MINOR SUPER-HERO ROUND-UP 104

Here are some very minor Marvel Comics super-heroes, or at least super-hero adjacent comic book adventurers.

the Masked Raider:

The Masked Raider is actually Jim Gardley, a small-time rancher in the town of Cactusville (which has apparently been officially placed in California? the hell?) is run off his land and framed as a rustler by crooked business interests. Adopting his masked persona and acquiring a souped-up horse named Lightning, he strikes back at his persecutors and goes on to spread justice throughout the West.

Recently (well, seven years ago), Marvel Comics 1000 recontextualized the Masked Raider as being part of a chain of super-heroes who are empowered by an artifact known as the Eternity Mask, but that's all future stuff. As far as we are concerned, for the next 80-odd years worth of comics the Masked Raider is just a two-fisted cowboy. (Marvel Comics 001, 1939)

Ka-Zar:

Ka-Zar is in actuality David Rand, who was gradually orphaned after his family was stranded in the jungle when he was a toddler. First his mother dies of a fever, which, along with a bit of head trauma, causes his father to have a mental break and decide to settle down in the jungle rather than try to get back home. Some years later, the vile emerald hunter de Kraft invades this jungle life and kills David's father, leaving David to be brought up the rest of the way by the lion Zar and his mate. Ka-Zar = "Brother of Zar," which is a better origin than most jungle man nonsense names get. Ka-Zar's origin ends when he slays de Kraft, who has returned to get more delicious emeralds.

This particular Ka-Zar is of course doomed to obscurity thanks to the existence of the other Ka-Zar, who somehow continues to appear to this day. Marvel has no need of any more jungle heroes, let alone a surplus Ka-Zar. (Marvel Comics 001, 1939)

Ferret:

Though private detective characters are a dime a dozen in Golden Age comics, Ferret here is distinguished in a few ways: firstly by the fact of his cool name, secondly by dint of having a bit of the weaselly appearance of his namesake rather than being your typical comic book squarejaw, and finally because he is a bit of a go-to in more modern comic flashbacks when they want to add a bit of non-costumed 40s flair. (Marvel Mystery Comics v1 004, 1940)

Most importantly, as of Marvel Mystery Comics v1 005, Ferret has a real ferret named Nosey for a pet.

Terry Vance:

Terry Vance, aka the Schoolboy Sleuth, aka the Boy of a Hundred Hobbies is a science-minded youth, of the subtype that deals in actual science and not comic book super tech. Mostly, at least - he does occasionally stretch the bounds of what a remote controlled plane can do.

Vance splits his time between school, the Bike Club, his famed Hundred Hobbies and solving grisly murders that have the police flummoxed, and he does it all with the aid of a monkey named Dr Watson and a reporter pal named Deadline Dawson. 

If any of these characters is a ripe candidate for revival, it's Terry*, as a venerable old detective, an embittered old tech billionaire, a benevolent old tech billionaire... the possibilities are finite but vast! Heck, have him still be a teen, having gotten too close to the super-villainous side of crime and been blasted through time and/or space. (Marvel Mystery Comics v1 010, 1940)

*Ferret was killed off by Ed Brubaker, alas. 

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)