ALIENS AND SO FORTH ROUND-UP 032

Aliens (and So Forth) abound!

Birdmen:

The Birdmen inhabit Sunev, which is either a planet that orbits perilously close to Earth or a second moon of Earth, and which was supposedly formed out of a piece of our planet which broke away in the distant past. Sunev has never been discovered because of some pseudoscientific gibberish about light rays, but space explorer Zephyr Jones and his assistant Corky Grogan make landfall there while testing out Jones' experimental rocket ship.

The Birdmen of Sunev have one of those advanced and peaceful societies that function with the rigidity and ruthlessness of a military dictatorship populated by political naifs. As such, the ambitious Birdman Roudo is able to frame Zephyr and Corky and have them sentenced to death for supposedly collaborating with...

Parrotmen:

The Parrotmen! These ancestral enemies of the Birdmen are just kind of caveman versions of them - they don't even have colourful plumage to justify the name (I know that these images are from a recoloured version but I checked and the original is like this too). Despite the fact that the Birdmen have a roughly Medieval level of technology (castles, steel, swords) they have not yet been able to come up with a way to contend with a bunch of big guys with clubs, and it's up to Zephyr and Corky to blow them away with the tommy gun that they very sensibly thought to bring along on their space adventure. (Daring Mystery Comics 002, 1940)

Center People:

The Center People are one of the many intelligent species that populate the far-off Asteroid Djung. Their king, Goro, has allied with the Djunga King Leon against space heroes Captain Venture and the Planet Princess Zyra. Despite being depicted as spear-wielding ape-men who perform human sacrifice to a pool of lava, they are also armed with a selection of high-tech devices such as Goro's Mind-Ray Projector, which he uses to briefly compel Captain Venture into his service. This dichotomy is not explored before the Center Person society is devastated by a volcanic eruption. (Master Comics 019, 1941)

Core Creatures:

The adventures of sci-fi hero Blaze Barton take place on an Earth ravaged by a freak orbital shift that brought it too close to the Sun in the year 50029 CE (or sometimes 3000 CE or 5029 CE). Blaze and a small human population survived this event by sheltering in a specially-built heat-proof city, and now must rebuild civilization on a radically altered world. 

One of the first and greatest challenges faced by Blaze et al is the emergence of the underground-dwelling Core Creatures from the great cracks that have developed in the planet thanks to the rapid changes in temperature it has experienced. 

The Core Creatures, and their king in particular, have an implacable hostility toward the human population, but also indulge in that hoary old trope of being super hot for human women. I do appreciate the fact that they appear to choose their king based on who has the most creepy skull face. (Hit Comics 001, 1940)

I try and I try to keep these entries at a reasonable four species length, but I am vexed at every turn. Two issues after the Core Creatures breach the surface, Blaze & Co turn the tables and explore the subterranean world, where they encounter:

Mud Monsters and Rock Men:

While the Rock Men act as supplementary antagonists to the Core Creatures over the next couple of issues, the Mud Monsters only appear in this single panel. This is a shame, because they are by far the more visually interesting of the two groups. At least the fact that they live in such close proximity to the Rock Men allows us to speculate that they might be related species? That's kind of fun. (Hit Comics 003, 1940)

Like so many nonhuman societies, the Rock Men have a monarchy. There are better ways to live, guys!

Pretty People of the Jewelled Caves: 

The Pretty People are a bunch of foppish hotties who live in a state perpetual danger between the nations of the Core Creatures and Rock Men, and who survive by playing the two groups off of one another. They are also monarchists. As the most human-looking and least hostile group, these are the ones who the surface humans end up allying with.

Speaking of alliances, the Core Creature and Rock Man Kings forge one in order to attack the Pretty People and are only driven off thanks to the intervention of the humans and their ray guns. Blaze Barton personally kills the Core Creature king here, ending the Core threat for good. (Hit Comics 003, 1940)

Crustmen:

In one final addendum, I reckon that these Crustmen, who attack the surface as part of a coordinated strike on humanity with a group of hostile Martians, are meant to be the Core Creatures. Given the differences in name and appearance I choose to believe that they are a related but distinct species of hostile sub-Earth humanoid.  (Hit Comics 007, 1941)

MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 539 UPDATE: THE CLAW (vs. The Ghost, 1941)

(Daredevil Comics 005, 1941)

Everything gonna be all right - the Claw hasn't been seen for 10 days after he was set on fire and disappeared into the Hudson River.

Psych, he's back after maybe a month or two total, getting his huge fingerprints all over the skyscrapers and gassing on about taking over the US. And who will stop him this time, with the Daredevil out of the Claw-fighting game, Bill Hopkins understandably keeping a low profile and Jerry Morris a distant memory?

 A NEW CHALLENGER APPEARS!

The Ghost's self-appointed crusade against the Claw gets off to a great start, as he whales on him across the Manhattan skyline for seven solid hours and then forces his retreat with a crate of TNT. Given the punishment that we have seen the Claw take in the past I must ask: is any of this actually harming him, or does it just hurt? It's not like he is ever visibly harmed, after all. In any case, the day is saved!

Daredevil Comics 006: The Claw hatches a plan to demoralize the US that involves kidnapping 13 women and which is never actually explained.

The reason that it is never explained is because the Ghost shows up just before the Claw can finish his expository sentence and proceeds to bounce rocks off of his head until he passes out. Presumably this also takes several hours. The Ghost rescues the ladies and the Claw wakes up with an enormous headache. Here's hoping that he expands his villain portfolio in 1942, because there are only so many interesting variations on "the Claw attempts to conquer the US and gets his ass beaten for it."

Miss X:

Miss X is a spy sent by Adolf Hitler to organize the fifth column in the US during that ten day gap in which everyone was hoping that he might be dead, only to find him alive and just as huge as ever.

The Claw somehow gets wind of Miss X's presence in NYC and arranges a meeting with her to discuss a Claw/Nazi alliance to conquer North America. Hitler agrees despite his one unsuccessful and one disastrous prior alliance with the Claw. As a result, super spy Miss X spends the majority of her two 1941 appearances en route between German and NYC. (Daredevil Comics 005, 1941)

MINOR SUPER-HERO ROUND-UP 083

Oh boy! Minor super-heroes!

13: 

13 (aka Thirteen, although the numerical version of the name is the official one) is the alias of Harold Higgins, whose life has been haunted by a series of misfortunes related to the number thirteen. A timeline of some of them:

February 13, 1940: Harold's brother Bob dies in a plane crash.

March 13, 1940: Harold loses his life savings in the stock market.

May 13, 1940: Harold's sister Margy is paralyzed in a car accident.

July 13, 1940: Harold's father is lost at sea.

September 13, 1940: Harold's fiance is killed in a hit and run.

April 13, 1941: Harold loses his job as a reporter to a crooked editor looking to cover up a story. 

All of this (and more! A text story in Daredevil Comics 005 adds the facts that he was born on Friday the 13th, that minor tragedies like a broken leg or academic failure had frequently befallen him on the 13th of any given month and that at his thirteenth birthday party his childhood sweetheart Helen was killed by a falling chandelier) has clearly preyed on Harold's mind, to the point that he is finding the number everywhere including his own name.

Rather than, say, moving to a small shack in the woods to keep others safe from his constant misfortune, Harold decides to weaponize his bad luck by bringing it to criminals via his fists. Does this work, logically? Not really, but it's a decent enough comic book origin.

Like many super-heroes and villains, 13 flirts with the idea of leaving a calling card in his first adventure but doesn't maintain the practice. In this case, it's a calendar page with the 13th of the month circled. (Daredevil Comics 003, 1941)

Finally, a couple of minor things about 13: In Daredevil Comics 004 we learn that like many of his peers he wears his costume under his clothes for quick-change action. Intriguingly, the above panel seems to imply that this includes his mask, which appears to be either acting as a liner for his hat or worn as a kind of bandana under it.

Finally, in Daredevil Comics 006, 13 moves from the super-hero crammed streets of NYC to the lesser-served Boston.

Categorized in: Abstract Concepts (Luck), Accessories (Calling Cards), Alphanumeric (Thirteen)

Jinx: 

Recently orphaned Darrel Creig has just inherited the family steel fortune, something that rankles his guardian, uncle and the only other potential heir Moldon Creig. Thus, a family outing to the Statue of Liberty, where Moldon and Darrel's tutor Travers expedite the inheritance process by tossing him off the statue's torch.

Luckily for young Darrel, 13 happens to be present to stop an unrelated attempt to bomb the statue, and after saving the lad the two of them beat up Moldon and Travers and hand them over to the authorities.

As we all know, if a costumed vigilante happens across an orphaned boy who can throw a punch they are allowed to keep them, which is just what happens with 13 and Darrel, and though Darrel's connection to the bad luck theme is much more tenuous than Higgins (he is an orphan, if a wealthy one, and he is the very spooky age of thirteen years old) he is promptly given a slightly worse costume than 13's and anointed as his sidekick Jinx. (Daredevil Comics 005, 1941)

Categorized in: Abstract Concepts (Luck), Day Job (High School Students), Origin (Sidekicks)

the Ghost: 

The Ghost is a super-hero who seemingly exists solely to combat the menace of the Claw as he troubles America's shores once more, Daredevil having moved on to less stressful pursuits.

Though presented as a normal human man, the Ghost not only has the acrobatic prowess necessary to fight a giant across the rooftops of New York City but enough stamina to do so for seven hours straight. In their first encounter he manages to drive the Claw away by simply punching him thousands of times.

The Ghost's origin is unrevealed as of his final 1941 appearance but rest assured: we will learn it in 1942 (spoiler: it is not very interesting). (Daredevil Comics 005, 1941)

Categorized in: Origin (Unknown), Supranormal Beings (Ghosts)

the Fiery Mask: 

The Fiery Mask! A hero whose modern depictions have consistently involved a morning star despite only ever actually wielding on on this cover. I'm not complaining, mind you - it's just interesting to note where things come from.

The Fiery Mask is in reality Jack Castle, a young doctor who accidentally tracks down the lair of the villainous Zombie Master and is in quick order captured and subjected to the fiend's mind control device. Jack manages to resist the device long enough to enrage the Zombie Master, and in an effort to boost the power and overcome this resistance he causes it to explode.

The strange energies given off by the device cause Jack to develop strange abilities, the most striking of which is a fiery glow that plays around his face when he is worked up, and which gives him his super moniker. He also has an invulnerability to heat and flame, a fiery touch and a range of non-heat-related powers like super strength, super breath and a hypnotic gaze. Also his origin is later heavily revised, but we can save that for the hundred years or so it will take to get to The Twelve. (Daring Mystery Comics 001, 1940)

Categorized in: Elements (Fire), Objects (Masks), Origin (Radioactive Mutate)