slump sideways in my seat when contemplating their existence. Solution: since the only really interesting thing about them is their cool names, I will list those. the Flying Flame (Daring Mystery Comics 006, 1940) the Flying Fox (More Fun Comics 037, 1938) the Hell Diver (Hit…

Read More Read More

MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 312: PLUTO

MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 312: PLUTO

Comments 0 comment

(Red Raven Comics 001; Captain America Comics 001-003, 1940-1941) As originally presented, this is the literal Roman god of the underworld come down (up?) to Earth to stir up trouble as Rudolph Hendler, dictator of Prussland (mild aside – recently saw a fascist complaining about Nazis being vilified like it was a new thing, but we’ve always known that you suck, bro).  Jupiter and the other Roman gods aren’t so hot on this plan and send Mercury down to Earth…

Read More Read More

MINOR SUPER-HERO 035: THE HUMAN TOP

MINOR SUPER-HERO 035: THE HUMAN TOP

Comments 0 comment

(Red Raven 001, 1940) The Human Top is a guy who gets spinning powers after a science accident. The only really noteworthy things about him are that cool collar on his costume and the fact that he’s one of the very few Golden Age Marvel characters to have never had any sort of modern appearance. Spinning powers aren’t cool, I suppose. It’s kind of a shame that this is the first of only two appearance of the Human Top and…

Read More Read More

MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 311: THE GOLD LEECHES

MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 311: THE GOLD LEECHES

Comments 0 comment

(Red Raven Comics 001, 1940) The Gold Leeches are not terrifically interesting villains, but there are precisely two interesting things about them and that’s enough for me. Uninteresting preamble: Zeelmo, the Gold Leech (unofficial name) is a gold-obsessed gang boss with a few super-scientific gadgets (the Gazegrapho Machine for remote  viewing and the Trembling Death gas which kills via accelerated aging) and a birds-and-skeletons decorating motif that I wish had come up more often. Zeelmo attempts to recruit B-tier Golden…

Read More Read More

MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 310: ZARPO

MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 310: ZARPO

Comments 0 comment

(Captain America Comics 009, 1941) Zarpo is a classic example of why if you are a government or large business, etc,  you should have a process for vetting wild crackpot claims from scientists who come to your door. When a man says to you, for example, “my name is Zarpo and I have invented a bomb that blows up after spending a certain amount of time near a human being,” perhaps consider not calling him a crackpot and throuwing him out…

Read More Read More

MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 309: THE WHITE DEATH

MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 309: THE WHITE DEATH

Comments 0 comment

(Captain America Comics 009, 1941) Like the Black Witch before him, the White Death is inspired to murder by a kooky clause in a recently-deceased’s will, and it’s one I forgot to mention then: if any of the heirs dies before the money is divvied up then their portion is divided among the rest. This clause! More fictional bloodshed has resulted from it than can be counted. This time, the culprit is one of the heirs rather than the lawyer,…

Read More Read More

GENERIC COSTUMED VILLAIN ROUND-UP 005

GENERIC COSTUMED VILLAIN ROUND-UP 005

Comments 0 comment

They’re back! They’re insufficiently interesting! They’re costumed! For the fifth time!  This fella is just a regular degular Nazi spy, but I like his confidence, even if Super Spy G-5 does wrangle him almost instantly. (Hit Comics 015, 1941) These fellas are a rare example of subway pirates, who derail and loot in the New York underground. My delight in this is dampened somewhat by their habit of carrying off ladies for unspoken but surely unpleasant reasons – happily the Human…

Read More Read More

MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 308: THE BLACK WITCH

MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 308: THE BLACK WITCH

Comments 0 comment

(Captain America Comics 008, 1941) So: the Black Witch is a witch’s ghost that supposedly haunts Hagmoor Castle, one of the many castles that dot the landscape around Camp Lehigh (and don’t imagine that it’s the same on from the Hunchback of Hollywood case, because that was called Ebony Castle). Hagmoor Castle, coincidentally, is the subject of an eccentric will that sees one Karin Lee having to spend three nights there alone in order to  inherit her uncle Jonathan’s estate. Perhaps…

Read More Read More

MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 307: RA THE AVENGER

MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 307: RA THE AVENGER

Comments 0 comment

(Captain America Comics 008, 1941)  Ra the Avenger is actually Henry Sanders, an explorer who discovered and eventually sold the fabulous Egyptian Ruby of the Nile, then dressed up in faux Ancient Egyptian gear to murder all who stood in his way on a quest to steal it back again. That is, unfortunately, about all we can say about this guy because he’s one of those fellas who gets punched out and hauled off to jail without really spelling out…

Read More Read More