{"id":857,"date":"2024-05-13T09:37:00","date_gmt":"2024-05-13T12:37:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theskeletoncurse.com\/?p=857"},"modified":"2026-09-27T15:55:25","modified_gmt":"2026-09-27T18:55:25","slug":"minor-super-villain-519-the-ghost-of-the-cyclops","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theskeletoncurse.com\/?p=857","title":{"rendered":"MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 519: THE GHOST OF THE CYCLOPS"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>(Blue Bolt v2 004-005, 1941)<\/p>\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both;text-align: center\"><a href=\"https:\/\/blogger.googleusercontent.com\/img\/b\/R29vZ2xl\/AVvXsEg4hMGOdwfvFgTeBa9GMrVnMTvwAh2_ITWOJG1GrGR1XnvCDUgQdj1kbfl0Y23wSI0L30ADGY52BCECKff81yA8nKm3OPP__cYylC0HIiN5wZaPjKfGZ52d9GsTy7UV5NYAAT2b4oXIZ-P0rKX58qO21OarIZ2WMJfOIJntlwhItIsU1gghs-J-_aivo-qk\/w640-h622\/519a%20the%20ghost%20of%20the%20cyclops%20blue%20bolt%20v2%20004%201941.JPG\" style=\"margin-left: 1em;margin-right: 1em\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"925\" data-original-width=\"952\" height=\"622\" src=\"https:\/\/blogger.googleusercontent.com\/img\/b\/R29vZ2xl\/AVvXsEg4hMGOdwfvFgTeBa9GMrVnMTvwAh2_ITWOJG1GrGR1XnvCDUgQdj1kbfl0Y23wSI0L30ADGY52BCECKff81yA8nKm3OPP__cYylC0HIiN5wZaPjKfGZ52d9GsTy7UV5NYAAT2b4oXIZ-P0rKX58qO21OarIZ2WMJfOIJntlwhItIsU1gghs-J-_aivo-qk\/w640-h622\/519a%20the%20ghost%20of%20the%20cyclops%20blue%20bolt%20v2%20004%201941.JPG\" title=\"the ghost of the cyclops\" width=\"640\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<p>We open on a bit of&#8230; not hubris but it&#8217;s often <i>framed<\/i> as hubris. I&#8217;m sure that TV Tropes has a name for it but danged if I&#8217;m going to go hunting for it. It&#8217;s the phenomenon in which a character in an ongoing fictional setting jokes about how they&#8217;re sure glad that *SPECIFIC THING* isn&#8217;t real etc and that thing is the focus of the next story. In this case, Sergeant Spook says he&#8217;s glad that mythology doesn&#8217;t real and so Ghost Town doesn&#8217;t have to contend with the ghosts of mythological characters and BAM the ghost of the Cyclops starts destroying Alaska.<\/p>\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both;text-align: center\"><a href=\"https:\/\/blogger.googleusercontent.com\/img\/b\/R29vZ2xl\/AVvXsEhXMhViS76ZdTiGWS4Prr7ufkwoGXqhGYb_gA_HdnJ7VtK4EtyZlX_4iTBQk3Tz9iLXqF5IxFekEpobq9ozrS-qSOJxJn2Nzv_-7FqsGYj2zvn3bkk4NOJF2o_WHpA9Ux2bdH1KLIbBmYN7SOdrvilVwPc6aga5rZbcwdF9BiCR64PPGgOigUXv5VM4b-ud\/w640-h484\/519b%20the%20ghost%20of%20the%20cyclops%20blue%20bolt%20v2%20004%201941.JPG\" style=\"margin-left: 1em;margin-right: 1em\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"823\" data-original-width=\"1090\" height=\"484\" src=\"https:\/\/blogger.googleusercontent.com\/img\/b\/R29vZ2xl\/AVvXsEhXMhViS76ZdTiGWS4Prr7ufkwoGXqhGYb_gA_HdnJ7VtK4EtyZlX_4iTBQk3Tz9iLXqF5IxFekEpobq9ozrS-qSOJxJn2Nzv_-7FqsGYj2zvn3bkk4NOJF2o_WHpA9Ux2bdH1KLIbBmYN7SOdrvilVwPc6aga5rZbcwdF9BiCR64PPGgOigUXv5VM4b-ud\/w640-h484\/519b%20the%20ghost%20of%20the%20cyclops%20blue%20bolt%20v2%20004%201941.JPG\" title=\"the ghost of the cyclops\" width=\"640\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<p>Although the human world sees these attacks as merely a bizarre and terrifying natural disaster the ghosts of Ghost Town know what&#8217;s up and dispatch Sergeant Spook northward. On arrival he is met and guided by several of the Cyclops&#8217; recent victims &#8211; always a handy part of being a ghost cop.<\/p>\n<p>Spook&#8217;s encounter with the Cyclops follows a fairly predictable pattern: cornered in a cave, he anages to temporarily blind the other ghost and then trace him back to his lair by clinging to his cyclopean sandals. This encounter <i>does <\/i>serve to further muddy the waters of how ghosts workin Sergeant Spook comics, however: can a ghost hit another ghost with a corporeal snowball? Is Alaska covered in a layer of ghost snow? Or is the Cyclops just super-vulnerable to eye-damaging attacks like a video game boss?<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/blogger.googleusercontent.com\/img\/b\/R29vZ2xl\/AVvXsEhuFBdC3vxLEVKWw_99uU0AEpdAKTVWDVK6_Dq9NVR8dNrXXtxeg4OwhyphenhyphenGbjsuzqmep3_w5UjxL0Twn7aQD27HNXaqVgVrW91Y66zwhYoOZYO_OvtbGtlDtOIBYR-oUplZ8eC_x85OtfbaLJSyBI6CXo7cA9LHTSVv2LLk9Ef692b4_5Z-dzRH1DVE586K2\/w640-h458\/519d%20the%20ghost%20of%20the%20cyclops%20blue%20bolt%20v2%20004%201941.JPG\" style=\"margin-left: 1em;margin-right: 1em\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"549\" data-original-width=\"768\" height=\"458\" src=\"https:\/\/blogger.googleusercontent.com\/img\/b\/R29vZ2xl\/AVvXsEhuFBdC3vxLEVKWw_99uU0AEpdAKTVWDVK6_Dq9NVR8dNrXXtxeg4OwhyphenhyphenGbjsuzqmep3_w5UjxL0Twn7aQD27HNXaqVgVrW91Y66zwhYoOZYO_OvtbGtlDtOIBYR-oUplZ8eC_x85OtfbaLJSyBI6CXo7cA9LHTSVv2LLk9Ef692b4_5Z-dzRH1DVE586K2\/w640-h458\/519d%20the%20ghost%20of%20the%20cyclops%20blue%20bolt%20v2%20004%201941.JPG\" title=\"the ghost of the cyclops\" width=\"640\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The second issue of this two-parter is a bit perfunctory: Spook arrives at the Cyclops&#8217; lair where we learn that when not translucent to signify that he is a ghost in the corporeal world the Cyclops is green. He is also served by other, unidentified ghosts who are presumably being bullied into servitude with the threat of violence like <a href=\"https:\/\/skeletonmunroe.blogspot.com\/2024\/05\/minor-super-villain-508-ghost-of-king.html\" target=\"_blank\">the Ghost of King Tut&#8217;s<\/a> slaves. He also captures Sergeant Spook with very little trouble. Things look bad, but then:<\/p>\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both;text-align: center\"><a href=\"https:\/\/blogger.googleusercontent.com\/img\/b\/R29vZ2xl\/AVvXsEhJ7SjgU3t3PUod2gfEjF9kAb1As81ihQlz9IcWqJ2ChSKiftcFkrxdv2TjxqMVZH2vRXbfiwuR4gG9Ez1GgXjqD7q2Y3JrKbxcQA271M4ovSE283o_yH_nMTKdTe5RfcnHFREgvr7N1LbDUKNvb0CFWTYJAjQ_D7a2F4CuNA6rH0gBIaA6JocztG0ktwzC\/w640-h450\/519e%20the%20ghost%20of%20the%20cyclops%20blue%20bolt%20v2%20004%201941.JPG\" style=\"margin-left: 1em;margin-right: 1em\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"554\" data-original-width=\"789\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/blogger.googleusercontent.com\/img\/b\/R29vZ2xl\/AVvXsEhJ7SjgU3t3PUod2gfEjF9kAb1As81ihQlz9IcWqJ2ChSKiftcFkrxdv2TjxqMVZH2vRXbfiwuR4gG9Ez1GgXjqD7q2Y3JrKbxcQA271M4ovSE283o_yH_nMTKdTe5RfcnHFREgvr7N1LbDUKNvb0CFWTYJAjQ_D7a2F4CuNA6rH0gBIaA6JocztG0ktwzC\/w640-h450\/519e%20the%20ghost%20of%20the%20cyclops%20blue%20bolt%20v2%20004%201941.JPG\" title=\"the ghost of the cyclops\" width=\"640\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<p>HERCULES! Because of course if the Cyclops is real then there&#8217;s gotta be guys like Hercules (famous foe of the Cyclops) running around too. There&#8217;s a bit of a scuffle and then he plants a slobberknocker on the Cyclops that decisively concludes things.<\/p>\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both;text-align: center\"><a href=\"https:\/\/blogger.googleusercontent.com\/img\/b\/R29vZ2xl\/AVvXsEiTcGWaKykVWaxaUth0FEBr_v6QBuHaGTP6f6tCJlx-Gjl_qfXrEiW9Yv8LL_8q69b9AgU5mZcKbNNshGJ1fRReokVaCxVvnrNLVj6cWQdW4iYk5xlp8Q3vDiWvumaGUdooUhdpixUOhPY61bAR2ILDrmNzu0mV_CrqVpvesb4fkJymAN9Cj0vzNsFR0v_h\/w640-h492\/519f%20the%20ghost%20of%20the%20cyclops%20blue%20bolt%20v2%20004%201941.JPG\" style=\"margin-left: 1em;margin-right: 1em\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"597\" data-original-width=\"778\" height=\"492\" src=\"https:\/\/blogger.googleusercontent.com\/img\/b\/R29vZ2xl\/AVvXsEiTcGWaKykVWaxaUth0FEBr_v6QBuHaGTP6f6tCJlx-Gjl_qfXrEiW9Yv8LL_8q69b9AgU5mZcKbNNshGJ1fRReokVaCxVvnrNLVj6cWQdW4iYk5xlp8Q3vDiWvumaGUdooUhdpixUOhPY61bAR2ILDrmNzu0mV_CrqVpvesb4fkJymAN9Cj0vzNsFR0v_h\/w640-h492\/519f%20the%20ghost%20of%20the%20cyclops%20blue%20bolt%20v2%20004%201941.JPG\" title=\"the ghost of the cyclops\" width=\"640\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<p>Hercules&#8217; reward: eternal vigilance. His ghost pledges to guard the Cyclops&#8217; ghost for the rest of time, which will presumably entail regular brawls whenever his charge wakes up and wants to cause more chaos. Maybe this is a good outcome for Hercules? I just hope that someone in Ghost Town thinks to ship him some ghost books or the like.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>(Blue Bolt v2 004-005, 1941) We open on a bit of&#8230; not hubris but it&#8217;s often framed as hubris. I&#8217;m sure that TV Tropes has a name for it but danged if I&#8217;m going to go hunting for it. It&#8217;s the phenomenon in which a character in an ongoing fictional setting jokes about how they&#8217;re [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14,955,120,50,121,23,91,198,660,7,884],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-857","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-14","category-ghost-of-the-cyclops","category-giant","category-hercules","category-mass-destruction","category-minor-super-villain","category-monsters","category-novelty-press","category-sergeant-spook","category-the","category-undead-ghost"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theskeletoncurse.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/857","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theskeletoncurse.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theskeletoncurse.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theskeletoncurse.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theskeletoncurse.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=857"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/theskeletoncurse.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/857\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":858,"href":"https:\/\/theskeletoncurse.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/857\/revisions\/858"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theskeletoncurse.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=857"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theskeletoncurse.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=857"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theskeletoncurse.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=857"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}