(Fantastic Comics 013, 1940)
Yew Bee! A scientist/fifth columnist working for an unnamed nation to soften the US up for invasion! A pretty common type of guy in Golden Age comics if I'm honest, and I might have passed him by if he weren't a Stardust the Super Wizard villain. Even the most rote Fletcher Hanks creations have at least a couple of interesting things about them.
The first thing is obviously the name. Yew Bee. Is it a reference to a public figure who I have been unable to track down? Is it a private joke? If Yew Bee looked anything like Ub Iwerks I might've tried to figure out if he and Hanks had ever crossed paths and had a bad interaction but he really doesn't. Another one of those mysteries of the ages, I guess!
The invasion is nothing special, though it is suitably over the top. I will highlight these cool and also dumb looking super tanks, though. A fun design, say I!
Stardust pulverizes the entire invasion force without breaking a sweat, of course.
The real reason to cover Yew Bee is the fact that after a surprising amount of Stardust villains being shown leniency over the course of 1940, this is the group that really draws his ire. The bulk of their leadership are turned into icicles and melted. This turns out to be comparatively merciful.
The top four leaders are turned to rats and chased through the streets of New York by Stardust in the form of a panther until they swim out to sea and drown. Except for Yew Bee, of course.
Changed into a horrible little rat man, Yew Bee gets to spend his days being interrogated by the FBI. It really does feel like this guy is a reference to someone specific who Fletcher Hanks did not like, doesn't it?
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