MINOR SUPER-HERO ROUND-UP 082

Lotta visually striking characters this time, plus Pioneer. 

Pioneer: 

Pioneer is a man of limited education and experience (and possibly intellect) who has seemingly lived his entire life at the bottom of the inescapable Death Gorge in Yellowstone Park. He comes into contact with the outside world when a trio of fleeing gangsters crash their car near his home and he nurses them back to health. The three then take Pioneer with them once they manage to attract help from outside of the gorge, with little real justification other than to use him as cover if they attract fire from police.

Pioneer's morality is simple enough that his disdain for killing cannot be alleviated with the promise of cash, and he captures his three erstwhile companions when they commit a murder while robbing a bank. Our final view of him is as he wanders into New York City traffic while clutching five thousand dollars in reward money, and since he never appears again I suppose we must assume that he was immediately flattened by a car. This is where my "Pioneer might be a stupid" theory comes from, as the man had just completed a car trip from Yellowstone to NYC, which takes at least 33 hours today. You're telling me that he didn't take in the fact that you might want to stay out of the way of these things in all that time?

As presented, Pioneer is not really a super-hero. He's presented as one, but his one adventure is taken up almost entirely with origin stuff, which in itself is interesting because we don't actually learn just how he came to be in that gorge in the first place. I suppose he would have worked like a more benevolent version of the Incredible Hulk, travelling from town to town dispensing rough justice and broken English. If he hadn't been hit by all those cars, that is. (Daredevil Comics 002, 1941)

Categorized in: Origin (Unknown) 

the Bronze Terror: 

After his father is railroaded into a murder sentence in the corrupt Western town of Redfield, athletic wunderkind and hotshot lawyer Jeff Dixon returns home to help prove his innocence.

Despite his legal background, Jeff turns to vigilante justice almost immediately, presumably due to the fact that all of the town's officials are in the pocket of Scar Thornton, the real killer. Dixon's chosen identity, the Bronze Terror, probably deserves a spot in the next Problematic Round-Up, but I'm giving him a reprieve because this comic is the definition of a well-meaning attempt to have a non-white character star in a comic that is still bogged down in all the tropes of in this case the Western genre (the name of the strip is "Real American No. 1," for gosh sakes) and if I banished characters for that I recon that this space would feature a non-white super-hero some time in the 70s. If then.

So, while on the plus side the Bronze Terror is a an entertaining and highly competent character who looks terrific (and is detail-oriented enough to get a mask for his horse so that it can also look cool), the negatives include:

- all of the other Native American characters other than Jeff's love interest Lilly being broad ethnic caricatures

- Jeff's status as a super-hero hanging on the fact that he went off and got a white man's education, which is a pretty frequent trope in comics with Native American protagonists and stands as a counterpart to that of the white adventurer bringing his expertise to the jungle

- yes, the costume looks great but I think that the broad objection that Native peoples have to the cultural appropriation of things like the war bonnet probably also applies to their use by comic book super-heroes. This one is going to keep coming up - American Eagle debuts at Marvel in 1981, and he's wearing one

(Daredevil Comics 002, 1941)

Categorized in: Body (Emotions - Terror), Elements (Alloys - Bronze), Problematic Characters

London: 

London is a masked vigilante dedicated to stymieing the forces of Nazi Germany as they attempt to conquer Great Britain. Conceptually, he seems to have been built around the catch phrase "London can take it!" and while the name is certainly unique it does introduce some confusion as the character London is based out of the city of London.

I appreciate London's costume: while the combination of a mask and a suit or tuxedo is nothing new in comics, this might just be the first time I've seen a suit paired with a cape and cowl. Plus the cursive "L" symbol is cute.

London is in actuality radio broadcaster Marc Holmes, who reports on his own costumed exploits as an employee of the BBC. He works closely with the British military and London law enforcement in both his civilian and costumed identities. (Daredevil Comics 002, 1941)

Categorized in: Locations (Specific), Origin (Patriotic Characters)

Pat Patriot: 

Another in the seemingly endless parade of patriotic WWII super-heroes, Pat Patriot has the requisite flag based costume and dedication to Truth, Justice and the American Way, plus the clunky and also ominous-if-you-know-history sobriquet "America's Joan of Arc."

An aircraft factory worker who kicks up a bit too much fuss about plant conditions and gets fired, Pat proceeds to unearth a conspiracy by her foreman to send aircraft engines to the Axis, all while wearing a patriotic costume from a play that she was in earlier in the evening. She has a mean right hook and a variety of skills (airplane piloting, marksmanship, etc) that see her through.

In a truly American moment, Pat gets her super-hero name because her coworkers cannot conceive of someone being called the outlandishly foreign Patricia Patrios, and so rename her on the spot. (Daredevil Comics 002, 1941)

Although Pat starts out as a worker in an airplane factory in an unidentified part of the US her career as a patriotic vigilante renders her unfit for a typical 9-5 job. By Daredevil Comics 006 she appears to be working as a newspaper reporter but whether that will continue to be her occupation as 1942 rolls around is anyone's guess.

Categorized in: Abstract Concepts (Patriotism), Origin (Patriotic Characters) 

MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 946: THE GHOUL

(Silver Streak Comics 017, 1941)

Here's the thing about the Ghoul, aka "the Most Dangerous Madman of All Time": he's a stock character, the basic 1940s idea of the homicidal madman. He does have an obsession with collecting dead bodies as part of his attempts to restore the dead to life - hence the name - but he's otherwise very regular.

There are, however, several interesting things to note in the Ghoul's appearance:

First is the fact that the Daredevil's initial encounter with the Ghoul is said to have occurred "a few years ago," which is of course very interesting considering the fact that the Daredevil had at this point been operating for almost exactly one year. The reason for this discrepancy is twofold: 1. the history of a comics character is by no means tied to the dates that their adventures are published and 2. nobody involved in the production of this comic expected a pencil-necked geek like me to be counting up dates on his fingers eighty-odd years later. Fun stuff!

Secondly we get to see Daredevil just haul off and institutionalize the guy. I don't know if this was as easy in real life as in fiction, but it's always weird and horrifying when it happens in a comic.

Once the Ghoul escapes (because of course he escapes, what kind of story would it be otherwise?) Daredevil heads out to find him, but he in turn has come to Daredevil's house to get the jump on him. Just how does he know where Daredevil lives (and by extension who he is)? This is not explored. In the absence of his enemy, the Ghoul instead grabs Daredevil's fiance Tonia Saunders.

Tonia is taken to the Kingdom of the Ghoul (an overgrown island with a cave on it) in the Haunted Lake (a regular lake) and menaced with an oversized axe, but the Daredevil is hot on their trail.

The Ghoul, for all his reputation, is taken out just a quickly as he was the first time he and Daredevil clashed. Honestly, his entire career as a homicidal maniac has involved the killing of one (1) one man, a cemetery watchman who he beans with a shovel. I just don't know if he deserves to be locked up in an asylum for the "Hopelessly Insane" rather than treated in a more conventional manner. Oh well: it's back to the asylum once more.

Revenge killer score: 0/2

Categorized in: Accessories (Islands), Murder (Homicidal Maniac, Revenge Killer), Supranormal Beings (Ghouls) 

REAL PERSON ROUND-UP 022

What percentage of these people knew that they had ever been portrayed in a comic book, you reckon?

Adolf Hitler:

Hitler gets beaten up by the Silver Streak after he captures and attempts to kill Meteor. (Silver Streak Comics 016, 1941)

A particularly parodic version of Hitler deploys a super weapon that is ultimately thwarted by Dickie Dean.  (Silver Streak Comics 017, 1941) 

Charles Biro:

Gangster Chick Biro almost gets killed by his boss the Domino but is saved when Presto Martin takes his place. (Silver Streak Comics 009, 1941)

Genghis Khan:

The Bingham Boys and their friends hunt down the Sword of Genghis Khan to a Tibetan lamasery, where the Grand Lama claims to be the descendant of the Khan and thus entitled to conquer the world. Our heroes beat up the would-be Khan and spirit the sword away to an American museum. (Silver Streak Comics 016, 1941)

George Roussos: 

It's a classic case of slapping your fellow comic book creator's name on a background sign as "Presto Martin" scribe Bob Wood uses Roussos' name on an apartment building. (Silver Streak Comics 010, 1941)

Next issue of the same strip features the headline "Roussos Does it Again! Famous Cartoonist Meets Second Deadline! I can hardly wait to read Roussos' work in Daredevil Comics to see if he shoots back. 

Same issue features Roussos' Army & Navy Store, with a "Jerry Robinson, Prop." thrown in for good measure. (Silver Streak Comics 011, 1941)

George Washington: 

Deploys his personal agent Dan Dearborn to escort a gunpowder shipment and help protect it from capture by the British. (Silver Streak Comics 008, 1941)

George Rogers Clark: 

That gunpowder is transported downriver by Clark, a Revolutionary War hero whom I was unfamiliar with and whose Wikipedia page is predictably fraught. (Silver Streak Comics 008, 1941)

Captain John Neville: 

Commander of the Fort Pitt garrison at Pittsburgh, where he briefly meets Dan Dearborn. (Silver Streak Comics 008, 1941)

Mao Zedong: 

He doesn't play a direct role in the story, but Mao Tung here is definitely a stand-in for Mao Zedong, aka Mao Tse-tung. Captain Battle saves him from an assassination attempt by a Japanese spy. (Captain Battle Comics 001, 1941)

Samuel Goldwyn:

Goldbyn, head of Paragold Film Studios, is a classic stand-in for Sam Goldwyn of MGM. (Silver Streak Comics 017, 1941)

Unknown News Broadcaster Jimmie Fidler: 

As you can see, above, I was initially unable to find the reference point for Jimmy Fiddle here. The problem is that I have been conditioned to think a certain way about these stand-in names, so I spent a lot of effort looking for "James Diffle" and "John Oboe" and so forth, and didn't even consider that it might be something as simple as "Jimmie Fidler" until I remembered that we had already encountered a Jimmy Fiddle and filed him under Unknown. 

Sorry for disrespecting your 50+ year media career, Jimmie Fidler. In my defense, you retired when I was three years old. (Silver Streak Comics 009, 1941) 

MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 945: DR DRACULA

(Silver Streak Comics 017, 1941) 

With Dr Dracula, Captain Battle has now faced four Nazi or Nazi-adjacent villains in a row whose plans involve gathering up a bunch of guys and pretending to be monsters, in this case vampires. Was there a meeting about this at the regional Nazi spy headquarters or is this one of those things like when Hollywood makes two volcano movies at the same time? Maybe one guy had a good idea and the other three stole it. 

I'd have to say that Dr Dracula has the best name and possibly the best look out of the four, but the Mummy Master's Mummy Gang might take the gold in terms of best henchmen. 

As a supplement to the power of fake vampirism, Dr Dracula steals a new death ray from the hapless Professor Fosdick, who then serves as the first (human) target of its instant skeletonization effect. Horrifying! And visually striking!

(please note the fourth panel above, when Fosdick exclaims "Vampires! Vampires as large as men!" I believe him to be referring to vampire bats, which doesn't make a huge amount of sense given what he is looking at at the time but which is the only interpretation to make much sense. It is the kind of thing that comic book people shout when vampire bats are about, after all)

This is about the time that Captain Battle shows up to put a stop to Dr Dracula's plans, which gives he and his men the opportunity to demonstrate that they can all fly as they engage in thrilling aerial combat vs Captain Battle and his luceflyer (Hale Battle is lagging behind and can't be there for this fight). 

These wing suits are very cool and more importantly... way more strategically valuable than the death ray that they just stole? Like, yes: the death ray can instantly kill any target, but so can a good sniper, and you certainly could deploy more good snipers easily if you had flying infantry, right?

Having made his getaway, Dr Dracula gets down to the serious business of sabotaging American war production by turning people into goofy skeletons. Prof Fosdick must have had a sense of humour, because while the ray dissolves clothing it selectively leaves props such as cigarettes or blankets behind so that every tragic ray-gun death looks just a little bit funny.

Dr Dracula meets his end when Captain Battle throws a steel net over him and the death ray explodes. This is what happens when you steal an experimental piece of technology and kill the inventor, folks. 

Hale Battle must of course have his souvenir, and what better or more striking object is there than one of the false vampires' wing suits?