Friday, February 24, 2023

MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 248: THE GOLDEN MUMMY

(Flash Comics v1 017, 1941)


It's the Golden Mummy! As I have previously stated, I love fake mummies and had read this issue before, so I was anticipating this fellow's appearance with some joy, and it is with great sadness that I must announce that he's a complete disappointment.


My threshold for fake mummy appreciation is quite low - usually they just steal a few antiquities before getting tripped up by Archie and Jughead or the Scooby Gang, after all - but the Golden Mummy's only admirable quality is his dedication to theme. He has the costume, a cave hideout, a bunch of gangsters that he paid well enough to paint themselves gold and pretend to be called the Sect of the Golden Mummy (and of course the only thing better than henchmen in themed costumes is when they also have a cool name). 


. He even dies lamely, by stumbling into a trap set for Hawkman.


So why do I dislike this guy so much? The reason is twofold: firstly, the whole Golden Mummy thing is just some incel shit: he's a guy named Dr Selkirk getting revenge on his ex-fiance for dumping him by murdering her. This is one of those motivations that sucks some of the fun out of super-villain analysis.

Secondly: the Golden Mummy is a completely unnecessary affectation. He kills her as she's onstage singing opera, via a poisoned blowdart. The Mummy and his Sect spend the entire adventure coping with Hawkman, and it kind of seems like Selkirk made up the persona expressly because he was afraid of Hawkman - I don't know if he'd have gotten away with it by not calling attention to himself with cryptic warnings and golden men but it couldn't have hurt.

Boo to the Golden Mummy. Booo!

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