MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 808: THE BLACK QUEEN

(The Spirit, "The Black Queen", June 16, 1940)

We first meet the Black Queen as the otherwise-unnamed defense lawyer in the murder trial of gangster Slot Gorgan. She already has a reputation for being brilliant, and that reputation proves to be accurate, as Gorgan is acquitted despite the evidence against him.

Upon returning to the Black Queen's penthouse, we learn that she is in fact the very first in the Spirit's long line of female villains, as it turns out that she is the brains behind Gorgan's gang. Unfortunately for Gorgan and the Black Queen, the Spirit has been engaging in the long-standing comic book tradition of getting mad about not-guilty trial results, and so has preceded them to the apartment. Now he knows about about the Black Queen's crime ties and that Slot was actually guilty.

The Spirit manages to wrangle a confession out of Slot in the presence of the District Attorney, which results in a retrial for the same murder he was originally accused of (and while I am not even remotely a lawyer I reckon that this is exactly what double jeopardy is supposed to be about? Or is it one of those things where he was tried for second degree murder the first time and first degree the second?). This time, the Black Queen's brilliant legal mind is merely able to get his sentenced reduced from death to life imprisonment, but importantly she herself is still running the gang when the episode concludes.

The Black Queen returns a few weeks later having made the astonishing decision to move from being the secret head of her gang (smart, secure) to personally leading them in a raid on the New York Sub-Treasury building* (dumb, risky). Why do this when her prior setup was so good that she got to the end of a "crime doesn't pay" comic with her crime career still intact? Since she talks about taking 25 million dollars for herself and splitting town, I can only assume that she has grown tired of the admin of running a gang while being a successful attorney and just wants to retire.

*this might be the fifth time I have read a story in which crooks try to rob the New York Sub-Treasury, and having looked it up to see if it was a thing I have found that a) it was - the US used to keep stores of cash and gold in a few major cities, presumably due to longer travel times in the past and b) the sub-treasury system was phased out in the 1920s. The Black Queen and her fellows are actually trying to break into a building now known as Federal Hall, administered by the National Park Service, and in 1940 occupied by exhibits relating to the New York World's Fair. This raises the question: is the major divergence of the various super-hero universes from our own in fact the passing of the Independent Treasury Act of 1920?

Though the Black Queen's gang are captured before they can get away with either fifty million dollars or some dioramas about the history of finance, she alone manages to escape in her private yacht. Thanks to a timely intervention by the Governor's island defense batteries, the yacht is disabled (a very rare artillery-based entry in my collection of cops shooting fleeing suspects), but the Black Queen herself remains at large for a second appearance in a row thanks to a frankly amazing hand grenade throw that disables the Spirit's flying car. 

The Black Queen's third and final appearance is also the one in which she makes the jump to being a full-fledged femme fatale in the (eventual) grand Spirit tradition, and I say that not just because she has started wearing hot pants and a bustier as her everyday outfit.

No, what really puts the fatale into this femme is the fact that she is going around giving men the literal kiss of death via some poisoned lip gloss. I'm not even sure why she kills this guy - just for the hell of it, I suppose, as he seems to be totally okay with working for her.

But just what was that guy killed for? Why a formula for creating artificial diamonds, which means that along with the sub-treasury thing from earlier, the Black Queen has engaged in two of the biggest non-crimes in comics history!

The Black Queen has also seduced a jeweller named Abner Ames into acting as a fence for her. The Spirit goes pretty far out of his way to rescue this guy from getting the Kiss of Death and make sure that he isn't held criminally responsible, and while I commend him for being nice to Ames' poor wife in this way I would humbly suggest that she would be better off without him.

(the above panels also reveal that the Black Queen's calling card is the queen of spades, and as someone who loves categorizing things I am just pleased as punch to have confirmation on exactly which black queen she was going for with than name) 

Ames having been saved, there is a thrilling chase that culminates in a fight on the superstructure of a bridge. Though the Black Queen almost gets him, the Spirit manages to take her in. Sadly for those of us who enjoy her style, the Black Queen chooses to take her own life rather than face trial, even though she might have been the first person in history for whom self-representation was a good idea.

MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 771: CAPTAIN DAVY JONES JUNIOR

(Super Comics 027, 1940)

A tough-talking femme fatale pirate captain is a pretty good foil for super magic jungle guy Magic Morro - he might be able to walk through fire and juggle three grown men like rubber balls but one thing that he definitely can't do is hit a lady, not even a pirate lady.

And speaking of her being a lady, that sure is an interesting name for a 1940s lady pirate, I wonder where she got it? My initial thought was that it was just a cheeky reference to the sea spirit with the famous locker, but then one of Jones' grizzled old pirate crew members mentions sailing with her father, which introduces the possibility that it is her literal name and that her dad performed a rare cross-gender junioring. Fun!

In addition to having a dynamite name, Captain Davy Jones Junior just generally rules. She and Morro's crew come into conflict over a treasure map that has been split into thirds and that they each have part of. They agree that whoever finds the third piece will get the whole treasure, at which point Jones begins trying to double cross Our Heroes: trying to steal their portion of the map, trying to seduce Magic Morro over to her side, preparing to steal the treasure anyway after Morro finds it, etc. Ultimately the question of just who is going to get the treasure is decided by a third party, a crazed hermit who blows up the island rather than let the others get their filthy hands on his precious gold. We last seen Captain Davy Jones Junior as she is stranded, presumed dead, on the smouldering wreckage of what was once a tropical paradise, but fret not! A little bird (in the form of me reading ahead) has informed me that she returns in 1941!

MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 740: THE DEATH BATTALION

(Smash Comics 007, 1940)

You're going to have to trust me because I have gathered no evidence, but I can state with some confidence that the American people of late 1939/early 1940 had a great deal of (perhaps wishful) hope in the effectiveness of the French Maginot Line, right up to the point at which the Nazis did an end run around it and into France. A fair number of war comics of the time (like the adventures of Corporal Collins, for example) feature defenses of the Line (or fictional versions of the Line) from the advancing Axis. Perhaps the most interesting version of this Maginot Line fandom is the concept of the US defending itself via "the Caldwell Line," a series of floating fortresses running from Canada to Tierra del Fuego, if the caption box is to be believed (the floating fortress is another frequently referenced Golden Age idea that I have no other examples of beyond "dude, trust me").

The Axis powers (still creeping up to the line of just saying Nazis) respond to this defensive superiority by deploying their finest spies, under the leadership of Madame la Coquin here. And since the greatest enemy of the spy in America is Black X (in a Black X comic, at least), la Coquin and her cadre start their campaign by hatching a plot to kill him.

As is usually the case in plots to preemptively murder the protagonist of a comic, this proves to be a very bad idea. The Black X manages to fake his own death with the help of a handy psychic illusion (courtesy of his aide Batu) and uncovers the whole operation, namely a secret underground base from which Madame la Coquin and her Death Battalion comrades plan to attack the Caldwell Line using manned torpedoes. An insane plan!

Black X manages to foil the suicide runs of the first two Death Battalion members by radioing their positions to the US Coast Guard, but finds himself unable to do so when la Coquin takes out the final torpedo herself, because they are very horny for one another. And he almost saves her! Oh Black X, are you ever going to find love in the arms of someone who isn't an enemy agent?

(in one of my patented unproveable theories about comics published before my father was born, I reckon that la Coquin was originally going to be our old friend Madame Doom but they didn't want to blow her up)

MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 565: THE BLACK WIDOW

(The Funnies 030, 1939)

The Black Widow is a sinister femme fatale spy chief in the classic mode, complete with cigarette holder, tight red dress and imperious attitude. A few things that make her fun:

-the vague European country she works on behalf of is Bosylvania, a country about which nothing is revealed aside from the fact that it has the best geographical suffix: -sylvania

-the Black Widow is in fact Princess Maxine of Bosylvania so her activities have an even greater potential for international incident than your typical spy, and certainly there's an even greater risk than usual of tying her to her employers.

-the Black Widow does not leave her castle HQ (located in the Castle District of the Northeastern US, presumably) for the duration of the story. This is because she knows how to delegate.

When Secret Service agent Tom Beatty and his teen pal Danny show up despite the bomb the Black Widow had placed in their plane she takes another pass at killing them using an assassin's teapot, which is always fun to see.

Beatty is eventually captured and though it doesn't turn out well for her I must say that any villain who takes the time for a bit of hero-taunting before their triumph gets a gold star in my book. Just stay well away from the bars!

Beatty is of course recaptured because this is a serialized story and getting captured is good cliffhanger fodder. The Black Widow and her cronies come really close to getting away but instead she gets horribly killed just off panel. I guess exploding princess heads were too much even for the heady days of the pre-Code Golden Age - we'll have to wait until the late 80s at earliest before we get an explosive decapitation in a mainstream comic if I'm any judge.

MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 548: MADAME DOOM

(Smash Comics 004, 1939)

We will be seeing more of Madame Doom, as she is Black X's only real recurring foe (I think), but as far as 1939 goes she made one appearance and this is it. 

Madame Doom, a freelance spy, is working for "the dictators" in an attempt to steal US defense plans and prevent the signing of a pretty vague treaty that acts as a deus ex machina reason for war not to have broken out yet (war with the US, that is).

In this first appearance Madam Doom is a very by-the-book Will Eisner femme fatale: a ruthless lady with the hots for the hero (reciprocated).

Black X doesn't quite let her go on purpose but he certainly doesn't try very hard to catch her. This is a mistake! The bloom definitely wears off the rose in this relationship later on.

UPDATE: Madame Doom 1940

MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 444: FRAU IZAN

(Mystery Men Comics 023, 1941)

Our story begins in media res as Lieutenant Drake of Naval Intelligence cleans up the goons of Nazi crypto-fascist (they get real close to calling her a Nazi in this one but she works for the Opatseg instead of the Gestapo, so I guess she's just another Izan) femme fatale spy named Frau Izan.

Izan gets away and is subsequently given an injection by sinister Nazi Izan scientist Doktere von Shnyder that turns her into my favourite kind of shrunken person: one with the proportional strength of a regular person. BONUS: they go to the trouble to establish that she made a little teeny dress for herself ahead of time. 

The shrinking treatment, by the way, is supposed to last for two hours but in a surprise power play von Shnyder reveals that it's permanent and that he's taking over as head of the regional Opatseg. Just goes to show: you can't truust a Nazi, even when they have a thin film of plausible deniability.

(von Shnyder does get his, never fear)

In a surprising turn, Frau Izan is forgiven her espionage activities due to being too small. I suppose it's a hard-to-replicate defence but there's going to be hell to pay if this establishes precedent and a lot of people start taking advantage of it using bootleg shrink rays and so forth.

They tease Frau Izan becoming a regular part of the team (called Miss America for some reason) but she in fact never reappears again - probably they made Miss X take care of her and that's where she is now.

MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 369: ILLYRIA, QUEEN OF SPIES

(Master Comics 012-014, 016-017, 019-020; Minute-Man Comics 001-002, 1941)

Illyria, Queen of Spies! (AKA Queen Spy, Spy Queen, Queen of All Spies, Queen of Foreign Spies, etc) Definitely in the running for my favourite of the "recurring femme fatale spymaster" subgenre of super-villain, particularly as she is a foe to Minute-Man, one of the most bland piles of wallpaper paste ever to wear a patriotic costume.

Beyond merely distracting me from how bored I am by Minute-Man, Illyria provides interest via a fairly wide range of plots and schemes and thus is kind of hard to boil down into a pithy summary. So: a numbered list:

1. In her first appearance Illyria wears a snazzy orange robe, the better to whip off when captured so as to take advantage of Minute-Man's "won't hit girls" policy and get away. She and her three distinctive henchmen spend the issue shooting down US Army aircraft on behalf of their unspecified nation using a special blindingly-bright plane (Master Comics 012, 1941)

2.In her second outing, Illyria engages in the already-old gag of using war games as a cover to massacre soldiers with real bullets. The interesting aspect of the story is that she is established as an explicit Axis agent (though of a never-specified power) and recruits spies from the other Axis powers to aid her in her schemes (Master Comics 014, 1941)

3. This one's just an attempt to kidnap a scientist who has developed a new explosive. It is the origin of the "Queen of Spies" part of her moniker, though. This adventure also marks the first time that Illyria is actually captured, as she is just as slippery as any recurring femme fatale  (Master Comics 014, 1941)

4. After precisely one issue in the hoosegow, Illyria breaks out (that poor nurse) and attempts to blow up a Fourth of July celebration. (Master Comics 016, 1941)

5. In service to a pretty rote kidnapping, Illyria deploys both a remote-controlled bomber and X-33, an extremely cool robot soldier who is sadly (for him) not at all waterproof. (Master Comics 017, 1941)

6. Master Comics 019 & 020 are concerned with boring old espionage focused on stealing bombers and bomber plans: ho hum. Illyria does step up the villainy to include slavery in the latter appearance, though.

7. Minute-Man 001 features Illyria and her drum-playing chum in a scheme to cause a native uprising on the US-held island of Barracoon in the Gulf of Mexico. The main draw of the story is Illyria's keen voodoo dance hat but if you want to read a comic that inadvertently highlights the evils of colonialism then this is the one for you, along with about 90% of all Golden Age comics set outside of Europe or North America. And some of the ones set in North America, too.

8. Illyria's final appearance in Minute-Man 002 retroactively establishes that the Queen of Spies has been working for the heretofore unmentioned Green Hood, who is tired of her getting foiled all of the time. It's a bit of an anticlimax for her, as the story is much more concerned with the Green Hood than her. Still, she manages to get away at the end, joining the ranks of the surprisingly populous "recurring femme fatale spies who don't end up getting caught by dint of not recurring that extra time."

(at least I reckon that was her last appearance. She was captured at the end of Master Comics 020, dated November 1941, while Minute-Man 002 was the Winter Issue, dated September to December 1941)

MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 366: THE SCAVENGERS

(Military Comics 005, 1941) 

The Scavengers are an interesting bunch, but all of the most interesting things about them are implied rather than stated. As seen above, they show up to loot and murder in the aftermath of WWII battles. The fact that they all look the same, like little rat-men, is probably meant to be a metaphorical signifier of their moral degradation but I like the implication that this is what happens to battlefield looters, like the the transformation of a ghoul or other cannibal. This of course means that there could be Scavengers throughout human history - fun!

The Scavengers don't actually get to do much scavenging in-story, sadly. Instead, they are captured by the Nazis and enlisted in their capacity as weird little creeps to dispose of the Blackhawks. And they do pretty well at it! Their downfall comes due to the interference of the excellently-named femme fatale Red Laura, who somewhat predictably falls for Blackhawk's nobility and shirtlessness.

Despite having a heroic last stand, pictured above, Red Laura actually manages to survive the issue. One hopes that she was a bit more picky about who she worked for going forward, because I am inordinately fond of her. It's just such a good name!

In conclusion, the Scavengers should be BRUNG BACK. Not only did they not all die at the end of the adventure (as the Blackhawks are about as likely to punch out as to shoot an opponent) but the idea of them cropping up in the aftermath of war throughout history is very cool! We need more types of human monster who wear their spiritual corruption on the outside, if only for greater variety in D&D.

MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 365: THE BLACK TIGRESS

(Military Comics 004, 1941)

The Black Tigress is a Gestapo agent operating in Egypt with the goal of capturing or destroying the Suez Canal with her army of little Perter Lorre looking Nazis. Nothing particularly remarkable, but she does have the distinction of being the first of many, many minor super-villains to be faced by the Blackhawks.

She is also the first of many femmes fatale to be encountered by Blackhawk himself, and Will Eisner creation (and Howard Chaykin adoptee, for that matter) that he is, he will encounter many. She is even the first of those to fall in love with Blackhawk, not that it turned out well for her: her love not reciprocated, she dies while trying to murder the object of her affections.