Tuesday, October 4, 2022

MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 172: THE LARGEST MAN IN THE WORLD

(Bulletman 001, 1941)


The Largest Man in the World is exactly what it says on the tin: an unfeasibly enormous dude. By himself, not much of a threat so long as he gets a regular supply of molasses to eat. It's just too bad for society that he is spotted by crooks and used as a living siege weapon to rob and kill.


The really remarkable thing about the Largest Man in the World is that his gangster pal is Machine Gun Kelly. Like, the real guy - the actual real-world crook. This is completely wild to me for two reasons. Firstly, Machine Gun Kelly was jailed in 1933 and died in prison, so when this comic came out he had not been a real-world crime concern in over 8 years.

Secondly, I think I've mentioned how Golden Age comics frequently went out of their way not to use actual country names, and with people, even criminal people, it's even more pronounced. Al Capone isn't going to show up in a comic, but Al Tyrone, Al Maloney or Andy Carpon will. Hell, Adolf Hitler largely appears under light pseudonyms before the US enters WWII. It's weird and wild to see Machine Gun Kelly just running around talking about his machine gun, and that's before they kill him - a man who will go on to live for another 13 years in prison, remember - off!

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