DIVINE ROUND-UP 034

Here come some more gods and god-adjacent beings for you.

the Golden Skull:

While I must of course frown and shake my head at the concept of human sacrifice, you really have to hand it to the worshippers of the Golden Skull (who is, yes, very much not golden and also not especially skully), for giving their god a name that guarantees that a constant stream of American and European treasure hunters would arrive on their doorstep in search of swag. It's the perfect sustainable human sacrifice supply solution!

Sadly, the Golden Skull sect are not quite as canny about the location of their temple as they are about marketing, and the whole operation gets blown sky high when the volcano it is housed in erupts at an inopportune time.

God Style: Idol (Jungle Comics 024, 1941)

God of the Apes:

We don't learn much about the God of the Apes other than the fact that it is presumably worshipped or otherwise connected to apes and that it is real enough that Fantomah can call upon it to turn some crooked big game hunters into gorillas.

God Style: Invoked (Real) (Jungle Comics 024, 1941)

Mars:

This right here is a pretty traditional comic book depiction of Mars, God of War, right down to the fact that he is loving the carnage and slaughter in Europe (and is implicitly the Guy Behind WWII). He loves it so much, in fact, that he creates Man of War as his personal agent on Earth to speed the whole process up, but he then fumbles the process so badly that he accidentally creates an Allied super-hero instead. 

God Style: Real (Liberty Scouts Comics 002, 1941)

the Spirit of America:

This Spirit of America is in the Columbia mode, being an ethereal and star-spangled woman who implicitly comes into existence as a result of the American Revolution. In 1783 she primes a cannon with "powders of patriotism" just in case she ever needs to create a mystic champion at some point in the future (i.e., upcoming super-hero the Sentinel). 

God Style: Real (Anthropomorphic Personification) (Liberty Scouts Comics 003, 1941)

MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 997: THE ZOMBIE WITCH

(Jungle Comics 024, 1941)

The Zombie Witch (aka the Queen of the Zombies, aka Celie) is, as the name suggests, a witch with a penchant for raising the dead - often while they are still actively being mourned. She demonstrates a few other magic powers (e.g., scrying in a bowl of water, crocodile charming) but the zombie thing is her bread and butter.

So what, specifically, does she want a bunch of reanimated corpses for? Well! I won't say that it's for a good reason but it certainly an innovative one: Celie has pulled a con on some unscrupulous fellows and convinced them that a worthless mountain is full of gold, and is now going to sell them zombie labour to work the mines. It's not a bad way to use up surplus zombies, if you ignore the horror.

Tabu of course objects to the fraud just as hard as he does to the necromancy, and wastes no time in ratting the Zombie Witch out to her clients. They in turn waste no time in murdering her, but not before she orders her zombies to "kill the white men," thus in turn sealing their dooms. Only Tabu makes it out alive.

Categorized in: Accessories (Henchmen (Zombies)), Careers in Magic (Witches), Fraud (Con Artistry)

MONSTER, CRITTER AND CREATURE ROUND-UP 001

I've threatened to do it for long enough, it's time for the creatures to have their day.

Alligator Men:

Our very first creatures are also our first tough call. Steel Sterling fights these Alligator Men in Brazonia, South America while on the trail of Dr Yar (aka the Black Knight), and with any group of intelligent humanoids there is the question: did our villain make them using the power of mad science, or did he find them in the jungle and convince them to follow him?

The thing that sways my opinion on the Alligator Men is the fact that Dr Yar also has this swarm of giant mosquitoes at his command. If someone is going to the trouble of overcoming the square cube law to create a not-very-successful trap for his arch enemy then bioengineering a batch of alligator-headed goons has got to be a walk in the park, comparatively. (Zip Comics 003, 1940)

Alligoscerous:

This alligoscerous, a lake monster native to the hidden Diamond Empire in Asia and burdened with a most unlovely name, makes an attempt to dine on the Rocket and his allies and pays for it with its eyes. (Pep Comics 004, 1940)

Allosaurus:

Abdallah is a minor Centaur Publications character who has fantastical adventures in 10th Century Arabia, such as in this instance, when a caravan he is leading is attacked by a pack of allosaurus. It's honestly giving me a warm flashback to AD&D adventure modules.

Continuing in the tabletop RPG theme, later in that same story Abdallah must travel through an underground dungeon of sorts to save his father's life, and does battle with this very heraldic griffin. (Funny Pages v3 008, 1939)

Amphisaur:

The amphisaur, an ancient dinosaur hibernating below the sea floor, is awakened by Naval manoeuvres and immediately begins laying waste to the works of mankind. It's very Gozilla-before-Godzilla, though without the poignancy of the nuclear war metaphor.

Though the beast's hide is proof against all conventional weaponry and it is even immune to mummy-turned-super-hero Mystico's arcane power for the slightly contrived reason that it dates from before magic was invented, it is ultimately undone when an entire skyscraper is repurposed into a jumbo-sized spear to impale it. (Startling Comics 004, 1940)

the Sea Dragon:

The Sea Dragon, which pops up to vex and befuddle the US Navy in Hawaii, is in reality a classic (and astonishingly huge) submarine disguised as a monster and operated by an unnamed, not-quite-Japanese, Navy. (Captain America Comics 005, 1941)

Tangako:

Adventurer Reef Kinkaid and his companions, stranded in a lost valley filled with prehistoric life in the Amazon jungle, must confront a variety of monsters, including the horned cave-ape tangako, which Reef grapples to death...

... the cave-dwelling alagasaurus, which he grapples and beats to death...

... and the annoyingly-spelled pterodactl, which he grapples to death. (Amazing-Man Comics 016, 1940)

Bonus Dinosaurs!

 

These random dinosaurs and prehistoric mammals are encountered by the Black Hood during a confusing trip through time. (Jackpot Comics 003, 1941)

MINOR SUPER-HERO ROUND-UP 102

You won't believe what I just found: more super-heroes!

the Liberty Scouts:

When fascist forces armed with high-tech weaponry begin attacking targets calculated to cripple US war capacity, they are repeatedly driven away by a trio of anonymous heroes who leave behind Liberty Bell calling cards. Both the fascists and US officials are eager to learn just who these so-called Liberty Patriots are, but President Roosevelt is the one who actually gets to find out, thanks to his association with patriotic millionaire Patrick Henry.

Henry drives FDR out to his country estate, Liberty House, where he introduces him to three mysterious youths beginning with Smokey, the inventive genius of the group, and whose amphibious tank is counted as a land vehicle for the air/sea/land theme that the three have going on.

Skipper, "the best sailor on the Seven Seas," is also clearly the group member who is most invested in the paramilitary aspect of the whole operation. He has a super-powerful miniature submarine.

Finally, we have Strut, the youngest of the group. He's got a souped up fighter plane called the Comet (initially the only named super vehicle in the bunch, though the tank is later named Ironsides), plus a cool-ass wingsuit. He's also the only one of the three with any discernible personality, even if it's "won't shut up about cherry pie."

So just how does Mr Henry know these three youngsters and why are they living in his house? Because they are his own sons! He loves his country so much that he has moulded his children into weapons designed to defend it, and the President loves it. (Liberty Scouts Comics 002, 1941)

The Liberty Scouts eventually change their name to the Liberty Guards after the Boy Scouts of America complain about their monopoly on the word "scout" being infringed.

Categorized in: Accessories (Calling Card Leavers), Groups, Origin (Patriotic Heroes)

Man of War:

Impatient with the slow progress of World War II, the god Mars decides to create a divine being imbued with the powers of the Greco-Roman pantheon and send them down to help the Axis conquer Europe faster and with more bloodshed. He gifts his champion with "the Strength of Hercules, the Speed of Mercury, the Wisdom of Zeus" (making him about 0.5 of a Captain Marvel) and arms him with the infinitely sharp Sword of Mars before sending him on his way.

In a legitimately funny twist, Mars forgets to account for the rotation of the Earth during the presumably-lengthy demigod-crafting process and shoots his new creation at Dayton, Ohio (okay, at one of the more than thirty Daytons in the United States. Or in another city that has an unrelated Dayton Munitions Factory. Probably Dayton, Ohio, though) instead of Berlin or wherever he intended for it to go. Thus, Man of War (as he calls himself) is instantiated in the "peace-loving nation" of the USA and is dedicated to virtuous, defensive warfare instead of awful slaughter in the name of power-hungry politicians (insert joke about the US war machine here. Man of War must have had a rough go of things as the 20th Century progressed).

So what are the powers of the gods? Mostly generic super strength and invulnerability, though Man of War is able to breathe and move freely underwater thanks to the gifts of Neptune. He also has one bespoke power gifted upon him by Mars: to disappear or appear in any explosion, up to and including those created when bullets are fired (which would be a bit more useful if he weren't already bulletproof). (Liberty Scouts Comics 002, 1941)

In Man of War Comics 001, Mars reveals Man of War's weakness to the dictator Luko: that he is powered by rays emitted by the planets of the Solar System, and that confining him in a lead-lined chamber will block those rays and render him merely human. This nearly works, but as the Sword of Mars is not planet-powered he is soon able to carve his way free.

Categorized in: Accessories (Swords), Activities (War), Origins (Demigods)

Vapo-Man:

Bradford "Brad" Cole is a chemist assisting at the laboratory of Dr Kreiner, who in turn is performing unspecified research that is evidently valuable enough to the US government that some fascist saboteurs blow it up. Cole, unlike Kreiner, is lucky enough not to be exploded but instead is showered with a randomized mix of chemicals that change him into a man of vapour.

The dying Kreiner explains that he is now a chemical man, which is apparently something that chemists have been trying to create for centuries. He extracts a promise from Cole that he will use this power to fight evil, and saddles him with the terrible name of Vapo-Man just before dying, thus ensuring that Crawford can never change it without feeling very guilty.

As Vapo-Man, Crawford can change all or part of his size, can fly, has at least some super strength, can disintegrate matter with a touch, and can become intangible at will. All of this adds up to make him feel a lot like a more mystical character like Phantasmo, though he lacks the charm to support it. (Liberty Scouts Comics 002, 1941)

Categorized in: Elements (Steam and Mist), Origins (Chemical Mutates), Powers (Intangibility)

Fire-Man:

Jim, a man working for the Civilian Conservation Corps in Utah sets out to battle the latest in a series of mysterious fires and finds himself being kidnapped by a mysterious silver-clad giant.

This turns out to be Gaston, henchman to a fellow known only as the Mad Scientist. The Mad Scientist has a dream: to incinerate a human in such a way that they remain alive and coherent but composed of gaseous rather than solid matter, and Jim is his latest unwilling experimental subject. Luckily for Jim, this time it works, and the only real change appears to be a significantly lower density, such that he is obliged to wear a weighted uniform (that doubles nicely for a super suit, natch) in order to keep from floating away. Even with it on, he light enough to leap around as if he were flying.

Jim is otherwise an ordinary human, but a miscalculation on the part of the Mad Scientist (dunking him in a vat of chemicals while trying to destroy him) also endows him with super strength.

Finally, Jim's new metabolism causes him to give off fire-retardant gasses as a part of his respiration, which is handy, as he chooses to go by Fire-Man, meaning that he, alongside the Mad Scientist's niece Nancy, ends up fighting a lot of arsonists (Liberty Scouts Comics 002, 1941)

Categorized in: Elements (Fire), Origins (Electrical Mutates), Powers (Decreased Density)

MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 996: THE BIRD KING

(Jungle Comics 022, 1941)

Zuko, aka the Bird King, is in a lot of ways a very classic minor super-villain. He has an obsession with birds and has both a flock of trained vultures and a set of working bird wings for personal flight that he uses in the pursuit of crime. He also has an obsession with diamonds that makes him jealously guard the ones that he has collected, and stop at nothing, including kidnapping and murder, to acquire more.

The really unusual thing about Zuko is the fact that all of this villainous potential exists in a guy who lives in a treehouse in the middle of a crocodile-infested swamp in the middle of a jungle in an unspecified part of Central Africa. He only learns that there are people nearby with diamonds that he might be able to steal when one of them accidentally wanders into his front yard. In the next issue of Jungle Comics some crooks come looking for Zuko's treasure so it's possible that he was a super thief somewhere else before moving to the jungle to hide but as presented in his own story it's kind of like if Dr Doom had just forged his mask and then stayed on the mountain with those monks.

The Bird Man makes a spirited attempt to steal the diamonds from Kaänga's adopted people but is unable to contend with jungle-man resistance. This all ends with him learning the ultimate lesson for people who choose the life of the wingsuit, all the way back to Icarus himself: they don't work very well if they are on fire.

Categorized in: Accessories (Wingsuits), Animals (Birds), Theft (Jewel Thieves)