Enemies: Baron Doom, Black Dragon, Dr. Dracula, Friar Diablo, F.F.F. (Fire, Force and Fear), Herr Death, Mummy Master, Sir Satan, Thompson, Deaglos, Zombi, Nazi Skull Men
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| — | Man, I bet nobody ever wants to hang out with Thompson. From the Captain Battle page at An International Catalogue of Superheroes. |
The second half of the Superman/Orson Welles team-up, wherein they battle Martler and the Solazis, who are the Nazis of Mars. Again, not making any part of that sentence up.
Here we see Orson Welles and Superman using their respective talents to thwart the Martian invasion: Welles utilizing a combination of parlor tricks built into his Count Cagliostro costume (including a live rabbit!) and his acting skills, and Superman… uh, chucking Phobos or Deimos at the Martian fleet to ensnare it in the errant moon’s gravitational field. You could argue that Welles maybe wasn’t doing his fair share in this team-up, but it’s not like Green Arrow could’ve done that rabbit thing.
Story originally from Superman #62, reprinted in Superman: From the 30’s to the 70’s. Part 2 of 2; part one is here.
Superman and Orson Welles team up to battle Martler and the Solazis, who are the Nazis of Mars. I made no part of that sentence up.
This is possibly my favorite late Golden Age Superman story, because aside from the aforementioned, it also served as a vehicle to shill an Orson Welles movie where he played Count Cagliostro. Yes, it’s Superman and Orson Welles in Count Cagliostro cosplay versus the Nazis of Mars.
Story originally from Superman #62, reprinted in Superman: From the 30’s to the 70’s. Part 1 of 2.
Bill Everett’s “The Man Who Owned a Ghost!”, originally from Marvel’s Astonishing #10, 1952; this particular scan is from 1993’s Curse of the Weird #1.
The wave-y border and “cinematic” pan-in in the middle of the third page is a nice touch.
Basil Wolverton’s “The Eye of Doom”, originally from Marvel’s Mystic #6, 1952; this particular scan is from 1993’s Curse of the Weird #1.
That Venusian rat-creature on page 3? You’ll see that in your nightmares.
Possibly the other greatest short comic story ever made: “Master Race” by Bernard Krigstein, from EC Comics’ Impact #1, 1955. Scanned from A Smithsonian Book of Comic Book Comics.
Cross-contributed to 80-Page Giant…
Originally, I learned much of what I know about the ins and outs of comic book continuity by perusing quarter bin-scavenged issues of Who’s Who and The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe. One tidbit that always stood out to me was something included in the entry for Jim Hammond, the original Human Torch (an artificial human from the 1940s, not the doofus on the Fantastic Four with the horrible sense of fashion). His write-up established that, at least in the Marvel universe, the Human Torch had been the one responsible for killing Adolf Hitler.
I’d always assumed that this fact was made up for a later story involving the character, maybe something that Roy Thomas (self-established champion of “Golden Age” characters, for better or worse) had done. But a few years back, I picked up The Golden Age of Marvel Comics, a trade paperback reprinting a bunch of ’40s and ’50s Marvel superhero stories - and, in the middle of 1953’s “The Return of the Human Torch”, I was greeted by the above surprise.
So… huh. The original Human Torch really did kill Hitler in a Golden Age story. I was not expecting that. You’d think that would earn him an award, maybe a statuette or something. But, so far as I know, fans mostly know of him for the confusing history he shares with the Vision, a character whose only appearance I care about was the side-scrolling Avengers arcade game.
(Also, that portrayal of the Torch’s origin on this page is pretty crazy, even for 1953).
So, yeah. Jim Hammond: the man robot ambiguous artificial life form for all your Hitler-barbecuing needs.
Scan from The Golden Age of Marvel Comics. Art by Russ Heath.
