Friday, May 3, 2024

MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 510: FARGALL

(Blue Bolt v1 010, 1941)


Fargall is a scientist-cum-criminal operating out of Centro, Sub-Zero's chosen home (well, it hasn't actually been identified as Centro for about 7 issues or so and I'm afraid that it's slowly transmogrifying into NYC like all unnamed comic book cities but until I'm told otherwise it's Centro to me) who has taken up the challenge of operating out of a super-hero town by inventing heat ray guns that effectively counter Sub-Zero's whole deal.

If that were all that Fargall had going on he'd be lumped in with all of the other one-trick scientists in the round-up but no, Fargall has something that they lack: Fargall has style.

When Fargall's scheme goes off he and his guys put on tuxedos and paint the town red. And unlike his underlings, Fargall keeps on wearing that tuxedo as they set out to rob the Legally Distinct from the New York World's Fair. Because he has style.

Heck, even the goggles that Fargall and his guys wear to protects their eyes from heat rays look good.

At this point it would be quite narratively satisfying for Fargall to be undone by his sense of style in some way but since that's just something I have built up in my head it wasn't on Bill Everett's mind when he plotted the whole thing out. Instead, Fargall falls victim to that most pervasive pattern of super-villain hubris: gloating and sadistically taking so long in finishing the hero off that they are able to escape and beat you up. It's very common!

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