MAD AND CRIMINAL SCIENTIST ROUND-UP 004

More mad science than criminal science or vice versa? You be the judge! 

This guy, who seems to be neither bald nor ironically hairy enough for his name of Baldy Fluger to make sense, has a hypnotic ray and a plan: to use that hypnotic ray for crime. The Green Mask and Domino the Miracle Boy have something to say about that. (Mystery Men Comics 021, 1941)

If there was any more to these three (respectively named Boris, Oscar and Unnamed Man) than what happens in the four panels above then I would be writing hundreds of words about them, but this is about it: three mad scientists, one of whom has one of the top lines in comics history ("They said I was a mad scientist but when I blast their children with my electron gun they won't call me mad anymore!") attack a steel mill for unclear reasons, possibly madness. The rest of the story involves them battling Lieutenant Drake of Naval Intelligence and Miss X. There's a lot of electron gunning but no children are involved. (Mystery Men Comics 021, 1941)

Renowned transplant surgeon Dr Moru just so happens to also be the mysterious person murdering people and stealing their hands, and all so that he can make beaucoup bucks giving gangsters brand new hands with brand new fingerprints. Until the Green Mask gets involved, of course. (Mystery Men Comics 029, 1941)

Dr Murdo here had a death ray, an underground lair and a small army of goons but had the misfortune of crossing paths with Flexo the Rubber Man and being subdued with robot gas. (Mystic Comics v1 001, 1940)

MINOR SUPER-HERO 048: MISS X

(Mystery Men Comics 019, 1941)

Miss X is a pretty good example of the Female Guest Star Hero, an infrequent heroic archetype with a clearly identifiable arc: start out mysterious and hypercompetent and become less competent as the hero learns more about them. Our only other example so far is Clock ally the Orchid, but Miss X here is helpfully providing us with a three-issue speedrun of the archetype as illustration:

Issue 1, Mystery Men Comics 019: When her sister is killed by foreign spies (after helping them a little but not a lot) and unnamed honours chemistry student sets out to help Lieutenant Drake of Naval Intelligence round them up. Hero knows nothing; Miss X saves the day basically on her own.

Issue 2, Mystery Men Comics 020: Miss X returns in the next issue to help Lt Drake battle a trio of spies. Drake still knows little about her but her major contribton is now being the one who smacks around the lady spy. 

Issue 3, Mystery Men Comics 021: Captured and unmasked by a trio of weirdos, Miss X loses all mystery. She does get to deck the fourth, lady weirdo but this is it for her crimefighting career.