MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 861: EMPEROR CORON

(Whirlwind Comics 003, 1940)

Earth in the far-off future of 1980 CE simply can't catch a break! This time they're being pelted with comets from somewhere in the vicinity of Jupiter and as per usual scientist-adventurer Bruce Barlow is on the case. And he's a good choice, as evidenced by the fact that even when he has a rocket mishap and ends up going entirely the wrong way, crashing on Venus...

... he still finds the source of the comets! This is Emperor Coron, ruler of Venus, who is attacking Earth for no stated reason. As  Barlow learns when he is thrown in jail, Coron has usurped the throne from his new cellmate Gola and not only has he had Gola's daughter Venus' tongue torn out (fuckin' yikes) but he intends to marry her to cement his claim to the throne. A true creep of the first water.

Luckily for both Gola and Venus, there is not a prison that Bruce Barlow cannot escape or a wedding that he cannot ruin. He and Gola crash the affair in a quite literal fashion by upsetting the idol to whatever god the Venusians worship onto at least one - hopefully evil - guest.

Once the people of Venus get word that their beloved Gola is alive, Coron's days are numbered. Mob justice wins again! Everyone wins but Coron! And of course poor tongueless Venus.

(I think I've mentioned before that the creator of the Bruce Barlow strip is unknown, but whoever they were I think we can safely say that they were fans of Jack Kirby. Just compare these Venusians to Iako for instance. I don't think it was Kirby himself, because his art was a lot more composed than this, but there's definitely some inspiration going on)

MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 860: MUSKOG

(Whirlwind Comics 002, 1940)

This is Muskog, ruler of the Earth's core in the far-future year of 1980 CE and total dick. Muskog has been blasting the surface of the planet with a static electricity ray for seemingly no reason whatsoever, or at least no reason that he cares to state. This of course attracts the attention of crack science adventurer Bruce Barlow, who ventures into the molten depths on behalf of his people to ask "how come?"

There are precisely three things I want to note about Muskog's sole appearance. The first is simply to note that his name is infuriatingly close to muskeg, the Arctic/subarctic bog biome. Is this a coincidence, or did Bruce Barlow's unknown creator(s) know and love the word as much as I do?

Secondly, we must mention Barlow's method of getting to the centre of the Earth: via a capsule that is shot out of a big gun into a volcanic crater. Never has any idea so neatly conveyed how simultaneously wonderful and dumb comic books can be. And how is he going to get back, you ask? Why by means of an "upward space helmet" that will simply float him back through the fiery mantle.

Finally, as always, I must take note of any time that an alien or otherwise nonhuman species crops up in which the males are, e.g., bug-eyed green weirdos but the females are conventionally attractive human women, as seen here in the person of Muskog's rebellious daughter Eda. Ah, the wonders of evolution.

Eda frees Barlow, allowing him to destroy the irreplaceable explosion machines,  but unfortunately is unable to join him on his voyage through thousands of kilometres of molten rock because she is wounded. Barlow promises to return and is later seen trying to spin this return voyage not as a sex thing but as being in the interests of science, heh heh.

Bruce Barlow is of course honoured by the surface world for his efforts, and this gives us the opportunity to see that the US flag of 1980 has only 28 stars - what great calamity has caused 20 whole states to succeed/ be kicked out/ other? Worldbuilding!

MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 859: TOKO THE TERRIBLE

(Whirlwind Comics 001, 1940)

In the far future of 1980 CE, Earth is under threat of conquest from space. A mysterious ray has dissolved the nation of Slovania, and now a being called Toko the Terrible, Emperor of Saturn has issued an ultimatum: surrender to him or the entire Earth will suffer the same fate.

This of course will not stand, and Earth sends their best guy (Bruce Barlow), to deal with the threat of Toko.

Barlow, being a man of action, immediately attacks Toko and calls him insane, getting himself thrown into the very cool-sounding Prison of Invisible Bars for his trouble. This proves not to be a terrible, species-ending blunder by a real meathead as it might have originally appeared but instead a masterstroke of strategy, as while stewing behind (invisible) bars, he meets Professor Jenkins, first human on Saturn and the original inventor of the Ultra-Dissolvo-Raygun, bane of Slovania. Together, they bust Bruce out of jail, prevent the dissolving of Earth and turn the ray on Toko himself, which has the knockon effect of freeing the citizens of Saturn from his vile influence. Plus he had already conquered the rest of the Solar System, so they all get freed too!