MINOR SUPER-HERO ROUND-UP 101

It's a big year for the jungle-based heroes of Fiction House, and also Radior is here.

Camilla, Queen of the Lost Empire **UPDATE**:

1941 is the year of change for Camilla. First off, she faces a series of threats to the Lost Empire itself, beginning when an evil magician nearly conquers and partially razes the city. (Jungle Comics 014, 1941)

Next issue, the otherwise-unremarkable lech Prince Renardo finishes the job and burns the city to the ground as part of an attempt to win Camilla's hand in marriage. Camilla and her surviving citizens rebuild but it is a far less grand affair, being more of a wooden stockade. (Jungle Comics 015, 1941)

Perhaps inspired by the radical change in circumstances, Camilla and her subjects adopt a sort of retro-Norse style in keeping with their ancestry. Camilla's lover Sir Champion disappears from the narrative at this point, never to be seen again. (Jungle Comics 016, 1941)

The Viking revival among the people of the Lost Empire really takes off, and soon Camilla and her new paramour Erik are sailing around in longships having adventures with the seemingly endless variety of anachronistic societies littering the Central African jungle. This state of affairs continues for the remainder of 1941, as does Camilla's insistence on wearing one of the most improbable bikini-chestplates in the history of fantasy illustration. How is it held on? (Jungle Comics 018, 1941)

Fantomah **UPDATE**: 

Following the departure of Fletcher Hanks, Fantomah too goes through some changes (and will continue to do so for a while yet). The first stage of this sees her lose a fair portion of her magical power, most importantly including her signature skull-faced "this means war" form. She also drops her black nightie look in favour of a more traditional jungle heroine's one-piece, albeit made of leaves rather than the more typical animal skins. (Jungle Comics 017, 1941)

By the end of 1941, Fantomah has become a mostly-regular jungle heroine. She has a panther pal named Fury, an orphan boy companion named Ken, and though she still busts out the odd magical ability - about once per adventure on average -  her supernatural power pales in comparison to the Hanks days. 

Fantomah's outfit has continued to evolve over the course of the year: from a green costume made of leaves to a pale blue one made of leaves to a more typical jungle one-piece that merely has the outline of something made of leaves. I can only assume that this change was a present from the (unknown!) artist to themself. (Jungle Comics 024, 1941)

the Red Panther:

Our final jungle makeover goes to the Red Panther, who adopts a sporty cowl-and-loincloth look to replace his more traditional super-hero outfit. His adventures don't change as much as Fantomah or Camilla's due to the fact that (barring the odd jaunt into outer space) he was about two steps away from being a Tarzan clone to begin with. The only real difference between the Old and New Look Red Panthers is in the latter's increased use of panther companions to do his dirty work. (Jungle Comics 019, 1941)

Radior:

Radior, the X-Ray Powerman, is super strong, bulletproof, can fly, can hear radio waves, see through solid matter, and can transmit images directly into the human mind - a pretty thoroughly superhuman fellow. And just how did he get this way? Why, because his father, the famous Professor Kennedy, disappeared from public view when his son was born and spent the next twenty years feeding Radior as much radium as he could get his hands on. And while we might decry this as irresponsible parenting... hey, it worked! The kid grew up into a radiation and radio-themed superman!

Sadly Radior only made the one appearance, in the oddball Key Ring Comics, a one-off collection of hole-punched and spot-coloured stories that it is very hard to find any real information about. (Key Ring Comics, 1941) 

MINOR SUPER-HERO ROUND-UP 083

Oh boy! Minor super-heroes!

13: 

13 (aka Thirteen, although the numerical version of the name is the official one) is the alias of Harold Higgins, whose life has been haunted by a series of misfortunes related to the number thirteen. A timeline of some of them:

February 13, 1940: Harold's brother Bob dies in a plane crash.

March 13, 1940: Harold loses his life savings in the stock market.

May 13, 1940: Harold's sister Margy is paralyzed in a car accident.

July 13, 1940: Harold's father is lost at sea.

September 13, 1940: Harold's fiance is killed in a hit and run.

April 13, 1941: Harold loses his job as a reporter to a crooked editor looking to cover up a story. 

All of this (and more! A text story in Daredevil Comics 005 adds the facts that he was born on Friday the 13th, that minor tragedies like a broken leg or academic failure had frequently befallen him on the 13th of any given month and that at his thirteenth birthday party his childhood sweetheart Helen was killed by a falling chandelier) has clearly preyed on Harold's mind, to the point that he is finding the number everywhere including his own name.

Rather than, say, moving to a small shack in the woods to keep others safe from his constant misfortune, Harold decides to weaponize his bad luck by bringing it to criminals via his fists. Does this work, logically? Not really, but it's a decent enough comic book origin.

Like many super-heroes and villains, 13 flirts with the idea of leaving a calling card in his first adventure but doesn't maintain the practice. In this case, it's a calendar page with the 13th of the month circled. (Daredevil Comics 003, 1941)

Finally, a couple of minor things about 13: In Daredevil Comics 004 we learn that like many of his peers he wears his costume under his clothes for quick-change action. Intriguingly, the above panel seems to imply that this includes his mask, which appears to be either acting as a liner for his hat or worn as a kind of bandana under it.

Finally, in Daredevil Comics 006, 13 moves from the super-hero crammed streets of NYC to the lesser-served Boston.

Categorized in: Abstract Concepts (Luck), Accessories (Calling Cards), Alphanumeric (Thirteen)

Jinx: 

Recently orphaned Darrel Creig has just inherited the family steel fortune, something that rankles his guardian, uncle and the only other potential heir Moldon Creig. Thus, a family outing to the Statue of Liberty, where Moldon and Darrel's tutor Travers expedite the inheritance process by tossing him off the statue's torch.

Luckily for young Darrel, 13 happens to be present to stop an unrelated attempt to bomb the statue, and after saving the lad the two of them beat up Moldon and Travers and hand them over to the authorities.

As we all know, if a costumed vigilante happens across an orphaned boy who can throw a punch they are allowed to keep them, which is just what happens with 13 and Darrel, and though Darrel's connection to the bad luck theme is much more tenuous than Higgins (he is an orphan, if a wealthy one, and he is the very spooky age of thirteen years old) he is promptly given a slightly worse costume than 13's and anointed as his sidekick Jinx. (Daredevil Comics 005, 1941)

Categorized in: Abstract Concepts (Luck), Day Job (High School Students), Origin (Sidekicks)

the Ghost: 

The Ghost is a super-hero who seemingly exists solely to combat the menace of the Claw as he troubles America's shores once more, Daredevil having moved on to less stressful pursuits.

Though presented as a normal human man, the Ghost not only has the acrobatic prowess necessary to fight a giant across the rooftops of New York City but enough stamina to do so for seven hours straight. In their first encounter he manages to drive the Claw away by simply punching him thousands of times.

The Ghost's origin is unrevealed as of his final 1941 appearance but rest assured: we will learn it in 1942 (spoiler: it is not very interesting). (Daredevil Comics 005, 1941)

Categorized in: Origin (Unknown), Supranormal Beings (Ghosts)

the Fiery Mask: 

The Fiery Mask! A hero whose modern depictions have consistently involved a morning star despite only ever actually wielding on on this cover. I'm not complaining, mind you - it's just interesting to note where things come from.

The Fiery Mask is in reality Jack Castle, a young doctor who accidentally tracks down the lair of the villainous Zombie Master and is in quick order captured and subjected to the fiend's mind control device. Jack manages to resist the device long enough to enrage the Zombie Master, and in an effort to boost the power and overcome this resistance he causes it to explode.

The strange energies given off by the device cause Jack to develop strange abilities, the most striking of which is a fiery glow that plays around his face when he is worked up, and which gives him his super moniker. He also has an invulnerability to heat and flame, a fiery touch and a range of non-heat-related powers like super strength, super breath and a hypnotic gaze. Also his origin is later heavily revised, but we can save that for the hundred years or so it will take to get to The Twelve. (Daring Mystery Comics 001, 1940)

Categorized in: Elements (Fire), Objects (Masks), Origin (Radioactive Mutate)

MINOR SUPER-HERO ROUND-UP 065

Our themes today are "scarlet," "family tragedy," and "inadvisable human experimentation."

Mr Scarlet: 

Brian Butler, NYC* district attorney,** is frustrated by the limitations inherent in working within the law and so like so many of his peers adopts a costumed identity in order to get the better of crime via acrobatics and punching. A classic origin, but Mr Scarlet's real claim to fame is in being created by Jack Kirby (with Ed Herron) and thus starting off with a real dose of comic book charisma that subsequent artist Jack Binder manages to keep going - both, for example, illustrate his acrobatic explots with such flair that to this day people assume that he's meant to be flying.

* although it's referred to as "Gotham City" in the one caption that names his location, I simply must assume that it's meant to be the NYC nickname rather than some Earth-S version of Batman's hometown, earlier than both concepts even exist.

** he's pretty consistently called a "special prosecutor", but there's just enough evidence to clarify that he's a DA rather than an impartial lawyer brought in to prosecute cases involving possible conflicts of interest, which I just learned is what a special prosecutor is.

Brian Butler's secretary/love interest Cherry Wade learns his secret in Mr Scarlet's first published adventure, and I must say as always that I appreciate a Golden Age comics with a straightforward hero romance to contrast with the widespread aping of the Clark Kent/Lois Lane situation. Even if it is an HR nightmare. (Wow Comics 001, 1940)

Atom Blake, Boy Wizard: 

Atom Blake, a youngster attending Lincoln High in Collegetown, USA, is curious about why he has a different last name than the people who are raising him, and perhaps more pointedly, why his is physically and mentally superhuman. His foster father, Professor Joseph Page, has the answer in the form of a note left for Atom by his biological father, Stuart Blake. Written in a mathematical code that Atom is instinctively able to read, the note tells of the elder Blake's experiments in creating a super-element composed of all 93 known regular elements* and how the infant Atom was given treatments to make him super-human enough to utilize the power of the super-element (called sun-metal in later Atom Blake stories but not here) without evaporating like Blake Sr's poor experimental orangutan.

*always a good bit when it crops up. I just looked up the history of the discovery of elements to see how long the count of 93 was good for and it looks like about 4 years, though plutonium was discovered in 1941 but kept secret until 1948. More impressive is the fact that at least four of the elements known in 1940 weren't yet discovered in 1923 when Blake did his work!

An encounter between Atom and some bank robbers soon reveals that the super-element was stored in the ring that Stuart Blake left with Atom as a baby, and he gains access to a suite of deus ex machina powers. Will this sixteen or seventeen year old boy be able to deal with unlimited power in a healthy way? Stay tuned! (Wow Comics 001, 1940)

UPDATE 1941 

Steel Sterling: 

John Sterling is your classic crime orphan: after losing his father to gangsters at a young age, he devotes his life to battling crime. But rather than become a living weapon through intense training, Sterling takes a note from his father's death by gunfire and spends his formative years developing a chemical treatment that will give his body the properties of steel, dramatically catalyzed by a dip into a vat of molten metal in a sequence with more on-panel male nudity than you usually see. Please also note the final panel above, which showcases Sterling's weird riveted metal briefs.

And Sterling isn't just blowing smoke about having all the properties of steel: in addition to being bulletproof and super strong thanks to his new density, he also has the magnetic properties of the alloy, which he, like many of his magnetic brethren, employs to fly around by "magnetizing himself to" various things. Later this is rounded up to simply being able to fly and thank goodness for that.

Finally, Steel Sterling has one of the better secret identities, as he establishes private detective John Sterling as his own twin brother (and also as a sort of cowardly jerk so that he can establish the usual Lois Lane/Clark Kent dynamic with love interest Dora Cummings). (Zip Comics 001, 1940)

the Scarlet Avenger: 

I know I bagged on the Defender for just being the Avenger with the serial numbers filed off, but dang it if the Scarlet Avenger doesn't feel even more like someone just took Richard Benson out back and slapped a little red paint on him. Real name Jim Kendall, the Scarlet Avenger loses his wife and child as a result of a gold robbery on the airplane they are riding in. Kendall alone survives the subsequent crash but loses the ability to form facial expressions, leading to his nickname as The Man Who Never Smiles. 

The Scarlet Avenger's calling card, seen above making the text box hard to read, is a flaming arrow for no discernible or stated reason. Later on it is often depicted with a decorative skull.

The Scarlet Avenger lacks the ability to reshape his facial features that his inspiration possessed, and instead of being a master of disguise is more of a gadgeteer, variously employing a paralysis ray, bulletproof cloak, electrically wired suit that allows him to deliver lethal shocks, mind reading device, compact miniature parachute, shoe knife, personal smokescreen, rocket car and rocket ship in his pursuit of justice. 

The other point of similarity between the Scarlet and regular Avengers is the extensive network of agents that both employ, though the Scarlet Avenger's narrows somewhat over time as he begins a romantic relationship with Inez Courtney, aka Operative 1. More trouble for HR.  (Zip Comics 001 1940)