(Blue Bolt v1 001, 1940)
The Green Sorceress! Possibly named Norzimo, absolutely the ruler of the underground kingdom of Voltor aka the Hidden Empire aka the Green Empire. Locked in a cold war with Dr Bertoff, leader of Deltos aka the Scientific City, as she wants the Deltosan radium fields in order to power her war machines and invade the surface while he wants to destroy her kingdom and everyone in it.
According to Bertoff, the Green Sorceress is descended from a long line of black magic practicioners. Appropriately, she demonstrates some magical skill herself, mostly related to teleportation via a green mist, though she does summon at least one demon.
There's a Batman/ Catwoman aspect to the relationship between Blue Bolt and the Green Sorceress, in that they are absolutely horny for one another and keep infuriating their allies by letting the other get away rather than taking victory at the cost of the other's life. The Green Sorceress even reforms a couple of times (well, sh'e brainwashed by Bertoff once and reforms another) but just can't quit her evil ways.
(Professor Bertoff would absolutely be a super-villain if a) his main opponent weren't a bigger one and b) his main ally weren't a super-hero)
The greatest change to the status quo of the underground kingdoms comes in Blue Bolt v1 007 when the Green Sorceress manages to force a surrender of Scientific City by capturing Blue Bolt (note the incredible power play of calling from bed). Her hamfisted scientists set off an series of enormous explosions in the radium fields and open a passage to the surface. This is the point at which a captured surface man calls the inhabitants of the Green Kingdom "scientific barbarians" and it's a really terrific characterization that has to have been a Kirby contribution if only because of how prominent a theme it would be in his later work.
In Blue Bolt v1 009 the Green Sorceress hits the surface in a new identity: the Masked Princess! Supposedly European royalty travelling incognito, the Masked Princess was actually a highly efficient one woman espionage unit who vamped intelligence agents and other important men and then hypnotized them into revealing their secrets. Unfortunately for her, the very instant she left her minions managed to let Blue Bolt get away and he ends up following her to the surface to bust up the Masked Princess' operation.
Simon and Kirby leave Blue Bolt after issue 10, at which point the Green Sorceress has reformed again, this time after being saved by Blue Bolt from a terrible end that will be detailed soonish. We will eventually see her again but it's not the triumphant return that she deserves - I reckon that in the right hands and with a slightly more interesting foe the Green Sorceress could be a real classic super-villain - the hot-headed wizard-queen of a nation of Kirbyesque scientific barbarians striking from a land beneath those we know, plus there's a different, slightly less evil guy trying to kill her at the same time? this is fertile storytelling ground! BRING her BACK, someone!
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