(Rocket Comics 002, 1940)
"Rocket Riley, Prince of the Planets" was the namesake strip of Rocket Comics, about lab assistant and pilot Rocket Riley, his boss and amazing hair-haver Professor Sterling and Sterling's daughter/ Riley's fiance Griselda. While preparing for an official unveiling of Professor Sterling's new interplanetary rocket ship, the trio are accosted by spy Kurt von Stengle and his hireling and the whole bunch of them end up accidentally blasting off in the out-of control rocket.
After a brief stop on an unnamed asteroid where von Stengle's hireling is eaten by Octopus Men, Rocket and crew end up crash landing on Saturn, where things go even more pear-shaped as they are captured by the planet's dictatorial ruler, Devalo.
Devalo, also known as Divalo, has a real Satanic look going on and so I spent some time looking for a classical link between Saturn, Satan, the quality of being saturnine, etc., only to find very little. I'm sure that it's something I've encountered before if only due to a general linking of the more evil-flavoured bits of Greek and Roman mythology and Christian underworld imagery, but there doesn't seem to be an official-enough link to show up in places like Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, or indeed, Wikipedia.
Nevertheless, Devalo is both Saturnian and Satanic and I would bet a small sum of money that he won't be the last character we meet who fits both of those descriptions.
The Saturnian Saturnite society ruled by Devalo is caste-based, with the military at the top, supported by the enslaved scientist caste. All manual labour is done by the Zeroes, whose bodies have been enhanced and intelligences stunted for maximum efficiency.
Since von Stengle is the kind of villain who would, for instance, try to commandeer a spacecraft that is currently careening through space, he seizes the opportunity afforded him when everyone is rounded up by Devalo's men to suggest that they might team up to invade the Earth. Stupidly opportunistic in his evil, that's von Stengle for you.
Our heroes manage to escape Devalo's palace along with Saturnite scientist Xenox and his daughter Ladana, but after an encounter with some Sharkmen the group is scattered and only Rocket and Griselda manage to make it back to Professor Sterling's ship. And that's it! Rocket Comics ended with issue 3 and Devalo gets to remain not just uncaptured but firmly in charge. All we can do is rest assured that he would have been deposed in one to ten issues if the series had continued.
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