As some of you may know, I just happen to LOVE the old, forgotten, unused fringe characters of the DCU. But the comics they appeared in aren't always that easy to access...

...so, could anybody provide me with some facts about the following characters/features? Such as basic premise of the comic? Which titles did they appear in? First appearance? If they've been seen in later years? And so on.

There have been similar threads devoted exclusively to Golden or Silver Age characters, but here I mix them from all ages.

I'll start with ten (but if I get these questions answered, I have a million more for you.

1. The Adventurers' Club (I know Nelson Strong from SWAMP THING, but what about the original run?)
2. Blackmask (an 80s Prestige Format mini)
3. The Gorilla Wonders of the Diamond
4. The Maniaks
5. Skull & Bones
6. Squire Shade
7. Starfire (the Sword & Sorcery title)
8. Starhunters
9. Swing with Scooter
10. U.S.S. Stevens

Could someone point Mikishawm or Rich Morrissey or Mikel Midnight to this thread?

/ola

Glad to help! In order...

1. The Adventurers' Club (I know Nelson Strong from SWAMP THING, but what about the original run?)

This was basically a framing sequence for non-series stories (like the Space Museum in STRANGE ADVENTURES). Colonel Strong listened to stories of what were supposed to be high adventure, but most of the published ones were more horror than adventure. It was one of many unsuccessful attempts at a regular series in ADVENTURE COMICS in the early '70's, with various writers and artists.

2. Blackmask (an 80s Prestige Format mini)

The only Blackmask I can think of at DC was a Batman villain created by Doug Moench... a cosmetics heir named Roman Sionis whose attempt at plastic surgery was botched, giving him an even uglier face. For that reason, he always wore a black wooden mask. The late Gil Kane created a barbarian hero named Blackmark who he took to several publishers, including Marvel but not (to my knowledge) DC.

3. The Gorilla Wonders of the Diamond

Another single, nonseries story by Gardner Fox and Carmine Infantino...one of several "Strange Sports Stories" that ran in BRAVE & BOLD from #44 through 49 or thereabouts. Nine gorillas whose minds had been enhanced by a scientist schemed to conquer the world, under cover of forming their own baseball team.

4. The Maniaks

A humor feature starring a group of rock musicians, by E. Nelson Bridwell and Mike Sekowsky. They ran in several issues of SHOWCASE in the '60's, one of which had real-life celebrity Woody Allen attempting to star them in a movie, but didn't get any further.

5. Skull & Bones

Aside from the Yale fraternity, I haven't a clue.

6. Squire Shade

Is this the Golden Age Flash villain who's currently a semi-good guy in STARMAN? He's another immortal character, and may well have been a squire at one point.

7. Starfire (the Sword & Sorcery title)

A typical barbarian title by David Michelinie and Mike Vosburg in the mid-'70's, distinguished only by a female lead character. It was set in the future, and Starfire was the widow of a swordsman who'd taught her everything he knew.

8. Starhunters

Another Michelinie feature, this one set in a spacefaring future with a group of rebels, led by one Donvan Flint, against a tyrannical government. One of many similar ideas that (IIRC) sprang up in the wake of the original "Star Wars" movie.

9. Swing with Scooter

A teen title somewhat in the Archie mold, distinguished mainly by the fact that the hero was a British teen rock star who enrolled in an American small-town high school. Most of the main characters were a pretty direct parallel to the Archie characters (Scooter, Penny, Cookie, Sylvester, and Kenny corresponded almost exactly to Archie, Veronica, Betty, Jughead, and Reggie), and along with Cynthia (Scooter's sister), Malibu (Kenny's trenchcoated chum) and Penny's cross-eyed cat, that was just about the entire cast...

10. U.S.S. Stevens

An excellent series in the war titles of the early '70's, based on writer/artist Sam Glanzman's actual experiences in the Navy during World War II. Since he owned the series, he also did a version of this for Marvel as a graphic novel, A SAILOR'S STORY.

Hope this helps!

2. Blackmask (an 80s Prestige Format mini)

There were three issues in the mini. I actually have them somewhere, but I can't recall ever having read them. The character is a non-powered, street fighter type guy, with an all-black outfit, and a black scarf over his face (like the Golden Age Firebrand). He's not DCU. I recall that it was a creator-owned project.

5. Skull & Bones

Another non-DCU creator owned prestige mini. Art was by Eduardo Barreto I think, but I could be totally wrong. I don't have these books. I recall that there was some kind of a Russian angle to the series, probably espionage-related. The text on the covers was all in mock-Russian.

That's the best I can do on the unknowns.

Blackmask was writen by Brian Augustyn and illustrated by Jim Baikie. Blackmask is a Korean War vet, and that's all I know. I have the three issue series around here somewhere, but haven't found the time to read it. You can get it really cheap.

Starfire was NOT the widow of Dagan (the swordsman). The two were never married, but they were lovers before Dagan was tortured to death by Sookarooth's men.

Here's the skinny; Starfire was raised since birth as a slave of the Mygorg. Her mother was white and her father was "yellow" (it actually says this in STARFIRE #1, but we can safely presume that Starfire's father was Asian-American).

Anyway, young Starfire's mixed heritage and beauty draws the attention of King Sookarooth of the Mygorg. Instead of making her a slve like all the other humans, Sookarooth has Starfire educated and raised with all the amenities of palace life.

Upon turning 18, Starfire learns that this was because Sookarooth intended for her to become his mate. Fleeing Castle Mollachon, Starfire heads for the countryside, but is caught by Sookarooth's men. She is rescued from them by Dagan, a warrior-priest, who then takes her under his wing and teaches her various forms of combat.

Starfire is a skilled swordsman, archer, and tracker, among others.

Anyway, Dagan is soon captured by Sookarooth, tortured, and killed. Starfire avenges her lover's death by storming Castle Mollachon, freeing Sookarooth's human slaves, and she eventually slays Sookarooth himself.

Starfire vows to rid her world of the Mygorg and free her people from slavery.

Stories featuring different branches of the Adventurers' Club have appeared since the Golden Age but the official series only ran in ADVENTURE COMICS. WRATH OF THE SPECTRE # 1 reprinted ADVENTURE # 426's episode. Nelson Strong died after a futile attempt to capture the Swamp Thing (SWAMP THING # 147). He was briefly revived by the Parliament of Stones to serve as their elemental champion (# 149) but his new form was soon dissolved into gas by Swamp Thing (# 150).

"THE ADVENTURERS' CLUB":
Action Comics # 27
Adventure Comics # 426-427, 430 (with Nelson Strong in all)
Detective Comics # 255
House of Mystery # 53, 103, 107, 121, 146
My Greatest Adventure # 29, 61

NELSON STRONG (current):
Swamp Thing # 144-147, 149-150

Blackmask was Dan Cady, whose three-issue 1994 series was a creator-owned project from Brian Augustyn and Jim Baike. In the 1950s, Korean vet Dan Cady took the guise of Blackmask (black leather jacket and pants, plus a bandana-style mask) to free Iroquis Falls, New York from the grip of the Falcon mob. With the destruction of the mob complete, Dan tossed his mask in the garbage and left town to truly start his life over.

The Gorilla Wonders of the Diamond appeared in BRAVE & BOLD # 49 (reprinted in DC SPECIAL # 7).

The Maniaks were Flip, Jangle, Pack Rat and Silver Shannon and they appeared in SHOWCASE # 68, 69 and 71.

Scooter appeared in SWING WITH SCOOTER # 1-35. Reprints can be found in BEST OF DC # 39, 45 and 53. Grant Morrison wrote him into an ANIMAL MAN script (with Scooter as a drug dealer) that (fortunately) never saw print.

Skull and Bones was Andrian Trofimovich. He was part of a covert Russian battalion in Afghanistan that wore skeleton outfits as uniforms. Horrified by the violence, Andrian fled and allied himself with CIA agents. He finally quit the war and returned to Russia, where he dug out his Skull and Bones costume to stop the man who had created his battalion -- and who now planned to unleash a deadly virus. SKULL & BONES ran for three issues in 1992 and was a creator-owned project from Ed Hannigan.

Squire Shade was a lookalike for Hawkman foe, the Gentleman Ghost. He was introduced in the dying days of the DC horror line as the first host that GHOSTS ever had. Squire Shade's FIRST appearance was in a DC digest. He appeared in:

DC Special Blue Ribbon Digest # 17
Ghosts # 104-110, 112
Secrets of Haunted House # 44

In Starfire's final recorded adventure, she learned that the alien Mygorg that ravaged her world had been brought there by a mystic "Eye of Armageddon". The revelation filled the heroine with "hope! We now know of the Eye of Armageddon... and that it can be destroyed...and our world made free!" (STARFIRE # 8). Though they were unaware of it, Starfire and Claw the Unconquered were two of the eternal champions of the Sornaii (STAR HUNTERS # 7). Her appearances include:

STARFIRE III:
Starfire # 1-8
Star Hunters # 7
Who's Who '86 # 22

STARFIRE III (variants):
Starman # 55
Swamp Thing # 164

The Star Hunters included Bruce Sellers, Darcy Vale, Donovan Flint, Jake Hammersmith, Mindy Yano and Theodore McGavin. As they returned to Earth for a final confrontation with the Corporation that had exiled them in space, McGavin was killed and Flint made a crash landing on the planet (STAR HUNTERS # 7). The final resolution of the conflict (written by Gerry Conway) was set to appear in issue # 8 but it was lost in the DC Implosion. The Adam Strange back-ups for SH # 8 and 9 eventually appeared in WORLD'S FINEST # 263 and GREEN LANTERN # 132. The Star Hunters appeared in:

DC Super-Stars # 16
Star Hunters # 1-7
Who's Who '86 # 22

"U.S.S. Stevens" was featured in:

G.I. Combat # 145, 150-153, 157
Our Army At War # 218, 220, 222-223, 225, 227, 231-232, 235, 238, 240-241, 244, 247-248, 256-259, 261-262, 265-267, 275, 281-282, 293, 298
Our Fighting Forces # 125-128, 132, 134, 136, 138-141, 143, 148
Sgt. Rock # 304, 308
Sgt. Rock Special (second series) # 1
Star-Spangled War Stories # 153, 167, 171-172, 174
Weird War Tales # 4

Several reprints appeared in SGT. ROCK SPECIAL # 20 and 21. Episodes were also reprinted in AMERICA AT WAR and SGT. ROCK # 384.

Hah. This is paradise. Thank you everybody.
Just another question:

10. Did the U.S.S. Stevens strip have any recurring characters?

Since you all seemed to answer these questions with pleasure, care for another ten?

11. Astro (from HOUSE OF MYSTERY)
12. Gangbusters
13. Lady Cop (from 1ST ISSUE SPECIAL)
14. Mercenaries
15. Split (was in the X-men/Titans trading cards as a Titan?, yet I've never seen him?)
16. SR 12 (?)
17. Sterling Silversmith (?)
18. Teutonic Knight
19. the Third Archer
20. Viking Commando (I know the basic facts, but where did he appear?)

See you for the next round.

/ola

Let's see...

...Sterling Silversmith was a Batman foe who appeared in DETECTIVE COMICS in the 1970s (I remember him being threatened by the Crime Doctor in the 490s...)

I think that 1ST ISSUE SPECIAL was the ONE AND ONLY appearance of the Lady Cop...

And Viking Commando appeared in ALL-OUT WAR (I think there were only two issues of that!)

And Hellstone (and the rest), I remember seeing this earlier, but have to ask:

What were the Forgotten Heroes appearances in ACTION? (I know #552 & 553, but various members had appeared before that...I remember the Cave Carson bit with the Omega Men, but can't get at the rest!)

ALL-OUT WAR lasted for six issues (around 1979-1980) and Viking Commando was in all six of them if memory holds.

Starfire also appears in one panel of SWAMP THING #163. Starfire, Claw, Stalker, and one other sword and sorcery character I dont recognize are all pictured running away from Nightmaster. She's also pictured in her original costume (my fave!) except its mistakenly colored blue (it should be green).

Here's the lowdown on issues #2-4 of STARFIRE. As for issue #1, see my first post.

Starfire #2 - "The Siege of Lortnan Manor"
Written by David Michelinie, Art by Mike Vosburg and Vince Colletta

At Lortnan Manor, young Kyrse Lortnan is about to be killed by a Mygorg warrior for committing the crime of reading books, an activity forbidden to humans. As his father Velg Lortan looks on in horror, Starfire and her band of followers arrive just in time! After a short battle, all the Mygorg in the Manor are killed, but Velg tells Starfire that the dead Mygorg were only the advance guard for a larger patrol of Mygorg soldiers. Oops!

Soon after, the entire patrol of Mygorg soldiers storm the walls of Lortnan Manor. Starfire and her men manage to hold them off, and the Mygorg commander, Kevarj, retreats. He's already plotting his second attack, and this time he'll be using sky-beasts, which are pterodactyl like creatures which shoot heat beams (called "death bolts") from their eyes. Starfire manages to stop the sky beast once (you've got to see it to believe how she does it!), but sensing the Mygorg won't stay routed for long, her and her men flee into the countryside. As she leaves, Starfire is given a map by Kyrse, and the map is said to lead to the legendary Lightning Lords, beings who have powerful weapons that could be used in the battle against the Mygorg.

Also, in this issue we meet the first of Starfire's supporting cast, a balding man named Thrumdahg who wears all blue and swings a nasty axe. Thrumdahg makes some unwanted advances towards Starfire, and she ends up showing him exactly who's boss. Embarrassed in front of the men, Thrumdahg soon grows to resent Starfire, as we'll see in issue #3.

Starfire #3 - "The Arena of the Frost Dragon"
Written by Elliot S! Maggin, Art by Mike Vosburg and Vince Colletta

Still wandering around, Starfire and her followers come across a gladiator pit where a giant, deformed human is fighting a frost dragon (instead of breathing fire, frost dragon's breath ice) with a metal ball and chain. With the crowd of Mygorg engrossed in the battle, Starfire and her men ambush the spectators and free the giant. The giant is mute, so Starfire decides to name him Thump, saying that "He looks like a Thump, don't you think?" Thump quickly proves his loyalty by stopping Thrumdahg's plot to assault and overthrown Starfire as leader of the rebels.

We also meet Anzus, the group's weapon keeper, who is an older man with a white beard who wears a purple outfit and a green hooded cape.

Another Mygorg commander tracks down Starfire with the help of a human slave named Moonwatcher, who is an excellent tracker. Setting up in a nearby Mygorg village, the commander decides to ambush Starfire's camp at dawn. Moonwatcher overhears this, manages to kill the commander, and escapes to tell Starfire. Starfire decides to attack the village before the Mygorg can attack her. Starfire's army of ex-slaves wins, and they free the human slaves held in the village, who them join Starfire's ranks.

Starfire wants to continue their quest to find the Lightning Lords but since nobody knows how to read the map Kyrse gave them (remember, its a crime for humans to read books), she isn't sure what to do. In a stroke of good luck, it is discovered that Thump knows how to read. Pointing them in the right direction, the mute giant leads them onwards.....

Starfire #4 - "Slaves of the Golden Queen"
Written by Elliot S! Maggin, Art by Mike Vosburg and Vince Colletta

While heading through a mountain pass, Starfire and her followers are ambushed by Nitrons, tribal beats who spurt flame from their tails (really!). A brief struggle ensues, and the Nitrons manage to steal all the human's food and supplies. Trekking onwards on empty stomachs, Starfire spots a settlement "with supplies we can doubtless beg, borrow, or steal" in a nearby canyon.

Starfire, Thump, Anzus, Moonwatcher, and Raynor (not much is revealed about him) enter the settlement, and they meet the settlement's Queen Karoleen, a feminist with an attitude who sports a golden helmet which covers half of her face. "All men are slaves in this city" Karoleen tells Starfire, and you just know what's gonna happen next. Starfire decides to "trade" three of her men (Azmodus, Moonwatcher, and Starfire in disguise) for two wagonloads of food. Once inside, Starfire reveals herself and engages Karoleen in battle. As soon as this happens, Karoleen sends a group of her female soldiers to reclaim the food. Raynor, Thump, and Azmodus lead Starfir's followers in defending the food, while Starfire and Moonwatcher deal with Karoleen.

We learn that Karoleen has much in common with Starfire. She too was destined to marry Sookaroth and escaped. However, her escape had a price - a hideously scarred face caused by the Mygorg's flaming arrows. Thus, Karoleen hides the scarred side of her face behind her golden helmet. To make a long story short, Karoleen dies fighting Starfire (she plunges to her death), and Starfire and her merry men escape with the food. They continue along their journey to find the Lightning Lords.

More later....maybe

The star of "U.S.S. Stevens" was Sam Glanzman himself, as the series was autobiographical in nature.

I first saw Astro mentioned by Mike Tiefenbacher in THE COMIC READER # 197 (which includes a color picture of the character, by the way) and it was because of that write-up that I sought out a copy of HOUSE OF MYSTERY # 140. Mike described "The Return of Astro" (illustrated by Howard Sherman) as follows:

"Bruce Mills returns to his ancestral home in the Iron Curtain country of Dolomain to find his parents' village being terrorized by a guy dressed up as the legendary wizard Count Quivius. To battle him, he costumes himself in Quivius' enemy's costume, rigging tricks to make it look as if he really is the equally-legendary Astro -- and ends up discovering that the costume really was Astro's and that it gives him his magical powers. After vanquishing Quivius, Mills thinks 'As for the cloak of Astro --with its fantastic powers -- perhaps I'd better guard it very closely from now on!' Sounds to me like they were doing a pilot story here."

GANGBUSTERS was based on a radio (and later TV) program and featured stories about police officers (et al.) for 67 issues from 1947 to 1958. There were no recurring characters but there were a couple regular features: "A Casebook Mystery" (# 13-19, 22-27, 30-44) and "A Perfect Crime Mystery" (# 1-12). You can find reprints from the series in BATMAN # 216, DC SPECIAL # 10, DC SUPER-STARS # 9 and DETECTIVE COMICS # 405, 415, 417, 419, 420, 422- 424, 444 & 445 and WORLD'S FINEST # 177.

Lady Cop was Liza Warner, a one-shot Bob Kanigher character from 1ST ISSUE SPECIAL # 4 (1975) with art by John Rosenberger and Vince Colletta (underneath a nice Dick Giordano cover). Liza's roommates were murdered by a Richard Speck-like killer while she hid beneath a bed. She told the police that "all I could see of the killer were his western boots -- white -- with black skull and cross-bones dangling from the laces. And laughing about killing women -- like they were nothing but cards! Aces of Spades!"

The incident leads Liza to enroll at the police academy and she stops a grenade-wielding madman at her graduation ceremony. In the second story, Liza helps a young woman diagnosed with VD. In the final panel, she "wonder(s) if I'll ever find the killer in boots ?"

The Mercenaries were Gordon (a one-eyed white American), Philip "Prince" Edwards (a black Englishman) and Horst Brenner (a blonde German). They were deserters from the French Foreign Legion who sought greater excitement and riches around the world. They were introduced by Bob Kanigher and Vicatan in G.I. COMBAT # 242 (1982) as a present-day counterpart to World War Two-Korea-Vietnam fare comprising most of the book. Eventually, the venerable "Haunted Tank" was bumped from the book altogether and the Mercenaries took the lead (# 282; 1986). Unfortunately, the bland adventures of the trio did not take hold and the more interesting mix of characters in the Haunted Tank returned in # 285.

The Mercenaries appeared in G.I. COMBAT # 242, 244, 247, 249, 251, 253, 256, 258, 261-263, 265, 268, 271-274, 278-284 and 286, plus an entry in WHO'S WHO '86 # 15.

The only Split that I'm familiar with was an evil young red-haired man in a red, white and black jacket who used his teleportation powers to transport members of Hazard's Black Ops (see STEEL # 6, 8, 0, 19, 25 and 27).

I have no idea who SR12 or the Teutonic Knight are.

Sterling T. Silversmith appeared in the middle chapter of Len Wein's 1975 "Bat-Murderer" five-parter (DETECTIVE # 446), with exquisite art by Jim Aparo. Silversmith had been obsessed with silver since childhood and, now, as a silver-haired older man, he had amassed a fortune in stolen goods that he smuggled through his antiques business. Dapper in his white suit, bullets bounced off Silversmith thanks to a silver alloy woven into the fabric. When a skeleton belonging to one of the villain's former henchmen was accidentally discovered within a statue, Batman investigated and stumbled upon Silversmith's operation. Fleeing from the scene, the rogue was stopped by a bar of silver thrown into his shoulders by the Dark Knight.

Silversmith returned in 1980 (DETECTIVE # 495, by Michael Fleisher and Don Newton). Having learned that Matthew Thorne, the Crime Doctor, was aware of Batman's true identity, Silversmith demanded the secret, administering poisonous quicksilver when the doctor proved reluctant. The Doc agreed to tell all in exchange for an antodote but Batman's unwitting intervention delayed things too long and Thorne was left a vegetable. Silversmith's WHO'S WHO entry was in # 22 of the original series.

Andre Reynard, the Third Archer, met Green Arrow and Speedy in ADVENTURE COMICS # 162, which I have not read.

The Viking Commando appeared in ALL-OUT WAR # 1-6, plus a left-over episode in UNKNOWN SOLDIER # 266 and 267 and the entry in WHO'S WHO '87 # 25.

Cave Carson returned in ACTION COMICS # 536 and the Forgotten Heroes began to organize in # 545. After # 552 and 553, they returned in DC COMICS PRESENTS # 77 and 78.

D.R. & Mikishawm - thanks.

12. So Gangbusters were a licensed comic?

And is there anyone else who can tell me anything about:
15. Split?
16. SR 12?
18. The Teutonic Knight?

If you're not getting tired of me yet, I'll return with ten more soon. (And if anyone else wants to ask questions about odd DCU characters, please continue my list with #21.)

/ola

No answers over the weekend? Maybe you HAVE tired of me. Oh, well, I'll continue and we'll see what happens:

Questions that remain:
12. Was "Gangbusters" a licensed comic?

And is there anyone who can give me the skinny of:
15. Split of the Titans?
16. SR 12?
18. The Teutonic Knight?

And, adding ten more to the list - could some please tell me what you know about:

21. The Bombardiers (I know they were the Human Bomb's sidekicks, but what were their names and what happened to them?)
22. The Flying Boots?
23. The Frogmen?
24. King of the Wild?
25. Manhunters Around the World?
26. O-Sensei? (from RICHARD DRAGON)
27. Sierra Smith?
28. Space Voyagers? (the back-up of RIMA THE JUNGLE GIRL - I've read three episodes, but I still can't figure out what it is about)
29. The Suicide Squadron? (Yeah - I know it was the pre-Suicide Squad in the DCU, but where and when did they appear?)
30. Tom Sparks, Boy Inventor?

That's it for this time. See ya soon.

/ola

Yep, GANGBUSTERS was a licensed comic.

The Bombardiers were Curly McGurk, Swordo and the lovely Red Rogers. In POLICE COMICS # 21, they were provided with explosive powers by the Human Bomb and joined in a series of raids on the Japanese army in mid-1943 (# 21-22). With # 23, the Bomb was back in the States and we never did learn what happened to his partners.

Don't know much about them but the Flying Boots were Henny, Steve and Tommy Frank and appeared in STAR-SPANGLED WAR STORIES # 99, 100, 104 and 105 as part of the "War That Time Forgot" series.

Likewise, I can only provide the name of SHOWCASE # 3's wartime Frogmen. They were Sardine, Shark and Whale.

SHOWCASE # 2's "Kings of the Wild" featured various characters in wildlife adventures. One episode ("Rider of the Winds") was reprinted in DC SPECIAL # 5.

"Manhunters Around The World" was just what the name says, a series about detectives and law officers from anywhere on the globe. There were no recurring characters. This series ran in STAR SPANGLED COMICS # 94-120, WORLD'S FINEST # 59-61 and SHOWCASE # 5. Reprints can be found in DC SPECIAL # 10 (from SHOWCASE # 5) and DETECTIVE # 422, 444 & 445.

I'll get back to you on O-Sensei.

Sierra Smith, assisted by the lovely Nan, was a 1940s detective in the Western U.S. He appeared in DALE EVANS # 1-19, 21-23 and DETECTIVE # 206. James Robinson mentioned his detective prowess in the recent STARMAN # 18.

Space Voyagers (RIMA # 1-5) made about as much sense to me as it did to you. They were Armando, Bartt, Melong and Nolan.

The World War Two Suicide Squad fought on Dinosaur Island in STAR-SPANGLED WAR STORIES # 110-111 (with PT and Prof), 116-121 (with Morgan, Mace and Dino), 125 (Reed and Mac), 127 and 128.

John Ostrander's post-Crisis revamp had Rick Flag, Sr. as leader of the Squad with Ace High, the Beast, Blowhard, Gyp, Nickels and Shiv as members. (see SECRET ORIGINS # 14 and SUICIDE SQUAD # 26)

Tom Sparks was in WORLD'S FINEST # 49-58. No other details, I'm afraid.

Hellstone-
I might be wrong but wasn't SWING WITH SCOOTER published here in Sweden under the name BINKY? ....or was Binky another DC Archie rip-off?

Yeah, Binky was another comic entirely.

/ola

Any info on the Golden Gladiator?

Golden Gladiator was a Roman Centurion in the time of Christ. He was in early (pre-50, team-up issues) of BRAVE & BOLD...

...and was suppose to have been possessed by Etrigan the Demon (or the Demon who would be born in him and become Etrigan), in Rick Veitch's unpublished SWAMP THING #88.

I think O-Sensei was in charge of the League of Assassins (but I'm probably mixing up characters...)

Just to keep things clearer (at least for me)...can we call Binky #31 and Golden Gladiator #32 here? (Yes, I admit, I'm an agent of the Lords of Order.)

As for O-Sensei (#26), datalore...nope. The League of Assassins leader was only called the Sensei, and he's not the one I'm asking about. But thank you anyway.

/ola

Excellent......Hmmm now I've got a challenge for you.

The Yellow Peri
Human Cannonball
Paragon (a villain)

The only Teutonic Knight I know was a foe of Marvel's wartime Invaders, from the 1970s series of the same name.

I'm gonna leave everything else to Mikishawm and co....I'm more of a Golden Age guy myself.

Back to the list of unanswered questions:

15. Split of the Titans?
16. SR 12?
18. The Teutonic Knight - thanks to John for the Marvel character info, but I've heard there was a DC guy with the name as well. I think he had some connection to the Global Guardians, but I'm not sure.
22. Is there anyone who has anything to add regarding The Flying Boots?
23. Anyone knows more about the Frogmen?
26. I'm eagerly awaiting the story of O-Sensei.
28. Anyone who saw more sense in the Space Voyagers than I and Mikishawm did?
29. So, Mikishawm, the Suicide Squadron of Dinosaur Island and the SS who Rick Flag Sr lead are not the same team? When did Flag Sr appear first anyway? Before or after his son?
30. Anyone who has anything to add about Tom Sparks, Boy Inventor?

And a few answers:

31. Binky first appeared in LEAVE IT TO BINKY #1 (March 48), but i think most people remember him as a very 1960s/early 70s character.
32. The Golden Gladiator's real name was Marcus. He first appeared in THE BRAVE & THE BOLD #1 (Sep 55)
33. The Yellow Peri was a teenage witch and a pre-Crisis Superboy foe/friend, I believe.
34. Human Cannonball - haven't got a clue.
35. Paragon - I know it was a JLofA villain, but that's about all I know.

/ola

Richard Montgomery Flag (Rick, Sr.) and the more stable Suicide Squad roster were creations of John Ostrander in SECRET ORIGINS # 14, a means of tying the "War That Time Forgot" Squad to the 1959-1960 Squad that featured Richard Rogers Flag (Rick II).

The O-Sensei's story began in Manchuria in 1895 when a Japanese army captain faced a Chinese captive in unarmed combat. A soldier "helped" by gunning down the Chinese man and the horrified captain condemned him for his actions, asserting that he had brought disgrace on himself and the entire army. To attone, the captain agreed to the victim's dyining request: "I will take his place" (DETECTIVE COMICS ANNUAL # 1).

And so, he began "studying the ancient scriptures, practicing the ancient disciplines, becoming many kinds of a master. Living a life perfect in its austerity, its discipline and, finally, in its harmony." He refused his wife's 1900 plea to return to Japan but agreed to her last request: "Promise your bones will rest with mine" (THE QUESTION ANNUAL # 1).

Decades later, the O-Sensei encountered Benjamin Turner (SUICIDE SQUAD # 38) and Richard Dragon (RICHARD DRAGON, KUNG FU FIGHTER # 1), sensing the innate goodness that lay beneath their surface rage. Over six years, he transformed the men into two of the finest martial artists in the world (# 1) and, having done so, declared that there was nothing more he could teach them (# 2). Before leaving, he gave Richard a jade dragon's necklace (# 3).

Months later, Richard and Lady Shiva sought out O-Sensei for his aid in helping a dying Ben. They discovered that his meditations had been disrupted by Doctor Moon, who sought the master's knowledge for evil purposes (RD # 14).

After "more than a hundred and fifty winters," the O-Sensei finally decided that his life had run its course. With Shiva at his side, he sought out the Batman (DETECTIVE ANNUAL # 1), Green Arrow (GREEN ARROW ANNUAL # 1) and the Question (QUESTION ANNUAL #1), individuals that he believed could help him honor his vow to his wife. For his heirs, feeling that he had brought disgrace on the house, were violently opposed to his presence at the burial grounds.

In the end, it was not the family's actions that stopped the journey but a raging typhoon that washed the O-Sensei from their boat. His body was lost at sea. Arriving at the crypt, Shiva learned that the master's wife was NOT buried there. She discovered later that "the boat carrying the family's goods ran into a storm. The cabinet containing the wife's remains was swept overboard. It rests -- at the bottom of the sea" (QUESTION ANNUAL # 1).

O-SENSEI (Earth-One):
DC Comics Presents # 39
Richard Dragon, Kung Fu Fighter # 1-3, 4 (mention), 6 (mention), 10 (mention), 13 (mention), 14, 17-18 (mention)

O-SENSEI (current):
Detective Comics Annual # 1
Green Arrow Annual # 1
The Question Annual # 1
Suicide Squad # 38

Created by Tom DeFalco, the Human Cannonball was Ryan Chase, a would-be super-hero who grew up in the circus, training for his goal and developing a rocket belt and helmet that enabled him to blast through the air like a, well, human cannonball. Ryan wore a green shirt (with a yellow CB emblem) and tights, black pants, gloves and helmet and violet boots that came up to his thighs (SUPERMAN FAMILY # 188).

Though too cocky for his own good, the Human Cannonball overcame his early blunders to become an effective, charming partner for Lois Lane (SF # 189, 191). He was a central player in the battle to free the DNA Project from the control of the evil Adam (# 192-194).

Paragon was Joel Cochin, a mutant who"possessed the physical and mental abilities of anyone within a certain range -- but whatever they've got, I've got more!" Arrogant in the extreme, Paragon was able to beat the Justice League one on one by using their own powers against them in a more effective fashion. His ultimate goal was the eradication of those who he regarded as his inferiors -- 90% of the world's population. He was defeated when the united JLA disoriented him. Paragon was created by Kurt Busiek and featured in JLA # 224 (1984) with art by Chuck Patton and Dick Giordano.

Bob Rozakis and Kurt Schaffenberger's creation, the Yellow Peri, first crossed paths with Superboy in NEW ADVENTURES OF SUPERBOY # 34 and 35 (1982). Teenager Loretta York had discovered a magic book that transformed her into the Yellow Peri. Her own inexperience and a devilish imp named Gazook made Loretta more of a threat than a help and the Boy of Steel finally threw the book into outer space, erasing York's memories of the Yellow Peri in the process.

Years later, the book fell back into Earth's atmosphere and returned to Loretta, now married to a shady character named Alvin Grant. Grant hoped to use the Yellow Peri for a get-rich-quick scheme. When Superman entered the picture, Alvin tried unsuccessfully to pit his wife against the Man of Steel. In the end, Superman agreed to leave the book in Loretta's possession until she proved unworthy of the power (ACTION # 559).

Months later, Clark Kent and Lois Lane encountered the Grants and, once again, Alvin was trying to make a quick buck and the Yellow Peri's magic was backfiring. Unable to destroy the book, Superman encased it in lead, erasing the Grants' memories of the Yellow Peri once more. Loretta tumbled upon the lead-sealed book (ACTION # 567) but whether she ever recovered her memories is unknown.

THE YELLOW PERI:
Action Comics # 559, 567
The New Adventures of Superboy # 34-35
Who's Who '87 # 26

THE YELLOW PERI (variant):
The Kingdom: Planet Krypton # 1

"Split" was a character that Wolfman originally intended to be a part of the Titans, hence he appears in the special card set for DC VS. MARVEL that was painted by Julie Bell and pitted the Titans against the X-Men. His primary ability was teleportation, and if I remember correctly, he was described as kind of a sassy, prankster sort. To my understanding, he was later given a different name (I don't know what it was), cast onto the wrong side of the tracks, and used in the SUPERBOY & THE RAVERS series.

AwRIGHT! Split has been explained. Thank you.

Now I'm only wondering about SR 12 and the Teutonic Knight.

So...let's add ten more to the obscurity list. It's villain time:
36. Assassination Bureau (Firestorm)
37. Bat Knights (the Atom)
38. Darius Tiko (Challengers)
39. the Deep Six (I know who they are but can someone please clear out all the members? - they seem to be more than six. Who is dead and who is alive?)
40. the Duke of Oil (Outsiders)
41. the Luck League (?)
42. the Nuclear Family (Outsiders)
43. Power Elite (Starman)
44. Printer's Devil (Green Arrow)
45. Ramulus the Plantmaster (Sandman)

/ola

I'll do Ramulus.

Originally called Nightshade, he first appeared in the Simon/Kirby Sandman strip in WORLD'S FINEST #6, Summer 1942. He's a green, weird looking guy who controls electronic plants, and kidnaps a rich couple. Sandman and Sandy rescue them, and one of Nightshade's plants goes haywire, shakes him "literally to death" and flings him away, at which point Sandman and Sandy escape the flaming "Magic Forest", where the Nightshade had his HQ. That was his last appearance in the Golden Age, reprinted in WANTED #9, Aug/Sept 1973.

He appears again 40-odd years later, in ALL-STAR SQUADRON #51, 1985. He was shown to have survived, and was thought by the infamous Mr.Mind how to control real fauna. He's now called Ramulus, to avoid confusion with the Charlton heroine of the same name. He's a member of the Monster Society of Evil, is defeated and not seen again for quite a while.

His final appearance to date was in a dream sequence in JSA #1, 1999.

Time is at a premium for me tonight (and possibly tomorrow) so I'm not going to attempt any bios right now. I'll let someone else take a turn. (Thanks, John, for Nightshade/Ramulus!)

You HAVE piqued my interest with the Titans version of Split. He sure SOUNDS like the STEEL character. Is there a picture of that particular card on the web somewhere ?

I would like to know if the following Super Friends ever made appearances in comics?

Black Vulcan
(I am assuming he did not, since he was virtually a gloss on Black Lightning).

Apache Chief
Rima
El Dorado
Samurai

Rima had her own series in the 70's http://members.xoom.com/casselmm47/dc70/miscdc/rima.htm

I don't recall the others off hand having made an appearance even in the SUPER FRIENDS title...

Here we go with some Outsiders baddies:

Nuclear Family - appeared in OUTSIDERS (1st series) #1, #2 and ADVENTURES OF THE OUTSIDERS #39, #40. Their appearance in AOTO is a reprint of their first appearance.

Dr. Eric Shanner is an old man who is strongly opposed to nuclear energy. In order to convince the world of the damage that one nuclear device's explosion would do, he creates the Nuclear Family, a group of sentient robots whose individual powers mimic the stages of a nuclear explosion. The Family consists of Dad, who emits radiation; Mom, who produces electromagnetic pulses; Biff, who produces a thermal (heat) pulse; Sis, who emits a destructive blast wave, and Brat and Dog, who are both able to turn themselves into radioactive fallout.

The Outsiders prevented then from causing a meltdown at Esperanza Canyon Nuclear Power Plant, and captured the entire Nuclear Family. After examining the robots, Dr. Jace decides that Looker should infiltrate the group, using her powers to disguise herself as Mom. The Nuclear Family is released so they can lead the Outsiders to Shanner, but Looker is eventually discovered before she can tell the Outsiders where Shanner's HQ is.

We then learn that the Nuclear Family are replications of Shanner's family, all of whom (but him) died from radiation poisoning. We're led to believe that Shanner was once upon a time either Dad or Biff. Anyway, the Nuclear Family hunts down the real Mom, whom the Outsiders are still holding captive. After a struggle, the Family grabs Mom, and heads to Esperanza Canyon to finish their mission. The Outsiders follow them, and ultimately, the entire Nuclear Family is destroyed in an explosion. Metamorpho turns into TNT and blows them up while they are trying to start a meltdown. Shanner, however, is still alive.

Duke of Oil - appeared in OUTSIDERS (1st series) #6, #7 and ADVENTURES OF THE OUTSIDERS #44, #45. His appearance in AOTO is a reprint of his appearance in Outsiders. "Nothing Can Stop the Duke of Oil" reads the cover to OUTSIDERS #7. Well, not exactly.

Earl J. Dukeston is an oil baron from Texas and the owner of Dukeston Oil. His company wants to see Station Markovia, an automated ocean research station off the coast of Los Angeles which also serves as the Outsiders HQ. After Brion Markov (Geo Force) and Dr. Jace have given him a tour of the station, Dukeston attacks the two, and it is revealed that he is an agent of an unknown scientific company that wants to steal Dr. Jace's research.

The Duke reveals that 20 years ago, he was caught in an explosion at his oil company. Thinking he would die, he woke up later and found that all that was left of him after the explosion (his brain) was put into a robotic body. Kind of like the Golden Age Robotman, huh? Well, the scientists who did this to Dukeston told him that they were growing another body for him using cloning technology, but it would take about twenty years to do so. In the meantime, the Duke did their bidding. Ultimately, when the Duke confronts the rest of the Outsiders, looker discovers that he is emitting no brain waves, Katana then throws her sword into his robotic head, and we learn that the Duke doesn't have a human brain after all, he's just a machine programmed with Dukeston's memories.

Finding out that he's not even partly human drives the malfunctioning Duke of Oil nuts, and he escapes into the Pacific Ocean below. The Outsiders search for him, but can't find a body. He remains currently at large.

The Duke is superstrong, and can stretch his neck, arms and legs like Elongated Man can. He wears fake skin in order to conceal his robotic appearance, but it is easily burned off or destroyed.

And for some really obscure villains, check out the early issues of BATMAN AND THE OUTSIDERS.

There's the lame-o Agent Orange (BATO #3), a disgruntled Vietnam vet who wants to drop toxic gas on Gotham. He wears an orange gasmask, orange beret, orange fatigues and shoots toxic gas out of a flame-thrower type weapon. He's apprehended in BATO #3 and thankfully hasn't seen the light of day yet.

In BATO #4, Ned Creegan returns with a new name and a new costume. Creegan was transformed into a sketetal freak in BATMAN #195 way way back, and tried to kill Batman and Robin using the name Bag O'Bones. Creegan returns in BLACK LIGHTNING (1st series) #4-5 as the Cyclotronic Man. This time he wears an all green costume and goes after Black Lightning and Superman.

Third times a charm in BATO #4, when Creegan, now calling himself One Man Meltdown, escapes from prison because a crooked warden won't give him the radiation treatments his suped up body requires. After a misunderstanding or two, the Outsiders help Creegan get the treatments he needs and he goes back to prison, content to serve out his time and become a benefit to society.

Creegan can fire energy bolts, speed up the atoms of anything (including his own body), and is superstrong. The aura around his body can also melt most objects it come sin contact with.

In BATO #6, we meet the Cyronic Man for the first and last time. More on him later.

In an old Swedish edition of SUPERBOY, I found a story starring a character called Tracy, a teenage girl on a scooter, who ends up in a Scooby Doo type of adventure.

Does any of you know more about this character?

I asked this in another thread, and didn't get an answer, so here goes.

There was a group of normal people who were given powers by the Guardians. They were supposed to represent, or faciliate, mankind's evolution to the next level. Their story was one of DC's global events. I vaguely recall one people going bad, one being killed. Anyway, does anyone know this group, and what happened to them?

In response to Larry F's query as to which Super Friends' characters appeared in any DC comics:

As far as I know, neither Black Vulcan, Apache Chief, El Dorado, nor Samurai ever appeared in a DC comic.

Why?

Well, while the main characters comprising The Super Friends were obviously licensed by Hanna-Barbera from DC, the aforementioned characters were created by HB for the cartoon, i.e. these are characters owned by Hanna-Barbera. If were to include them in a comic book, they, in turn, would have to license these characters from HB. You dig where I'm goin' with this? Basically, these weren't/aren't DC characters proper....

As for Rima - well, DC did license a character called "Rima the Jungle Girl" for a brief period in the early seventies, but I don't think she had anything to do with the Superfriends. Perhaps you're thinking of the Super Friends villainess Giganta, who, like Black Vulcan, et al., was a creation of Hanna-Barbera studios. And no - she never made a pulp appearance of which I am aware....

Wait a minute!!!! I may be wrong, 'cause didn't Samurai appear in a SUPER POWERS mini-series?

Hell, shows you what I know....

Hmm, anyone heard of a team called Bat Squad?

Say, exactly how many Aqua-Girls were there before Tula? I heard that there were a couple of girls before Tula, is that true?

Adding to the list.

46. Black Vulcan
47. Apache Chief
48. Rima
49. El Dorado
50. Samurai

--guess they've been answered by now

51. Agent Orange
52. One Man Meltdown

--thank you for the info, D.R. Especially the latter would be fun to see revived. And I'm waiting for the story about the Cyronic Man.

53. Tracy on her scooter

--can anyone help Ghost Who Walks with this one? I've never heard of her.

54. New Guardians

--JDW, I guess these are the heroes you meant. They were introduced in the MILLENNIUM crossover (1987 or 88?) and had their own series for a year or so. Really crappy if I remember it right. They later appeared in GREEN LANTERN and were killed by Entropy. Then they were alive again and settled down on Oa. It's not known what happened to them after the planet was destroyed following Zero Hour. The only members that are known to still be alive are Tom "Pieface" Kalmaku and Jason "the Floronic Man" Woodrue (the latter was last seen in STARMAN).

55. Bat Squad

--Not sure who these are. Except that the current allies of Batman (Robin, Nightwing, Huntress, Azrael, Gordon, are sometimes referred to as the "Bat Squad).

56. Aquagirl I

--Lisa Morel. America heroine-wannabee who appeared in ADVENTURE COMICS #266.

57. Aquagirl II

--Selena, a Poseidonian heroine-wannabee in WORLD'S FINEST (1st series) #133.

58. Aquagirl III

--Tula, Poseidonian heroine, well-known partner of Aqualad and a sometimes-member of the Teen Titans. Died in the Crisis. (Killed by Chemo and Shark Norton.) First appeared in AQUAMAN (1st series) #33 (Jun 67).

/ola

The Bat Squad teamed up with Batman in an issue of THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD (#92), I think they were just a group of detectives (no 'big names' in the bunch).

The character The Ghost Who Walks refers to is probably Tracey Thompson, created by writer/artist/editor Mike Sekowsky as a backup for ADVENTURE COMICS...I believe #401 was the first of her two or so appearances. She was, as he recalls, a teenage motorcyclist who was always running into trouble and usually had to have someone else help her out. The readership was thoroughly underwhelmed, and she failed to survive Sekowsky's very short editorship.

The Deep Six were among the many evil gods of Apokolips created by writer/artist/editor Jack Kirby for his legendary NEW GODS series. First mentioned in NEW GODS #2, they played an active role in issues #4 through 6, in the last of which they were apparently killed off. But they've appeared more recently in other DC titles; I don't recall how their survival was explained (perhaps Darkseid teleported them all out at the last minute).

Thing is, having checked various sources, I have encountered the following names of Deep Six members: Gole, Jaffar, Kurin, Pyron, Slig, Trok, and Shaligo the Flying Finback. Have the Deep Six become the Deep Seven?

/ola

Here we go with the Cryonic Man (I mis-spelled his name last time, sorry)

The Cryonic Man - appeared in BATMAN AND THE OUTSIDERS #6 and #7 - In 1947, Professor Niles Raymond (wonder if he's any relation to Ronnie (Firestorm) Raymond?) built four cryonic sleep chambers because he feared a world wide nuclear holocaust. Niles, his wife Bella, his assistant Philip, and Philip's wife Melissa entered the chambers and slept for years. In order to monitor the state of the world and maintain their equipment, Philip was selected to awaken every so often.

During one of the times he was awake, Philip discovered that his wife Melissa was slowly dying of a progressive degenerative disease (exactly what disease is never stated). Only complex organ transplants could save Melissa's life should she ever leave the cryonic chamber. Philip reasoned that the needed transplant technology would be developed in the near future, so in order to keep Melissa in the chamber he lied to Niles and Bella - telling them that there had been a horrible nuclear war which devastated the world. In the meantime, Philip began illegally gathering organs and transplanting them into Melissa's body. Sometimes, Philip even used Niles' and Bella's bodies as "spare parts" as his own body withered with age.

Waking up in 1983 (when BATO #6 was written), Philip makes himself a costume comprised of blue tights, metallic gloves, a blue hard hat type thing, and a metallic mask which covers all of his face except his eyes. He also develops a backpack type machine which allows him to shoot liquid nitrogen out of hoses attached to the wrists of his costume. Dubbing himself the Cryonic Man, Philip goes about stealing organs from local hospitals in Gotham. This eventually brings him into conflict with Batman and the Outsiders.

While stealing a kidney from Gotham General Hospital, the Outsiders confront Philip, and chase him into one of Gotham's underground car tunnels. The Cryonic Man gets the best of the Outsiders this time, and escapes with the kidney and Katana as his hostage. Philip plans on using Katana as the source for all the other body parts Melissa needs. With the help of Soultaker (Katana's sword), the Outsiders track Philip to an underground bunker in an abandoned house just outside of Gotham. The usual heroics transpire, but there's a real cool James Bond-esque scene where a bound and almost sedated Katana frees herself and destroys one of the Cryonics Man's robots using only a tiny surgeon scalpel.

Eventually, the Outsiders discover the other three cryonic chambers and the people inside. Black Lightning is able to use his powers to "communicate" with them using the cryonic chamber's electric field. When Bella, Niles, and Melisa discover the truth, they become enraged and overload the chambers' electric field. This unleashes a backlash of electric energy which strikes Philip, either killing him or just knocking him out (we're never told, we just see smoke rising from the Cryonic Man's fallen body). The overload however, does cause the deaths of Bella, Niles, and Melisa.

Says Batman: "Their souls died long ago....when they decided to run from the world instead of facing it!"

Hi, all! This is what I came up with:

The Assassination Bureau was a well kept secret until they were hired by the 2000 Committee to kill Firestorm. The organization had been formed by Breathtaker, a mysterious figure hidden beneath a robe and cloak. The Nuclear Man easily defeated the Bureau's first operative, the wind-controlling Stratos, but Firestorm was far more susceptible to the illusions of the Mindboggler. While attacking what he perceived as threats, Firestorm was actually posing a threat to civilians. Mindboggler was unable to bring her actions to a conclusion thanks to the arrival of fleet of police officers, more than the spellbinder felt she could control (FURY OF FIRESTORM # 29-30).

Meanwhile, another Bureau member had disobeyed orders and tried to take down Firestorm on his own. The arrogant Incognito was a being capable of transforming into a double of anyone but whose natural form was a black silhouette. Failing in his objective, Incognito was subdued by Firestorm and revealed the location of the Bureau's lair (FOF # 30).

The Nuclear Man succeeded in knocking Mindboggler unconscious and quickly defeated Breathtaker, despite the latter's own seeming hallucinogenic powers. Exposed, the mastermind was a small man -- barely four feet -- with skin so pale and tight that he resembled a skeleton. His more imposing form was the result of a sophisticated exoskeleton. Resentful of Breathtaker's treatment of her, Mindboggler agreed to help Firestorm take down the 2000 Committee (FOF # 31).

Mindboggler received a lenient sentence for her actions but was lured back into crime by Multiplex, who convinced her to join his anti-Firestorm league (FOF # 45-47; BLUE DEVIL # 23). In custody once more, she was released into the Suicide Squad but was shot in the back and killed by the Jihad's Rustam (SUICIDE SQUAD # 1-2).

Through unknown circumstances, the Jihad used Mindboggler's brain patterns to form a deadly electronic intelligence called the Ifrit that was programmed to destroy the Suicide Squad. The Squad took possession of the Ifrit (SS # 17-19) and, after extensive efforts, to reprogram her (# 26), succeeded in restoring her core personality thanks to an Israeli artificial intelligence known as the Dybbuk. The Dybbuk (now calling himself Lenny) and Mindboggler (Leah Wasserman) announced their plans to wed (# 63).

Oracle, a witness to the declaration, offered to host a bridal shower. "Is there any software you guys need ?"

In the distant past, a race of tiny people known as the Elvarans fled the savage cavemen of the outer world for sanctuary within caverns within the Earth. The Elvarans periodically sent armor-clad warriors into the outer world atop bats to keep abreast of the Earth's evolution. With a racial hatred of "tall men," an Elvaran tribe in Ivy Town's Giants Cavern went berserk when it saw gangster Eddie Gordon in the cave. Firing his gun, Gordon unwittingly gained temporary control of the little people, thanks to the noise's effect on their motor responses. Gordon decided to use the Bat-Knights as a means of looting the city -- and destroying his enemy, the Atom. The Atom managed to capture a lone Bat-Knight and convince him of his good intentions. Together, they freed the Bat-Knights from Gordon's control and the Tiny Titan was given the unique honor of being able to visit the people of Elvara "by giving the pre-arranged signal" (ATOM # 22).

Gordon briefly regained control of the Bat-Knights in THE ATOM # 30. Ray Palmer encountered the little people for a third time when he and Jean Loring visited Giants Cavern, also the location where he first became the Atom, during a honeymoon trip.

Marauding Bat-Knights claimed that the Elvarans now had more militant leadership and that they sought the secret of the Atom's size-control belt to conquer the outside world. Ray made a narrow escape and resealed the "doorway" out of the cavern (ACTION COMICS # 487).

In 1958, the Challengers of the Unknown traced a series of thefts by men dressed as ancient Greeks or Egyptians to a mysterious island, home to the Wizard of Time, one Darius Tiko. "Former assistant to Dr. Hobart Reinmetz, the renowned nuclear physicist," Tiko claimed to have brought his research to full flower with the creation of a Time Cube. Ace suggested he may have stolen Reinmetz's ideas instead.

Tiko fled the inquiries via the Cube and the Challs followed in a smaller earlier model. After trailing the Wizard through a succession of eras, the quartet finally tracked him down in the year 3000 A.D. There, both Tiko and the Challs were taken into custody by law enforcement of the era and ordered to return home. A self-destruct mechanism installed by the future cops destroyed the Time Cube and the Wizard's island upon their return to 1958 (CHALLENGERS OF THE UNKNOWN (first series) # 4, reprinted in SUPER DC GIANT # S-25).

En route to the past, Tiko had briefly escaped into 1994, where, armed with futuristic technology, he terrorized Metropolis for a few hours before the Challs and a certain Man of Steel recaptured him and completed their journey home (ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN # 508).

First seen briefly in 1971's NEW GODS # 2, the Deep Six first left their mark when they killed the ocean-loving New God known as Seagrin (# 4). In # 4 and 5, Orion battled and ultimately killed Slig, whose touch could alternately mutate or disintegrate a victim. Issue # 6 introduced Jaffar (also in possession of a death-touch and also slain by Orion), Gole, Pyron, the axe-wielding Trok and the winged Shaligo. The remainder of the Deep Six was destroyed in a fiery conflagration.

A resurrected Jaffar and Slig returned in NEW GODS # 13 (1977) and, once more, Slig died at Orion's hands. In the Deep Six entry in WHO'S WHO '85 # 6, Pyron was misidentified as Kurin.

Aside from a one-panel cameo in NEW GODS (1989 series) # 17, the group didn't return until 1995's AQUAMAN # 6-8, wherein Peter David finally explained the aquatic marauders' durability. At one point, Trok ejected something from his chest that Slig describeed as "spawns of ourselves. It's how we perpetuate. Our forebears were slaughtered by the mad dog Orion ... but not before we were spawned into a chamber similar to this. We are the first Deep Six to grow in this world. Hence we're very attuned to it."

The sextet has subsequently appeared along with the other Apokolips baddies in UNLIMITED ACCESS # 2-4 (1998). Just recently, they showed up in SUPERMEN OF AMERICA # 2, where Shaligo failed to appear but the heretofore non-existent Kurin DID! Yikes!

The Legion of Super-Heroes first encountered the Luck Lords on the planet Thaun, exposing them as aliens who used scientific trickery to terrorize the world into a superstitious frenzy (ADVENTURE COMICS # 343). The true Luck Lords were from Ventura, immortal mystics garbed in green robes with a single large eyeball representing their head (LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES (1984 series) # 44-45). As explained in WHO'S WHO IN THE LEGION # 4, they "gather the power of chaotic chance against the constant scientific power" for their own purposes.

In current continuity, the power level of the Luck Lords is unknown but they are much more commonly known and accessible to the public, based on brief appearances in LSH (current series) # 100, 102 and LEGIONNAIRES # 70.

Nationalistic scientist Harold Melrose launched his Power Elite project with the intention of creating a group of "real red-blooded American heroes." The Stellaron-5 satellite would focus a concentrated beam of solar radiation on a sextet of individuals and, hopefully, transform them into metahumans. Instead, a chance interception with "space junk" destroyed the satellite and redirected the bulk of its energy towards Colorado, where a man named Will Payton took the full force of the beam -- and was transformed into Starman (STARMAN (first series) # 1).

Though deprived of the full-effects of the solar energy, the six men and women still gained unique powers and abilities. The Power Elite included Dennis Blake (emits concussion blasts), Frank Donovan (fires plasma flame from his hands), Stanley Hale (levitates himself and objects around him), Olivia Hardy (super-strength), Samantha Morgan (capable of altering her mass and appearance to anything from a little girl to a hulking giant) and David Winters (emits radiation bolts from his eyes). Melrose soon determined that the new hero known as Starman must have received the powers that were meant for his team and plans were put into motion to capture him (# 2-3).

Ambushed by the Power Elite, Starman was indeed taken captive (# 4) but an alien invasion disrupted the plot. A Durlan spy within Melrose's inner circle discovered that their captive was nothing less than "a living star" and smuggled Starman to the armada. The scheme collapsed when the Durlan was captured by Melrose's security forces and Starman escaped his alien jailers (# 5).

David Winters convinced Melrose to drug the Durlan and unleash him in Salt Lake City, thus providing the team with a flamboyant foe to defeat in their first public appearance. Aware that some of the team might object (notably Frank, Stan and Olivia), the Elite was officially told that the Durlan had escaped.

Viewing news coverage of the Durlan's recapture, Starman headed for Utah, intent on a rematch with the Elite, but once again, fate intervened. In the midst of the battle, a Dominion Gene Bomb was detonated and the Power Elite was rendered comatose (# 6; INVASION! # 3). Melrose spirited the sextet back to his base, the Hutchings Institute (# 7), but eventually realized that, while the group could be revived with concentrated solar energy, he couldn't generate with his own equipment. He needed Starman.

A suspicious Starman was contacted and convinced that the Melrose and Elite that he fought had been either Durlans or dupes. The energy that Payton funnelled into the sextet revived the team but Winters refused to leave the energizer, determined to absorb all the power he could get. Instead, his body exploded as Starman escaped from the power-siphon (# 11).

A full-scale battle ensued that took another life when Dennis Blake's concussion blasts brought down the ceiling on him. Frank Donovan finally realized the full extent of Melrose's evil and turned him over to the authorities before returning to the collapsing Hutchings Institute. Reduced to a crater, the site yielded only one body, that of Dennis Blake. The whereabouts of Frank, Stan, Olivia and Samantha remain unknown (# 12). Melrose eventually allied himself with an even more paranoid fringe group (# 19-20), who gunned him down when his vendetta against Starman wrecked their plans (# 29).

When Star City's newspaper, the Daily Star, was threatened with a buyout by media giant Morris Burdick, a demonic entity known as the Printer's Devil appeared on the premises. Dressed in a red and black costume with a blue cape, he came complete with a ram's head mask and large red eyes -- and a trident that fired flame darts. Green Arrow ultimately unmasked him as Tommy Doyle, a sports writer at the paper. Doyle hoped that Burdick would think twice about buying a media outlet under siege -- and he was right. Burdick abandoned his plans to buy the Star ... and Tommy went to jail(DETECTIVE # 539-540).

A few months later, Doyle (out on bail) came face to face with the Printer's Devil. His successor had forced Tommy to provide him with a spare costume and weapon, which he used to initiate an attack at the Star City World's Fair. The new Devil "lost a printing contract here when the Fair passed my 'hot type' machines by for faster 'cold type' ones" and he joined others "ruined" by the Fair (Pinball Wizard and Bad Penny) in seeking revenge. The inexperienced Printer's Devil was quickly wrapped in one of GA's bola arrows and left hanging (DETECTIVE # 543-544) while the rest of the troupe was brought to justice (# 545).

The members of the Bat-Squad were three British citizens who joined forces to help Batman in BRAVE & BOLD # 92. They were Major Dabney, Margo Cantrell and Mick Murdock.

Rima wasn't created by DC but she wasn't technically licensed either. She was a public domain character from William Henry Hudson's 1904 novel, "Green Mansions." And, yes, Rima did appear in some epidodes of the SUPER FRIENDS cartoon (even though she was actually based in the early 20th Century).

Samurai showed up in DC's third SUPER POWERS mini-series, four issues that appeared in 1986. History professor Toshio Eto was transformed into Samurai (and archaeologist Ashley Halberstam into the Golden Pharaoh) thanks to a super-hero project initiated on New Genesis designed to create an opposition force to prevent Darkseid's return to Apokolips.

I require information on one crappy villain.

SNAFU.

Please.

Created by Bob Rozakis, Snafu's name was based on a paraphrase of the wartime expression "Situation Normal, All Fouled Up." He was one Bartholomew Higgins, a man garbed in a garish costume and an assortment of lights and noise-making mechanisms, all designed to disorient his victims. He picked crowded areas like shopping centers and stadiums as his ideal targets. Man-Bat defeated him in one of his first cases in New York City by drowning out the sound effects with his bat-cry and closing his eyes to the lights, using his sonar to follow him (BATMAN FAMILY # 11, 1977).

On a return engagement, Snafu tried to counter Man-Bat's sonar with technological enhancements but Kirk Langstrom's acute hearing came through and Higgins was defeated again (BATMAN FAMILY # 18-19, 1978).

Rozakis brought back Snafu for a final outing in HERO HOTLINE # 3 (1989), complete with a redesigned look by Stephen DeStefano and computer enhanced color effects. This time, the villain was defeated when Voice-Over threw Snafu's sound effects back at him.

I'll leave Thriller for someone else. Don't have all the issues.

Hi there.

Just wanted you all to know that I haven't forgotten you. I've just been without my PC for almost 3 weeks now and I'm not sure when I'm gonna get it back as there are still some problems with my DVD drive.

Anyway, I'll be looking forward to joining this thread and joining the fun as soon as I get back online (this is written at work)

See ya.

Hi Tenz. You know you're always welcome here.

This list grows and shrinks all the time. A few unanswered questions:

16. SR 12: I still don't know who this is - only heard his/her/its "names" somewhere. I think it is an alien from the Silver Age. A Green Lantern, maybe?
17. Teutonic Knight?
41. The Luck League: thanks for the Luck Lords info, Mikishawm, but those were not the ones I meant. The Luck League was another Silver Age villain group. JLA baddies, maybe? I'm not sure.
59. Snafu: sounds like a great villain. I'm all for his return.
60. Thriller: I know she was a Robert Loren Fleming / Trevor von Eeden character in a monthly from the early 80s, but not much more. Can anyone fill us in here?

I didn't think this would happen but I'm actually running out of characters that I'm wondering about. However, I was able to squeeze out ten more. Anyone up for the challenge?

61. the Arcana (JLI baddies)
62. the Argent (the government team led by Control of the O.S.S. Members? Were they created by John Ostrander or did they exist before the Suicide Squad?)
63. Armstrong of the Army (golden age)
64. Bob Colby & Jim Boone (banes of the Faceless Hunter)
65. the Dead Detective (?)
66. the Endless One (timestream guardian from JLofA)
67. Fireman Farell & the Firefighters (Showcase)
68. Silver Fog (the Harlan Ellson villain from "Dial H for Hero")
69. Sky Dogs (?)
70. Wayne Clifford (All-Out War)

/ola

Since no one else has asked..As a wee lad I was one of a dozen or so people who read the JEMM, SON OF SATURN maxi series. Or almost. For some reason I stopped at issue 8. Can anyone give me the basic jist of the series and how it ended? If not I understand but thanks in advance anyway.

Created by Todd Klein and illustrated by Mike Chen and Joe Del Beato, "Arcana" centered around the Perrys, an eccentric family of mystics in a New Jersey suburb (NEW TALENT SHOWCASE # 12). They included the elderly Oren and Thalia, middle-aged Whelan the Magnificent (with the traditional tuxedo and razor-thin mustache), young Anastasia (or Nasti) and the family dog, Barkis, a sheep dog-esque creature that fired red force bolts from his eyes. In the first story, young Tom Hawthorne, visiting his grandparents for the summer, entered the Perry property on a dare and was given a tour by Nasti. It was hinted that Tom's grandfather (his namesake) had dealings with the Perrys in his youth and, indeed, he was quite interested in his grandson's visit when young Tom returned home.

Peering through the window, Thalia wondered, "Is he the one, Oren ? The one to release us from our long exile ?"

"Only time will tell, sister ... but I certainly hope so."

The creation of Gerard Jones, the Arcana were mysterious power-brokers who loved to manipulate the major players of the world. Card terminology was abundant but no connection with the Royal Flush Gang was ever established.

JUSTICE LEAGUE AMERICA # 94 found Maxwell Lord hospitalized, diagnosed with a swiftly- growing malignancy attached to his cerebrum. "With proper treatment," a doctor tells him, "we should be able to keep you alive, perhaps until the malignancy can be stopped. But...you won't have a mind anymore." Elsewhere, listening via a wiretap, a man places a phone call: "Queen. This is Nine. We may need to find a new Three."

Soon after, a cloaked figure (later revealed as the Kilg%re) materializes in Max's hospital room, offering "a way for your consciousness, for your will, to survive." As Fire reaches the hospital, she learns that Max has just died (JLA # 95) and Leaguers past and present turn out for the funeral.

Elsewhere, Max is revealed to have been a member of the Arcana (# 96), having joined soon after the events of JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL # 11-12 (see JUSTICE LEAGUE AMERICA ANNUAL # 9). The Arcana moves quickly to induce Blue Devil to join the JLA, thus becoming their new set of eyes in the League (# 97-98).

Kilg%re finds an appropriate vessel for Max's mind in # 98, revealed (to the reader but not the League) in issue # 100 to be the body of Lord Havok. As Havok, Lord moves todestroy the Arcana. Arriving in human fo rm at their headquarters, Lord/Havok announces that "Maxwell Lord always does things his own way. Just like I'm taking over the Arcana...my own way" (JLA # 111). Alerted by Havok that the League is headed their way, the Arcana begs him to save them. Havok responds by having his agent (the brother of the man killed at the U.N. back in JUSTICE LEAGUE # 1) blow up the group and its headquarters. "I think we'll have no more opposition from the Arcana," says Havok. "It will be ours to use. The aces are no longer high. There's a joker in the deck...and the Joker's wild"(# 113).

Arriving on the scene, the League finds no sign of life but Flash spots "the source of the signal! And it's marked ... Lord Enterprises ?!"

The Arcana appeared in JUSTICE LEAGUE AMERICA # 94-97, 101, 104-105, 110 (mention), 111, 113 and ANNUAL # 9.

Argent, the successor to the O.S.S., was created in 1951 and partially made up of members of that organization, including Falcon, Fleur, "Iron" Munro, Phantom Lady I, and a woman resembling Dina, the deceased wife of O.S.S.'s leader, Control. Argent was the civilian branch of Task Force X I, intended to deal with metahuman threats once handled by the recently-disbanded Justice Society. The original Suicide Squad covered international situations (SECRET ORIGINS # 14).

After confronting and arranging the murder of a government official indirectly responsible for the assassination of President Kennedy, Control ordered all records of Argent destroyed and pulled the organization deeply undercover. Following Control's death, his granddaughter began operating in his name, fearing that news of his demise would damage the group's already dwindling membership. With only six members left, the group retired after a confrontation with the third incarnation of the Suicide Squad (SUICIDE SQUAD ANNUAL # 1).

Argent appeared in DAMAGE # 11, MANHUNTER (1988 series) # 6, SECRET ORIGINS # 14 and SUICIDE SQUAD ANNUAL # 1.

Affiliated with United States Intelligence, Armstrong of the Army spent the final months prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor capturing saboteurs and tracking down new scientific discoveries that could be adapted for military purposes. He was in STAR SPANGLED COMICS # 1-6, the first five episodes of which were illustrated by Ed Moore, blessed with a simple, clean art style influenced by Roy Crane.

Highway patrolmen Bob Colby and Jim Boone helped the alien manhunter Klee Pan thwart the Faceless Creature From Saturn on three occasions between 1960 and 1963 (STRANGE ADVENTURES # 124, 142 and 153) and were rewarded with telepathic powers that they chose to conceal for future strategic value.

The creation of John Ostrander and William Messner-Loebs, Croak McCraw, the Dead Detective, was a corpse with a bullet in the center of his forehead and eyes wide open, still seated at a desk in his office. He delivered an internal monologue in his head even as all manner of bizarre events took place around him. By the end of the third installment, the Earth had been destroyed and McCraw was floating amidst the debris. In the finale, McCraw was escorted into Heaven and slapped into a seat next to Santa Claus. This weirdness can be found in 1988 and 1989's WASTELAND # 8, 12, 17 and 18.

Fred Farrell, Jr. was the son of a famed Center City firefighter. Fred, Sr. had died (apparently of smoke inhalation) when his son was a boy and the youngster vowed to honor his father in his chosen profession. Joining the Center City Fire Department in 1956, young Fred was quickly regarded as a heroic figure in the mold of his father (SHOWCASE # 1, by Arnold Drake and John Prentice). Fireman Farrell showed up again briefly in 1978 on two occasions (SHOWCASE # 100 and BATMAN # 305) and returned for another cameo in CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS # 7. In current DCU history, Fred is part of the Metropolis Fire Department (ACTION # 693 and BATMAN & SUPERMAN: WORLD'S FINEST # 4).

In the first issue of Gerry Conway's ongoing run of JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA (# 151, in 1978), Amos Fortune captured Wonder Woman and used her magic-based powers with his "Wheel of Misfortune" to influence the lives of the seven luckiest people on Earth, all born on the seventh day of the seventh month in different years (presumably ending in seven). The end result was the creation of seven super-beings, all of whom gained their power at the expense of individual Justice Leaguers, and were immediately forced into villainy at Fortune's command. The Justice League seemed destined for defeat until Wonder Woman's hypnotic powers coerced Fortune into freeing her, tipping the balance of luck back to the good.

The Luck League included the Acrobat (powers stolen from Batman), Cyclone (Red Tornado), the Crier (Black Canary), the Racer a.k.a. Lord Arthur Arthurson (the Flash), the Shrinking Man (the Atom), Strongman (Superman) and Water King (Aquaman).

Created by 46-year-old Harlan Ellison of Sherman Oaks, CA, the Silver Fog was one of the earliest villains to appear in Marv Wolfman and Carmine Infantino's 1980 "Dial 'H' For Hero" revival. Basically, Sam Toth was a scientist who tested a particle accelerator on himself and transformed himself into ... a silver fog. With great effort, he could regain solid form but he was quickly beginning to fade away. Toth turned to crime to find a cure, a development that brought him into contact with Chris King (as Captain Electron), whose energy powers unwittingly cured the grateful Toth (ADVENTURE COMICS # 479).

Toth's assistant, Edward Arling, later used the same technology to become the second Silver Fog but quickly became disgusted with life as a super-villain when he found himself in competition with the Gentleman Ghost and I.Q. and opposed by the Teen Titans (NEW TEEN TITANS (second series) # 40).

Arling's son, Nelson, adapted the concept for himself, creating a being of living fog that was manipulated by a control box. The third Silver Fog was defeated by Impulse (IMPULSE # 51).

L.B. Kellogg and Tom Mandrake's Sky Dogs were led by Captain Geoffrey Hawke, Mullah Ka Kwaja and Ndemba, pirates who travelled aboard a flying ship called the Moonjammer and preyed on brigands who looted the innocent. The secret of the craft's flight came from the magician Mullah Ka Kwaja. Princess Zelaleddin launched the Sky Dogs on a quest for the Seven Jewels of Power, which were also sought by the infamous Captain Kidd. Waiting in the wings for one of the pirates to collect all seven gems was the evil sorcerer Melin (NEW TALENT SHOWCASE # 1 and 2).

Fifty years in the future, an accident integrated the bodies of Angeline Marietta Salvotini Thriller and her husband, Edward. According to WHO'S WHO '87 # 23, she "gained the power to become part of any inanimate object and control it. She can cause her face to appear on an object, or in the sky. The only living beings she can become part of are her twin brother Tony and the artificially created Beaker Parish. Angeline can take mental control of Tony's body and transform it into a duplicate of her original body. " She "can also see glimpses of possible future events."

Angeline was assisted by the Seven Seconds, who were Crackerjack, Data (Fred Martin), Dan Grove, Beaker Parish, Proxy (Robert Furrillo), Salvo (Tony Salvotini) and White Satin (Janet Valentine).

THRILLER was created by Robert Loren Fleming and Trevor Von Eedon, who produced the first seven issues before the series was abruptly handed over to Bill DuBay and Alex Nino. They remained on the book until it ended with # 12.

Created by Gardner Fox and illustrated by Mike Sekowsky, the Timeless Ones were benevolent blue-skinned immortals who freed Earth from the rule of Abnegazar, Rath and Ghast "close to a billion years ago" and imprisoned the Three Demons in unique prisons (JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA # 10). The Timeless Ones existed in the 30th Century as wraiths on the planet Gendyx, where they had become "too far removed from humanity to understand -- or care" about the plight of mortals (SUPERBOY & THE LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES # 233).

Cary Burkett and Jerry Grandenetti's Wayne Clifford (of "Dateline: Frontline") was an American war correspondent whose adventures took place in a variety of venues over the course of 1940-1942 (MEN OF WAR # 4-6, 9-11, 21-23 and UNKNOWN SOLDIER # 243-245 and 254-256). In his final appearance, Clifford was forced to endure the horror of the Bataan Death March, escaping with his life thanks to a handful of soldiers.

Thank you, Mikishawmn. You keep spoiling me, and I keep demanding.

Seriously, It's getting harder to think of characters I want to know more about. However, I'll try to make it an even 100 (that is, if anyone still wants to do this).

Here are the next ten:

71. Bob the Galactic Bum? (I know it's some sort of Lobo spinoff, but what's the story?)
72. Doctor Seven?
73. Fargo Kid?
74. Gadgeteer?
75. The Green Glob? (I know roughly what this was, but some more info would be great)
76. The Knights of the Galaxy? (these ones I know, but I wonder whether there were more recurring members than Artho, Ora, and Lyle?)
77. The Planeteers? (see above - just want to know a little about Tommy Tomorrow's team members)
78. Legion of the Weird?
79. Lightning Master?
80. Master Electrician?

Just twenty more. Then I'll be satisfied.

/ola

I'm back in for a round!:

Gadgeteer was a [Commander] Steel foe from the 70s, but I'm going to do....

The Lightning Master!

Dressed in a green robe and hood, LM first appeared in SUPERMAN #14, Jan/Feb. 1942. He was a typical mad scientist (and bald, to boot!) who had an extortion plot going (He wanted $300,000(!)). As these things must go, he captures Lois but is confronted by Superman, who electrocutes him!!

LM has no powers, but a lightning machine and a lightning bolt gun. No real name is given.

In ALL-STAR SQUADRON ANNUAL #2, 1983; LM is revealed to be alive, Supes having only shocked him into unconsciousness, (though he was clearly meant to have been killed in the original story) and is one of Ian Karkull's goons, out to kill a future U.S. President. This time, Supes and Johnny Thunder thwart him.

Lightning Master hasn't been seen again, I think, but is mentioned around ALL-STAR SQUADRON #52 as being in jail. Hope this helps.

P.S.:

Talking of obscure characters, I'm suprised no-one's mentioned those loser villainesses from Poison Ivy's first appearance, y'know the Silken Spider and co.!

I don't have time to cover everyone yet but I thought I'd check in with a couple:

The Fargo Kid was Tim Turner, who operated in the 1940s and rode a horse named King. He was in FEATURE COMICS # 47-63 (1941-1942).

Based on the Knights of the Galaxy stories that I've read, Artho, Ora and Lyle were the only members named. The group was in MYSTERY IN SPACE # 1-8, the last three episodes of which were reprinted in PULP FICTION LIBRARY: MYSTERY IN SPACE, DC SUPER-STARS # 2 and JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA # 85, respectively.

The Knights were mentioned in TWILIGHT # 1, no longer a part of DC continuity, and popped up in that great issue of STARMAN (# 55) that appeared last year.

The Green Glob was an invisible cloud of energy that singled out individuals for strange experiences. Sometimes the people were granted temporary powers, other times thrust into other times or dimensions. The Glob appeared in TALES OF THE UNEXPECTED # 83-98, 100, 102 and 103 (1964-1967). George Roussos drew every episode but the last, which was by Bernard Baily.

Phil Foglio's 1991 ANGEL AND THE APE mini-series provided the Glob's origin: It was created by the Guardians of the Universe and "capable of warping the very nature of reality ... in order to teach a lesson." The Glob fell into the hands of Gorilla Grodd (# 3) but, with the aid of Sam Simeon, the entity was freed, proclaiming repeatedly that "I have transcended my programming!" (# 4)

In the admitted handful of Tommy Tomorrow stories that I've read, Brent Wood was the only regular among the Planeteers. The SHOWCASE series (# 41, 42, 44, 46, 47) set in Tommy's early days with the force paired him up with the blue-skinned Venusian Lon Vurian, whose father was Commander of Venus' Planeteers.

The Master Electrician wreaked havoc with machinery within Midway City, enabling him and his gang to loot the metropolis' bank. As further protection, he used artificial lightning to render them invisible. Though hampered by Mavis Trent in the guise of Hawkgirl, Hawkman managed to defeat the villains (MYSTERY IN SPACE # 88, due to be reprinted soon in HAWKMAN ARCHIVES).

More to come!

Ola:

Seeing that you're getting lots of great obscure DC info, does that mean I'll be seeing lots of new profiles for the Guide soon?

If only I could enlist the help of Rich Morrissey, Mikishawm, and D. R. Black as well we could have a killer site in no time.

Mikishawm:

Do you have a database with complete listings of every appearance of all DC characters or what? If this is the case I'd very much like to hear if you'd be interested in sharing that info so that we could build the best DC resource site ever seen.

The site I have at the moment could benefit greatly from your info for the biographies as well as the continuity/appearance lists for instance. So far the site takes up about 80 MBs of space and includes 120 character profiles, almost 2000 indexed DC books among other things but it could be so much better.

Please take a look and let me know if you'd be interested in helping out in some way.

Tenz.

The Unofficial Guide to the DC Universe http://members.xoom.com/Tenzel/index.htm

Tenz:

I'll have to decline the invitation but I'm flattered by the offer. Your site IS really impressive. I'd like to put together a web site of mine some day soon but I'm so overcommitted now that I don't know when I'll have the time. As you surmised, I do have a database on all the DC characters, one that runs thousands of single-spaced pages.

Hellstone:

On with the show ...

Bob the Galactic Bum was, for lack of a better description, W.C. Fields (or, for you Superman fans, J. Wilbur Wolfingham) in space. With a bulbous red nose, battered top hat and ample belly, Bob moved from port to port, putting his own uniquely loquacious spin on every successive hardship that he and his comrade Buck Fifty encountered. Buck, who possessed a nose of Muppet-like dimensions had a vocabulary that consisted of the phrase "What ?"

In the course of 1995's four-part BOB THE GALACTIC BUM series (by Alan Grant & John Wagner and Carlos Ezquera), Bob and Buck became the only survivors of a Khund raid on a space cruiser -- save for Chazza, the so-called "idiot prince" of the planet Gazza. While Lobo (prominently featured on each cover) and Stealth searched for Chazza on behalf of the R.E.B.E.L.S., Bob made his way to the world of Gnulp, insulting and mocking Chazza's claims of royalty for the entire trip. Only at the conclusion of # 2 did the bum realize his mistake.

Helping Chazza from the pig sty where he'd left him, Bob explained that it had all been a test. "Had I helped you -- had I lifted ONE FINGER of assistance -- as was my deep desire, I can assure you -- you would have been INSTANTLY DISQUALIFIED and barred for life!" Proclaiming Chazza a "Knight of Space," Bob presented the prince with a "beautifully inscribed medal" bearing the phrase "Eat my shorts."

"What does it mean ?"

"It's CODE, sire! All will be revealed in one year's time on the anniversary of this initiation."

Bob cemented his relationship with Chazza when he met the prince's guru and challenged "this charlatan to a philosophical debate." As the staredown commenced, Bob explained that "we're conducting this battle on a higher plane. Mind against mind. I'm grappling with him now. One of my theories has just overwhelmed several of his suppositions. Stand by for further news." Predicting that the guru was "verging on total collapse," Bob distracted Chazza and knocked his opponent out cold.

Unfortunately, Bob did too good of a job. Chazza regained the throne but promptly abdicated, moved by Bob's "sacrifice" at giving up the freedom of space for life in a kingdom. "We'll roam the cosmos together, the three of us,"predicted Chazza. "Tumbleweeds adrift on the winds of space."

"I should've trusted my first instinct!" Bob moaned. "He's a king, all right -- King Piker!"

Introduced opposite the debut of Eclipso in 1963's HOUSE OF SECRETS # 61 (by Jack Miller, Mort Meskin and George Roussos), Doctor-7 was a self-styled "King of the Supernatural" who imagined occult investigator Mark Merlin to be his only competition. Visually, he bears more than a passing resemblance to the later Phantom Stranger foe Tannarak. Both wore tuxedos, sported goatees and had black hair that went up in tufts on each side of their forehead.

Initially, much of Doctor-7's reputation was founded on trickery (# 65) but he did possess genuine occult knowledge and drew a being known as the Morloo to Earth. From changing granite to gold to altering the make-up of human beings, the Morloo was an almost unstoppable threat that Merlin and Elsa Magusson narrowly succeeded in expelling from Earth on three occasions (# 67, 68, 72).

E. Nelson Bridwell plotted a supposed descendant, Lucifer Seven, into SECRETS OF THE LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES # 1 but no connection was stated in the text. The official origin (in WHO'S WHO IN THE LEGION # 4) described him as "an artificial being created by a rogue scientist ... the seventh in a series and the first successful model."

According to 1999's DCU VILLAINS SECRET FILES # 1, "Dr. 7, whose talent lies with communicating with ghosts, is rumored to have been corrupted by the great beyond."

Voted "Mister Anti-Social" by his graduating class, Roger Romane thought he'd found his niche in the Research and Development division of the Army Engineer Corps in the late 1930s. Instead, his"concept of multi-purpose tools for use by combat engineers" was met with derision and he was ejected from the military after insulting the General who dismissed his work.

Romane decided to devote his energies to stealing from the world he hated and, to that end, designed a costume lined with hidden pockets and filled with a plethora of miniaturized weapons, everything from flamethrowers to sonic disruptors to a compact hovercraft. Among the Gadgeteer's first victims in the fall of 1939 were New York Star publisher Edward Runyon and his date Kathy Kulhammer, a Congressman's daughter (STEEL, THE INDESTRUCTIBLE MAN # 3), who used their influence to convince the mystery-man known as Steel to track down the marauder on their behalf.

An off-hand reference to the "E-Corps" alerted Steel (secretly a military man named Hank Heywood) to the Gadgeteer's possible origin and a check of the Corps' files revealed Romane's name. Steel tracked down the villain at his last known address but the suicidal Gadgeteer attempted to kill them both with a grenade, vowing he'd "NEVER be taken alive!" Steel took the force of the explosion but Romane had disappeared by the time he regained consciousness (STEEL # 4).

The Legion of the Weird was composed of five beings devoted to carrying on the dark aspects of the millennia, including Count Karnak (a vampire), Hordred ("in whose veins flows the blood of the ancient Druids"), Kaftu ("master of the black arts of ancient Egypt"), Madoga ("last of the great medicine men") and Mistress Vera Wycker ("with the powers handed down to me through three centuries of witchcraft."). For her initiation into the Legion, Mistress Wycker was charged with killing Ace Morgan of the Challengers of the Unknown. She failed and, despite the efforts of the other Legionnaires to complete the task before her, the Challs tracked the team to its lair, used an ancient spell to dissolve the witch and forced the remainder of the team to flee (1968's COTU # 62, by Arnold Drake and Bob Brown).

Hours later, the Legionnaires made a pact with the demonic Om, "lord of the netherworlds" to resurrect Mistress Wycker. Now determined to destroy the Challengers, the team needed more power. To that end, Kaftu resurrected the Egyptian mummy Tukamenon, who was compelled to obey the Egyptian shaman unless he was forced to cause "the shedding of mortal blood." Hoping to override the mummy's refusal to kill, Kaftu used the ruby Eye of Osiris to put Tutkamenon fully in his power. In the ensuing battle, Red Ryan's brother, Tino Mannary, was blinded by the Eye of Osiris and Red agreed to surgery that would give one of his eye's to his sibling. While in recovery, Tino was abducted by the Legion as a stunned Red realized that "I can SEE them. With this eye, Ace! I can see everything my kid brother can see with the other one!"

The cliffhanger of # 63 would go unresolved for six months, the result of Arnold Drake's abrupt firing by DC. When the story finally resumed in COTU # 66, it was concluded by Mike Friedrich and Jack Sparling.

The Legion's mission of vengeance was now exposed as an edict from the unseen Om, whose voice bellowed that "the Challengers are a major threat to my supreme scheme!" The balance of power was upset when the Challs convinced the mummy that he'd killed them, snapping him out of the spell he was under. Tutkamenon rebelled, raging against the Legionnaires and finally collapsing, his artificial life exhausted. The rest of the Legion begged Om to rescue them and the demonic being complied, warning the Challs that "you have thwarted my plan this time! But I shall return -- and Om does not fail TWICE!"

Originally posted by Mikishawm:

That's ok. I just had to ask

Anyway, is it ok for me or Ola to use the stuff you post here on the boards for future profiles and such?

And about that database. Would it be possible for me to get my hands on that so that I could use it to sort out the continuity of the different characters featured in the Guide or should I just ask about each of the characters one by one?

Seeing that making such a database must have taken a lot of time I'd understand if you weren't interested in letting me have it. If it is this part you already declined to I'm sorry I asked again, but in case it was just that you didn't have the time or interest in participating in the actual work I would hate myself for not asking.

Anyway, if we are allowed to use any of your information you would of course be credited for your work.

Thank you once again, friends.

I started making my own DC character database (or rather, a list that will become a database) about four years ago, but it seems that this is only small potatoes compared to Mikishawm's.

Naturally, I will use the info I get here in my database for personal use, but I also want to say that I agree completely with Tenz. If you guys (Mikishawm in particular) don't want me to use this information in texts (profiles, articles, et cetera) accessable to the public eye, I won't. At least not without asking.

Time to start the next-to-last round, then:

81. Banshee (yeah...not the X-Man)
82. El Dorado (I've seen him mentioned many times on these boards, but never understood who he is)
83. Firestar
84. Mad Maestro (JSA and/or JLA baddie)
85. Mad Mod Witch
86. Masked Ranger
87. Professor Menace
88. The Thing That Cannot Die (that strange creature from THE DEMON)
89. The Three Aces (WW II heroes?)
90. Ubu (I know he's Ra's al Ghul's servant...but there have been multiple ones, haven't there?)

/ola

Hellstone,

I've recently run across something that may or may not be your

16. SR 12 ?

thingee.

Anyway, in DC SUPER-STARS #9 (Nov. 1976) there is a reprint story called "The Secret Story of Ray Gun 64!" by John Broome and Frank Giacoia. The story is a Space Museum-esque type thing where the history of a gun called the S-64. I know this may be a stretch, but since one chracter calls it an "S-64 ray gun", I could see how this could be abbreviated as SR 64. (I know you wanted SR 12, but this is the best I could do!)

Here's the low down on the SR-64; Towards the end of the 23rd century humans are able to spread thru the galaxy and conquer savage worlds. They owe it all (or at least that's what the chracters keep repeating) to the S-64, a ray gun that disintegrates anything it hits - including a Neptunian groud octopus and a Callistan dragon bat, as seen in the story.

The S-64's inventor was one Mark Saunders (wonder if he's a descender of Greg, Saunders, Speed Saunders, etc?). In 2219, Mark and his girlfriend Helen leave for Venus in hopes of testing his disintegrator prototype. Well, SR-1 fails, and so do all the rest, each numbered sequentially. Five years later, S-64 finally works and the galaxy is a better place now that people can disintegrate each other.

The numbering sequence of Mark's failed disintegrator prototypes does imply that at one time there was a SR-12. But of course, it didn't work correctly.

I don't know anything about where the story opriginally appeared, execept that there is a 1951 copyright date on the splash page. I'd guess, however, that it was an early tale from STRANGE ADVENTURES or MYSTERY IN SPACE.

SR-12 was a purple haired female alien created by Joe Kubert especially for the DC Super-Heroes Encyclopedia (c.1977). Others in this vein were Jonna Crisp, an astronaut-type; El Dragón, a Mexican with a great outfit & Ted and Teri Trapper, black detectives....
as far as I know, they never appeared in any actual comics, but seem an attempt to redress the lack of minority heroes in DC Comics to any little kids reading the encyclopaedia.

I can't believe it. I got the answer!!! Of course, it must have been you who mentioned SR 12 on these boards the first time, John. I wrote down the name because I thought the character sounded interesting, then forgot where I saw it. Thank you.

And thank you for SR-64, D.R.. More than five times as good as 12, I guess.

Now, if just someone can tell me who the hell the Teutonic Knight was...

/ola