This is the follow-up to the thread "Obscure DC Characters Questions" that's been around this board for the past months. In that thread, DC experts such as Mikishawm, Rich Morrisey, D.R. Black, and others helped me (and anyone else who had questions to ask) clear out the whats, hows, and whys, of some of the more forgotten (but not necessarily forgettable) inhabitants of the DC Universe.

More than 100 characters were explained, and that was a great and enjoyable ride in itself. But since there seems to still be an interest in the thread, and since I have more questions to ask...well, welcome to Round II. Maybe it won't be another 100 questions, but let's keep this running as long as anybody is interested.

Next ten characters (numbering continued from the earlier thread):

101. Arsenal (Nicholas Galtry)
102. Captain Invincible
103. Captain Strong
104. Davy Tenzer
105. Hercules Unbound
106. Jan Vern, Interplanetary Agent
107. Jero & Halk
108. Jim Corrigan of Earth-One
109. Super-Duper
110. Super-Hip

So, if anybody has something to say or explain about these characters that I know very little about, you're more than welcome.

If anything has anything to ask about other obscure DC characters, please do. Maybe even I will be able to help with some of them.

Come join the fun.

/ola

Oh, and here is the link to the old thread, for anyone interested: http://dcboards.warnerbros.com/files/Forum94/HTML/002273.html

/ola

Next ten characters (numbering continued from the earlier thread):

101. Arsenal (Nicholas Galtry)

Nicholas Galtry was the guardian of Garfield Logan (variously known as Beast Boy I and Changeling III). He was normally just an average (though evil and avaricious) man out to get rid of Garfield for the fortune he was next in line for; I think this was the name under which he fought Beast Boy and his friends, the original Doom Patrol. Created by Arnold Drake and Bruno Premiani.

102. Captain Invincible

This was Darryl Frye, one-time police chief of Central City. He decided to fight crime under this costumed identity, much to the amusement of his employee, the late Barry Allen (Flash II), but I don't think he ever got any farther than exercising in his basement. Created by Cary Bates and Carmine Infantino.

103. Captain Strong

Captain Horatio Strong was a non-costumed sailor who appeared in several Superman stories; he gained temporary super-strength from eating "sauncha," an alien seaweed. (As is especially clear from the names of his best friend and fiancee, J. Wellington Jones and Olivia Tallow respectively, he was a pastiche/parody of Popeye.) Created by Cary Bates and Curt Swan (with apologies to Elzie C. Segar).

104. Davy Tenzer

An apparent teenager who's actually immortal, David (the name Tenzer was a recent addition from an adoptive father) wields an old-fashioned sling and was hinted to be the source of several legendary stories, like that of David and Goliath. Created by Elliot Maggin and Mike Grell.

105. Hercules Unbound

The hero of Greek legend has, needless to say, appeared in many different incarnations at DC. This version, by Gerry Conway, Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez, and Wally Wood, wandered the devastated lands of an Earth devastated by nuclear and natural disaster, tying in with other DC features as diverse as the Atomic Knights and OMAC/Kamandi.

106. Jan Vern, Interplanetary Agent

I have to pass on this one.

107. Jero & Halk

Halk Kar, an alien traveller briefly assumed by Superman to be his brother, was the Earth-2 universe counterpart of Lar Gand (known on Earth-1 as Mon-El, and post-Crisis as Valor and M'Onel). He appeared in SUPERMAN (1st series) #80, in a story by Edmond Hamilton and Al Plastino. Jero I don't know.

108. Jim Corrigan of Earth-One

It's not at all sure there really IS a Jim Corrigan of Earth-1 who merged with The Spectre (who was the ghost of his Earth-2 counterpart) or if The Spectre simply assumed that identity while on Earth-1. They never seemed to exist separately, as Corrigan and the Spectre did on Earth-2. Possibly the Earth-1 Jim Corrigan was a black Metropolis policeman (although only his last name was ever given) who appeared in several Jimmy Olsen stories circa 1972. This Corrigan was created by John Albano and Jose Delbo.

109. Super-Duper

An artificial being materialized by small-time criminal Joe Parry, who'd gotten hold of an alien machine. S/he was a composite of several JLA members, incorporating Wonder Woman's head, Hawkman's wings, Green Lantern's power ring, and Flash's legs. S/he faded away when the machine was destroyed, only to be revived by T.O. Morrow. S/he was never shown to have any independent existence or consciousness. Created by Gardner Fox and Mike Sekowsky.

110. Super-Hip

The subconsicous, uninhibited alter ego of Tadwallader Jutefruce, a strait-laced genius student at Benedict Arnold High School who was the nephew of comedian Bob Hope (in Hope's licensed DC humor title). Super-Hip's origin I'm not familiar with, but it was probably due to one of Tad's experiments; his powers were vague but seemed to amount mostly to transfiguration and mind-over matter. Created by Arnold Drake and Bob Oksner, and not generally considered part of the DC Universe...even though he did attend the Doom Patrol wedding of Rita Farr and Steve Dayton, also written by Drake.

Waiting for Miki's input...

So, if anybody has something to say or explain about these characters that I know very little about, you're more than welcome.

Halk and Jero were actually Kris-99(?) alien sidekicks. But that's about all I know about them

Edmond Hamilton (who also created Chris KL-99) often reused names, so it's not surprising he reused that one. Aside from Halk Kar, there was Ronn Kar the flattening Neptunian in the Legion, and Batman met a Martian policeman named Roh Kar...Hamilton gave us enough Kars to fill a parking lot!

Arsenal (Nicholas Galtry) last appeared in TALES OF THE TEEN TITANS (mini) #3, where he faced Gar Logan as Beast Boy for the last time (in this story, the distain that Galtry used every time he used the "Beast Boy" name had helped convince Gar he needed a new super-moniker! (And I don't blame Geoff & Ben - it's "the powers that be...")

Garfield Logan's rotten guardian.

There's nothing I can add regarding Super-Duper, and Rich has covered as much as I could have provided on Super-Hip. As for the rest ...

Nicholas Galtry, appeared in DOOM PATROL # 100, 101, 105-107, 109 and 110 (1965-1967), losing custody of the green boy to Steve and Rita Dayton in the final issue. He didn't appear again until 1982's TALES OF THE TEEN TITANS # 3, where he attacked Beast Boy in the guise of Arsenal and revealed that he had hired an earlier Arsenal to attack the Doom Patrol (back in DP # 113).

The Captain Invincible sub-plot was just -- odd. It seemed a bit undignified for Daryl Frye. That particular arc (FLASH # 314-319) was darker than the norm (dealing with a murderous vigilante called the Eradicator) and I suppose the antics of a less-than-stellar costumed crimefighter were meant to provide some sort of balance. Frye briefly returned to his costume in # 347 and 348. Waid & Augustyn's LIFE STORY OF THE FLASH skirted over the subject of Frye altogether ("The less said ... the better.").

Captain Strong appeared in ACTION # 421, 439, 456, 566 and SUPERMAN # 361 (plus a cameo in DC CHALLENGE # 10). An unnamed dead-ringer for Strong/Popeye can be found in SUPERMAN: THE MAN OF STEEL # 72.

Davy Tenzer, modelled after Michelangelo's statue of David, followed his appearance with Green Arrow and Black Canary (ACTION # 450-452) with another Elliot S. Maggin-scripted episode in SUPERMAN FAMILY # 174. Once again, there were Biblical overtones, with Davy helping Supergirl defeat a reptilian being who might be connected to the serpent of Eden.

HERCULES UNBOUND (1975-1977) was a personal favorite of mine amongst Gerry Conway's output during the 1970s. Conway's run (# 1-6) also benefitted from the exquisite art team of Jose Luis Garcia Lopez and Wally Wood. The premise had Herc breaking free from millennia of imprisonment about a month after the outbreak of World War Three. In short order, Herc befriends a blind teenager, Kevin, and his dog, Basil (# 1). With issue # 2, the trio makes it to Paris, where they meet the rest of the series entourage -- Dave Rigg, Jennifer Monroe and Simon St. Charles.

Ares lurks in the background for the entire six issues, finally confronting Herc in # 6. In the end, they declare a truce, with Ares being granted his freedom in exchange for restoring the life to Basil (killed in # 5).

Walt Simonson pencilled the latter six issues, with inks by Wood (# 7-8) and Bob Layton (# 9-10) and Walt himself (# 11-12). David Michelinie scripted # 7-9, the last of which featured the death of Dave Rigg and revealed the approximate date that the war had begun -- October, 1986.

That, of course, had been the date established in John Broome's "Atomic Knights" series. In mid-1976, Paul Levitz had penned an article that attempted to place all of DC's apocalytic futures into a single timeline (AMAZING WORLD OF DC COMICS # 12). The Knights/Hercules connection worked just fine, since both presented a near-future society that wasn't all that different than our own. The problem was the suggestion that the pre-1986 society was the highly advanced world of OMAC and that, eventually, Kamandi would exist in that world. Indeed, HERC # 4 & 5 had even introduced humanoid animal races and mentioned their KAMANDI # 16 origin.

Unfortunately, HERC # 10 (with Cary Bates signing on as the book's final writer) tried to bring all the series together by picking up plot threads from OMAC # 8 AND featuring the Atomic Knights. By the end of issue (set in early 1987), one of the Knights (Bryndon) was dead -- despite his having survived well into the 1990s in the original series.

Even worse was the final two-parter's explanation for Kevin's mysterious powers (hinted at in Conway's run) -- he'd been killed in issue # 1 and replaced by an Anti-Ares! (AWODCC # 12 had hinted at another possibility -- Kevin's "rather extraordinary ancestry.") All in all, the final three issues were a bit of a letdown, best written off as part of Gardner Grayle's fantasy in DC COMICS PRESENTS # 57.

Conway later used Hercules in the present-day WONDER WOMAN # 259-261, dressed in the Lopez-designed outfit (Simonson had introduced a new one in # 11) though Herc was a villain in this context.

Jan Vern starred in two Gil Kane illustrated episodes in 1965's MYSTERY IN SPACE # 100 and 102, only the first of which I've read. In that one, the blonde Vern (a man, just to clarify) is an agent of Interplanetary Investigations (IPI) in our solar system's future. A master of disguise, Jan investigates various evildoers and spies and, in MIS # 100, helps free IPI's Agent X, a Sean Connery lookalike named Damos.

The Venusian scientist Jero and Martian Halk were both pink fleshed allies of Chris KL-99 in STRANGE ADVENTURES # 1-3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 15 and DC COMICS PRESENTS # 78 (though they weren't in the SECRET ORIGINS remake). Jero seemed to be of aquatic origin will a green, gilled outfit while Halk had an elongated bald cranium and wore a toga. Halk had exiled himself from Mars after accidentally damaged his world's power supply. He restored Mars' power crystal in SA # 9 (reprinted in the PULP FICTION LIBRARY collection) but chose to stay with his comrades.

Black police officer Corrigan (JIMMY OLSEN # 149, 150, 152) was rumored to have been a candidate for an Earth-One Spectre when Joe Orlando rediscovered the series in the early 1970s. Instead, Orlando went with the traditional Jim Corrigan and Jimmy Olsen's pal popped up in a couple Leo Dorfman stories (JO # 163; SUPERMAN FAMILY # 167) before going into limbo. Tony Isabella revived him in BLACK LIGHTNING # 4 and 7-9, finally officially establishing his first name as Jim. After a final appearance in WORLD'S FINEST # 260, the Metropolis cop was never seen again. (He'd be a good candidate for the SCU if you ask me.)

We're rolling again.

I'll skip the obligatory thanks this time (you all know I love you anyway) and ask the next ten instead...

111. Class of 2064
112. The Clipper
113. Forever Man
114. Interplanetary Insurance, Inc.
115. Lady Quark II (?)
116. Mr. Originality
117. Mopee (from what I've heard, his story is really something)
118. Professor Brainstorm
119. Sunburst
120. Willow (did she make more than two appearances?)

/ola

Willow was in JLofA #142 and ....what else?

I just have a moment tonight after posting my Mister Baffles bio over on the Batman board but I wanted to check in.

"Class of 2064" was one of the better strips in 1984's NEW TALENT SHOWCASE. The creation of Todd Klein, each arc focused on, as the name says, kids in the space-faring graduating class of 2064.

The first episode (# 1-3, art by Scott Hampton) introduced Chryse Bantry, Pern Muller and Tycho Kushiro as kids from the Lagrange Colony on Mars. They become involved with Free Earth terrorists, who fought on behalf of the nuclear war-ravaged humans who still lived on Earth. Issue # 7-8(art by Terry Shoemaker and Karl Kesel) spotlighted Miranda Venezia, who joined her father on Lagrange-based space tours around Mars.

A question before I go --

Is Professor Brainstorm the JLA villain otherwise known as simply Brainstorm ?

No, Professor Brainstorm was seen in MY GREATEST ADVENTURE. It might be a humor strip, but I don't know...

/ola

I'll do some checking on Professor B. In the meantime ...

"Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men ? The Shadow knows!"

"Evil is evil! The Clipper guesses! Heheheheheheh."

Unlike the better known mystery-man of the 1930s, the Clipper's chief concern was that said hearts stopped beating. "Mason," he told his kid sidekick, "The IMPORTANT thing's not if their guilty, the important thing's if their DEAD! So I need someone to hold them down while I shoot them again and again and again and again and ..." Well, you get the idea.

The story of the Clipper comes exclusively from the memory of Mason Trollbridge, a man who claimed to be the kid sidekick of the early 1930s vigilante. "I was his assistant," Mason explained. "I carried the disguise and the extra guns." They'd first met in 1931 when the Clipper saved the boy from bullies. "It impressed me that despite his rigid standards and important work, he'd been willing to stop and help a slum kid. It still does. As it turned out, he was drunk that night. But the principle still holds."

Like the Shadow, the Clipper had multiple identities (which Mason helped him keep track of) and wore a long-brimmed hat and trenchcoat, though his were brown rather than black. One account indicated that his entire face was covered by a porous blank mask (1988's FLASH # 20) while another depicted him with a bandana-style mask and a thin mustache (FLASH # 23). "Those whom he did not imprison or kill would find the tops of their ears clipped off, so they could never pass for honest men."

Not content with merely gunning down thieves and murders, the Clipper made it his business to pass judgment on anyone who committed a moral lapse. The father, mother and son that the Clipper saved from a burglar were forced to atone for their own crimes of bribery, adultery ... and breaking "Jimmy Allen's toy truck last week."

When things got too hot for him, the Clipper gave his costume and weapons to Mason and left for parts unknown. Decades later, Mason was living in a low-rent apartment in Keystone City, where he met Wally West, no stranger to life as a sidekick himself (FLASH # 20, by William Messner-Loebs and Greg LaRocque). When Mason decided to take the persona of the Clipper as his own, Wally followed close behind (FLASH # 23, by Loebs and Gordon Purcell).

It quickly became evident that Mason was just too nice to be a hard-boiled crimebuster. He negotiated a deal between a suicidal, cash-strapped thief and his victim and stopped a hold-up "because both the thugs and the victims were laughing so hard." When Wally and Mason became embroiled in a battle with Abra Kadabra, the would-be Clipper rammed his flaming car into the villain. "I though it'd be more fun," he observed, "killin' somebody that evil."

Mason mothballed the Clipper outfit but remained a staunch friend of Wally over the next few years, serving as a surrogate for the young man's own estranged father. Wally, as it turned out, filled a similar void for Mason, who hadn't seen his son, Donnie, in years. That changed in 1992 when the young man returned as a ruthless vigilante with an invisibility vest known as the Last Resort. As the name implied, he was often "the only venue for the desperate and forlorn." Father and son finally had a long overdue chat, the details of which remain private (FLASH # 59-60).

One month later, the widowed Mason proposed to Leonora McDonald and spontaneously turned the marriage ceremony of Wally's mother to Ernesto Varni into a double ceremony (FLASH # 61). With a family of his own once more, Mason soon faded out of Wally's life.

Don't know where this fits in with your numbering (and don't mean to interrupt), but I wonder if you have mentioned another Changeling other than Beast Boy--maybe you have--but I recall a Changeling from ACTION #400 (I'm pretty sure that was the issue, with a Neal Adams cover)--he was Superman's "son" (adopted) and died within that issue.

No luck yet on Professor Brainstorm but I haven't exhausted all my resources yet.

I DO have an entry for ACTION # 400's Changeling, though. Once I've wrapped up the latest list, I'll do a bio on him.

Today's bio is sponsored by Rip Hunter:

It was a discovery that would have made the 1940s coalition of scientists informally known as the Time Trust green with envy. In 1943, while trying to create an invisible warship, government scientists thrust the U.S.S. Eldridge into another plane, "the dimension of the time stream."

One of those on the scene, Doctor Reno Franklin, reported that "I was one of many who 'got stuck' as we call it -- caught in between time and NON time. Before I came out of it, I absorbed vast amounts of an energy we termed chronal radiation. Of all those who 'got stuck,' I was the only one who survived without going mad. ... We had somehow teleported the Eldridge through the time-stream from Philadelphia to Virginia and back." Throwing a veil of secrecy over the incident, the military asked Franklin to head up a braintrust to adapt the chronal energy to a new type of aircraft "which would be able to repeat that time-phasing at will."

Stationed in a hollow Utah mountain, the scientists began experimenting, creating devices that the public would describe as flying saucers. It was soon discovered that time was passing far more quickly outside the base than within. The radiation within Franklin's body "was disrupting time in the whole area". By the time Franklin encountered a trio of time travellers accidentally brought to the lab by one of the saucers, he theorized that the outside world was now in the 21st Century (1984's WARLORD # 79, by Cary Burkett, Pat Broderick and Rick Magyar).

The visitors in question were Travis Morgan, Krystovar and Shakira, three adventurers from the other-dimensional Skartaris. When they accompanied Franklin into the outside world, it soon became apparent that far more time had passed. It was now 2303 and the Earth had been ravaged by nuclear war. Joining with Franklin's forces, Morgan freed the era's future United States from tyranny and then vowed to use the time machines to prevent the war from happening in the first place (WARLORD # 80, 82-85, by Burkett, Dan Jurgens and various inkers).

The small army succeeded but was thrust far back in time as a consequence. They landed in ancient Atlantis, freeing the nation from the despot known as Lord Daamon. When Morgan, Krystovar and Shakira encountered themselves from their first passage through time (WARLORD # 79), the time-stream corrected itself and thrust the trio back to their proper era (WARLORD ANNUAL # 3).

Franklin and his fellow scientists weren't as fortunate. With their time ships leaking chronal radiation, they sought a safe location to house them and, to their astonishment, found "the same cavern where we had built the ships so far in the future! Apparently our experiments had created a unique phenomenon -- a 'rip'in the time-stream within the cavern ... so that cavern now existed outside of time -- but could be entered from and exited at any point in the time-stream, past or future. It was like a little pocket existing in all times at once -- and a perfect place to leave the ships."

The scientists joined the Atlantean community, sharing their vast scientific knowledge and inter-marrying with them. Rendered immortal by the 1943 incident, Franklin finally went into seclusion, unable to bear the deaths of his now elderly friends and companions. He learned that "with the unique nature of the cavern, existing as it does as a corridor between time and nontime, the chronal energies in my body allowed me to use it as a passageway from one time period to another. I was able to slip the physical limitations of our reality and travel the time-stream at will" (WARLORD # 86, by Burkett, Jurgens and Mike DeCarlo).

Now wearing a hooded black bodysuit, its technological enhancements stored in decorative straps on his torso, the Forever Man became a passionate observer of "the history of peoples and civilizations. "Eventually, he paid visits to Morgan's wife Tara (WARLORD # 80) and Morgan himself (# 86). Bidding them farewell, he noted that "I suppose it has become something of an obsession with me -- to view the history of man firsthand ... but after centuries of life, I find I am more comfortable as an observer than as a participant in the human race." Even today, The Forever Man remains on the fringes of the time-stream, observing those like the Linear Men, who continue to defend its integrity.

Just briefly:

Mopee is a heavenly helpmate who allegedly caused the origin of the Flash; I'm doing this off the top of my head so I don't know the issue #, but the year was 1967. Mopee also appeared in an AMBUSH BUG comic, realting how Flash fans hate the story he first appeared in because it buggered up continuity.

Surely Mr. Originality is from a "..Meanwhile" column c.1985, written by some fan. The story told of how the fan left "The House of Ideas" in search of the long departed Mr. O.. No physical appearance by said charcter....

Originally posted by Mr Know-what?:

Actually, you're MEANT to participate in this thread. I wouldn't want to be the only one benefitting from it.

So, "the other Changeling" is now No. 121 on the list.

/ola

Following up on John's post:

Mopee was a diminutive version of Julius Schwartz, with tufts of red hair on his balding head and a green robe. He was a Heavenly Helpmate, commanded by his superiors to bestow super-speed on one Earthman. Unfortunately, Mopee was supposed to use an item owned by the recipient to transfer the power -- and the chemicals that transformed Barry Allen into the Flash belonged to the Central City Police Department. Because of the technicality, Mopee returned to Earth in December of 1966 and stripped the Flash of his speed. At Barry's insistence, Mopee restored his powers after the police scientist bought duplicates of the chemicals so that the imp could replicate the accident. After Mopee had done so and returned home, Barry realized that there was still a hole in the Helpmate's story: the duplicate accident that created Kid Flash (THE FLASH # 167, by Gardner Fox, Carmine Infantino and Sid Greene).

Ultimately, the whole episode has to be written off as one of those nightmares that Barry was famous for having. One can only wonder what the newlywed Iris Allen thought when her husband talked in his sleep about THIS adventure.

As John noted, Mopee also turned up in 1984's AMBUSH BUG # 3.

The official account of Barry Allen's origin has been reaffirmed multiple times over the past three decades, most recently in Waid and Augustyn's 1997 LIFE STORY OF THE FLASH. As in SHOWCASE # 4, Barry gained super-speed after an errant bolt of lightning struck his chemical work station and doused him in its contents. The account was modified slightly to include a mention of the subject of the police scientist's scrutiny that evening, a hallucinogenic street drug named ... Mopee.

It had begun on a balmy September day when Barry Allen's lunch was interrupted by a gang of motorcyclists who assaulted a man named Andrew Rutherford in the street. As the Flash, Barry rushed the victim to an ambulance and apprehended the trio. Unknown to the hero, Rutherford had blinked out of existence a moment before the attack and was replaced by another man who, in turn, vanished from the ambulance and left bank president Michael Taylor in his place.

Meanwhile, the Flash was rushing to the Security Federal Bank, where Rutherford was supposedly locked in a vault. The only person the Scarlet Speedster found, though, was pop star Cosmo Puree, who'd materialized there in the midst of an airplane flight to Metropolis. The profit motive, at least, had finally been explained. The vault had been looted of millions! Trying to make sense of the bizarre events, Flash sped to the location of the plane, creating an updraft to catapult him into the still airborne craft. This time, he caught up with the man at the heart of the mystery. Gray at the temples and clad in a purple shirt, he vanished again -- supplanted by Arturo Basura.

"Whoever this guy is," remarked the speedster, "He's got the most original getaway gimmick I've ever seen ... which is why I think I'll dub him Mr. Originality."

Running his hands through his hair that evening, Barry found himself chastised by Iris for ruining the styling he'd just had done at Rasmussen's House of Hair. In the blink of an eye, Barry had his connection. All the men had been at the hair stylist on the same day that he'd been there. Making a quick trip to the salon, the Flash learned that only two appointments for that day had yet to become entangled in Mister O's scheme -- himself and magazine editor Julian Black (also a pen name for a certain FLASH editor named Schwartz).

Black agreed to be observed by the Scarlet Speedster for any sign of activity but, when the villain made his move, the Flash lunged too quickly, before Mister O had fully materialized. He immediately teleported to a safer location -- only to find himself in a jail cell with the Flash outside holding his belt pouch of hair.

"Far as I could tell from his confession," Barry explained to Iris, "It's a form of telekinesis -- the power to move material objects -- he recently discovered he possessed. By holding a natural part of a person's body -- like hair -- and concentrating hard -- he could switch places with that person. After mulling over how to profit from his new-found power, he decided to pull perfect crimes." Using the bits of hair from his customers at the salon, the cosmetologist launched a new career.

Having deduced much of this, the Flash had sped to jail, guaranteeing that, when Mister Originality used Barry Allen's hair, he'd end up in a cell (1975's THE FLASH # 238, by Cary Bates & Bob Rozakis, Irv Novick and Frank McLaughlin). These days, Mister O has another career -- as a prison barber.

Weird But True Factoid: The only character from this story to appear again -- sort of -- was Cosmo Puree, whose Greatest Hits ("Just $6.98!") were hawked on a late-night TV commercial in BATMAN FAMILY # 14's Man-Bat episode.

Re: Professor Brainstorm. Thanks to the Great Comics Database, I found him -- in a Hy Mankin-created feature in MY GREATEST ADVENTURE # 12 and 55 -- but I'm still no closer to doing a bio. I'll keep plugging away on this one. You've piqued my curiosity.

"The clients of Interplanetary Insurance, Inc. ranged all the way from the microscopic plant life of Mercury to the magnetic monsters of Pluto. No matter how bizarre the interplanetary life-form might be, I.I.I. was eager to insure it. The only trouble as far as agent Bert Brandon was concerned was that the supply of prospective clients had become exhausted, and he was faced with the loss of his job unless he found someone -- or something -- to insure." -- Sid Gerson, 1953's MYSTERY IN SPACE # 16 (with art by Carmine Infantino & Sy Barry).

In the pilot episode, brown-haired, spectacled Bert Brandon sold a policy to the queen of an immortal alien race called the Lullies "to the pretty premium tune of $1000 in credits a year ... We'll never have to pay off!" Almost immediately, the beings found a loophole. Although they didn't die, the Lullies DID shed bodies and take new forms. Pointing to his shell, the Lully asked "Can you prove I am the same person you sold the policy to ? Of course not! ... Since the body I once inhabited is dead, you must pay me $50,000!"

Panic-stricken that he'd bankrupt the I.I.I., Bert helped the Lullies defeat their native enemies, the Kroques, by destroying them with a heat ray. In gratitude, the queen "decided that your company does not have to pay off on our life insurance polices." Meanwhile, the seemingly-dead Kroque also owed a debt to Brandon. Thanks to the concentrated sunlight that he'd subjected them to, they were also able to evolve into Firefly People.

"So, dear boss, I.I.I. is sitting pretty with a million Lully life insurance policies, which we'll never have to pay off! And as soon as I get that raise I so richly deserve, I'll go over to the dark side and sign up my grateful friends, the Firefly People. They're immortal, too!"

Bert Brandon continued in that vein for ten issues (with Infantino assuming full art chores in # 21) before wrapping up in 1955's MIS # 25. Space Cabby (previously seen in tryouts in # 21 and 24) took its place in MIS # 26. Julius Schwartz reprinted the pilot for I.I.I. in 1969's STRANGE ADVENTURES # 218 but the tepid reaction quashed any hope of further episodes.

Hellstone (or anybody else that may be interested in obscure characters)

In the current edition of Fanzing, I wrote a proposal for an ongoing Freedom Beast series. Freedom Beast (aka Dominic Mnawe) is the successor of B'wana Beast, as seen in Morrison's ANIMAL MAN run.

If anybody's interested in learning more about either B'wana Beast or Freedom Beast, check it out at:
http://www.fanzing.com/fanzing27/brainstorm.shtml

I don't want to sound like a shameless, self promoting huckster, but I kind of would like some feedback, be it about the proposal, the history of the characters (if I got anything wrong), etc.

My proposed series also incorporates just about every other obscure DCU hero/villian based in Africa. Impala, Vixen, and Bentama (from the OUTSIDERS series - although I had to change him a little since he was implied to have been killed).

Let me know what you think....please?

The parasite would have its revenge.

After three years of incubating in the body of Captain Comet, the energy being had finally found a suitable vessel in which to culminate its life cycle. The energy-wielding L.E.G.I.O.N.naire known as Lady Quark would sustain the parasite's offspring after it completed the procreation process (LEGION '92 # 45). Instead, Quark's teammate, Phase, expelled the leach from Comet long enough to dupe the being into taking refuge in a lump of bio-matter "encoded with Quark's D.N.A." Horrified that "the cycle (was) broken," the shrieking parasite began molding the matter into a body and screamed at L.E.G.I.O.N. commander Vril Dox that "You ... have ... MURDERED meee!" (LEGION '92 # 46)

"I will turn this body into the engine of your destruction! ... You have tampered with my very existence. You've trapped a creature of pure energy and intelligence in a body of leaden flesh." Blasting into space, the Quark-based creature vowed that "I will return when the advantage is mine, Vril Dox, and KILL you!" (LEGION ''92 # 47, by Barry Kitson and Robin Smith)

Months later, a hysterical Marij'n Bek returned to L.E.G.I.O.N. headquarters on Cairn, claiming to have been struck down by Lady Quark, who then killed Captain Comet on the planet Ith'kaa (LEGION '94 # 62-63). A lucid Quark denied everything and Vril Dox found himself unable to get to the truth of the matter. He opted for a covert approach, requesting that L.E.G.I.O.N.naire Telepath secretly read Quark's mind (# 64, by Tom Peyer, Arnie Jorgensen and James Pascoe).

The truth supported Marij'n's account but offered details that she knew nothing about. The parasite had ambushed Quark en route to Ith'kaa, stealing her memories and leaving her for dead in the void of space. Comet's own telepathy had recognized "Lady Quark" for who she truly was and, therefore, he had to die as well. Unfortunately for Telepath, the new Lady Quark had sensed his mental probe and informed him that he would join Comet if he revealed anything. Reluctantly, Telepath told Vril that "Lady Quark is ... telling the truth" (# 66).

Unable to stop the parasite, Telepath attempted to curb her evil actions and asked her to intervene in a hostage situation without harming innocents. ("So you're saying, if I want to impersonate Lady Quark, I must pretend to care what happens to people ?") Her involvement in the crisis proved disastrous: She captured the kidnappers alive but the hostages perished in the process. Horrified, Telepath decided to enlist an ally and transmitted the truth about the second Lady Quark to Marij'n (# 67).

Meanwhile, Vril Dox's megalamanical son, Lyrl, had aspirations of his own and sent out a subliminally coded message to all L.E.G.I.O.N. officers that would bind them to his will. The effect failed on Quark, who imagined that it was Vril's doing and blasted into his office with the intent of murdering him. His protestations led her to read his mind and she realized that "You're telling the truth. I -- apologize" (# 69). Vril found the entire sequence of events disturbing ... including the fact that "Quark uncovered this crime by using mental powers she's not supposed to have (# 70).

Compared to Lyrl Dox, Lady Quark was the unequivocal lesser of two evils. She launched an assault on the brainwashed team and its pint-size leader but, before she could fire a blast of energy, Marij'n initiated an attack against HER.

"I know this LOOKS like Quark -- but it ISN'T. It just has her genetic CODE. And fortunately, CODES can be unravelled." Using a device that Telepath had helped her create, Marij'n fired the weapon at parasite and reduced it to dead matter (# 70). Ironically, Lady Quark's death removed the only obstacle to Lyrl Dox's own grab for power and the next several months saw his reign of terror grow before Vril Dox, the R.E.B.E.L.S., Marij'n and a still-living Captain Comet were able to restore order.

Hi Ola.

It's great to see that you decided to continue this great thread. I just love to learn more about these obscure characters that I too only have written down in my list of characters but have no real knowledge of.

I've been extremely busy lately so I haven't had the time to visit these boards, but hopefully that's about to change.

Anyway, just wanted to ask you if you've been making some profiles from the info gathered in these post cause I'm about to make a major layout change to the Guide and it would be lovely to have some new profiles to add. If you have been working on some but just haven't finished them let me know which ones and I'll see if I can do some of the others myself.

Speaking of profiles, did you ever finish that update of your 'Hell' profile or should I just use the old one?

I wish I had some info on some of the characters on your list but the only one I know something about that hasn't been discussed is Sunburst and he already has a great profile in WHO'S WHO #22.

The Who's Who profile has been modified a bit to explain his post-Crisis history. Instead of fighting Superboy he was said to have fought the Japanese hero Rising Sun. But the events of the encounter haven't been changed.

Sunburst appeared in NEW ADVENTURES OF SUPERBOY #45-47 (his origin appeared in #47) and was next seen in CRISIS #12 in which he died.

I do not know if this was ever cleared up on your last thread since I didn't read the whole thing, but Split never appeared in SUPERBOY & THE RAVERS. Split (as seen in the cards and with the same name) was a member of a group called Team Hazard that appeared in the early issues of STEEL. He was a wisecracking smart-alec with teleporting abilities. The Wolfman data I have no idea about.

There is a second Sunburst, introduced by Grant Morrison in DOOM PATROL # 26. Like his predecessor, he is a popular actor, helming Japan's most popular TV show. A news team follows him everywhere he goes. He even has his own manga (that's Japanese for "comics", if you didn't know).

Anyway, he was attacked by a strange woman for no apparent reason. ("She calmed down after I broke her arms and legs.") Speaking with a doctor at the hospital she was placed in, Sunburst found out that she has every power you haven't thought of.

As the doc put it, "The only way to strip her of her abilities is to think of all the super-powers you can. As you think of them, she loses them." She is also averse to dirt.

The two entered her padded cell, despite her protest that they're letting in dirt. Then, two villains, Sleepwalk and the Fog, approached the cell. Sunburst was bemused by the fact that Sleepwalk, was, well, walking in her sleep, and got punched through a wall. The Fog kidnapped the woman. When Sunburst attempted to stop their escape, he was attacked by the whirlwind of their ally, Frenzy.

Those three, along with the Japanese woman (christened "Quiz") and Mr. Nobody, formed the Brotherhood of Dada.

I believe that was Sunburst II's one and only appearance.

Also, the first Sunburst made a "where-are-they-when-we-need-them" appearance in a Dr. Light solo story in SHOWCASE '96 # 9.

Don't believe that's Sunburst 2. Crisis deaths don't always count.

Be wiser to consider it the original.

Tenz, I haven't finished my update of the 'Hell' bio. But I will. Soon. So maybe you shouldn't put the old one up yet. I also have additions to the "Key" (GOTHAM KNIGHTS #5), "Elongated Man" (current STARMAN issues), and "Dial H" (the SILVER AGE event) biographies.

See ya in a couple of weeks.

/ola

Kid Psychout, his show was called "The Adventures of the NEW Sunburst".

Believe it. Sunburst 2.

Is the first Lady Quark still dead?
How did the first Sunburst die? Killed by a shadow demon or something?
Did any of the Sunbursts have a real name?

/ola

Yep, the first Lady Quark is still dead.

As for Sunburst (all of 'em), I hope to have the bio posted here this evening.

The death of Japanese super-hero Sunburst during the Great Crisis was a great blow to the country that he'd defended, doubly so when it was revealed that he had also been film star Takeo Sato. The powers that Sato had exhibited on screen -- flight, bursts of flame and bright light from his hands, the ability to generate small volcanoes -- had not been special effects. Years earlier, Sato had given his own account of how this had come to be:

"It started the day of my birth -- or so I am told. You see, I was born in a tiny village, within sight of an active volcano. On the day of my birth, the volcano was belching fumes prior to an eruption. Fumes, I imagine, that I INHALED with my first breath.

"I never knew of any effect they had on me, and I grew up normally. Then, as anadult, I decided to become an actor. I won the role of a costumed super-hero in a low-budget production, and I had to learn to 'fly' on wires. It was nearly my LAST day as well, for the wires holding me in the air SNAPPED. I screamed in terror -- and next I knew, I was in FLIGHT! The studio decided to keep my powers a secret, preferring to release my super-stunts as state-of-the-art special effects" (1983's NEW ADVENTURES OF SUPERBOY # 47, by Paul Kupperberg, Alex Saviuk and Kurt Schaffenberger).

Sunburst's natural powers eventually came to the attention of criminals, who abducted Takeo's parents and blackmailed him into going on a crime spree as Sunburst. The string of robberies soon drew the attention of Superboy, who found that there was "more to (the marauder's) arsenal than mere sun-power and flight -- such as superhuman speed and agility -- an incredible hardness of body and mighty strength."

After a series of skirmishes with the Boy of Steel, Sunburst seized on a moment of concealment to reveal the extortion plot and enlist Superboy in a plan to capture the kidnappers. After his parents were rescued, Takeo related his origin to Superboy and cursed the day he'd learned of his powers.

"Maybe I can help you with that, Takeo -- since it seems the secret to your power lies in knowing how to USE it. But if I place a strong hypnotic block on that knowledge, your powers SHOULD slip back into dormancy." The plan was a success and the short career of Sunburst was brought to a close (NAOS # 45-47).

The post-CRISIS version of Sunburst's origin, according to WHO'S WHO '86 # 22, involved Japan's native hero, the Rising Sun, rather than the now non-existent Superboy.

Flash forward a dozen or so years to Iran, where a wealthy oil baron named Omar had finally discovered the origin of a jeweled globe that had been in his family for centuries. "The eternal secret of total energy" was implanted in the sphere "by a man whose name has been lost to antiquity." It was given to Omar's ancestor for safe-keeping as the forces of Alexander the Great conquered Persia in 334 B.C.

After eight years of searching, Omar learned that the globe possessed "power enough to convert the sun's solar energy into a field of force -- transforming a man into a human sunburst, and giving (him) strength enough to recreate the Persian Empire." In a burst of energy, Omar adopted an armored uniform, his exposed flesh turned blood red and his hair became a mane of fire.

En route to the United Nations to deliver an ultimatum, the flying Sunburst had a chance encounter with a distraught Aquaman, only hours after the murder of his son. The Sea King was swiftly defeated by the villain, who left him for dead in the desert. Unable to use his aquatic powers, Aquaman found a small basin of water that he rationed as he walked through the desert night. Spotting a plane on the horizon, he used a metal can to make a glare and catch the pilot's attention. "There's a certain irony here: sunlight was used to trap this man, and now, appropriately, sunlight is used to free him."

Arriving in Bakushi, Iran, Aquaman found Sunburst making new threats at an embassy. Dodging the villain's heat-vision, the Sea King declared that "my desert experience taught me a man has OTHER powers than those based in his body -- and THOSE powers -- his wit and cunning -- are the greatest powers of all!" Pulling out a mirror, Aquaman reflected Sunburst's powers back at him, burning out the solar tyrant's might (1977's DC SPECIAL SERIES # 1 -- a.k.a. "Five Star Super-Hero Spectacular" --by Gerry Conway, Dick Dillin and Jack Abel).

Within a few years, Earth -- and the universe itself -- found itself imperilled by the threat of the Anti-Monitor. Heroes from all over the globe were mobilized, including Japan's Doctor Light, the Rising Sun ... and Sunburst. Through circumstances unknown, Takeo's knowledge of using his powers had returned and he gallantly joined the defense efforts. Sunburst was killed in the skies over Tokyo, struck down by a Shadow-Demon (1985's CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS # 12, by Marv Wolfman, George Perez and Jerry Ordway).

Within months, the Sunburst name had been appropriated by a third person. Timothy Walton had designed golden body armor, complete with glider wings, that was powered by solar energy. Its defensive capabilities included bursts of force and solar energy channelled through his hands. Unfortunately for the would-be criminal mastermind, he attracted the attention of the Teen Titans almost immediately and was ultimately blasted from the sky by Starfire's own solar energy bolts.

The story might have ended there had the entire conflict not been observed by the Wildebeest. The villain stole Walton's armor, used it to kill a business rival and created a situation in which it appeared that Starfire had accidentally slain the man herself. Thanks to Nightwing's detective skills, the plot was exposed (1987's NEW TEEN TITANS # 36-37, by Wolfman, Eduardo Barreto and Romeo Tanghal). Sunburst's armor, however, was never recovered and presumably was adapted into the Wildebeest's catalog of weapons.

Meanwhile, in Japan, the legend of Sunburst was being continued by a media savvy successor, whose every action was televised on "The Adventures of The New Sunburst," described as "the country's most popular television show." Clad in a costume loosely modelled after Takeo's, the new Sunburst could channel solar energy through his hands but the full extent of his powers is unknown. In 1989, Sunburst suffered a humilating defeat at the hands of the soon-to-be Brotherhood of Dada (DOOM PATROL # 26, by Grant Morrison, Richard Case and John Nyberg).

The legend of Takeo Sato was also revisited by Paul Kupperberg in 1991's SUPERBOY # 18 (art by Jim Mooney and Kim DeMulder), set within the continuity of the live-action TV series. In this version, Takeo was a film student at Shuster University who produced and starred in the amateur production "Sunburst Over Tokyo". Takeo had discovered a talisman in Japan that granted him solar powers but members of the Yakuza tracked him to the U.S. hoping to use the amulet for themselves. Superboy defeated one of the solar-powered thugs and returned the talisman to Takeo, suggesting that the young man use the power altruistically.

Instead, the aspiring filmmaker smashed the jewel, declaring that "I picked my destiny years ago, when I decided to become a Spielberg instead of a Superboy." As the Boy of Steel began to argue that someone else could have used the talisman for good, Takeo pointed out that it could just as easily fall into evil hands.

By the earlier 21st Century, groups of freedom fighters known as Team Titans were being organized to combat the threat posed by Lord Chaos by being sent back in time. One such agent was code-named Sunburst, whose "whole team was killed in the time-transfer." On top of that, Sunburst had arrived three years earlier than intended. "All (he) could do was wait." The solar Titan could encase himself in a fiery force bubble and, like most of predecessors, was capable of generating solar blasts through his hands. In 1993, Sunburst was attacked by a Chaos-drone from the future and, despite an alliance with other factions of the Team Titans, he was ultimately killed when the robotic manhunter fired a blast into his chest (TEAM TITANS # 11-12, by Marv Wolfman & Tom Peyer, Gordon Purcell & Frank Turner and Dave Simons).

A final Sunburst didn't appear until the 30th Century. In 2969, the Legion of Super-Heroes faced a man in a red suit (with black vest and boots) who held them at bay during a robbery at the Metropolis Mint. The costume was lined with super-scientific devices that enabled Sunburst to "surround him(self) with an electro-magnetic force-field," generate bursts of blinding light and fire the requisite bursts of solar radiation. The villain was finally apprehended when he was blinded by Shadow Lass.

Unknown to the Legion, Shadow Lass was being impersonated by Uli Algor, who was working in tandem with Sunburst to convince the team that she was for real as a prelude to stealing the secrets of the LSH. Shady's boy friend, Mon-El, discovered the switch and brought the mimic to justice (1969's ACTION COMICS # 379, by E. Nelson Bridwell, Win Mortimer and Murphy Anderson).

Summing up, we've discussed:

Sunburst I (Takeo Sato): NEW ADVENTURES OF SUPERBOY # 45

Sunburst II (Omar ?): DC SPECIAL SERIES # 1

Sunburst III (Timothy Walton): NEW TEEN TITANS (second series) # 36

Sunburst IV: DOOM PATROL # 26

Sunburst V: TEAM TITANS # 11

Sunburst VI: ACTION COMICS # 379

Hope this was worth the wait.

She came from outer space ... but she was born on Earth. The woman with green flesh, hair and antennae had been forced to make a crash landing in the ocean when her spacecraft was fired upon by a being known as the Construct. She'd been en route to find the only being on Earth who could protect her and found him as part of a trio composed of Aquaman, the Atom and the Elongated Man.

The telepathic woman in the lavender body suit and wine cape identified herself to the Justice Leaguers as Willow and begged them to take her to Atlantis. "We must not be above water at all! The Construct's domain is the air."

The answers that the heroes received in Atlantis proved no less cryptic. Willow would only respond that "this-one has come from a place she must not name, to reach a place no man must know." Her enemy, the Construct, was clearly a threat worth opposing, however, and he broke into the Atlantean communication network with a promise to "destroy every human creature in Miami, Florida" if the woman was not turned over to him.

Willow requested that Aquaman and the Elongated Man defend Miami while she continue her journey with the Atom. Privately, the other two men believed that the Tiny Titan wasn't up to the job but, given his recent bout with low self- esteem, they kept their opinions to themselves. The Atom's assessment of himself wasn't helped when Willow displayed a stunning expertise of the martial arts in the course of their journey.

Arriving at an uncharted island, Willow was attacked by the Construct. The robotic assimilation of Earth's electronic signals considered himself the harbinger of a new era, one in complete opposition to the promise of life represented by Willow. She urged the Atom to "shrink to the size of a true atom" and destroy the creature from within. The gambit was a success and the Construct's form exploded.

"This-one knew from the beginning what evil force had grown up to oppose her since she left Earth -- and the sole means of overcoming it. Neither Aquaman nor Elongated Man -- nor she herself -- could oppose the Construct on his own airwaves. Only YOU could do that, Atom. This-one was attempting to reach you when the cannons first attacked her, over the ocean."

Willow explained that she had left Earth, taken a mate and become pregnant. "The lure of the stars paled, as the Earth called out for its daughter. In the end, she has come home to the nest. Here, where no one will disturb her, she will birth her child."

She assured the Atom that, even if the Construct were to reform himself, "it will not know of Willow and her island. ... Already, YOU know more than ANY MAN should. You will keep my secret, Ray Palmer ? You will give this-one her chance for happiness -- and ask no more questions ?"

"Willow, I ... I ... I will!"

"Then, farewell," she said, kissing his bowed head, " ... forever."

Reunited with Aquaman and Elongated Man, who'd stopped the Construct's forces, the Atom held his tongue. "To ALL their questions, now and in the days to come, the little man with the big secret just smiles a smile to match" (1977's JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA # 142, by Steve Englehart, Dick Dillin and Frank McLaughlin).

In another universe, Willow had been known as Mantis (AVENGERS # 112-135). After becoming the Celestial Madonna, she took an alien plant being of the Cotati as her mate and evolved to a higher state of existence. The object was to create a child that straddled the lines between "flora and fauna, plant and animal" (1974's GIANT-SIZE AVENGERS # 4).

After leaving Marvel for DC in the mid-1970s, Steve Englehart recalled in Fantaco's AVENGERS CHRONICLES (1982) that fans were asking if this meant Mantis would never be seen again. "Feeling playful, and feeling organic as always, I decided to bring her back, in THE JUSTICE LEAGUE, complete with a disclaimer to the Atom and Aquaman: 'I can't tell you who I am. If anybody knew I was back on Earth, we'd be in big trouble!' And that went over well, and everybody knew who she was. There didn't seem to be anybody who didn't understand"other than editor Julius Schwartz "but I had explained to him what I was doing, and he said 'Okay, whatever you say!'"

While working on a Madame Xanadu mini-series about the birth of a child of evil in 1980, Englehart decided to revive Willow. "There's a sequence -- not a big one -- in that thing where the Demon -- and this in the story's previous incarnation -- or actually Jason Blood, I think goes to an island in the South Pacific and meets her, and she says, 'Yes, my name is Willow, and the gods are trying to create this child in order to combat my child who is the force of good,' and so on and so forth."

In the end, DC rejected the proposal and Englehart and Marshall Rogers ended up revamping the story. As SCORPIO ROSE, it was published by Eclipse as a three-issue arc in 1983. Issue # 2 revealed that Willow (as Lorelei) had given birth to a son and spent the last several years quietly raising the child in Connecticut.

Eventually, Englehart returned to Marvel and, with him, came Mantis. One of his assignments was a twelve-issue SILVER SURFER series that would feature Mantis and her now-seven-year-old son, Sprout. Still living a peaceful existence in Connecticut, mother and child used their powers to help the Surfer fight the Mangog. Sprout was capable of transforming himself into a mobile tree! In the end, an attraction had sprung up between the Surfer and Mantis.

Plans changed and Marvel decided that an ongoing SURFER series might be a better course of action. Working with Marshall Rogers again, Englehart eventually fit Mantis into the second draft at the end of 1987's SS # 3. In # 4, she explained that "a time of solitude has come for (Sprout), and he needs his mother not. Thus, this one reappears. And THIS time, this one lives as the Cotati do, under whatever conditions -- and she moves from world to world as surely as blood courses and sap flows."

The original version of the mid-1980s SILVER SURFER series (illustrated by John Buscema and Jack Abel) was finally published as an out-of-continuity episode in 1990's MARVEL FANFARE # 51.

Okay. I'm back.

Did you ever find out anything about this Professor Brainstorm character, Miki? I'm as curious as you are.

Meanwhile, I'll tease you with another ten characters:

First, Mr. Know-What's submission:

And how about some western comics for a change?

How's that for a challenge?

/ola

No luck on Professor Brainstorm yet but I'm still in pursuit.

It looks like this week's entries are going to be a tribute to my friend Mike Tiefenbacher, the former editor of THE COMIC READER and writer of several "Whatever Happened To..." stories in DC COMICS PRESENTS (Johnny Thunder & Madame .44, Detective Chimp & Rex the Wonder Dog, Prince Ra-Man & Mark Merlin, Rip Hunter, Star Hawkins & Automan).

Although I have a modest collection of DC westerns, Mike read them ALL on my behalf a few years back, providing me with raw data that I never could have accumulated on my own. I'll be tapping into that as I write up info on the western heroes that you asked about. On top of that, Mike also came through on very short notice with a synopsis of the first Changeling story, which I'd never read.

Feel free to offer your thanks to him. I know that I plan to!

And now, on with the show!

In 1947, no one had ever heard of a metagene, the theorized element that would trigger super-powers if the body was subjected to sufficient trauma. That surely must have been the case with Erik Razar, an inmate who was electrocuted while trying to shut down the prison power supply in an escape attempt. Instead, Razar found that he now possessed the ability to become any animal that he chose, whether it be an ape, tortoise, rhino, bird, elephant or shark.

The Changeling found himself opposed by the Flash and, in a desperate battle beneath the sea, the drowning Scarlet Speedster smashed his foe's shark-head against a rock before he could take the form of an octopus. Justifying his actions with the explanation that "it was him or me," the Flash recovered the Changeling's body so that scientists could determine what truly caused Razar's metamorphosis (FLASH COMICS # 84, art by E.E. Hibbard).

Whether Erik Razar was truly killed is unknown. His name and his powers, though would live on in years to come. In 1965, Tomar-Re, the Green Lantern of Xudar, found himself in opposition with a second Changeling, an energy-being that was the sole survivor of the world of Krastl. As a survival mechanism, the Changeling was forced to assume the guise of other beings and objects at regular intervals. After a Xudarian archeologist was left comatose when the Changeling took his form, Tomar-Re pursued the parasite to Earth.

There, Earth's GL, Hal Jordan, ascertained the being's weaknesses, notably the fact that it could only transform itself into an object that already existed. As the Changeling prepared to mimic a stuffed toy, Hal obliterated the object and the nuclear menace was trapped in its insubstantial true form, not unlike a mushroom cloud (GREEN LANTERN (second series) # 38, by Gardner Fox, Gil Kane and Sid Greene).

The 1971 death of Superman's friend, Jan Nagy, was followed by a second shock when the scientist's will made the Man of Steel the guardian of his son, Gregor. The young man reacted angrily to the news, screaming that he hated Superman. Following Gregor to his room, Superman was stunned to see him transform into a gorilla. "YOU did this to me, my guardian! YOU placed the mark of the beast on my brow ... and for that you will pay!"

As the effect wore off, Gregor revealed that his condition had been caused as a result of Metamorphon, a synthetic element created by his father. Superman rushed to prevent catastrophe when the atomic furnace containing the element ruptured. Advised that "only hydrogen can slow down and halt that runaway reaction," the Man of Steel threw the kiln into the Nagy swimming pool where, despite Superman's efforts, a nearby Gregor was affected.

He soon learned that the slightest suggestion would cause him to involuntarily take new shapes and forms. A wish to vanish turned him into an invisible man while a desire to fly from a bully transformed him into a bat. Regarding himself as a freak, Gregor became a recluse and broke up with his girlfriend, Denise.

Determined to channel Gregor's powers for good, Superman convinced the teenager to let him train him in the use of his powers. Codenamed the Changeling, Gregor soon put his talent to good use, unearthing a stolen fortune for the F.B.I. and driving away a band of poachers in Africa.

The Man of Steel's efforts seemed to have no effect and the bitter Gregor even discovered Superman's Clark Kent alias just to taunt his guardian. While tampering with switches in the Fortress of Solitude, the Changeling accidentally triggered a self-destruct mechanism in a space station and Superman was forced to make an emergency rescue.

While Superman was absent, a life-or-death call was received at the Fortress and the contrite teen wished that he had the hero's powers. On cue, the Changeling gained the power of his guardian and, wearing a Superman costume, he raced to the bottom of the sea to recover a submarine and its crew. The transformation wore off in mid-rescue and only the arrival of the genuine Man of Steel prevented total disaster.

For Gregor, though, it was too late. His body crushed by the ocean pressure, he had only enough time to gasp out his gratitude for Superman's efforts on his behalf. "At least I die -- not as a beast -- but as a man. A WHOLE man."

"Gregor ... son ..."

"You called me ... son. Thanks! I'd have been proud to have a father like you."

Dying, the Changeling made his final transformation, turning to dust in the arms of his surrogate father (ACTION COMICS # 400, by Leo Dorfman, Curt Swan and Murphy Anderson).

Elsewhere in the globe, there lurked a fourth Changeling, a European assassin and metamorph who ended his career as a free agent to join the international terrorist cell known as the Cartel. The assassin's costume consisted of a camouflage-style design against a gaudy orange background while his identity was concealed by a blank face-plate. The loud outfit belied the Changeling's unique abilities, which he used in March of 1980 to take the form and voice of a French crimelord and kidnap the man's daughter. Trailing the assassin and his partners to an undersea base, Wonder Woman ruptured the stronghold and the entire band of criminals was taken into custody (WONDER WOMAN # 268, by Gerry Conway, Jose Delbo and Vince Colletta).

And elsewhere, Garfield Logan was fighting his last battle with his former guardian and current super-villain, Nicholas Galtry. Weary of Galtry's taunting him with his Beast Boy codename, Logan told the reeling bad guy that "you've SPOILED that name for me. Now I gotta CHANGE it" (1982's TALES OF THE NEW TEEN TITANS # 3, by Marv Wolfman, George Perez and Gene Day). Reuniting with Wonder Girl and Robin in August of 1980, Logan insisted they "call me Changeling. 'Beast Boy' was for the birds, er ... no offense, Robin!" (NEW TEEN TITANS (first series) # 1, by Wolfman, Perez and Romeo Tanghal)

But that's another story

I'm babysitting my niece this evening so I'm going to cover the characters I know the least about. As noted, this data comes exclusively due to the generosity of Mike T.

Arizona Raines debuted as Arizona Ames in CRACK WESTERN # 63 (1949) but was forced to change his name almost immediately (effective with # 66), presumably because famed Western novelist Zane Grey already had a character by that name. Under his revised name, Arizona continued through CRACK # 84 (1953). He had a horse named Thunder and a kid sidekick named Spurs. Spurs' horse was Calico. Art on the strip was primarily by the renowned Reed Crandall though Paul Gustavson contributed some stories, as well.

Two-Gun Lil also appeared in CRACK WESTERN # 63-84. She was Lillian Peters and frequently joined forces with her Uncle Mike Peters (no relation to the editorial/MOTHER GOOSE & GRIM cartoonist). Art on the strip was by Pete Morisi, perhaps best known as PAM on Charlton's Thunderbolt series in the 1960s.

Rodeo Rick appeared in WESTERN COMICS # 1-27, 31-37, 39-67 and 69 (1947-1958). The creator of the character is unknown but Gardner Fox was the most prominent writer on the strip with episodes in issues # 4, 19-21, 23-27, 31-37, 39-42, 44-46, 56-67 and 69 to his credit. Also of note is a run by France Herron (# 43, 47-54). Initially illustrated by future "Anthro"-creator Howard Post (# 1-5), the art was later passed to John Lehti (# 6), Jimmy Thompson (# 7-13), Tom Cooke (# 14-39), Ramona Fradon (# 40-42), Ed Smalle, Jr. (# 43-51), Jerry Grandenetti & Joe Giella (# 52-61), Gene Colan & Bernard Sachs (# 62), Sid Greene & Bernard Sachs (# 63), Sy Barry (# 64) and Frank Giacoia (# 65-69).

In early episodes, Rick (no last name)was portrayed as a blonde with blue hat and jeans and a red shirt. By 1950, though, his appearance had stabilized and he was consistently depicted with brown hair and a white hat and shirt. He rode a horse named Comet and met the occasional "name" villain -- the Great Kazoo (# 36), the Jungle Hunter (# 47), the Black Bandana Bandit (# 65) -- amidst dozens of ordinary owlhoots of the late 1800s.

As his name indicates, Rick was a rodeo rider and a champion at that. More than one story observed that he held riding and roping records across the boards. In one cute story, Rick's stature worked against him when he learned that crooks were preying on rodeo prize-winners. The villains wouldn't strike at Rick, given his record of catching law-breakers, so he adopted an alter-ego -- the Masked Stranger -- clad in a BLACK hat and shirt (plus white domino mask) and proceeded to break his own records. Sure enough, the bandits attacked the Stranger but soon found themselves brought down by a master. After the masked man had left town, Rick returned to the rodeo circuit. At the end of the day, it was announced that he'd regained his title as "world champion cowboy."

In the final panel, Rick remarked to the reader that "catching (those bandits) wasn't half as hard as breaking all my own records TWICE in two days" (WESTERN # 58).

Everybody had better get this clear, especially DC! Lady Quark is NOT dead! Come on, you have to admit that was a lame, stupid way for her to die and I don't buy it! Bring her back man, bring her back!

For what it's worth, whatever her official status, I don't think she's dead either.

Another bio that owes its existence to Mike Tiefenbacher:

Katherine "Kit" Colby was the "girl sheriff" of Moonbow and relatively unique among Western strips in that her adventures took place in the present. Specifically those adventures occurred from 1949 to 1952 in JIMMY WAKELY # 1-13, 16-18. Art was by Carmine Infantino & Frank Giacoia in the first episode with subsequent issues pencilled by Giacoia (# 2-5), Gil Kane (# 6-10) and Irwin Hasen (# 11-13, 16-18). Bob Lander inked all of Kane's episodes and all but the last two of Hasen's.

Kit rode a horse named Whitey (referred to as Flash in # 1) and her supporting cast included her father, Judge Colby (in JW # 1, 3 and 8) and Deputy Jess Sayers (# 7-13, 18). She fought the Tumbleweed Kid in JW # 7 ("The Stranger From Sunburst Bend").

From ALL-AMERICAN WESTERN # 103 to 106 (1948-1952), Tony Barrett delivered mail and packages across the Old West aboard the Overland Coach which simultaneously thwarting bandits and solving mysteries. She rarely stopped to accept accolades, though, commenting in AAW # 112 that "I'm a working girl and the Overland Coach is behind schedule now!"

Based out of Laredo, the blonde young woman, who owned as well as drove the stagecoach, wore a buckskin shirt, blue jeans and gray gloves. Tony's brother Billy, a few years her junior, appeared in some of the earlier episodes (AAW # 105, 106). Tony fought the Salinas Kid in AAW # 118.

Frank Giacoia pencilled "Overland Coach" through AAW # 113 and Gil Kane continued for the duration of the run.

Lt. Dan Foley of the Fighting Fifth Calvary Regiment began his adventures in ALL-AMERICAN WESTERN # 103-126 (1948-1952). When that magazine was cancelled Dan joined Johnny Thunder in moving to ALL-STAR WESTERN (bumping Don Cabellero and the Roving Ranger in the process). Foley debuted in ASW # 66, Johnny in # 67. Foley remained a fixture in the book through # 115 in 1960 (missing only # 108 due to the Silver Age rewrite of Johnny's origin). The Trigger Twins made their final bows in ASW # 116 and Johnny Thunder closed out the final three issues with Super-Chief in the back-up slot.

Joe Kubert pencilled Foley for the first two years of its existence (AAW # 103-116) before handing the reins to such men as Frank Giacoia (AAW # 117, 126; ASW # 96, 99), Carmine Infantino (AAW # 118-125; ASW # 75-77), Gil Kane (ASW # 66), Irwin Hasen (ASW # 67-74, 78, 80) and Sy Barry (ASW # 82). Howard Sherman provided art for most of the series' final six years (ASW # 79, 81, 83-95, 97-98, 100-107, 109-115).

Script credits on the first few episodes are unknown so there's no identification as to who created Foley. Certainly, though, John Broome was the writer most associated with the character, generating at least 53 stories (AAW # 112-113, 115, 121, 123-126; ASW # 66, 68, 70-72, 74-80, 82-90, 92-115). Other scripters included Irv Weirstein (AAW # 106), Leo Goldsmith (AAW # 107-110), David V. Reed (AAW # 116-119), Alvin Schwartz (AAW # 120), Dave Wood (AAW # 122; ASW # 67, 69), France Herron (ASW # 73, 81) and Gardner Fox (ASW # 91).

Dan's horse was identified by name as Charger in AAW # 123 and Blaze in ASW # 94. Based at Fort Desolation, Foley reported to Colonel Henry, whose daughter Terry showed up in the early Kubert episodes (AAW # 105, 108-110) but vanished when writer Goldsmith left. Late in the run, Broome featured the Colonel's niece, Nancy, in one story (ASW # 101). Dan's partner, an Indian Scout named Wingfoot, made several appearances in ALL-AMERICAN (# 104-107, 118, 120, 121) but didn't make the move to ALL-STAR. The only other recurring character was a Broome-created inventor named Professor Phineas in ASW # 70 and 74.

Villains of note were the Highwayman (Reginald Torbin) in AAW # 104 and King Rikon in AAW # 105. The last issue of ALL-AMERICAN WESTERN (# 126) introduced a female heroine known as the Fighting Redhead.

Only one "Foley of the Fightin' 5th" story has been reprinted. The Broome-Infantino-Giella episode from AAW # 124 can be found in SUPER DC GIANT # S-15.

In what may well be the biggest bust since the Comet Kahoutek, I have details on Professor Brainstorm. I got a copy of 1961's MY GREATEST ADVENTURE # 55 today and discovered that it (and presumably the other episode in MGA # 12) is a half-page humor strip by Hy Mankin.

The Prof wears the trademark cap and gown, glasses on the end of his nose and has curly white hair and muttonchop sideburns.

In panel one, he explains that "if I don't prove my time machine works, the university will dismiss me. ... I know! I'll make a trip to 1,000,000 BC and bring back PROOF!"

The Prof climbs into a primitive metal locker while the Dean puffs that "he'll never make it! ... The machine's stopped -- let the old fool out!"

Professor Brainstorm offers the Dean a large egg as proof but the skeptic smashes it. "An egg's an egg! YOU'RE FIRED!"

In the last panel, a newborn dinosaur licks the Dean on the face.

You've gotta admit, Super-Chief will look good after this!

Humor strip, you said?

/ola

ALLEGED humor strip, anyway.

Introduced in the twilight of DC's original run in the Western genre, Super-Chief was the creation of writer Gardner Fox and artist Carmine Infantino, featured in a mere three issues of ALL-STAR WESTERN in 1960-1961 (117-119) before that title was cancelled.

"In the years before white man set foot on this continent, he was the greatest warrior and mightiest hunter of the Wolf Clan of the Nations. His name, Flying Stag, was honored and revered by his people." When the Royaneh (Supreme Chief) of the Nations died, Flying Stag was dispatched to take part in a contest to name his successor.

With the young Indian's victory a certainty, several of his rivals conspired to trap him in a pit. Unable to escape, Flying Stag prayed to Father Manitou -- the Great Spirit -- to help him. His selfless plea on his tribe's behalf and his promise to sacrifice his predestined role as Royaneh by not competing in the contest did not go unnoticed.

The voice of the Manitou declared that Flying Stag would serve him. "Your strength shall be a thousand times that of the bear -- your speed greater than the swiftest deer -- your leaping prowess beyond that of the wolf! ... From this moment on you shall be called Saganowahna -- Super-Chief! A chief above all others, even above Royanehs. And yet, so that you may aid your people, you must go to the Council House and enter the contest for Royaneh of the Nations. Yet because you have sacrificed personal glory, you shall not compete as Flying Stag -- but as Super-Chief."

At Manitou's command, Super-Chief flew from the pit, found a chunk of a meteor and fashioned an amulet that he wore around his neck. Each time the rock glowed, the hero would be granted his great powers for approximately one hour. "You will soon come to a black buffalo felled by lightning. From its hide, you shall fashion leggings moccasins, and horned mask. This shall be your garb as Super-Chief."

Inevitably, Super-Chief won the contest and saved the tribes from the vengeful trio of clan chiefs that had imprisoned him earlier. Returning to his village, Flying Stag learned that his betrothed, White Fawn, had been forbidden by her father to marry him because of his failure to participate in the tournament. "Instead," she continued, "Father says he is determined that I marry Super-Chief!"

In the final two episodes, the Native American Superman also got his own version of Jimmy Olsen, White Fawn's "bratty brother Lightfoot." During a temporal crisis, Saganowahna was pulled hundreds of years forward to July of 1985. The sight of a flying Indian and his tribesman rushing towards the space shuttle in Florida was enough to draw similarly time-displaced 1940s heroine Firebrand into action. After an extended battle, Firebrand learned that the true object of Super-Chief's attack was the being inside the shuttle -- the Ultra-Humanite (ALL-STAR SQUADRON # 54-55). With Ultra's defeat and the cessation of the time disruption, Saganowahna returned to his own time period.

Long-term exposure to the meteorite gave Super-Chief a degree of immortality, allowing him to survive more than three hundred years. When last seen, Super-Chief had succumbed to dementia and was in the custody of Bat Lash. Though no longer capable of rational speech or thoughts, Saganowahna still possessed his full complement of powers for sixty minutes of each day and used that strength to smash a crystalline menace in 1872 (1989's SWAMP THING # 85).

More than a century later, the legend of Super-Chief was revisited once more. In 1997, a young Indian came into possession of the meteorite amulet and agreed to force the residents from the town of Dry Gulch to make way for a gambling resort. Superman eventually brought the new Saganowahna to justice but the circumstances behind his acquistion of the amulet and the fate of his successor remained unrevealed (ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN ANNUAL # 9).

The first Super-Chief story was reprinted in 1971's SUPERMAN # 245 and his WHO'S WHO entry appeared in WW '86 # 22.

Obscure is right. Holy Cow.

I have a question, but, by comparison, it's an easy one. I have heard that Mark Merlin was changed in Prince Ra-Man in HOUSE OF SECRETS but I though Mark Merlin was a Golden Age feature. Are they the same?

What were his/their abilities? Where did they appear?

I guess that's really two characters I'm asking about then:

131. Mark Merlin (Golden and Silver Age or the same man?)

132. Prince Ra-Man (Mark Merlin? or someone else?)

Thanks for any replies.

Mikishawm, thanks for the Super-Chief bio. I always liked that character.

I've thought in recent years that the name of "Super-Chief" was a takeoff on the term "Super Chief" from the world of trains. Does anyone know for sure?

Are there any train aficionados out there? The term "Super Chief" is used for big locomotives in at least two Bugs Bunny cartoons which came out some years before the DC character Super-Chief debuted. In one of them, where (I think) Bugs goes out west and encounters Yosemite Sam, there is a second or two of footage showing the front of a train. The front is labeled "Super Chief" and has a logo of a muscular Indian wearing a big headdress, cape, and on his chest a Superman symbol (or Superman-like symbol).

Does anyone know if "Super Chief" was a specific company that made trains, or the name of a line or route, or just a generic name for a big train? Any help would greatly be appreciated.

I guess it puts new meaning to the term "More powerful than a locomotive...."

I meant to say that I didn't think that the real Super Chief trains actually had a logo patterned after Superman. I figure that was just a Looney Tunes gag, but I also figure there must have been a real Super Chief term or brand than inspired the gag. Thanks.

Superstone -- Thanks for the fact about the Super Chief locomotive. It's possible that it did inspire the name of the hero.

Bg -- Hopefully, Mark and the Prince will be covered here tomorrow.

As for today ...

The story of Pow-Wow Smith played out in the pages of DC's comics in reverse order, beginning in the present before moving to the past. Created by Don Cameron (who wrote at least the first six episodes) and Carmine Infantino, the Indian lawman operated in 1949-1953 from DETECTIVE COMICS # 151 to 202. Infantino left after ten episodes and Leonard Starr (# 161, 163, 175-202) and Bruno Premiani (# 162, 164-174) continued as artists on the series.

In 1953, the series was relocated to WESTERN COMICS, where Julius Schwartz replaced Jack Schiff as editor with # 43. Returning to the character he'd launched was Schwartz stalwart Infantino, who pencilled (and frequently inked) the series for the duration of its WESTERN run. France Herron scripted the first half (# 43-60) while Gardner Fox wrote the latter (# 61-85).

Pow-Wow's arrival in the book was heralded on the cover, where he became the new lead feature, bumping the previous star, the Wyoming Kid, to the back of the book. Gone altogether was the Cowboy Marshal series. With Pow-Wow's second installment (# 44), the series underwent another alteration when the locale was moved back seventy years to the 1880s.

As related in WHO'S WHO '86 # 18, "Sioux Indian brave Ohiyesa ('The Winner') left Red Deer Valley and his tribe to learn more about the world of the white man. His expert skills at tracking and handling a gun enabled him to win a job as deputy sheriff ... While still a deputy, Ohiyesa was given the name Pow-Wow Smith by some townspeople. Though he used his Indian name with the tribe, he eventually began to call himself Pow-Wow when among the white men. Once he became sheriff, Pow-Wow spent most of his time living in Elkhorn, only rarely returning to Red Deer Valley."

Gardner Fox deviated from the episodic nature of Herron's scripts and began to introduce recurring characters, the first of whom was Tony Morley, the Fadeaway Outlaw. Morley debuted in WESTERN # 62 (1957) and returned in # 73 (1958). The Fadeaway Outlaw wasn't a true super-human but used a variety of tricks and disguises to make it seem that he could vanish.

WESTERN # 73 also introduced Pow-Wow's deputy, Hank Brown, who had announced his intent to resign after he married his girl friend Sally Ann. Hank refused to leave until the Fadeaway Outlaw was in custody, much to his fiancee's chagrin. On the morning of the nuptials, the villain was captured and Pow-Wow made it to the church in time to serve as best man. Hank evidently changed his mind because he became a regular within a few issues, appearing in # 76 (mis-identified as Jim Hathaway), 77 and 79-83. Sally Ann Brown popped up in # 81.

WESTERN # 78 (1959) featured a nice story about Pow-Wow's relationship with the people of Elkhorn. Young Tommy Walters, excited about his birthday party, asked the sheriff when his own birthday was. "I'm a Sioux," Pow-Wow explained. "and we don't know the exact day we are born. The closest I can get to my birth date is -- the second day after the big buffalo kill during the Month of Shedding Ponies (approximately May) in the Year of the Plenty Buffalo."

After listening to the story, Tommy's father decided to "get in touch with the territorial governor." In short order, the entire town of Elkhorn was conspiring to hold a surprise birthday party for the sheriff. When the big day arrived, the locals were on pins and needles as each new crisis threatened to take Pow-Wow away from the festivities. When he took off in pursuit of bank robbers that evening, the townspeople despaired that he'd never return in time.

With less than fifteen minutes until midnight, Pow-Wow locked the bandits in a cell only to hear dozens of voices singing "Happy Birthday" to him. He was presented with a scroll "signed by the President and Congress of the United States" that "makes you an honorary citizen of the United States and legally declares your birthday to be May 15th from now on." For the document to be binding, it had to be presented to the recipient on his designated birthday. As two of the local men raised Pow-Wow on their shoulders, the delighted sheriff proclaimed it "the most fantastic thing that ever has happened to me -- and the most wonderful!"

A footnote added that "it wasn't until 1924 that the Federal Congress passed legislation making citizens of all Indians born within the continental limiits of the U.S.A. Until then only individual Indians or tribes had been so honored."

The final four WESTERN episodes (# 82-85) introduced Ohiyesa's fiancee, Fleetfoot. Issue # 84 expanded the family further with the introduction of Pow-Wow's twin brother, Horse Hunter. According to Sioux custom, "when twins are born, one of them is given away, to avert the anger of the evil spirits. My parents gave me to the Blackfeet to raise for their own." After seeing the sheriff's picture in a newspaper, Horse Hunter deduced what had happened and travelled to Elkhorn. Had WESTERN not been discontinued with # 85 (1960), Pow-Wow's strip might well have played with some of the same plot devices as the recently discontinued "Trigger Twins" series.

WHO'S WHO '86 # 18 revealed that Ohiyesa and Fleetfoot eventually married and that the Pow-Wow who appeared in DETECTIVE # 151-202 was their namesake descendant. "This Ohiyesa attended college in the east, then returned to Red Deer Valley, seeking to bring his tribe into the wondrous 20th Century. He too became a lawman and took the name Pow-Wow Smith, but he continued to live in Red Deer Valley."

The early 1970s saw a minor Western revival at DC and ten separate Pow-Wow Smith episodes were reprinted, most notably 1970's ALL-STAR WESTERN # 1, which was virtually a Pow-Wow solo book (reprinting WESTERN # 80 and 73). Other reprints appeared in ALL-STAR # 8, 9 and 11, DC SPECIAL # 6, SUPER DC GIANT # S-15, TRIGGER TWINS # 1 and WEIRD WESTERN # 12.

The modern-day Pow-Wow returned in 1980s DETECTIVE COMICS # 500 alongside several other crimefighters from the title's long history. The episode, by Len Wein and Jim Aparo, was a rewrite on an old Batman yarn ("The Case Batman Failed To Solve" from BATMAN # 14) in which multiple detectives joined forces to solve the murder of an associate.

Pow-Wow's 19th Century incarnation missed making an appearance in CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS but he did manage to turn up with many of DC's other 1870s Western heroes in 1991's ARMAGEDDON: THE ALIEN AGENDA # 3.

Most recently, Chuck Dixon and Eduardo Barreto featured a possibly third-generation Pow-Wow ("It's United States Marshal Smith now.") in 1997's ROBIN ANNUAL # 6. In a cute sequence, Smith astonished the modern counterpart of Nighthawk by looking at tire tracks and determining that the fugitive 20th Century Trigger Twins "came off the interstate a few miles north. '78 Cadillac Eldorado. Oklahoma plates. Stolen back in Tulsa."

"You can tell that from SIGN ?"

"It's in the Texas Rangers' report."

Pow-Wow and Nighthawk eventually ended up in Gotham, meeting Sheriff "Shotgun" Smith ("No RELATION, I reckon."), Robin and the Huntress before the Triggers were taken into custody.

In June of 1959, the Flash had his third consecutive clash with Gorilla Grodd (FLASH # 108), Superman encountered Bizarro (ACTION # 255) and Mister Mxyzptlk (SUPERMAN # 131), Batman and Robin journeyed to seventeenth-century Venice (BATMAN # 125) while Supergirl met Tommy Tomorrow in the future (ACTION # 255), Speedy began moonlighting from his regular role as Green Arrow's partner (ADVENTURE # 263), the Challengers of the Unknown thwarted "the plot to destroy Earth" (COTU # 9) and Wonder Woman quashed an alien campaign against her (WW # 108). Deep in outer space, Adam Strange defeated the robot raiders of Vor Kan (MYSTERY IN SPACE # 53) and Abin Sur embarked on what was to be his final mission as a Green Lantern (flashback in GL # 16). And, in the city of Closter, an occult investigator named Mark Merlin reassured a client that her house was NOT haunted (HOUSE OF SECRETS # 23).

In the pilot episode, Mark explained to the reader that "there are three types of cases I receive ... the most common one being 'supernatural' events which have a perfectly natural explanation." Second most frequent was "man-made ... created, as a rule, in order to perpetrate a hoax." And then there were the instances that Mark categorized in his "Question Mark File." As an example of the latter, he cited the gargantuan amoeba-like creatures that he'd fought and buried in a cavern in Ridgely Hills.

"A Mark Merlin Mystery" became a fixture in HOUSE OF SECRETS, pencilled by Mort Meskin and, with issue # 25, inked by George Roussos. For every hoax that Mark and his assistant Elsa exposed, there seemed to be ten genuine supernatural occurances that they uncovered. From other-dimensional fishmen who gave Mark temporary aquatic powers (HoS # 46) to a marauding extraterrestrial creature (HoS # 51) to condemned spirits (HoS # 62), there was never a dull moment. Mark defended himself with a variety of potions and spells, plus a "magic eye" talisman and the ability to levitate himself.

The arrival of writer Jack Miller to the series brought new details to light. In HoS # 56 (1962), Mark's uncle, the Mighty Merlin, died and the young investigator inherited his mansion on Mystery Hill. The story was altered in HoS # 58, wherein the Mighty Merlin's death was established as occuring when Mark was in college. Elsa was retroactively revealed to have been the Mighty Merlin's assistant. After his uncle was slain by the Council of Three, Mark decided to look into the case only to have the villains die of unexplained causes. Elsa speculated that the Council might have met their end through occult forces and Mark decided to make the investigation of such mysteries his life's work.

In issue # 60, Mark was caught up in sinister doings tied to the American tour of the Sarubian tomb of Pharaoh Memkata. The Pharaoh had been said to take the form of a black cat by using a charm now buried somewhere in the tomb. After the exhibit was threatened by a curse, Mark entered the transplanted burial chamber in search of the alleged charm. To his amazement, he found it -- a small cat's head with jeweled eyes.

The light of his flashlight against the jewels sent a sudden surge of energy through the investigator and Mark shook off the effects only to find himself looking down on his own body. Incredibly, his mind now inhabited the form of a black cat. Crawling onto his human body, Mark determined that "it's in a trance -- there's a heartbeat, faint and terribly slow -- but it's alive ... which means I can reverse this fantastic exchange." With Elsa impersonating Memkata's wife, Cletoma, the black cat walked towards the instigator of the would-be terrorist plot -- Sarubia's Ambassador Fazir -- and scratched out a message in their ancient tongue. When translated, it read "Fazir is the criminal. He has brought shame upon me -- Memkata."

In the aftermath, Mark kept the cat charm for himself, telling Elsa that "with magic like this, I could fight the forces of evil better than ever. But does ANY man have the right to use such great power ?" The answer, of course, was a resounding yes. With the artifact hanging around his neck, Mark entered the form of Memkata on several subsequent occasions while Elsa watched over his true body (HoS # 61, 63, 65, 68-70). Periodically, Mark even seemed capable of speaking in his feline persona (HoS # 65, 70) though this was presumably a type of telepathic projection.

HoS # 61 introduced Mark's chief nemesis, Doctor-7, a self-styled "King of the Supernatural" who imagined the occult investigator to be his only competition. Initially, much of the villain'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 Mark and Elsa narrowly succeeded in expelling from Earth on three occasions (# 67, 68, 72).

The complexion of the series began to change with 1965's HoS # 72, when original Spectre artist Bernard Baily replaced the Meskin-Roussos art team.

In HoS # 73, The Gargoyle (alias Nicholas Balko), an old foe of Mark's (though never seen previously) kidnapped Elsa and seemed to dematerialize him. In fact, Mark had been transported to the subatomic world of Ra, home to a race whose descendants came there 4,000 years earlier from Egypt. The planet orbited a hexagon-like green sun.

Informed by a scientist named Kranak and his daughter Rinah that the properties of the other-dimensional world would render him immortal -- but incapable of leaving --Mark sought a way out by using his cat charm to inhabit an obsidian statue of a cat-god. A token representing Ra's sun fell next to Mark's insensate body and exploded, imbuing him with great knowledge and mental abilities. Thanks to his new powers, Mark could finally return to Earth -- but not without losing body and soul. Instead, Kranak transformed the young man into Prince Ra-Man, modelled after a legendary ruler of the ancient Egypt. His costume included a light green shirt, dark green pants and an orange cape.

Elsa was astonished when she was rescued by the stranger with the black hair (streaked with white) and goatee. Her elation turned to grief when Prince Ra-Man informed her that Mark was gone. For reasons of his own, Ra-Man offered no further details and Elsa could only conclude that her fiance (since HoS # 68) was dead.

Although she was unaware that Ra-Man was something of a reincarnation of Mark, Elsa initially trusted the so-called Mind-Master, and accepted his claim to be the occult investigator's heir to the Mystery Hill retreat. Together they completed Mark's last case, the investigation of a supernatural fraud named Zandor Caldoz (HoS # 74), and faced foes such as the Heap (# 75), Helio, the Sun-Demon (# 76), the Vulkanti (# 77) and Lord Leopard (# 78). After learning of Bruce Gordon's connection to Eclipso, Ra-Man even fought the lunar villain twice (# 76, 79).

A wealthy dabbler in the occult named Whitney Hargrave harbored resentment of Ra-Man's clearly superior abilities for a time (HoS # 78) but eventually conceded that the Prince was the better man and became his friend (# 79). Meanwhile, Ra-Man had also discovered that he could magically travel back and forth between Earth and Ra (# 75) and made two subsequent trips there in 1966 (# 77, 80), renewing the world's dying green sun on his last journey.

The Mind-Master was primarily a powerful telekinetic though he had a certain sensitivity to the thoughts of others. He was also capable of briefly altering matter and was transported by enlarging the sun symbol from Ra into a flying disc. Significantly, Ra-Man still possessed Mark's cat charm and used it one fateful day to enter Memkata's body and defeat Doctor-7. Returning to Mystery Hill, Memkata could not locate Ra-Man's body, unwittingly hidden in one of the Mighty Merlin's trick cabinets, and he gradually began to lose his memory of his human incarnation.

Ra-Man's disappearance brought all of Elsa Magusson's old suspicions back to life and she eventually wrote a book about her experience, postulating that Mark may have been hidden by the Witness Protection Program since his "last case had brought him in contact with international crime-figures."

While foraging for food, Memkata happened to spot one of Elsa's interviews being broadcast on a TV in an appliance story window and his foggy memories were partially rekindled. The cat successfully located the woman, who used Mark's magic eye artifact to help Ra-Man communicate with her. Returning to Mystery Hill, Elsa tapped into her knowledge of the Mighty Merlin's tricks to find Ra-Man's body. The grateful prince realized that she deserved to know the truth and finally revealed the complete story of Mark's fate. Elsa's faint hope for her fiance's return had been extinguished (1981's DC COMICS PRESENTS # 32, by Mike Tiefenbacher, Alex Saviuk and Vince Colletta).

The "Whatever Happened To ... ?" episode added a few new details to the series, including Elsa's last name (Magusson) and the identity of their hometown (Cloister). The story actually represented Tiefenbacher's second draft of a Merlin/Ra-Man revival. In the original plot, rejected because it was much too long to fit into the 8 page format, the story had reached a happy ending, with Mark miraculously revived and reunited with Elsa. Instead, Tiefenbacher could only hope for a sequel in which Mark finally returned.

It wasn't to be. Instead, the profile of DC's answer to Doctor Strange had only been raised high enough to qualify him for victim status in issue # 12 of 1985's CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS. Mirroring Mark's 1962 battle with an other-dimensional shadow creature (HoS # 57), Prince Ra-Man joined the war against the Anti-Monitor's Shadow-Demons. Above New Orleans, the Egyptian prince was torn in two by the monsters. In Cloister, Elsa found herself in mourning once more.

Today Mark Merlin's name lives on through the Merlin's Lair nightclub in Midway City (DAY OF JUDGMENT # 1) but he and Ra-Man have otherwise gone unseen in the current DC Universe save for cameos in Elseworlds -- CONJURERS # 3 for Mark, DC CHALLENGE # 9 & 12 for Prince Ra-Man. 1999's DCU VILLAINS SECRET FILES # 1 briefly referred to "Dr. 7, whose talent lies with communicating with ghosts, is rumored to have been corrupted by the great beyond."

During the fifteen years between Ra-Man's appearances in HOUSE OF SECRETS and DC COMICS PRESENTS, Mark Merlin appeared in reprints in 1968's HOUSE OF MYSTERY # 174 and 1971-1972's PHANTOM STRANGER # 15, 16, 18 and 19. Although the latter reprinted the pilot (in PS # 15) and the first Memkata story (PS # 19), one can't help but ponder the missed opportunity of not running a story with Doctor-7, who was a twin to the Phantom Stranger's own foe Tannarak. And, boy, wouldn't it have been cool to see a BRAVE & BOLD with Batman and Prince Ra-Man (or Mark Merlin) taking on Catwoman ?

An extremely minor shade of an appearance of Prince Ra-Man was in the recent JSA #15. His tombstone was seen on the Fallen Heroes Graveyard on page 21.

/ola

Thanks, Mikishawm and Hellstone.

At least I know a litle more about this character now.

I think I must have confused HOUSE OF SECRETS' Mark Merlin with Fred Guardineer's Merlin from the original NATIONAL COMICS (Quality Comics Group).

Thanks for the summaries on these characters in general. Pow-Wow Smith is character I have seen stories of but this kind of mini-history really makes the characters come alive. Of course, it also makes me want to mortgage my house to buy back issues so it's not a completely good thing. But I will exercise restraint.

Thanks for posting.

I, for one, am still reading.

But I might be the only one. . .

If anyone is out there still I have a few more questions.

How about Kong the Untamed? (1970's character. I remember seeing the comic once but what was it? Was it any good?)

And I just read that there was a heroine in the Golden Age called Huntress who appeared in SENSATION COMICS. Is she the same as the villainess that later married the Sportsmaster? Who was she and how was she different from the modern DC Huntresses?

Thanks for any info.

I've put Kong and the Huntress on my agenda for the weekend. The SENSATION Huntress, by the way, was a Wildcat foe and, yes, the future wife of the Sportsmaster.

Hungry and cold, the young blonde boy passed through the snow and crept into the cave where the clan of Cro-Magnons slept. It would mean his death if any of the tribe was awakened, particularly the sadistic chieftain Trog. Luck was with the boy and he escaped with a flaming torch and a mammoth bone to act as fuel. Kong and his mother would not freeze this night.

Attu, the child's mother, was thunderstruck. "You went to the sacred fire! If Trog had CAUGHT you -- he is as the beasts! He has no heart! You know that! You knew, and STILL you went. The spirit of Kong DOES live within you. One day, you WILL be a mighty warrior. May the gods grant that you may LIVE to see that day."

One of several non-super-hero titles launched in 1975, KONG THE UNTAMED came from the editorial office of Joe Orlando. The text page in issue # 1 related the short-lived run of ANTHRO from the late 1960s and observed that "the fall 1974 TV schedule proved that cavemen and prehistoric monsters are back in fashion, so we decided it was time to try another magazine devoted to that theme. And, rather than just redo Anthro, we decided to try an all new series," with Jack Oleck writing scripts and Alfredo Alcala provided exquisite artwork. Berni Wrightson drew issue # 1's cover.

The star of the comic book was to be "an adult caveman, the chief of a tribe of the emerging Cro-Magnons. To make him an interesting person, we began to think about his family, his childhood, and the social system that he lived under. But as we grew more and more involved in the structure of his youth, we decided that the tale of growing up in prehistoric days deserved more than a cursory telling."

The youth had been born in the shadow of a battle between his mother's tribe and a rival clan of Beast Men (the neanderthals). An hour behind the conflict, Attu went into labor, praying to the moon goddess Lural that she might bear "a man child that I may be honored by my people." Her prayer was answered and Attu gave birth to a boy.

Resuming her trek, she caught up with her tribe only to be informed by their leader, Trog, that the infant be taken away. Magl, the shaman, had noted the child's hair, blonde in contrast to the common bla