What's this page? Instead of having to go to the individual pages for new profiles and updates, this page is where all the updates will now reside. For a little while at least and then they will be moved to their respective homes. The first one will be sizeable, but afterwards, they will be shorter and more frequent.
Avenging Axe: 1947, Manhunt #1 (Magazine Enterprises). Don't know anything about him, or even if it's his name, other than this image and he supposedly appeared in the interior story written by Gardner Fox. Opposed by Insptector Kirk of Scotland Yard.
Black Axeman/Hooded Axeman: 1942, Ranger Comics #3 (Fiction). The Black Axeman is a Nazi executioner who is working for the Super-Brain and thus opposed by his enemies the Rangers of Freedom. For some reason, he wouldn't execute Ranger Girl unless she was in a dress. It was a moot point, as the Rangers escaped and stopped him. He wore a long white robe with a skull on the chest and a cowl that left his face exposed
Bugs Martin:1948, Boy Comics #42 (Lev Gleason). Reader called Glammazon gave me: Bugs was a Prohibition-era gangster who married a debutante tired of her social lifestyle. he went on to murder one of his henchmen for disobedience and was sent to prison for his crime for 20 years. When he got out, he located his wife and son and took the boy away from her so as to frame her for a murder. Crimebuster located Bugs, and when he and Mrs. Martin intervened, Bugs tried to strangle her. The boy grabbed a gun and shot at Bugs, who promptly fell dead of a heart attack. His corneas were then grafted into his wife's eyes, restoring her eyesight, which she had lost years earlier after he had hit her in the face. Bugs appeared in BOY COMICS #42, in a story so long that another feature had to be preempted to fit it in.
Colossus: 1940, Colossus Comics #1 (Sun). In the year of 2640, Earth is about to be invaded for the first time in 60 years by the aliens Plantaliens. Meanwhile, ignorant of this, Professor Albert Blitzmann has concocted a glandular formula that controls human growth and has called forth the meek and envious Richard Zenith and the powerful 6 ft athlete Bryn Hale. Without much warning or even permission he injects Zenith just as his daughter Eve rushes in to tell him she made a major mistake. Her father requested two one-hundredths parts of the catalyst and she put in two hundred parts. The result, Zenith grows uncontrollably, until people are mere inches tall compared to him. Mad with power, he kidnaps Eve and puts her in his breast pocket (luckily his clothes grew too) and sets out to establish himself as ruler of mankind. While fighting off attacking airships, the Plantaliens attack and the Colossus must deal with them as well. While distracted, Hale climbs the giant to rescue Eve and the two of them parachute to safety undetected. A rocketship crashes into his chest shortly after and the Colossus thinks Eve dead. Once the Plantaliens are defeated he jumps into the sea and strikes out for Europe. On the cover, he wore some kind of armor, but in the story he was in regular clothes.
Joker: 1946, Young King Cole (Novelty). Dennis Durrant writes: Not the Batman villain, but the leader of the Spade Gang, a group of criminals whose codenames are the Ace, the Deuce, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten, King, Queen and Joker - the hooded leader of the gang. The Spades went up against the detective agency led by Kingston Cole senior, the uncle of Dick Cole the Wonder Boy and the father of Kingston Cole junior, better known as Young King Cole. The original Spades were captured and jailed by Kingston Cole, but the Joker remained at large and formed a new Spade Gang, then went after the Cole Agency's secret files, in the process killing Kingston Cole and leaving Young King Cole in charge of the agency. Eventually, Young King Cole saw to it that the new Spades were captured and killed, then unmasked the Joker as a woman, apparently the widow of the original Joker. She drove her car off a cliff and Young King Cole just barely was thrown clear of the wreck alive. The Joker first appeared in Young King Cole #3.
King of the Zebragoats: ~1906, Madge, the Magician's Daughter (comic strip). Zebra goats are smallish centaur like beings only with black stripes on both their equine and human bodies. The king wears a crown and desires the Queen of the Ladybirds to be his bride, so he cuts all the flowers to prevent her return. Luckily Madge's father, the real magician is able to make the flowers grow to which form the Queen returns to. A charming strip found here.
Mad Monks of Manasawar: 1940, Colossus Comics #1 (Sun). A blurb at the end of The Tulpa of Tsang strip, they were to face off the following issue that never came. But, the name sounds interesting.
Don Jaime Mendoza: 1948 Manhunt! #3 (Magazine Enterprizes). From Anthony Durrant: Don Jaime Mendoza was a spaniard who fell in love with a girl whose family had been feuding with his for years. This family abducted Jaime and subjected him to five years of torture, including being ducked in a fluid that withered his body and made him look like a human skeleton. He was able to tunnel his way out of his cell and escape, after which he devoted years to hunting down and killing all members of the girl's family, including herself. Having killed all of them but Donna Louisa, he went after her and accidentally picked up a girl named Gaye Kailey, who bore a strong resemblance to her except that she had grey eyes and no mole on her cheek. After being called by Gaye, Kirk used her as bait to lure Jaime out of hiding and had her followed by a constable named Hodges disguised as a biker. After hearing nothing from Hodges, Kirk found him stumbling toward him along the street, and the constable gave him Jaime's London address, the place where he would depart in a horse-drawn hearse on his nightly errand of death. He then smashed in Jaime's door and arrested him just as he was about to kill Gaye, then revealed that Donna Louisa was already dead. Jaime and his coachmen were arrested by Kirk and spirited away to Dartmoor Prison.
Rango: 1940, Green Giant #1 (Pelican). Failing to conquer Europe, this bald mastermind retreats to his laboratory in Slavonia. He creates a drug that turns him into a giant as tall and mighty as multi-storied buildings. Creating havoc and destroying several cities, he wades into the Atlantic to make his way to the U.S. However, by this time Master Mystic in his arctic tower is aware of him and speeds to meet him. After a furious battle, Rango is defeated when the Master Mystic unleashes his mental "liquifying rays" which strike Rango in the head and penetrate to his brain where he promptly melts as if made of wax.
Role: 1942, Super-Mystery Comics v2#6 (Ace). Dennis Durrant gives us: The man named Role had the ability to assume the identity of any person, which he did to confound Vulcan, the fire-slinging crimefighter descended from the Greek god Vulcan. He committed a series of bank thefts, leaving a note behind after the robbery to give warning of his next crime. At the same time, he impersonated a bank president, the father of a girl, and a technician at his hideout to hinder Vulcan’s investigation. Unfortunately, he took the girl captive when he tried to get away and ended up being shot by her. When his mask was removed, he was found to actually have a grey skull-like face underneath, confirming his admission at the beginning of the story that he had no face.
Spy Chief/Sea Raider: 1940, Green Giant #1 (Pelican). The Spy Chief or Sea Raider as he's referred to sometimes has a volcanic base from which he launches his raids. He has in his employ Dirck, an inventor of some ability who has created magnetically controlled torpedos as well as an invisible ray that with the proper goggles can be seen and used to communicate secretly with their men. In addition to a submarine, they have light planes and a speedy ship. All apparently meet their doom when they tangle with the Black Arrow. Spy Chief has a dark goatee, the beard in two prongs and the mustache flaring out to the sides. He dresses in pilot gear complete with scarf, flying helmet and goggles, usually up.
Un-named: 1946, Liberty Comics 14. This un-named villain only appeared on the cover. Dressed in a robe and with an Egyptian head-dress, he hid in a mummy's coffin, ready to strike the hapless hero with a sacrificial knife. He was either after the sphinx with jeweled eyes or protecting it, if this was his lair.
Von Fleissig: 1940, Colossus Comics #1 (Sun). A Nazi ace and foe of Lucky Lucifer. Has a hooked nose and a Poirot type mustache. Last seen parachuting to safety after losing against Lucky and pal Slipstream.
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Professor Bixby: 1945, Four Favorites #17 (Ace). The professor is an expert on Mayan cultures and has gone a bit insane. He secretly dresses in priest's robes and leads a cult, convincing them that he's descended from the sun god and conducting human sacrifices of young women. However, when he tries to execute Isobel Blake who is secretly Lightning Girl, the cult turns on him, thinking she's the true descendent.
Black Puma: 1942, Four Favorites #7 (Ace).This costumed criminal headed up a gang utilizing slave labor, making counterfeit doped cigarettes, all on the behalf of Uncle Adolph. He had a lair that was full of death traps as well as using a hospital ship as a front for growing his dope plants. Defeated by Magno and Davy. The Black Puma (also called the Puma in some places) wore a green cat cowl and cape, purple/gray vest, and trunks, yellow belt and blue with black spots tights that covered his arms and legs. He wore no gloves and went barefoot. Despite this apparently being his first appearance, Magno & Davy seemed to know him from before and indicated that before he did not work for the Nazis.
Blitz: 1941, Fight Comics #16 (Fiction House). Bald German agent after a special invention and he hires the crook the Smiler and his gang to steal it and kidnap the inventor. He has several inventions already such as a device that fires lightning bolts and a small tear-gas gun. It is unrevealed whether these are inventions he stole or ones he invented himself. His plans are stopped by Captain Fight.
Dr. Z: 1940, Wham Comics 2. (Centaur). Dr. Z is an elderly thin bald man and an international spy with a huge price on his head. He keeps a mansion and lab full of death traps in a remote area. He's also a master scientist, working on a device that will pick up the thoughts of others. In his lab, he has a brutish assistant in Hagor and a kidnapped blonde named Mary Brown whom he subjects some of his experiments. To finish his thought receiver, he kidnaps Professor Larry Hunter, a psychology professor, expert on the human brain and who also was working along similar lines. He is a bit mentally unhinged, referring to himself as "great Dr. Z" and sometimes in the third person and forgets Hunter's name and refers to him as Turner. He is apparently killed by one of his own deathtraps as Hunter has finished the device and Z's thoughts reveal the workings of a trap-door to some underground lake or river that Hunter then activates.
Green Hood Gang: 1942, Four Favorites #7 (Ace).A gang of crooks wearing hoods that covered their whole bodies committed a series of daring robberies. The first was letting the Raven raid a party and then once he collected the loot, robbing him. They weren't above committing some of their own and shooting those that got in their way. The Raven reached a truce with the police to help capture the gang. When rounded up, the gangleader was an old bootlegger named LaRue. The others of the gang were Central American natives that he duped into helping him with promises that the money would be used to build a temple back in their homeland.
Icicle: 1942, Four Favorites #7 (Ace). The Le Mair brothers in France perfected a quick freezing refrigerating process. When the Nazis invaded, one brother escaped to America and the other, Rufino, joined the Nazis and became the quick freezing Axis agent known as the Icicle. The Icicle came to America to stop his brother from building a plant for freezing foods to send over seas. The Icicle wears a rumpled suit and his white hair and face seem to have ice hanging off. He kills with a touch but that's because in his bulky suit, he carries the quick-freezing gas that he lets out with a tube by his hand. However, he is apparently killed when the tube is crushed while fighting the Unknown Soldier and the gas feeds back onto the Icicle.
Lugi: 1941, Lightning Comics v2#1 (Ace)?. Lugi is a green-skinned Mole man in an underground realm. When the surface man Congo Jack ends up in their realm and earning the loyalty of the beautiful albeit green-skinned queen Moletta, Jack earns the enmity of the jealous and ambitious Lugi. Lugi makes allies with the Blue Dwarfs and their King Bobo in order to seize power for himself and force Moletta to marry him. Ultimately, Bobo is killed and Lugi imprisoned while Jack returns to the surface world.
Pluto: 1940, Wham Comics 2. (Centaur). Roman god of the afterlife and master of blackmagic, Craig Carter uses his ring to call him forth to battle the magic of the Rajah. Once he wins, he decides to see what mischief he can get into while freed on Earth. Story ends before finding out how Craig stopped him.
Purple Plague: 1942, Four Favorites #5? (Ace). As of right now, information on the previous issues are unknown, so questionable whether this is first appearance. The Purple Plague is a Japanese agent who tries to bring America to its knees by instigating a plague by the same name. The plague is carried by animals (specifically rats and dogs in the story) who are immune although they and the victims turn purple. In addition to his knowledge of diseases of poisons, he has the ability to fly and carries vials of knock-out gas. He may also possess some level of super-strength. Despite being a dangerous opponent, he cuts a ridiculous look. He wears a purple robe along the lines of a bathrobe but no pants, yellow slippers and yellow cape. He also wears a fedora and large round glasses. He has the stereotyped buck-teeth AND slightly pronounced canine teeth. He is opposed by Magno and Davy and apparently is killed by his own diseased rats.
Queen Marie: 1940, Wham Comics 2. (Centaur). Queen Marie heads up a diamond smuggling ring. Her right hand man is named Butler. In her headquarters, she has set up a fancy throne room and dresses like some kind of native queen with several bald primitively garbed natives as guards. She is captured by the Sparkler.
The Rajah: 1940, Wham Comics 2. (Centaur). The Rajah, a Hindu, is known for his mastery of black magic. A pair of crooks, the leader being Blacky Dooley, get him to help them kidnap Craig Carter's girlfriend and getting Carter's magic ring as ransom. Carter calls on Pluto, god of black magic to help him. The Rajah is indeed very powerful and manages to give Pluto a good battle for a little bit before being defeated. It's unclear whether Pluto killed him, but being the god of death...
Red Death (un-named): 1942, Four Favorites #5 (Ace). As far as I know he only appeared on the cover unidentified but as a foe to the combined forces of Magno, Lightning, Captain Courageous, and Unknown Soldier. He stands taller than a normal man, maintains a base with scientific torture/death devices and a gang of brutish henchmen. Possibly the heroes were saved by sidekicks Davy and Lightning Girl who aren't on the cover.
Red Devil (un-named): 1945, Cannonball Comics #2 (Rural Home). Only appeared on the cover as a foe to the Crash Kid. If we judge the symbolic cover to be a bit more literally, the Red Devil either has the ability to shrink people or uses small doll-like likenesses to possibly control them. Whether he's a man in a costume or a real devil is unknown (although given that the kid has no powers but his own spunkiness). Of course, then there's the apparently flying taxi cab...
The Red Hood Gang: 1937, Funny Pictures Stories #3 (Centaur). A gang of men in suits and red hoods that cover their heads are behind a series of clever unsolved murders. However, the news stories of Red Dolan, gangbuster, has been drawing attention towards them so they kidnap him. His cleverness allows him to capture the whole gang and deliver them to the authorities.
The Scarlet Crab: 1942, Rangers of Freedom #5 (Fiction). Yaki Su heads up an underground Asian/German ring (they are Asian looking with the accent stereotypes but pepper speech with German words). They kidnap people off the street, and brainwash them through a drug to commit acts of sabotage and murder. To their mistake, they kidnap the daughter of a bomber developer whose boyfriend is an FBI agent. The gang is ultimately busted and Su commits hara kari. It is unclear whether the Scarlet Crab is the name of the organization or a code-name of Yaki Su's.
Smiler: 1941, Fight Comics #16 (Fiction House). A crook leading a small gang, he ends up taking a job for German agent genius called Blitz. Smiler's face has a scar that warps his face into a perpetual grin. Opposed by Captain Fight.
The Surgeon: 1942, Lightning Comics v3#1 (Ace). Dr. Nemesis meets his opposite number in the Surgeon, dressed in surgical gown and mask. He kills the principle doctors working on a formula to cure the Black Plague but one of them hides the formula before he dies and Nemesis' alter-ego finds himself in jail on suspicion. A laboratory accident frees rats with the plague and Dr. Nemesis must escape, find the formula before the Surgeon does and clear his name. At the end, the Surgeon is revealed as Dr. Blackton who had hoped to use the cure for commercial gains.
Tiger Man: 1942, Lightning Comics v3#1 (Ace). On the Lost Island off of Singapore, Tiger Man has teamed up with a native named Sabbat to seize the Pearl industry and stolen valuable ruby. Lash Lightning (during his days as Flash Lightning) is charged with getting the ruby back to return it and helps Rita Van Dyke a young pretty blond woman whose uncle was kidnapped when their pearl culture station was raided by the duo. In the end, the masked Tiger Man is revealed to be the uncle who wanted to get his niece out of the way in order to run his crooked business. Tiger Man wears normal clothes but a yellow cowl with black stripes.
The Toad: 1942, Four Favorites #7 (Ace).An agent for the Axis, he created a couple of death machines. One sent out sonic waves and another that would send out lightning over the soundwaves, able to kill those that spoke. In this way, he tried to force speakers and Congress to make Peace with the Axis powers. His machines were destroyed and he was stopped by Lash Lightning. The Toad had no hair, green skin, a toad like face and spindly limbs. He was able to perform incredible jumps as you'd expect a human toad. He was sensitive about his name though, while he didn't mind his enemies calling him the Toad and fearing him, he insisted that his men call him by his real name Weston.
Toto: 1942, Captain Aero #11 (Holyoke). Toto is a gorilla with a swastika on its chest and trained by its Japanese master to hate and attack Flagman on sight. Flagman manages to turn the tables, capturing the beast and parachuting it into Hitler's headquarters where it goes completely beserk. Its master finally is able to command it to attack Flagman leading the hero and his sidekick Rusty to gun it down before making their escape back to Allied territory.
Vultro: 1941, Fight Comics #16 (Fiction House). Warlord who has conquered all of Europe and has set his sights on America. His right-hand man is Tyrannus and his scientist is Dr. Bund. Stopped by Super-American. Vultro is obviously a stand-in for Hitler (and possibly Stalin as his mustache makes him resemble him more than ole Adolf).
The Were-wolf: 1942, Four Favorites #5? (Ace). As of right now, information on the previous issues are unknown and this story implies a possibly earlier appearance. When killings seem to be attributed to the Were-wolf, "Lash" Lightning goes to prison where the villain is supposed to be incarcerated under the name of Adolph Krimetz. He discovers that Krimetz has apparently hanged himself while his cellmate Mike Lewser escaped, using strength and agility that the Werewolf possessed. Researching, Lightning discovers that Lewser was known as "Putty-face" Lewser, having the ability to mold his face into the likeness of anyone he chose. While this might explain the resemblance, it doesn't explain the other powers and the fact that he is searching out doctors for a cure and killing them when they fail him. Lightning deduces that it's Lewser disguised as Krimetz hanging in the cell and the real Werewolf is on the prowl. As he falls into a factory chimney stack, Lightning hopes that the fire will kill him by burning the demon out of him.
The Were-wolf has two distinct looks. One is a bald man with brutish, slightly wolfish features including pronounced eyebrows and fangs and wears a suit, fedora and cape. It appears when he's excited or enraged, he turns fully into a werewolf, his head that of a wolf's and with a coat of furn on his arms and torso but with a yellow sash, fur skirt and fur or leather bound boots though completely bare legs. As the Were-wolf, he's strong enough to bend metal and stand up to Lightning's lightning bolts.
Updated 02-24-10
Arpor: 1941, Fantastic Comics #15 (Fox). Arpor is the high priest of a cult of Kali in the US. In addition to counterfeiting coins, he has a hatred of Samson and tries to kill him through various death traps and a lightning gun (a lightning rifle in actuality). His cult is smashed and he's captured by Samson and David. Arpor is made up to look more like a Mongol and the statue of Kali is in the style of a Buddha. His cult is made up of what look like American gangsters as well as other Asians similar to himself.
Baron Siva: 1941, Big Three #4 (Fox). On one hand Baron Siva is just another of a long line of bald madmen and would be conquerors that crossed Samson in the pages of this comic. On the other hand he visibly stands out with a large bulbous head (in a globe at one point) and a wiry body weaing a see-through shirt. He kidnaps the members of America's "Defense Board" to force her to surrender. He has various super-weapons like a small paralyzer ray gun. He is actually captured alive by Samson and David.
Black Hood: 1940, Fantastic Comics #12 (Fox). Karl Wolff heads up the Black Hood organization, a group of 5th Columnists. His plans of sabotage are stopped by Yank Wilson and his plane is shot down by Wilson. Wolff and his men wear identical black masks and costumes with a skull over crossbones in a red circle on the chest. Wolff is differentiated from the others by his mustache. NOTE: While the strip started off in the future, by this point in time, it had all the earmarks of being contemporary to the times published.
Borgo: 1940, Big Three #1 (Fox). When Fred James fires Borgo for stealing radium, he vows revenge on him and his scientist brothers. Borgo recruits a gang and through a powerful mirror reflecting sunlight, manages to cause accidents killing three of the brothers. He captured Joan Mason who was writing stories about the James brothers' murder and took her to his lighthouse lair. Borgo was deranged, not above killing his own henchmen to keep them from talking, torturing the final two brothers and trying to kill Joan by tying her to a large drum to kill her with its vibrations. She and the brothers were rescued by the Blue Beetle who captured Borgo and the survivng members of his gang. Borgo used the lighthouse and mirrors to cast blinding light and carried a reflective mirror shield.
Captain Nomo: 1941, Fantastic Comics #18 (Fox). Nomo leads two lives, one as a respected member of the Coast Patrol and a second as a masked enforcer for a smuggling racket paid to get Sub Saunders out of the way. Instead, he gets captured.
Lu Cheng: 1940, Fantastic Comics #13 (Fox). Lu Cheng is a vampire whose lair is in a cave in the Gobi Desert where he has a group of Asian women hypnotized into believing they are vampires as well. He's blown apart by a grenade thrown by Captain Kidd, freeing the women from his control.
The Condor: 1941, Big Three #2 (Fox). A modern day and ruthless pirate, he bribes city officials to not call out the Coast Guard while he launches his deadly raid. He apparently drowns while fighting against the Blue Beetle. He survives for a return visit, wearing a yellow cape. It is also revealed that he uses a claw-handle dagger. This time he's apparently killed when he falls into the hold of a ship onto the boiler. The Condor was a powerful looking man, dressed in a black suit, yellow cape and wore a black pirate's tri-cornered style hat when looting. Otherwise, he sported a dark widow's peak.
Crimson Circle Gang: 1941, Big Three #2 (Fox). Murderous gangsters who mark their crimes with a large flaming circle on the fronts of buildings they attack. Stopped by the Flame.
Cyclops: 1940, Fantastic Comics #9 (Fox).In the Lost Valley, there's a race of one-eyed beast men. When Captain Kidd discovers it, he finds they are headed by one that speaks very good English. Rescuing a white girl that had been captured, Kidd takes the fight to the head cyclops, unmasking him as an explorer called Perez apparently gone insane and whom Kidd had been searching for. Perez leaps to his death to avoid capture. The story is unclear whether the other beast men are the real deal or natives he had made up.
Dablo: 1940, Fantastic Comics #9 (Fox). In the future, Dablo is the last of the Ray Men. He's completely psychopathic, wanting to kill off every living inhabitant on the planet. He has a large hole in his head from which he can shoot deadly rays. He's judged and condemned to die but on the eve of his execution he's visited by the mysterious Hood who gives him his powers back that enables him to escape. He and the Hood go to his undersea lab but Sub Saunders finds him and defeats him and the Hood.
Doc: 1940, Blue Beetle #3 (Fox). Looking a bit like a crazed French painter, the Doc is kidnapping various women in order to put together the perfect woman. In his employ are large black thugs who are able to briefly go toe-to-toe against the Blue Beetle. The Doc's dead body is found after he leaps from a rooftop into a river to avoid capture.
Dr. Blood: 1940, Big Three #1 (Fox). Vicious gangleader of the "Inner Crime Ring", he possessed a cannon that fired a paralyzing ray which he used to steal other inventions and knock over banks. His gang could wear long gray hooded robes that protected them from the rays. He and his gang are presumably killed when Samson picks up the building they are in and throws it against another one. Hopefully, both were otherwise abandoned.
The Eel: 1941, Big Three #2 (Fox).The Eel is an older gentleman who has come up with a way of quickly and quietly destroying ships. He has the paint treated with a special additive when they are being repainted and then shoots vast amount of electricity into the ship causing a reaction that quickly eats the steel. He keeps a powerplant and base at the bottom of the bay. He and his men drown when his lair is broken into by Samson. His henchmen wear green scuba style suits (so their drowning may be premature), the main one being named Shark Tooth.
The Fang: 1941, Fantastic Comics #17 (Fox). Bald master criminal, he fought the Black Fury throughout his run. In his second appearance, he had the power of invisibility (possibly obtained from an emerald that had carvings that were supposed to reveal the secret of invisibility that was in the care of the Black Fury).
The Ghoul: 1941, Fantastic Comics #17 (Fox). The Ghoul wears a skull mask and dark suit and is a criminal mastermind.
Giant's Dagger: 1941, Big Three #2 (Fox).Tom Patten and Roxdon cooked up a scheme where the thief Patton would steal millionaire Roxden's jewels and collect on the insurance money. Only Roxden betrayed Patten and he went to jail where he apparently perished in a fire in 1937. Years later and Roxden is slain by a giant dagger which skewers him. Which has Blue Beetle investigating and tussling the mysterious man known as "Smith" who seems a match for his strength. Smith is later revealed to be Patten who was disfigured in the fire and now has a headquarters under the cellar of his old home. Deranged, he kills his wife before she can betray him and almost succeeds in killing the Blue Beetle, Mike and Joan with a torture device before a replica of the Giant's Dagger which holds up the ceiling gives way and buries just him. Patten is a large man, bald and with a leering face when he's in his murderous rage but otherwise doesn't seem too disfigured. The giant dagger he carried around in a "violin case" and which he could use as a spear (the size of it, it would have to be a bass, not a violin).
The Hood: 1940, Fantastic Comics #9 (Fox). In the future, this mysterious man gives the villain Dablo his ray powers back that allows him to escape on the day of his execution. The Hood plans to use Dablo to take over the city and then dispose of him later. The two hole up in Dablo's lair at the bottom of the sea. Sub Saunders comes to investigate though. He outfights Dablo and fights with the Hood. Unmasked, the Hood stands revealed as Judge Ord, head of the Tribunal that had tried and convicted Dablo. During the fight, the Hood is thrown off a cliff and killed.
Karno: 1941, Fantastic Comics #17 (Fox). Undersea pirate that shows a bit more style than Sub Saunders' usual foes in that he sports a mask and a roguish mustache. He and his crew kidnap Sub because Sub is the best sub-mariner in the business.
Kilgor: 1940, Fantastic Comics #4 (Fox). Kilgor is your typical mad scientist, built a giant robot army with funding by Rigo, a foreign dictator. He then uses the robots to kill Rigo and his men and sets himself up as dictator. His robots are destroyed by Samson and he is killed by one of them himself when he rebuilds it but doesn't issue a command quick enough.
Kong: 1941, Fantastic Comics #15 (Fox). In the future, Kong is an under-sea pirate with a fortress and army under the sea who demands a billion dollars or he'll bomb New America and wage war upon her. He's captured by Sub Saunders
Leopard Women of Venus: 1940, Fantastic Comics #3 (Fox). The Leopard Women of Venus fly on the back of saurians through space. They dress in spotted red tights and shoot flames through a horn on the skull-caps on their heads. They capture Space Smith and Diana and transport her to the robot scientists of Venus.
Lucifer: 1940, Fantastic Comics #6 (Fox). In his first appearance, he just seems a one-off villain facing against Flip Falcon who is trapped by Flip. Later (issue #15), he and his demons become recurring foes for Falcon when he travels through the 4th Dimension. He is able to speak backwards magic.
Mastermind of Crime: 1940, Blue Beetle #3 (Fox). Brian Downhill is the hooded Mastermind of Crime. He plans a series of violent crimes in order to hold New York City for ransom, to have all control turned over to him. In addition to his army of thugs, he has his own island off Central America. His endeavors are foiled by the Blue Beetle.
The Monster (un-named): 1941, Big Three #6 (Fox). This bizarre looking villain is not given a name. His face is pale white, looking a bit like a humanoid cat-fish with his drooping mustache and wearing a loose fitting blue tunic, orange/tan slacks and brown boots. He is behind the kidnapping of serveral teen-age girls at a camp. When captured by the Flame, he stands revealed as bank owner George Benson. Years earlier, Benson and Mr. Tracy the owner of the camp were in love with the same woman, Sally Crane but she spurned Benson's advances. Jealous, he tried to cause the bankrupty of the camp and indirectly caused the death of Sally. When her daughter got older and looked the same as her, he went insane in his obsession and jealousy, vowing to have her any way possible.
Negus: 1940, Fantastic Comics #3 (Fox). Negus is a powerful witch doctor with real black magic powers. He has a crystal ball with which he can spy on others and makes his home in a great tree. Captain Kidd destroys the tree and possibly Negus himself.
Nekroff: 1941, Big Three #2 (Fox). He's billed as a mad general and he does seem to have an army at his command. He's apparently killed by an explosion in his bid for conquest caused when Samson throws his amphibious tank into a river followed by a tank of Nekroff's poisonous gas which is highly explosive when contained.
Porky Hogg: 1941, Big Three #2 (Fox). This obese crime boss had his gang train to take on the Blue Beetle, seeing him as their only obstacle to plundering the city through the use of a secret cannon gun they were going to use to shell the city. They manage to pin the murder of a young boy on him but he ultimately clears his name and while it appears that Porky is killed by falling off a building, the newspapers claim that he was "captured". In addition to the cannon, Porky had an advanced television screen with which he could spy on the city and a subterranean lair.
Queen of Evil: 1941, Fantastic Comics #22 (Fox). In Thebes, 1000 BC, Nagana is "called the daughter of Isis", a faithful worshiper. However, she is envious of the goddess' hold over the city and plots evil. Isis strikes back at her, leveling the temple. Nagana spends the next 3000 years as a statue when archaeologists uncover her and she comes back to life. Isis realizes that she cannot destroy Nagana directly, so she ressurects Kalkor a faithful worshipper and priest-to-be that had stood up against Nagana in Thebes.
Queen Izzuki: 1940,Fantastic Comics #6 (Fox). This Queen rules the Amazons in Amazoland. She kidnaps Dr. Chandler in order to make him operate on her and make her young and beautiful again, after which she plans to force Captain Kidd marry her. Kidd manages to escape with Dr. Chandler, leaving the Queen an old hag.
Rasputin, Jr: 1944, Cat-Man Comics #25 (Holyoke). Rasputin Jr is a hypnotist who puts on shows. His main bit is showing that hypnosis cannot force people to do something that offends them morally. He picks a girl out of the audience and hypnotizes her and then hypnotizes her friend, having her friend first stab her in the back with a cardboard knife and then showing the person wouldn't do it with a real knife. Rasputin is also with a gang of crooks and seeing the Deacon as part of the audience, the Deacon is recognized as being a former great safe-cracker. The banker's daughter is hypnotized into guiding the crooks into a bank (where they kill a guard) and a hypnotized Deacon is ordered to crack the bank vault. The Deacon struggles mentally against the command. Mickey had shadowed the Deacon and picks up a gun and blasts the crooks, killing Rasputin and breaking the hypnotic hold.
Professor Simm: 1940, Fantastic Comics #9 (Fox). Another bald-headed mad scientist (all that brainpower must make hair fall out). From his "Island of Mystery", Professor Simm held the US hostage. Supposedly, the island featured prehistoric creatures and man still alive and Simm somehow managed to get them to do his will. As some of the giant lizards breathed fire and his cave-men could ride the aquatic ones for invading, some were clearly modified by Simm. He's stopped by Samson. Simm begs Samson not to put him in a cage with the creatures, that they'll kill him which of course Samson does. The scene shifts before we see his end as Samson fights off other creatures and un-corks the volcano, letting it erupt and killing every creature on the island, except for the giant condor that he used to fly away on. What about other birds and the aquatic dinosaurs you ask? Or the possibility that Simm pulled a Br'er Rabbit on Samson?
Singapore Sally: 1940, Crash Comics #2 (Tem Publishing). Sally is a beautiful blonde woman who has established herself in the native quarter of Singapore as the "Queen of the Quarter". Surrounded by a gang of murderers and cut-throats, she has managed to evade capture until detective Red Castle comes for her after she had committed a murder in New York. Castle managed to out-tough and outfight the gang and capture the ruthless criminal boss. Sally herself is not above doing torture herself.
Thorga: 1939, Fantastic Comics #1 (Fox). Thorga is the first villain to face Samson and thus the first of his parade of foes that were bald geniuses and madmen that tried to conquer the world through super-science. And, like most of them is killed in fighting the hero. In addition to his army, he has advance tanks and airplanes.
Underground Race: 1940, Fantastic Comics #12 (Fox). Looking like devils with red skin, pointed ears and horns, this underground race is lead by a king from their volcano lair where they plan to strike at the surface world with their lava machines. Stopped by Captain Kidd who destroys the machine and sets the volcano off, presumably killing the invaders.
The Voice: 1940, Fantastic Comics #2 (Fox). The island of Morgia appears to be off the African continent. Supposedly, it has a vast resource of gold but none ever reaches the mainland. Captain Kidd and his friend Freddy investigate and find a large talking idol god who exchanges whiskey for gold. The Voice of the god drowns fleeing from the adventurers through the underwater passage that leads to the temple.
Von Haupt: 1939, Fantastic Comics #1 (Fox). Von Haupt has a lab hidden deep in some un-named wilderness. He's a fat man with a iron gauntlet over his right hand. Using his V-rays, he is able to shut off the motor of Captain Kidd's plane as he flies overhead. He tells Kidd that has unlocked the secret of immortality, that the withered stump of his right hand is the only part he cannot protect. His secret seems to involve strapping people to large dynamos and stealing their life-force, skeletonizing them. In fighting Kidd, he shows himself to be immune to bullets. However, he falls into a vat of sulphur which seems to kill him and reveal a mechanical hand under the gauntlet. Kidd barely escapes before Von Haupt's whole lab and his men are blown to kingdom come.
The Web: 1941, Big Three #4 (Fox). Criminal mastermind with male pattern baldness and possibly above average strength judging the size of a piece of rock he picks up. He has a special type of radial ray that causes physical damage, carries a cat-of-nine-tails whip and likes to use bombs. Knocking the city's power supply out, he and his gang plan to loot the city. They are stopped by the Blue Beetle. In trying to blow up the Blue Beetle, the Web falls on his own bomb, killing him.
Whitey: 1942, V... Comics #1 (Fox). While this is his first published appearance, Black Fury and Chuck have encountered him before. He would appear to be your average gangster and drug dealer but he has a knack for disguise, preferring that of an old man with beard and glasses and he somehow survives shooting himself in the head and falling into the waters and coming back.
Fawcett Villains:
Dr. Andro: 1940, Nickel Comics#7. Dr. Andro created a device that would allow him to switch the minds of people with animals and used it on crooks to have them steal for him such as a mugger in the body of a gorilla. While in their animal bodies, the crooks could not talk. His plan is uncovered by Warlock and when he tries to kill Warlock but mortally wounds the gorilla-man instead, the gorilla chokes him to death as it dies. Warlock used the device to cure the other crooks. Dr. Andro dressed in dapper clothes and carried a weighted cane with which he knocked out his opponents.
Baron Gath: 1940, Nickel Comics #1. 200 years ago in Transylvania, Gath was a black magician and evil lord. He gets entombed in his castle in suspended animation. When the castle is transplanted to America, during the restoration, the spell written on the stones that keeps him captive is wiped clean and frees him. He quickly establishes himself over the region and employs various demons such as a vampire in red tights and cape and a man who can turn into a wolf working as an innkeeper. Gath is supposedly killed by a blow to the head by a hammer which is also supposed to dispose of his minions. He's stopped by Warlock the Magician.
Black Mandarin: 1942, Whiz Comics #34. In the Far East seaport in or near China, Lance O'Casey and Mike find trouble when they witness the selling of a beautiful woman who manages to escape but leaves her slippers behind. They find that the buyer was working for the Black Mandarin who wants the slippers and willing to kill for them. Turns out the Black Mandarin is a traitor to China, spying for the Japanese, and the woman is an agent with dangerous information contained in the slippers. O'Casey and Mike aid in the capture of the Black Mandarin. He dresses in a black robe with a black cap and long mustache whiskers.
The Blackmask: 1940, Nickel Comics #1. A super-criminal with a vast criminal empire including several hideouts with deathtraps and a submarine. In addition to regular crimes, he steals the plans to various experimental gadgets and weapons. He is unmasked by the new hero Bulletman as Stephen Doone, the publisher of the newspaper The Trumpet. He wears a black hood and has a pet cat.
Blue Devils: 1940, Nickel Comics#6. The Blue Devils are a gang of extortionists, thieves that have the town of Eagle Valley under their murderous thumb . Their leader is called Lucifer, the worst of them. Lucifer and his gang are stopped by Bulletman. Lucifer and the gang wore identical blue robes and hoods with horns. The robes had a skull and crossbones emblem over the breast while the hoods had a black silhouette of one where the mouth would be. As they dressed identically, don't know how they knew which one was their leader.
Choker: 1941, Master Comics #13. The Choker is an escaped mad man. He wears loose fitting orange/brown pullover shirt and pants, no shoes, a beat up floppy hat and cape. He is tracked down by Zoro and proves not above using a gun if he has to but apparently is killed by Cheeta who sinks her fangs into his throat to protect her master.
The Crystal: 1941, Whiz #15. Head of a gang terrorizing the pretty Ronnie Keller in order to get her money, he ultimately stands revealed as her guardian Mr. James. The Crystal wears a suit and a hood of one-way glass as a mask (looks more like a bucket than the Moon Man's globe). He's unmasked by the Companions Three in his second appearance, Master Comics #14.
The Cult of Jama, the devil-god 1940, Master Comics #7. Imelda Loree seems to be under a curse. All men that seem interested in her die by mysterious and violent means. Investigating, Zoro discovers she was born on the date of a festival of the Jama cult. The cult, popular in America among society members, was believed to be stamped out some years earlier. Zoro eventually uncovers a small group is still practicing the devil worship and hoping to make Imelda their queen. Zoro exposes their chief as Murdock Daw who is just using the cult to frighten Imelda out of her money. The cultists all wear black hoods that cover their heads.
Kor Deno: 1940, Nickel Comics #2. Kor Deno is a demon that rules over a forest near the city of which Warlock the Magician lives. When a man builds his home too close to the forest, all the women of his bloodline are cursed to never love for Deno will destroy their husbands. The man's grand-daughter Valya is living under that curse as the demon stole her nurse and anyone else that loved her. Warlock intervenes and thinks he's chased off the demon, allowing Valya to love but moments later the demon returns and steals her and her lover away forcing Warlock to track Kor Deno to his Dark Kingdom which lies under an ancient abbey and graveyard deep in the heart of the forest. Kor Deno appears to Warlock as an old hermit named Simon until he is able to lure Warlock deep into his home where he is the more powerful and where he keeps all his victims stolen from the forest over the years in suspended animation. Ultimately he's blasted to bits by Warlock's magic lamp. As Simon, Kor appears as an old man with a long white beard but he is able to take other shapes such as a giant demon bird or an ill-defined smokey form with many dog heads. He is also able to call forth a phantom army, and other magics as the situation demands.
The Dragon: 1941, Master Comics #11. Asian crimelord dressed in long robes and armed with a gas gun, he heads a gang of white men, killing those who won't pay protection money. He's stopped by Zoro and revealed to be a white man himself: John Lorenson, a banker. The story has a hole in it in that it shows the Dragon ordering his men to kill Lorenson and Zoro just happens to be on the scene to prevent the murder. It's not shown just what Lorenson would have done if Zoro hadn't been there.
Doctor Drown: 1940, Master Comics#1. Dr. Drown is a fiendish man torpedoing ships from his yacht at the bottom of the sea for looting. In addition to the under-sea yacht, he has faithful though small brontesauruses and a mechanized sea monster that looks a bit like a prehistoric turtle as well as other undersea monsters that do his bidding. In addition to a gang, he has a faithful right-hand man in the hunchback Romez. He's opposed by Shipwreck Roberts.
Firehawk: 1940, Master Comics #4. El Carim is vacationing out west, watching a movie being filmed when the set is plagued by mysterious deaths of actors' faces spontaneously bursting into flame. After the first one, the three main actors are given death threats, extorting money from them or suffering a similar death which immediately befalls the leading man. El Carim figures out that it's their make-up that has been treated with thermite causing it to catch fire from the body heat. He soon captures Firehawk and unmasks him as Zarrow, the actor playing the villain of the movie and who has a background in chemistry. As Firehawk, he wears a green costume with a bird-head mask and brown cape, looking a little more like a parakeet.
Honest John: 1942, America's Greatest Comics #4. Thuggish Honest John Black steals a device that sprays a purple mist that spreads to form an intense blackout that requires special goggles to see through. He then gathers a bunch of crooks and uses it commit daring crimes. He briefly captures Bulletgirl and holds her hostage but she and Bulletman soon capture him and the gang.
Horned Masks: 1940, Master Comics #9. In the Ozarks a group of men dressed in dark cloaks and horned hoods ride about on horseback terrorizing the town. They are stopped by Zoro, the Mystery Man when their leader accidentally stabs himself instead of the hero.
Horrible Hand: 1942, Whiz Comics #34. The horrible hand is a red hand, all that's left of a demon, the rest of his body destroyed. Like a summoned demon, the hand is able to do the will of its owner. Enter Trug, a black magician whose powers were stolen by Ibis and looking for new ones. He uses the hand for thefts and murder, but is stopped again by Ibis. Ibis seals the hand in a globe and buries it to prevent others from using it again.
King Leon: 1940, Master Comics #9. King Leon rules the asteroid Djung and its people with an iron fist. He hopes to make Princess Zyra his queen which sets him against the hero Captain Venture. Not only that, Venture manages to convert to his cause Tazon, Leon's scientist, doctor and hypnotist. King Leon becomes a recurring foe.
Leopard Men: 1940, Master Comics #7. Natives dressed in leopard skins, they are a villainous group that transcends the one story as Leopard Men eventually pop up to bedevil most jungle characters, probably owing to the popularity of the ERB story "Tarzan and the Leopard Men." These Leopard Men are after the ivory of elephants and murder a young woman's father resulting her to grow up to be the Elephant Queen. She seeks out the Jungle King to help her with the raiding Leopard Men. Being outfought and captured, the Jungle King manages to get the surviving ones to swear an oath of peace.
Lucifer: 1940, Nickel Comics#6. Lucifer is the leader of the Blue Devils, a gang of extortionists, thieves that have the town of Eagle Valley under their murderous thumb. He's unmasked as Stuart Vinton, an attorny who befriended Elsa Martin who ran the local newspaper and one of the few that had the courage to stand up to the gang. Lucifer and his gang are stopped by Bulletman. As Lucifer, he dressed like the rest of his gang, blue robes and hoods with horns. The robes had a skull and crossbones emblem over the breast while the hoods had a black silhouette of one where the mouth would be. As they dressed identically, don't know how they knew which one was their leader.
Man of Ages: 1942, America's Greatest Comics #3. The Man of Ages is an embodiment of evil. Earliest report of him is in prehistoric times where he claims he'll live as long as evil lives on Earth but the tribe throws him into a great pit to his death, they think. He resurfaces again to cause mayhem and destruction and fights Bulletman. He's last seen, apparently drowning but Bulletman wonders whether that is truly the end of him or if he'll return in the future to bedevil another hero. He makes comments that he was around confronting other heroes of the past: Alexander, St. George, Horatius. In the present, the Man of Ages is bald, wears a clear globe on his head for some reason and predominantly blue costume with an emblem of an hourglass against a red circle on his chest. He carries a gas gun as a weapon that emits a poisonous gas that would kill most people and is able to briefly go toe-to-toe against Bulletman.
Jeff Marlowe: 1940, Master Comics #1. Jeff Marlowe is the suave criminal boss of the Mid-West town of Carterville. He is so daring, he does not care that his identity is known. He's opposed by Carterville's local hero, Devil's Dagger, though he's good at staying a step ahead of the hero.
Masked Man: 1941, Master Comics #15. Suspicious behavior at the Rantrill mansion has Zoro investigating and discovering a masked man that has a machine that has turned two men into hulking monsters. Zoro knows of a jungle herb that can restore the enlarged tissues to normal size and luckily carries some with him. He uses his sword cane to inject one and then the other after catching him, revealing them to be brothers Bob and John, called home to visit their ailing mother. Then it's just a simple matter of catching the masked man and revealing him to be Garvey, their half brother who had been disowned for stealing family jewels.
Monsters of Monterlay: 1941, Master Comics #11. Mad scientist De Vaux has his lab in Monterlay Mansion where he has managed to turn 3 men into monstrous giants. His assistant Gregg is suspicious of his actions and calls his old friend El Carim to investigate. El Carim manages to cure at least one of them with his magic. De Vaux chooses suicide over capture and injects himself with an unknown substance.
Morto: 1942, America's Greatest Comics #3. A servant in a secluded mansion that also has at least one tower finds a strange book in a long forgotten library. As he opens the locked book, he sets free Morto, a genii or spirit of murders past. Morto draws denizens of the underworld to him like a magnet and he inspires them to go on a killing spree. But, they are mostly stopped and he's disappointed. Wanting to ally himself with the world's greatest killers he seeks out the Axis leaders. Together they hatch a plan to capture many of the American leaders and kill them at one time (well Adolph decides he'd rather hold them hostage, but Morto plans to kill them anyway). However, his gang of cut-throats are stopped by Mr. Scarlet and Pinky and he is physically outfought by Mr. Scarlet. Defeated he has to return to his book which the servant replaces on the shelf. Morto looks a bit like a pirate or cavalier with loose-fitting clothes, cape, buccaneer boots and a large cavalier hat, long hair and beard. He is able to fly and turn intangible and inspires murder in crooks and such but no superhuman strength.
Mumbo Jumbo: 1941, Master Comics #16. On a rubber plantation in South America, Zoro is called in to investigate as a weird figure is riling up the natives and fermenting revolt. Mumbo Jumbo appears to be a well muscled native with long white hair and beard (no mustache) and steer horns coming out of the side of his head. Zoro pits his trickery against Mumbo Jumbo who is quickly gaining the status of a god to the natives, by painting his cheetah in white phospherescent paint. Mumbo appears to meet his end when he's about to spear Zoro but Cheeta jumps him, biting him in the neck. He is recognized as Graynor, who had been sacked with two natives for stealing.
Olbaid: 1941, Master Comics #16. Somebody is threatening the wealthy to pay up or suffer death and several bodies have surfaced, crushed to death as if in the grip of a superhuman strong-man. El Carim happens to see someone as he's driving through the city that arouses his suspicians, a man with a huge trained python. He tracks him to a hidden lair near an abandoned amusement park and finds the gang of murderers headed by Olbaid or Diablo if you prefer. The villain looks like Black Adam decked out in red robes and has powerful black magic but is still defeated by El Carim.
Roxo: 1941, Master Comics #18. Roxo is a giant of a man wanted for murder and robbery. Hiding out in the North Woods, he goes native, grows a long beard, wears animal skins and carries a big two-headed lumberjack axe. He also befriends a mammoth that is still alive in the woods. The Companions Three come investigating, kill the mammoth and capture Roxo.
Sea-Devil: 1940, Master Comics #7. Pearl divers off an island in the Philippines are being attacked and killed, and Shipwreck Roberts and Doodle are asked to investigate. They find in the deep waters a man in a green diving suit with a red horned hood is responsible. He's un-masked as Sam Mindoro who used to own the island and was attempting to take it back.
Simla Smith: 1940, Nickel Comics#6. Simla Smith has built himself a Roman style island kingdom on the African coast, complete with gladiatorial games. He dresses a bit like Nero, only all in red. He also has giant sized man-eating venus flytraps. His reign is brought to an end by the Jungle Twins and he apparently dies, eaten by sharks.
Son of Count Dracula: 1941, Master Comics #20. People have gone missing, chalked up to a vampire residing in a castle in the mountains outside of town and private detectives Splithair and Undermeyer get the case. However, while they are investigating, Splithair also goes missing and Undermeyer is frightened out of his wits. Bulletman had followed them and uncovers a dwarf in a white beard and a man with batwings and a batwing like face (it's colored gray but the text describes him as having shockingly white features). They manage to flee while Bulletman takes Undermeyer to safety, but he returns and with the help of Bulletgirl, capture the duo and free his captives. He's unmasked as Splithair who was kidnapping the people and holding them for ransom, using the vampire ruse to keep people away.
The Throttler: 1941, Master Comics #19. A rich old man receives letters from the Throttler threatening the kidnapping of his daughter. He hires guards as well as the Mystery Man Zoro. That night her friend staying the night is kidnapped by accident. Zoro rescues her and proves that the butler and an accomplice are behind the plot. Other than his unique name, the Throttler has little else to recommend him.
X-33: 1941, Master Comics #17. Possibly one of Germany's oddest agents. He's a large man in green great-coat and uniform with a helmet with a golden cross painted on. Even more surprising is that it seems he's wearing a knight's armor under the uniform. He gives Minute Man a few hard moments until knocked into a river. Turns out he's not just a man in armor but a robot that was shorted out by the river. Minute Man figures it's related to the pilot-less planes he'd come across and uses a two-way control on the robot to send a destruct signal back to the source, ruining their robotized operation.
Quality Villains:
The Figure: 1950, Plastic Man #23. The incredibly beautiful and curvacious Figure is also a genius at mathematics. She uses that combination to become a crime boss and mastermind. She is stopped by Plastic Man
Veda Kane: 1942, Police Comics #6. Slinky Veda Kane comes from India married to an middle-aged American. She dresses in a green skin-tight costume and performs for audiences, mimicking the moves of the cobra. Through poisoned cigarettes she kills her husband and stepson. Confronted by Chic Carter with evidence of her crimes and apparent madness, she kills herself by injecting herself with venom.