MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 888: THE SCORPION

(Wow Comics 002, 1940)

The Scorpion is mostly a regular gang boss, but with just enough extra oomph to take him over the edge into super-villainy. First thing: he is a very Bad Boss in that particular "execute under-performing employees as an example to the others" kind of way that all corporate overlords wish that HR would let them be.

Secondly, he is perhaps the closest thing to a super-villain was faced by Allan Lanier, aka the Hunchback, seen here in his civilian guise rushing to investigate the defenestration of the Scorpion's poor minion and inadvertently getting his fiance Betty kidnapped in the process.

The Scorpion also has a true super-villain's lack of subtlety, seen here as he successfully fools Lanier into believing that Betty has gone to visit her uncle by means of a simple telegram but then is unable to resist sending a more explicit threat (signed with a cute lil' scorpion!) and undoing his previous work. 

Finally, the Scorpion has a cool hideout: just like the Ninja Turtles he lives in an abandoned subway station, to which he is tracked by the vengeful Hunchback.

After that, it's all over. The Hunchback doesn't play around, he just breaks the Scorpion's neck. I would say that this is a case of someone choosing their enemies poorly, but the Scorpion didn't actually know he was dealing with the Hunchback until it was too late. I guess the lesson is "don't kidnap women."

MINOR SUPER-HERO ROUND-UP 067

Something for everyone* in this one.

*not really. 

Zambini the Miracle Man: 

Zambini the Miracle Man, aka Zambini the Great, is your fairly typical comic book magic man, albeit a bit more flamboyantly dressed than even that crowd normally are.

Though Zambini has a lot of the regular magic abilities of his peer group his signature trick involves his magical Boomerang Amulet, which causes evil to rebound on its sender. This takes forms as diverse as a cobra returning to the one who released it to bombs flying back up to the plane that dropped them to magic spells rebounding on their casters. 

(please also note the final panel above, in which Zambini is being made a Knight of Ritania, which I here recognize as an honour)

Finally, while I generally do enjoy when a magic user has a weakness to counter their nigh-omnipotence, Zambini might just have the worst one in comics: the touch of a human hand renders him completely powerless and unable to resist, to the point that this Hundanian spy is able to gently lead him to their headquarters and he is only saved when her boss gets jealous - thank heavens that Hundania doesn't have a robust anti-workplace romance policy. This weakness kind of falls by the roadside as time goes on but does occasionally crop up now and then in horrible ways. (Zip Comics 001, 1940)

Perhaps the most interesting thing about Zambini is his magical system: for his first two appearances he casts spells by spouting nonsense words (as far as I can tell), but from Zip Comics 003 onward, he uses a version of Ubbi Dubbi that involves inserting the syllable "ab" instead of "ub". I don't know if it's strictly better than speaking backward, Zatara style, but it certainly is unique.

Atom Blake, Boy Wizard **UPDATE**:

I had read the 1940-1941 issues of Wow Comics before embarking on my great comics-reading project, so I already knew going in that Atom Blake would essentially speed-run the process of getting tired of living among mere mortals and heading off into space, Dr Manhattan style, but I had forgotten that he is doing so in order to look for his long-lost father. Also, while I did remember that Blake duplicated himself before setting out I had misremembered it as him leaving behind a non-super version of himself on Earth while the superhuman part set off for adventure. What I'm saying here is that the version of Atom Blake that I had remembered is way more interesting than the actual character. (Wow Comics 002, 1941) 

the Hunchback: 

The Hunchback is in actuality wealthy playboy Allan Lanier, who became obsessed with the figure of Quasimodo after seeing the 1939 film version of the Hunchback of Notre Dame (or possibly a literal picture of the character - the text box isn't 100% clear) and combined that with his interest in wiping out crime to become a weird spectre of the night, Batman-style.

Lanier is refreshingly up-front about his interest in criminology, to the extent that he is seen droning on and on about it before a date with his fiance Betty Brenton. I don't know if I'd like every fellow with a secret identity to abandon the "disaffected socialite" act, but it is nice to see the odd one do without it and just be a weird eccentric.

The Hunchback really leans into two specific aspects of his inspiration: he is absurdly acrobatic, and he metes out insane and terrifying violence to his foes. The latter has git to be one of the better justifications for the dread a masked figure of the night inspires among the criminal fraternity.

We're on a bit of a run of characters who share their secret identity with their love interest and Alan Lanier is one of them: his fiance Betty has to be told before she will let the Hunchback help her (this might be the downside of the whole "reputation for insane violence" thing). (Wow Comics 002, 1941)

In the Hunchback's second adventure, in Wow Comics 003, Lanier switches to a slightly more conventional super-hero outfit. It's a generic but not terrible design, and I always appreciate a character making a bold hat choice, but I think that it is perhaps a bit too twee for a character who is supposed to be some sort of rampaging engine of madness and destruction. The old uniform came back out of the closet for the Hunchback's remaining appearances.

Pinky the Whiz Kid: 

Pinky the future Whiz Kid (not technically called that until 1942, but whatever, we're loose and goosey around here) is already a fan of Mr Scarlet before he is rendered a crime orphan by the villainous Mr Hyde (upcoming), who seemingly randomly murders his mother.

Pinky ends up at Oaklawn Orphanage, which just so happens to be run by Mr Hyde's alter ego, Dr Jelke. When Hyde/Jelke and Mr Scarlet inevitably clash, Pinky is right there in his homemade sidekick costume to help out.

Pinky is adopted by District Attorney Brian Butler, ostensibly to keep him out of trouble, but since Pinky has worked out that Brian is secretly Mr Scarlet he is able to blackmail him into becoming his sidekick. It sounds more sinister than it reads, honestly.

The real downside to Mr Scarlet getting a sidekick is that Miss Wade, formerly a romantic sparring partner for Brian and occasional daring assistant in her own right, is relegated to the role of scolding caretaker as she sensibly attempts to prevent a teenager from flinging himself into danger. It's a real loss to the comic.(Wow Comics 004, 1941)

MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 173: THE HUNCHBACK

(Bulletman 002, 1941)

There are many Hunchbacks, both actual and fake, in the ranks of the minor super-villain, alas. Victor Hugo has much to answer for. This Hunchback is a former actor whose back (and presumably mind) was injured in a fall and thereafter resolved to kill all leading men at a particular theatre via dart to the neck.

The real standout of the story is not the Hunchback but rather red herring murder suspect Matt Benson, seen here being a completely unsuspicious witness:

And here being careful not to make himself seem like he might have done it:

I sincerely think that in all my years of reading this kind of story I have not seen a suspect with less chill. The man could not order a cup of coffee without implying that he had strangled someone for the cash he was using to pay for it.