MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 1004: THE GREEN HOOD GANG

(Lightning Comics v2 002, 1941)

The Green Hood Gang, who are unsurprisingly a gang who wear green hoods (and please note the rare and stylish nose cutouts on those numbers), make their debut by barging in and robbing the Raven after he himself had just gone to the trouble of holding up the guests of a party at the home of retired gangster Joe Russo.

From there, the Green Hoods embark on a crime spree so ambitious in scope that Police Chief Lash is compelled to set aside his personal crusade against the Raven and team up with him to hunt them down.

For most of this story I had assumed that the leader of the Green Hood Gang would turn out to be Joe Russo, coming out of retirement and starting out by robbing his own party guests, and I suspect that the writer of this comic was also of this opinion right up until they got to page eight out of ten, at which point the men under the hoods - previously very clearly regular American gangsters - are revealed to be Native South Americans. Further investigation by Lash and the Raven reveals that these men are dupes who have been promised that the funds they are stealing are to be put toward the construction of a temple in their homeland, but who are really working for a former bootlegger named Larue.

While I wouldn't call the Joe Russo version of this story very original or exciting, the Larue reveal is so out of left field that I am left baffled and bamboozled. If I can't trust a comic book writer 85 years ago, just who can I?

Categorized in: Colours (Green), Generica (Gangs), Objects (Hoods)

ALIENS AND SO FORTH ROUND-UP 054

Comic book aliens: one of the few inexhaustible resources.

Martians:

Just as Doc Strong and his followers are starting to get the post-apocalyptic, WWII-lasted-a-century world of 2041 sorted out, a bunch of robot-looking Martians show up to ruin things by invading their territory on the Isle of Right. It's just one thing after another with that year.

Though they are fairly generic hostile invaders, these fellows really distinguish themselves among their class by immediately abandoning whatever plans that they had for Earth in order to indulge in a rager of a party. They want meat and they want booze, in that order and plenty of it. And as a bonus, the fact that the colourists at Blue Ribbon never really settled on a consistent colour scheme for these fellows means that the Party Issue is also the issue in which the Martians all look like they are wearing leopardskin briefs.

Everything works out okay, however. After Doc and his pals are taken back to Mars for judgment by the King of the Martians they learn that he is a mere robot shell built by friendly Earthman Stinky Jones, who is more than happy to lend his subjects' might to the task of cleaning up the war-ravaged Earth. (Blue Ribbon Comics 007, 1940)

Masters of the Pit:

These inhabitants of the Pit of Horrors aren't given a lot of characterization, seeing as they are acting as more of an extension of Fantomah's rough justice than as a functioning society. They live in caves underneath the liminal Jungle and can shape stone with a word and a gesture, and that's all we really get. (Jungle Comics 007, 1940)

Melubians:

The interesting thing about planet Melubia is the fact that they use gravity control technology to surround their world with hundreds of small artificial satellites on which are built small cities or individual dwellings. The less interesting thing about Melubia is the fact that there are two intelligent species living on it, one of whom (the Melubians) want to overthrow the rule of the other (the unnamed, more humanoid species headed by King Molat). We never really get a sense of whether this is a colonial situation or if the two groups evolved on Melubia in parallel, but either way, time/space traveller Stuart Taylor and his pals are quick to uphold the established power structure and put down the rebellion. (Jumbo Comics 016, 1940) 

Mongonians:

The Mongonians, inhabitants of the planet Mongo (but a different Mongo than the Flash Gordon one) are some cool four-armed aliens with an unfortunate streak of paranoid xenophobia running through their society, as can be seen in their interaction with time/space traveller Whiz Wilson when he visits their planet in the year 2300 CE.

It may be that the Mongonians are on to something, however, as they are attacked by hostile inhabitants of the planet Zania just after they toss Whiz - along with two hapless explorers from Earth - into their jail. Everything eventually resolves nicely, as the explorers' spaceship makes an excellent weapon against the relatively fragile ranks of the Zanian Balloon Corps and peaceful Earth/Mongo relations are established. (Lightning Comics v2 001, 1941)

MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 1003: THE CHIEF

(Lightning Comics v2 001, 1941)

The Chief is that most low-tier of costumed criminals: the masked manager of an underground casino. And not a particularly well-hidden casino either, seeing as Detective Danny "the Raven" Dartin just kind of stumbles upon its existence one night while eating in the beanery that is its front business, and Dartin's boss Chief Lash leads a raid on the place almost simultaneously. I guess that's why he wears the mask.

Here we must explore the limits of the comic book disguise paradigm: yes, a simple black mask does to more than one might expect to hide one's identity, but crucially that is in the absence of other distinguishing features. If, for example, you are a big-headed fellow with a combover and a missing pinky finger on your right hand that you advertise by wearing gloves all the time and just letting the empty finger flap around loose, you might want to think about a more comprehensive disguise solution.

Speaking of which, here's Mr Calhoun, big-headed President of the Chamber of Commerce with a missing pinky, and he has bullied the Police Commissioner into forcing Chief Lash's resignation over not having caught the Raven yet. What a crazy, unrelated side plot to this whole underground casino business.

Clearly the Chief/Calhoun is pretty secure in both his disguise and his ability to manipulate the police, because he immediately sets up a new casino inside of a drydocked yacht. This gives the Raven the perfect opportunity to grab him and use the threat of professional ruination to force the Police Commissioner to reinstate Chief Lash. Should the Commissioner himself probably be replaced due to his low resistance to extortion? Yes he should.

Categorized in: Accessories (Casinos), Generica (Chiefs), Misc (Gang Bosses)

CATALOGUE OF WOUNDS 014

I've finally caught up on all the backlogged wounds! Only new wounds for the catalogue going forward.

the Dart:

The Dart has come all the way from Ancient Rome to the present day (1940) only to be shot in the left arm. (Weird Comics 006, 1940)

Doc Strange:

Though the text box says that Doc Strange is "riddled with bullets" in this exchange, the subsequent first aid suggests that his left arm bore the brunt of the damage. (Thrilling Comics 001, 1940)

the Falcon:

The Falcon gets a classic head creasing. (Human Torch v1 002, 1940)

Ferret:

Despite the fact that these crooks manage to capture Ferret and force him to remove his bulletproof vest, they not only then choose to shoot him in the head but fail to actually shoot him in the head fatally and instead do a classic skull crease. (Marvel Mystery Comics v1 008, 1940)

the Flame:

The Flame gets in on the classic skull crease game. (Wonderworld Comics 018, 1940)

the Masked Rider:

Not to be left out, the Masked Raider sustains a head crease, classic. (Startling Comics 001, 1940)

And again a few issues later. (Startling Comics 004, 1940)

the Spirit:

The Spirit (who I'm sure will be a frequent visitor to the Catalogue of Wounds) is shot in the left shoulder by Dr Cobra. (Spirit Section, June 9, 1940)

A few months later: shot in the right shoulder. (The Spirit Section, September 22, 1940) 

And a few months after that, the right shoulder again, this time by the Black Queen. (The Spirit Section, November 10, 1940)

Thor, God of Thunder:

Thor's alter identity of Grant Farrel is shot in the back, wounding him badly enough that it takes weeks for him to recover. (Weird Comics 003, 1940)

Yarko the Great:

Even Yarko's great magic cannot save him from occasionally being shot in the right arm. (Wonderworld Comics 004, 1940)

MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 1002: MASTERMIND

(Lightning Comics v2 001, 1941)

Lash Lightning, while aimlessly flying around the countryside at night, encounters a footsore scientist named Amy Lane. Turns out that her castle (!) has been stolen by a man named Mastermind and that she has been walking for several hours in an attempt to get help. In a move that always seems kind of rude to me, Lightning immediately flies her all the way back to the castle to investigate. The mysterious Mastermind is no longer present when they arrive, but the castle's laboratory is now filled with strange electrical equipment.

But just where is Mastermind (who is also frequently called the Mastermind)? As you may recall from our one thousandth entry, he is in the middle of breaking Lightning's recurring foe the Mummy out of jail in an attempt to wrangle the formula for his invulnerability coating out of him. You don't see this kind of thing very often and I have to assume that the inherent egomania required to become a super-villain prevents most of them from acknowledging that anyone else might have a good idea.

Upon returning to the castle and discovering Lightning and Lane in his newly-stolen laboratory, Mastermind demonstrates what the electrical equipment is for by using it to charge himself with lightning in this state he is immune to electricity (and only electricity, hence the need for the Mummy's radium solution), can throw destructive bolts of lightning, and is able to teleport both himself and others, though just why this makes him resemble a dracula with glowing eyes is not explained.

Mastermind and the Mummy demonstrate the value of teamwork by subduing Lightning with relatively little effort, then immediately revert to super-villain type and engage in a struggle for dominance that sees the Mummy reduced to a smouldering pile of medical gauze and Mastermind is left forever vulnerable to being punched in the face.

Undeterred, Mastermind sets out to enact his ultimate scheme: to extort money from the US government in exchange for not helping the Axis to take over America, and as the government (in the form of this room full of Army officers) refuses to pay up based solely on the threats of a goth, he sets out to do just that.

Mastermind seeks out a nearby cell of pseudo-Nazi spies and offers his services as a saboteur, then proves that he can deliver the goods by blowing up the Washington Monument. I am not ashamed to admit that I yelled aloud when I read this part of the book - that's the sort of high-tier, messing-with-national-symbols villainy that you don't get a lot of in this era.

Mastermind's pitch to the spies is of course successful and he goes on a real sabotage tear, though none of it is as crazy or memorable as that initial salvo. By this point Lash Lightning has recovered and escaped, and the two have a final confrontation back at Amy Lane's castle as Mastermind is nipping back for a quick recharge. Instead of that pick-me-up, however, he gets thrown to his doom on the rocks below.

OR DOES HE??

No he does not, because Mastermind is back in Lightning Comics v2 002 and he's explicitly rather than implicitly collaborating with the Nazis. This time, he's got a mind control serum that he uses to take over the minds of everyone at Fort Hancock.

And just why does he mind control an entire fort worth of soldiers? Why, to both prevent them from operating the shore defenses as the Nazi fleet is sailing into the nearby city's harbour and as auxiliary troops for the subsequent shelling and invasion of that city, of course.

Lightning is of course not going to stand for this kind of thing: he blows up/drives off the fleet, cures the men of the Mastermind's control with a careful application of electricity and takes care of Mastermind himself with the careful application of a sock on the jaw.

In his third appearance in Lightning Comics v2 003, Mastermind escapes jail by arranging to have himself sent a tiny recharging device that appears to just plug into the electrical outlet that I never really pictured 1940s prison cells as having but which gives him enough juice for one teleport away.

This time around, Mastermind steals an experimental dirigible equipped with heat and paralysis rays and uses it to prep the way for yet another Nazi invasion by attacking US defense facilities.

Not only does Lash Lightning show up and take him down with an almost insulting level of ease, but he does so accompanied by a pretty devastating put-down. It's the old law of diminishing returns, as a villain who started out as a formidable opponent becomes more and more of a pushover as time goes on. Mastermind jumps to his death rather than being captured this time, only of course he doesn't because he is a teleporter.

Sure enough, when Mastermind returns in Lightning Comics v2 004, he confirms that teleportation saved his bacon. This time around he is working for the Nazis yet again, but rather than paving the way for invasion he is attempting to destroy some war materiel making its way from America to the UK via Canada. And speaking of Canada, since Lash Lightning prevents the supplies from being destroyed as they cross the border, the bulk of this issue takes place in my home country. Specifically, Mastermind is the very first super-villain who we have encountered doing supercrime in the province of Quebec!

Not great supercrime, mind you. He does manage to poison Lightning, but instead of taking proper advantage of this he just throws him off of a roof, something that he would ordinarily survive and something I think would be reasonable to assume he would survive even while half dead.

And yes, he does survive, returning to to punch out Mastermind's lights and foil all of his plans. It's back to prison for our pale friend, and this time they must have made sure to check all of his incoming cake deliveries a bit more thoroughly because as far as I can tell he never appears again.

Categorized in: Origins (Evil Equivalents), Powers (Teleportation), Professions in Crime (Masterminds)