Monday, October 10, 2022

MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 178: THE ARSON FIEND

(Captain Marvel Adventures 002, 1941)


The Arson Fiend! A simple villain conceptually: fire insurance salesman George D. Tweedle just can't sell any fire insurance and so he starts what is nominally a protection racket but really seems to be an excuse for wholesale arson.

The twist in this particular tale is that Tweedle has somehow developed or otherwise gotten his hands on a formula that transforms him into the fire-spewing and fireproof Arson Fiend. Legitimately super-powered crooks being a bit underrepresented at this point, I am delighted by this development! I had honestly expected the Fiend to be an asbestos outfit with a flamethrower concealed in each sleeve. The secondary twist is that Tweedle finds out that Billy is Captain Marvel seemingly without effort, which I love. Finally a comic book character is being held accountable for their poor infosec.

Sadly, such a being cannot be long for a comics world. The Arson Fiend and Captain Marvel battle atop a large oil tank and it eventually turns out that however immune to fire you are, you still have to look out for the concussive force element of, say, an oil tank explosion if you want a long career in arson.

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