MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 254: THE SMOKE THIEF

(Flash Comics v1 023, 1941)

I'll be honest: this is a very charitable entry on this list. The Smoke Thief is Dr Lucius Darrell and his gang of toughs, who use smoke bombs and special goggles to rob people on trains. If this was the main focus of the story, that might just be enough for full Minor Super-Villain status, but it ain't.

The real point of the story is this. Darrell captures Hawkman, then tries to kill him by chucking him out of a plane, which leads to a whole sequence where Hawkman is nursed back to health by the birds, earns their trust and eventually becomes their leader, leading them in righteous vengence against poor unsuspecting Dr Darrell.

So yes, I'm being charitable. Being absolutely destroyed by Hawkman and an army of birds isn't particularly villainous but it must be terrifically unpleasant. Plus the Smoke Thief is an excellent name.