Public domain Golden Age characters. 1 1

[Electricmastro]

A thread for public domain characters from the Golden Age era you feel are worth pointing out, either because their potential wasn’t fully fulfilled at the time or that they’re just interesting in general. Characters I feel like pointing out include:

Blue Circle - Len Stafford was a young inventor who decided to use the fortune he inherited from his father to fight crime as the Blue Circle. He arranged a pardon for seven reformed "past masters in crime" - in exchange, they agreed to assemble whenever he asked as the Blue Circle Council. The Blue Circle Council provided advice to the Blue Circle and offered more direct assistance if necessary.

Commando Ranger - Commando Ranger was many things before the war. He was a scientist-explorer who fought the plague in the Congo, an Olympic boxer able to k.o. a heavy weight champion, a mysterious ace pilot, a sole survivor of a ship sunk by pirates in China seas, and climber of Mount Everest. While in Tibet, he studied for two years under the Great Lama in Tibet, mastering "the secret of mind's dominion over matter." However after hearing the cries of the enslaved, Commando Ranger was sent by the lamas back into the world. So with the agreement both of FDR and Churchill, he put on a mask and costume to fight the Nazis and free the countries occupied by Germany as the masked Commando Ranger.

The Dart - A vigilante of Ancient Republic Rome, Caius Martius was given by the gods the power of flight so that he might fight for the rights of the average citizen. One day, he took on an evil sorcerer and was trapped in a block of stone. Later, he emerged in the modern era from the stone to find himself in an American museum. He takes a new last name, "Wheeler," and begins fighting crime in modern society with his new sidekick, Ace, the Amazing Boy, who joins Dart after witnessing a horrifying drive-by shooting which kills his parents.

Dr. Synthe - Dr. Synthe was an enormous energy-based alien from Mo, a planet located a million light years from Earth. Like the rest of his species, he had an ability to create and destroy any object by manipulating electrons. While traveling through the solar system, he crash-landed in Long Island, NY. Or, to be more specific, he crash-landed straight through the boat that belonged to Ray Rogers. The young man hoped to sell the boat in order to raise money to save his terminally ill girlfriend, Betty Jordan. Dr. Synthe tried to ask Ray what planet he was on, only to realize that his form terrified the young man, so he transformed himself into a human. Upon learning of Ray's plight, he used his powers to heal her. And, because he was a good natured being, Dr. Synthe decided to reward his new friends by giving them anything they desired. Unfortunately, they got them into trouble with the law enforcement, which took the dim view of a young couple suddenly getting goods they could not possibly afford. Luckily for them, Dr. Synthe arrived just in time to prove that their story wasn't as crazy as it sounded.

Although he could have recreated his spaceship any time he wished, Dr. Synthe decided to stay behind and stop crimes and anything else that might threaten his new friends and (by extension) the planet they lived on.

Dr. Synthe wasn't particularly violent and was usually prepared to believe the best about everyone. He tried his best to follow Earth laws and customs, but, because he was an alien, he inevitably made mistakes and failed to fully think through the consequences of his actions. As an energy being, he had no concept of death (he merely found the war "boring"), but he understood enough to protect his friends from harm.

Duke of Darkness - The Duke of Darkness was Paddy Sullivan, a police officer from an unnamed American city. When he was killed in the line of duty, Danny discovered that he continued to exist as an "Earth-bound spirit." He decided to continue fighting crime as the Duke of Darkness.

Fantomah - Fantomah, the "Mystery Woman of the Jungle," is a mysterious goddess-like being who protects the jungles of Africa. She has vast magical power, to the point of being practically omnipotent, and can transform herself into a frightening blue phantom/skeleton creature as well as a floating skull with blonde hair.

The Flame - When Gary was a baby, his father, Charteris Preston, worked as a missionary in China. The elder Preston was washed away in a flood but managed to save baby Gary by placing him in a basket. The basket was washed downstream to Tibet, where Gary was rescued by a group of lamas. They raised Gary in the lamasery, where they trained him in their mystical ways.

Gary obtained the ability to control fire and heat. He can raise his own body temperature to the point where he can burst into flames or melt bullets. He can control and direct any flame in his presence. He can also teleport from place to place by appearing inside of any fire source, no matter how small. The Flame's one weakness is water, which can severely weaken him. In order to provide fire whenever he needs it, the Flame carries a small, pistol-sized flame thrower.

The Ghost - George Chance, the Ghost, knows real magic, learning it when he was raised in India as the adopted son of an immortal yogi teacher.

Green Mask - The second Green Mask was Johnny Green, an American teenager. He was the son of Walter Green who, according to his back story, fought crime as the Green Mask until he joined the US Army. Unlike his heroic father, Johnny was meek, awkward, and generally dorky. Since Walter Green's secret identity became public at some point, Johnny got teased quite a lot, something which he tried his best to ignore. In his debut story, Johnny was referred to as "a motherless son." Ever since his father joined the army, he's been living on his own in a rented room above the exclusive Miramar Club, scraping by on his father's savings and the kindness of the club's owner, Punchy.

On the day Johnny turned 15, Michael "Slug" O'Banion, a former Prohibition-era Chicago crime boss, decided to come out of retirement and move in on Johnny's neighborhood. When Slug's goons failed to intimidate Punchy into letting them use the Miramar Club for their criminal enterprises, they tried to shoot him. Luckily for him, Johhny was coming back from walking his dog, Curly. Curly attacked one of the goons, preventing him from making a killing shot. The enraged gangster turned his ire on Curly, seemingly killing him. This was when the enraged Johnny suddenly transformed into a super-powered, grown man calling himself "The Green Mask."

The stories were inconsistent about the relationship between The Green Mask and Johnny Green. In early stories, Johnny Green "blacks out" while he is Green Mask, not remembering what he did while in super-powered form. In some later stories, Johnny Green perceives his adventures as the Green Mask as dreams and thus remains oblivious to his dual nature. In others, he is aware of it and tries his best to facilitate the transformation when Green Mask is needed.

The Heap - Baron Eric von Emmelman was a German flying ace under the command of the Red Baron (Manfred von Richthofenshot) who was shot down on October 12, 1918, while fighting in World War I. He crashed in a mystical Polish swamp called Wausau, near the small town of Rodz, and was thrown from his plane. With a beautiful wife, and a newborn baby, the Baron had told his friends that he had everything to live for, and as he lay in the swamp, mortally wounded, he simply refused to die. Mother Nature came to his aid, and decided to save him from death, to transform the Baron into her champion against evil. Over 20 odd years, Eric's body merged with the "dreary vegetation" of Wausau to make him a massive humanoid plant that was forced to drain animals of blood in order to get oxygen. He targeted birds, dogs and livestock, but he usually did not attack men, unless they were evil.

Hydroman - Harry Thurston, a young chemical engineer, accidentally compounded a formula to convert human flesh and blood into water. A huge container of this remarkable solution was spilled and splashed over Bob Blake, Harry's friend, causing him to disintegrate and become a pool of water on the laboratory floor! Promptly, an antidote was concocted, and with the aid of this, Bob regained his natural form. He then discovered that he could control this phenomenal change merely by the power of thought.

The Hyper - Don-Vin a.k.a. Hyper the Phenomenal was a young scientist under the employ of the United States government. He was allied with the Winifred, codenamed Agent 2Y, who served as an undercover operative of the U.S. Secret Service. The beautiful Dolores, while being an enemy, was enamored with Hyper, and attempts to recruit him into her villainous gang which also included Ashknif and Boris. He was able to repel & attract metal (e.g., deflection of bullets) by means of his magno-hydro gauntlets, and utilized the gloves in keeping steel walls from crushing Agent 2Y. His chest was protected by a plastron comprised of bulletproof fabric. Hyper's characteristic neogas helmet had a built-in radio and, although heavy, somehow enabled him artificial flight.

Iron Skull - The Iron Skull was originally a soldier who was gravely injured during World War II (which, in this timeline, was fought partially on American soil well into the 1950s). He was brought to Chicago, where Dr. Watson, a surgeon at "Chicago Hospital," worked to replace his flesh and bones with metallic components. The resulting cyborg was super-strong, resistant to bullets and capable of limited telepathy. His new face was missing a nose, giving him a skull-like appearance.

By the year 1960, the Second World War wound down and reconstruction began. This year also saw a rise of rampant crime that the police struggled to contain. The cyborg decided to use his abilities to fight crime in Chicago as the Iron Skull.

In Amazing-Man Comics #9, the story jumped forward to 1970, when America was once again threatened with war. The spies working for an unnamed country "spread terror throughout United States," forcing the Iron Skull to intercede. Two issues later, in 1971, war broke out in Europe and spy activities intensified.

In Amazing-Man Comics #14, the Iron Skull set up operations in New York City. The next issue, he developed a mental link with the D.A. of New York. The D.A. used that ability to alert the Iron Skull of any crime in progress.

Jupiter - Jupiter was a master magician from the planet which shares his name who came to combat evil on Earth, especially in the form of his arch-foe, Racko. He was allied with ace reporter Jim Johnson, who he would immediately come to aid whenever Johnson called for help.

Jupiter's powers included teleportation, flight, invisibility, healing others, creating objects from thin air, transforming living creatures into other creatures, and much more thanks to his magic.

Lightning - Robert Morgan was the American student of an ancient Egyptian mystic called The Old Man of the Pyramids. (How they met is unknown, possibly the Old man raised him after his parents died.) He schooled Morgan in "all the ancient and modern sciences" and gave him the "Amulet of Annihilation, the weapon of the forces of right" which he tied around his right arm.

The Amulet grants him powers including super-strength, super-speed, flight, the ability to generate electricity and radiate “lightning heat,” and a measure of invulnerability (e.g., he can contain the explosion of a grenade with his bare hands). His powers can be recharged by electricity. He was given the condition that his powers would work only for good.

Magician from Mars - In the future, Jane Q-X 3 Gem, the Magician from Mars, is born to a Martian father, Jarl 6EM35, and an Earthling mother, Jane Faro. When she was a baby, she was accidently exposed to "cathode" radiation, which is deadly to humans but which Martians are naturally immune to. Because she was a hybrid of the two, the radiation had an unexpected effect of boosting her brain power to the point where she was capable of changing reality with a thought.

Her powers developed as she grows. By age six, she could "wish" things like ice cream cones into existence and levitate things through the air. At 16 years old, she lost both of her parents and was raised by her Aunt Vanza, who refuses to allow the girl to travel to Earth. Eventually, she found life on Mars too boring, so she escaped from the "Supersteel Room" prison her aunt locked her in and took passage on a ship to Earth. There, she decided to use her reality-warping abilities to fight evil and oppression.

Moon Girl - Raised in a small kingdom in a remote part of Samarkand, the girl known as the Princess of the Moon was taught that she came from a long line of women who had been unbeatable in battle. Unfortunately, she wasn't told this until after she had sworn to herself that she would never marry a man unless he was a superior warrior to her.

Taking her family heirloom, a moonstone said to make the wearer invincible, she left her home and traveled to America in search of Prince Mengu, a suitor she had liked but easily defeated. Finding him working as a teacher under an assumed name, she created her own false identity, Clare Lune, and found work at the same school. She then convinced Prince Mengu to join her in fighting crime.

Music Master - John Wallace, a concert violinist and music teacher, finds the fabled "musical pipes of death," which allow a user to fly whenever he hears a certain note played on a musical instrument, use musical notes as a force-field or solidified weapon, and send notes to carry out his orders. He then becomes the hero Music Master and uses the pipes to fight evil.

Nightro - Hugh Goddard was left for dead in a radium mine by criminals. He survived the experience but was blinded by the radiation. Wanting revenge, he uncovered a pair of special glasses that gave him his sight back, but they only worked if he avoided light. He then created the identity of Nightro to fight crime.

Nightshade - By studying the mysteries of the East, wealthy young scientist Howard Hall is able to give his shadow physical powers such as reaching great distances to touch things, having a good deal of it's own strength, and being able to speak, hear, and act on its own. To help him in his fight against crime, he straps flashlights to his ankles so that, when he turns them on, he has a shadow to control. He only needs a bright light source to go into action against the bad guys as Nightshade.

Panther Woman - Marga the Panther Woman was raised by a group of black panthers and inoculated with their abilities such as superhuman strength and cat-like claws. She was a highly skilled fighter, hunter and athlete, capable of bending steel bars, punching out an elephant, or swinging a lion by its tail.

Red Blazer - In 1940, Jack Dawson (later "Ted") was grazing some cattle when he noticed a meteor and found out that it was a spaceship that had been built and piloted by Dr. Morgan (later "Dr. Martin"). Dawson approached Morgan, who was burying an alien. Jack helped him bury the being and was invited by Dawson into the spaceship and offered a drink. He blacked out and, when he awoke, found himself in space.

Dr. Morgan informed him through a televised message that Dawson was exposed to Heaviside radiation. The radiation would not only rejuvenate him but, also give him super powers. He soon got a sidekick, Spark (later "Sparkie" and/or "Sparky"). Captain Red Blazer and Sparkie are able to fly and generate/control heat and flames.

The Scarab - Peter Ward is an Egyptologist who discovers he’s the reincarnation of Kor, an ancient Egyptian priest of the sun god Ra. Given a mystic scarab ring by the cat goddess Bast, Ward rubs the ring and after a flash of lightning and thunder, becomes the Scarab. The ring grants him great powers, and Ward uses them to combat evil and injustice. He’s also accompanied on his many adventures by an intelligent black cat who’s the reincarnation of ancient Egyptian priest Akh-Tu-Men.

The Shark - The son of Father Neptune, the Shark (or Shark-Man) is called such because he is often seen in the company of large, man-eating sharks. He once lived in an undersea kingdom but set out to fight against all crimes committed at sea. His powers included the ability to live underwater and hypnotism, and he is also a skilled inventor and swimmer (thanks to webbed hands and feet). Also, he has superhuman strength ("strength of 10 whales"), is able to create illusions out of water (usually used to make doubles of himself), and is invulnerable while in water. However, he possesses normal human strength out the water unless he is carrying a magical knife given to him by his father. The knife gives him command over water and the ability to teleport through it.

Solarman - Solarman was a young humanoid alien native to Saturn. His planet was peaceful and without crime. Saturn's greatest scientist, Quino, saw just how miserable Earth looked by comparison, so he teleported Solarman to the third planet via a master vacuum-ray projector, in hopes that the young man would be able to help the Earthlings out. Once on Earth, he used his great strength and intelligence to fight crime and generally aid any humans he encountered.

Spirit Man - Spirit Man (real name Spirit Malcolm) worked from his hidden lab to end crime with assistance from his friend Ray Williams. Spirit Man had no superpowers, but used futuristic technology including the Futurscope which projected on a screen anything happening on Earth. Another device was the Mistodine ray which sent Malcolm's spirit to any location locked in on the Futurscope. While exposed to the Mistodine rays, he can become incorporeal, invisible, fly, and was also able to handle solid matter. Finally, he used a Rayodine gun which fired ray beams.

Stardust - Stardust the Super Wizard lived on a "private star" far out in space. He patrolled the cosmos fighting criminals, racketeers, spies, and terrorists, but comes to Earth after intercepting a radio signal from America. He has a vast knowledge of interplanetary science and devotes his abilities to crime-busting. In practical terms, this gives him unlimited, virtually omnipotent powers. He can fly through space using his tubular spatial accelerated supersolar light waves. He was also immune to heat and cold from exposure to certain gases from stars. He had artificial lungs that allowed him to breathe in space or poison gas. Stardust wore flexible star-metal skin that rendered him invulnerable to chemical, electric, and physical attacks. Stardust could also teleport himself and others in a star-shaped flash of light. He was also known to write fiery messages in the sky using his powers.

He could also shoot a variety of rays including retarding, extinguishing, magic transforming, anti-gravity, suspending, magnetic, disintegrating, reversing arc, and reducing rays. His most common ones were his repulsor and attraction rays. Some unique rays was his spectral ray which could make him invisible or bright as a star and his secret ray which forced murderers to see the skeletons of those they had killed.

Sub-Zero - A Venusian man who would become known as Sub-Zero was a part of an expedition that was launched to establish first contact with Earth. Before the spaceship could enter Earth's atmosphere, it passed through a comet. Everything inside was frozen. One crewman managed to survive, but the exposure turned him into a living ice man that froze everything he touched. He managed to steer the ship towards earth, crash-landing it near Salt Lake City. He painfully escaped the craft while covered in ice and then made his way to the nearest building.

The building happened to be full of scientists experimenting with "gamma radiation." They used the gamma rays to return the Venusian to his original humanoid form, though his ability to freeze objects remained. Blending in with America's civilian population in the city of Centro, he became a detective and used his superhuman abilities to fight crime.

White Streak - Manowar the White Streak was an android created centuries ago by an advanced, extinct South American civilization called Utopia to help mankind during times of war. He was deactivated when the civilization succumbed to internal strife, but he was awakened from his slumber in an American museum during an attack by German bombers. He destroyed the planes and decided to fight for America against the Axis.

Yankee Doodle Jones - Yankee Doodle Jones was an American artificial man created by an unnamed scientist using body parts taken from three crippled American World War I veterans who volunteered to give up their lives for the sake of creating "an American champion." After the resulting being was brought to life, the scientist injected him with a "secret fluid" that gave him heightened strength and speed as well as near-invulnerability. The scientist's unnamed son watched it all from the sidelines. He marveled at the secret fluid's effects and wished that he, too, would get a shot of it.

Shortly afterward, a group of Nazi agents broke into the scientist's lab and mortally wounded him. The artificial man rushed to stop the assailant. The scientist's son was eager to help, so he injected himself with the secret fluid. The two managed to stop them, but it was too late for the scientist. With his last breath, he dubbed the artificial man "Yankee Doodle Jones" and his son Dandy and urged them to use their powers to defend their country.

Source: https://pdsh.fandom.com/wiki/Public_Domain_Super_Heroes

Edited April 28, 2020 by Electricmastro

[comicjack]

That is some list thanks for posting 

[alexgross.com]

these are amazing! its also interesting to see ideas and some visuals that seem to have been appropriated later, like gamma radiation, etc.   the heap = man thing?

[Electricmastro]

10 hours ago, www.alexgross.com said:

these are amazing! its also interesting to see ideas and some visuals that seem to have been appropriated later, like gamma radiation, etc.   the heap = man thing?

Yeah, the Heap was more or less the first comic book character to follow-up on Theodore Sturgeon’s It!, with the Heap himself being the sort of humanoid creature that remembers aspects of its “previous life” after an extremely drastic change in its existence.

[Sauce Dog]

Heap has been incorporated into DC's Swamp Thing canon, as he appears to part of the parliament of trees (As per the amazing Alan Moore run).

For the rest of these heroes I strongly recommend checking out the Project Superpowers limited series published by Dynamite Entertainment. Lots of amazing art and great use of many classic characters, such as the Fighting Yank.

[Sauce Dog]

16 hours ago, Electricmastro said:

Yeah, the Heap was more or less the first comic book character to follow-up on Theodore Sturgeon’s It!, with the Heap himself being the sort of humanoid creature that remembers aspects of its “previous life” after an extremely drastic change in its existence.

An awesome follow up

 

 

 

 

Edited April 17, 2020 by Sauce Dog

[Electricmastro]

On 4/17/2020 at 1:30 PM, Sauce Dog said:

Heap has been incorporated into DC's Swamp Thing canon, as he appears to part of the parliament of trees (As per the amazing Alan Moore run).

For the rest of these heroes I strongly recommend checking out the Project Superpowers limited series published by Dynamite Entertainment. Lots of amazing art and great use of many classic characters, such as the Fighting Yank.

Yeah, though a few may be unrecognizable at first, like how they changed the names of Blue Beetle, Daredevil, and Hydroman.

[Electricmastro]

Various public domain heroes as drawn by Alex Ross: