Ah-Ku: A Chinese woman who used various identities such as the Doctor and the Master to lead gangs in her criminal endeavors. She frequently crossed swords with Bob Phantom.
Amwalli: 1944, Zip Comics. A second rate zombie maker, actually exiled from the union and Society of Zombie Makers. He comes to America where he becomes sort of a talent agent. Need a man to walk the high wire? He¹ll make you one. While his victims as zombies do seem to suspend all life functions, thus will seem dead when examined though they¹re up and about, they don¹t stay that way. He¹s captured by Sgt. Clancy Mulligan and Steel Sterling.
The Animal Man: 1941, Topnotch Comics #21. Black Hood Foe
Apollo Bates: Your typical thug and slick operator, he and pal Muley were breaking into a museum and confronted by a guard. His gun jammed and he grabbed a scepter out of a case to use as a club. However, what he had grabbed was the "Wand of Weirdness." At first it seemed a good thing, but he didn't read the curse that said anyone using the wand for evil purposes would have it visit back upon them. Sure enough, after using the wand to get rid of Steel Sterling, he and Muley have a falling out and while struggling over the wand, they both wish it to kill the other which it does. The wand calls into the hands of a cab driver (who wishes for a new cab and gas, only to crash it moments later) and racketeer Dippy Dugan who is killed when he wishes for bullets to go around him, which they do but then ricochet off the wall behind him and kill him. Steel Sterling retrieves the wand and returns it to the museum.
Dr. Archer; 1939 Pep Comics #1. With Typhoid germs, Dr. Archer and his gang force beneficiaries kill rich relatives for half the insurance money. They are stopped by the Comet on his first recorded case. The doctor is presumably killed when he's thrown from a great height.
The Artist: 1941/42, Jackpot Comics #4. His hatred grants him the ability to capture souls in his portraits and to force his victims to do whatever he demands. However, when Mr. Justice gets wind of it, his own soul is in jeopardy.
The Artist II: 1942, Hangman Comics #5. John Wilson is an artist of little talent and doesn’t take criticism well. He kills famous painter Norton Rockhill who had put down his work after showing him a painting of how he was going to die. He then sent similar paintings to other critics of his work. Eventually his killing spree was stopped by the Hangman. NOTE: Norton Rockhill is obviously a pun on Norman Rockwell. Less obvious to non MLJ readers is the mention of an artist called Reinmann. Paul Reinman was an accomplished and regular golden age artist for MLJ.
Arnold Barnes: Blue Ribbon #2. Barnes is the laboratory assistant to Dr. Carter. When he asks Carter for his daughter Gloria's hand in marriage, he's rebuffed because he's middle-aged and doesn't make that much money (have to say, for reasoning, Dr. Carter doesn't come off all that enlightened). Carter puts it out of his mind though since he is more interested in a meteorite that he's convinced is made of platinum and he sends Barnes and Dan Hastings to stake a claim. Still stewing, Barnes calls a sportsman friend Jan Crissman to help him ambush Hastings and steal the ore. However, Hastings manages to fight both off, though Crissman abandons Barnes and flees. Barnes comes to his senses, and confesses all to Hastings. He even proves his reformation in saving both Hastings, himself and the ship when Hastings falls unconscious after destroying Crissman and his ship. Believing Barnes to be truly reformed, Dan Hastings doesn't report the incident on the asteroid. Barnes isn¹t really much in the way of villains go. However, stories from this time rarely show a hero's mercy towards an enemy (beyond saving them for the electric chair) and a villain's heartfelt reformation.
Baron Gestapo:
1942, Zip Comics #27. Steel Sterling's answer to the Hun, he's not quite strong
enough to go toe to toe with the hero.
Big Dip: 1940 Zip Comics #3. A giant henchman of Ho Tsin's. When Captain Valor defeats him in a fair fight, Big Dip joins Valor's small group.
The Black Dragon: 1942, Zip Comics #27. “The Black Dragon of Death!! Sinister, mocking, ruthless agent of the treacherous Japs! No greater scourge has ever plagued our land. No Greater foe will the Web ever encounter…” The Black Dragon is a bald fanged Yellow peril menace operating in this country under the guise of Lin Chow, noted Chinese philanthropist.
Black Hand: 1941, Blue Ribbon Comics #16. In the first issue he's in a monk's robe with a large black hand in a circle emblazoned on the front and back and his face is deathly pale and dark ringed eyes. His appearance would be different in following issues, sometimes more human, sometimes less. The Black Hand has a clawed diseased right hand that can kill when it draws blood. Unfortunately, when he kidnaps young Tom Townsend in an effort to force his father to impart some secrets he sets in motion the events that create his most implacable foe: Captain Flag.
Black Knight: 1940, Zip Comics #1. From a mountain top castle replete with archers, gangsters, trap doors and rats as large as rabbits, the masked villain lives a life as an unstoppable crime boss until he encounters Steel Sterling on his first case. He’s apparently killed, trapped in a pit when the castle is blown up. However, he reappears later threatening war with the South American country Brazonia as Dr. Yar. Again stopped by Steel Sterling. He resurfaces again as the Radium King.
Black Seven: 1942, Zip Comics #27. "In the vast expanse of lonely desert, two Arab traders squat solemnly over their repast. Then, as they look up into the skies, an ejaculation of horror is wrested from their lips - for there they see the sign of the black seven written in the skies. A seven formed by the stars. An ill omen in Arab folklore..." "Mustaf! See! the sign of the black seven...at this moment is being born a seventh son of a seventh son....inscribed in our holy Koran as a creature of evil!" Thus begins the history of this villain. His mom dies during childbirth but the father cannot bring himself to destroy baby Omar despite the advice from the two merchants. On Omar's seventh birthday, he sneaks into a plague stricken area to steal jewels but is discovered by his father. In the night the plague strikes all of the boy's brothers and kills them. His father driven to act at last is about to kill him when the clock strikes seven and dies of a heart attack. From there, he roams the world and becomes a master criminal until he's hired by the Nazis to retrieve a treaty and crosses paths with Black Jack.
Black Seven meets his doom in Zip Comics #28. A fortune teller warns him that his luck will finally end, and when a robbery goes bad he flees from Black Jack. He runs into a "Chamber of Horrors" at a local caravel and manages to get the upper hand over the hero and ties him up to a guillotine. But, lightning strikes the blade and trying to dodge it, Black Seven stumbles backwards into a pit, complete with death-dealing spikes.
Blackbeard: 1944, Pep Comics #53. With a bristling black beard, an eye patch and a crew, he goes about in the classic style with a skull and crossbone flag and masted ship, looting right and left. He is finally revealed to be Jackson Carr, a thrill seeker and sportsman who hosts bizarre (and cruel) games for the idle rich. The Black Hood catches him when he robs his own ship.
A. Bookworm: 1944, Top Notch Comics #43. Scholarly looking long haired old man travels about stealing and discarding rare first editions of "Treasure Island" ignoring even more valuable first editions. He carries with him various rigged books to help him in his crimes and give the Black Hood some close calls: some that spring open and let out a blinding gas, one with poison pages, one that's solid iron and another that explodes. Turns out a modern thief by the name of Long John Silver had been captured and left directions to his loot in the pages of a rare first edition. Bookworm finds the book and on that island he finds the crook Long John Silver now out of jail and the two men kill each other.
Bullfrog: 1942, Pep Comics# 32. Pagini was once one of opera’s greatest talents before taking to drink. A prop man accidentally lets a bullfrog loose (who knows) Pagini thinks it’s a critique of his talents and he attacks a man. Well, he’s promptly fired and takes to wearing a frog costume to take revenge and kill off his replacement and rivals. However, while fighting the Hangman he falls and breaks his neck.
Butch Brady: 1939, Blue Ribbon Comics #2. Leader of the Purple gang. A run of the mill gangster and gang (why they are called Purple is beyond me) whom the police can't find or stop, but they run afoul of Bob Phantom. However, this is reported as the first MLJ superhero story.
Captain Balbo: 1943, Hangman Comics #8. Out of 1498, sails the pirate Captain Balbo and his crew. Was it just some magical fog that they sailed through, or Divine retribution for plundering and sinking a ship containing the Spanish church's gold? Whatever the case they met their fates when they ran afoul the Hangman, a shark, a giant octopus and their own black hearts.
Captain
Murder: 1942, Zip Comics #29. Runs the most horrible of prison camps in France. He likes to use a whip and especially likes to torture religious leaders. Army Intelligence sends Professor John Raymond to France, arranging for him to teach while observing conditions and the mindsets of the rulers there. When he arrives, Raymond discovers the school is closed and the pastor who headed it is imprisoned. This brings the Web into conflict with Captain Murder. Captain Murder is accidentally machine gunned by his own guards and reported dead. Raymond returns to America.
Captain Swastika: 1942, Hangman Comics #2? Mentioned in Hangman Comics #3 and appears in the second part of the Executioner tale where he teams up with the Executioner to get revenge on their common foe, the Hangman. He's an agent of the Nazis, but I don't know anything else about him. Pictured above.
Mary Carroll: 1942, Hangman #1. Mary Carroll is a beautiful teacher at a small town college, turning men¹s heads and hearts wherever she goes. But a cold heart when the police are investigating the college president for embezellment, money he gave to Mary. When he confronts her and gets violent, the janitor George defends her, accidentally killing him. She then spins some half-truths and uses her wiles to get the D.A to throw the case. As the D.A. falls in love with her, she arranges him to throw more cases and get in with the mob. However, his assistant finds out and threatens exposure so the D.A. kills him and flees to Mary. Who again shows little use or remorse for a man that outlived his usefulness. George is on hand and again jumps to her defense, this time the Hangman who'd been investigating intervenes. Though the D.A. is killed while shooting it out with the police, the Hangman accuses Mary of being the real criminal and warns her, he'll be watching.
Mary is undaunted and continues her ways of enslaving men's hearts to evil ends and discarding them when their usefulness expires and faithful George is there to protect her. Her schemes come to an end when she tries to marry a wealthy young man and George in jealousy attacks him. Seeing herself about to lose a big score she literally stabs George in the back and is captured by Hangman. NOTE: This tale is typical of many of MLJ's heroes with stories that have a bit more complexity and motivation to them than many. And well-drawn too. Although, the plot doesn't really hold up as a wily girl like Mary Carroll would have gotten off since her case could easily be dismissed as justifiable manslaughter, much as George's was in the beginning.
The Cat's Claw: Top Notch Comics. Anthony Durrant writes: The Cat's Claw was a lady in a grey catsuit who was a nemesis of Bob Phantom for three issues. A German spy had ordered her to kill many of the top scientists who were working on plans for the nation's war defense. By replacing them with people who were favorable to the German agenda, the Cat's Claw could build a financial empire. In the end, though, she turned against the spy and killed him, then went into another room on the pretense of changing into her civilian clothes. When Bob Phantom entered the room, all he found was her burning costume on the floor.
Claw: 1940, Pep Comics #7. Foe of the Press Guardian. His high forehead speaks of the genius this man possesses. In one encounter he had a hormone serum that when injected into men turned them into beast men, obedient to his every command. He gets his name for his lift hand is missing, replaced by a claw of a pair of metal hooks.
Clown: 1941, Special Comics. Charles is deeply in love with Linda, but he told her he was a wall street broker. When she recognizes him at the circus as a popular clown she tells her other boyfriend Tony and toys with his affections only to throw his love in his face when he proposes saying she could never marry a clown. Maddened, he kills her then Tony who witnessed everything. He then marks them up as clowns. Unfortunately for him, the Hangman investigates and while fleeing, the Clown falls from the high wire and dies.
The Clubfoot: 1942, Zip Comics #31. The masked Clubfoot is a ruthless Gestapo agent pursuing an a king from an over-run nation all the way to America. His plans are foiled and his men are captured by the hero Black Jack, but Clubfoot escapes. It's only while listening to a broadcast by Goebbels who threates heroes like Black Jack that he realizes Goebbels has a certain deformity...a club foot.
Cold Death: 1941, Shield-Wizard #4. A mad scientist develops a freezing ray. It gives the Shield a few scary moments, but when the scientist realizes it won¹t stop the hero, he blows the device and himself up. Text story from the comic.
Count
Berlin:
1942, Zip Comics #28. Masked villain in purple and gray with fanged teeth, he is a leader of Nazi spies and smugglers in America. Captured by the Web.
The Creeper: 1942, Zip Comics #31. The circus that Loony used to work for is near the city so Steel Sterling, Loony and Clancy go to see it. A new act is the costumed Creeper who shows an ability to climb up walls, even those made of glass. He's cruel and is about to feed a midget who got in his way to lions when Steel Sterling intervenes. However, the Creeper is actually strong enough to briefly stun the hero with a pitchfork! In addition to this, the murderous Creeper is actually a Nazi saboteur (as he has no accent, he may be the homegrown variety). He is brought to justice by injuring himself severely when he falls after missing his grab for a trapeze while fleeing from the hero.
Crone: 1941, Top Notch Comics #11. This old lady runs a mission in the Bowery. However, she also runs a bizarre kidnapping scheme. She kidnaps wealthy men as well as derelicts with similar builds. She dopes the millionaires and plastic surgery makes the bums look like the millionaires whose lives they take over. When the millions are completely gone, the bums are killed and the millionaires are returned with no memory of what happened. Just as memory returns, a poison injected into them takes effect, burning them with fever and the skin flaking off. She dies of her own poison when she runs afoul of the Wizard.
Crow: Spring, 1945, Black Hood Comics. Pagini was once a great opera star but drink ruined his voice. When his voice is ridiculed by others and compared unfavorably to a passing crow, he dons a crow outfit and starts killing his rivals and critics. He fights against the Black Hood and falls apparently to his death from a balcony. NOTE: This is a retelling of a 1942 Hangman tale only Pagini dresses as a bullfrog. I've noticed this before with some other stories, but this is the first time I could trace it back to the original story.
Crusader: 1942, Pep Comics #33. Turkish delegates arrive in America to sign a pact allying themselves against the Axis powers. However, as soon as they leave the airplane an armored man on horseback attacks and attempts to slaughter them but is run off by the Hangman. He pursues after the armored man into a museum where he loses him but finds a dummy in identical armor. The curator relates a legend that a thousand years before, the leader of a group of crusaders was granted eternal life and when he's betrayed by the Turks while trying to make peace vows vengeance before the Turks kill him. The Hangman smells a rat and ultimately uncovers more mortal powers behind the Crusader, a Nazi hangout beneath the museum and the curator as the armored knight. The Crusader's armor was bulletproof.
Doctor Defeet: 1943, Shield-Wizard #11. 5th Columnist saboteur who arranges "accidents" to scare workers off various jobs but is defeated by the Wizard and Roy, the Superboy. The tale is actually more of a humorous propaganda tale than anything else.
Dr. Dread: Top Notch Comics. Foe of the Firefly.
Dr. Sorrow: 1942, Blue Ribbon Comics #21. A phony spiritualist not above a little murder to keep his racket going. He and his 2 aides are uncovered by wonder dog Rang-A-Tang, the detective Hy Speed, and the amazing boy Richy. Sorrow apparently dies in a car crash when trying to run over Detective Speed.
Dr. Yar: 1940 Zip Comics #3. A mad scientist foe of Steel Sterling's. Dr. Yar has invented periscopiscopes, specialized spectacles that allow him to see forewards, sideways, and backwards at the same time. He has his own private army armed with flying tanks and a whole bunch of aligator men. Steel Sterlin recognizes Yar as being his recurring foe the Black Knight.
Doc Zadar: 1940 Pep Comics #3. An elderly hunchback hypnotist, he works for the crime boss called Satan. He manages to hypnotize the Comet into robbing and committing acts of murder (already a fairly ruthless hero to begin with). When he discovers that Satan is not distributing loot evenly, he sics the Comet on him. However, after killing Satan, the Comet reports back to Zadar but has not closed his visor thus kills Zadar as well, releasing him from the spell.
The Dragon: 1940 Pep Comics #1. A yellow peril villain who other than his grandiose name is nothing more than a common murderer, thief, and blackmailer. His plot to frighten the beautiful Tay Ming into marrying him is undone by Fu Chang.
The Dragon II: Zip Comics. Presumably. A Japanese spy with a fondness of perfume. Under the guise of Lin Chow, a respected Chinese philanthropist, he and his gang operate until the Web gets wind of his activities.
Red Dugan: 1940, Blue Ribbon Comics #3. Red is a modern day pirate of the seas but his life and enterprises are in jeopardy from a rival pirate gang led by Spike Wood. Surviving, he's inspired by a Martian movie and forces Dr. Cardo to create a fish-man monster that will obey his commands. The creature has the general form of a green man, giant red "claws of the killer lobster, teeth of a tiger-shark and the heart of the barracuda" (?). It also has a shell on it's back like a turtle or crab and can survive in water and out. He uses the creature to first kill Cardo and then to enact his revenge on Spike Wood and gang. What he fails to realize is that the monster didn't kill Cardo, but only wounded him as Cardo managed to make him incapable of killing his creator. The strip didn't continue into #4, so don't know if Cardo managed to stop the creature nor if they cross paths with Jim, Bill & Ted aka "the Devils of the Deep" whose strip this appears in.
Executioner: 1942, Hangman Comics #3. Huge bloodthirsty agent for the Japanese. Has the rising sun emblem on his shirt and axe that he uses to behead all his foes. Foe of the Hangman and even teams up with Captain Swastika to get revenge on their common foe.
Face in the Clouds: 1940 Pep Comics #2. A large face appears in the clouds threatening all who hear with death and disobedience. As his voice booms, an armored car flies into the skies. The Comet discovers it’s all trickery by a clever crime boss.
Fang: 1941, Shield-Wizard #4. A diabolical madman (with fangs, natch) who has the habit of referring to himself in the third-person and willing to sell himself out to foreign powers.
Five by Five: 1944, Pep Comics #51. With his accomplice Fish Face, this little bald fat man is after a secret explosive formula. He kills the scientist Peters with his incredibly strong hands, but Mrs. Peters hides the formula and flees with their baby whom she hands off to Joe (the Shield) Higgins. Five by Five manages to retrieve the baby in order to force Mrs. Peters to talk but the Shield intervenes. Five by Five is killed when the baby drops his rattler from the second story on the car of the fleeing gangsters. Turns out this was where the formula was hidden all along.
The Flamebird: 1941, Top-Notch #16. "Legend says that the indians of the South West knew a cave wherein a vein of solid gold ran hundreds of feet up the side of a cliff! Scientists are now searching for this gold - but legend also says the cave is guarded by a giant bird of flame!" Sure enough, the scientists are awakened when they see one of their members falling from a great height, embraced by what looks to be the Flame-bird! When they reach the victim, the flame-bird is gone, but its victim is dead, burning to a crisp. Visiting scientist, Harley Hudson (the Firefly) and his girlfriend, reporter Joan Burton help investigate. Turns out, the culprit is Professor Lenz who didn't want to share the gold. He threw his victims off a cliff with a parachute engulfed in flame, and with the power of suggestion, it would take on the appearance of a "flamebird".
Ford: 1941, Jackpot Comics #3. Ford is on an archaeological expedition. He kills the other head archaeologist to get control of the "black book of sorcery" found in a tomb. He then uses the book to raise and control the mummies to kill the others. He then uses another spell of the book to bring the walls down to make it look like a disaster. He uses the book to raise a ghost to prey on his millionaire father but that's foiled by Mr. Justice. He then uses it to go into the spirit realm to get the aid of the tyrant spirit Nero. Both are no match for Mr. Spirit who casts their spirits back to the eternal nothingness which leaves Ford's body lifeless on Earth. Mr. Justice then uses one of the book's own spells to magically erase all the pages.
Gourmet: 1945, Black Hood Comics #16. A small rotund man who's utterly ruthless and uses his cooking skills for crime. Stopped by the Black Hood and Sgt. McGinty on more than one occasion
Green Ghoul: 1941, Blue Ribbon Comics #16. Scaley 3-eyed being. The first thing you have to accept is that in the Mr. Justice stories, the dictator standing in for Hitler is not merely human, but is Satan himself and Mr. Justice fights him by first taking care of his subordinates. One such is a corpulent air marshal given a formula to protect him from immortals (Mr. Justice as a ghost qualifies). When he is slain by his own bombers, Mr. Justice confronts the Dictator who tells him about this new monster unleashed on America. The story's a bit unclear on whether the Ghoul is supposed to be the dead air marshal or not.
The Hangman/The Jackal : 1941, Pep Comics 18. The criminal mastermind, the Jackal knows the Hangman’s after him. So, he puts on a Hangman suit himself and starts committing murders in the Hangman’s name. He’s easily identified by having two thumbs on his right hand though.
He is sentenced to be hanged, but through a trick and an unscrupulous doctor he returns to gain revenge on the Hangman, Bob Dickering, and Judge Hale who sentenced him to the death. While fighting the Hangman he accidentally hangs himself.
And escapes once again only to stumble to a monastery to heal. He hides out, pretending to become one of them and carrying out hideous crimes in secret. He again runs afoul of the Hangman and while fleeing him, falls into a lye pit, surely the end this time.
Professor H. E. Hempsted: 1944. Pep Comics 45. Archaeologist Hempsted is jealous of his rival, Professor Myers and when he discovers a stone Medusa head, he plans on offing his rival. However, it is Meyer's assistant who opens the package and comes in contact with the statue and dies. Meyers retires and Hempsted goes onto fame. A couple of years later, dying Meyers passes the head onto his no-good son Leonard who had run afoul of the Hangman. Leonard tries to use the Medusa Head to kill the Hangman but falls victim to the curse himself. Hangman back tracks the statue to Hempsted and confronts him. Hempsted confesses to it being merely a statue with poison on the fangs of the snake-heads before jumping to his own death.
Ho Tsin: 1940 Zip Comics #1. An early recurring foe of Captain Valor's in China.
The Hun: 1941, Pep Comics 31? Clad in green chainmail, large shield with a swastika, and a scar over his left eye. As a muscled youth in a small unnamed village in the Black Forest, he is nicknamed as the Hun due to his cruelty. He beats and almost drowns a young boy, there is mention of his strangling a dog, and even then he is strong enough to kill a young boar bare-handed. Because of these "great" deeds he's visited by Atilla the Hun who tells him where to find his costume that will grant him further strength and that he will share in the glory and power of a paper hanger (Hitler). When he's later accosted by officials for a murder in the village, he is slashed across the face and kills the officer with one blow and scatters the others. 13 years later he comes to the aide of a man speaking in the streets and thus begins the rise of the Hun and Hitler. He is one of the Shield's most deadly foes, coming back from certain death several times.
The Hun II/Son of the Hun: 1943, Shield-Wizard 10. Kurt Wiedler is sadistic and violent even by Nazi standards, willing to use torture that his superiors balk at. Even Hitler describes him as "treacherous, a liar, a killer and as strong as ten men." He is also revealed as the son of the villainous Hun who'd finally been slain in battle against the Shield and is to take over his father's shield and role. Despite all this, he's not powerful enough to take the Shield in single combat, and is apparently slain by the ghost of his ancestor, Attila the Hun.
Hunchback Horror: 1940 Pep Comics #4. Legend says that a thousand years ago, a Crackenthorpe ancestor summons a huge scaly demon to gain riches that founds the family fortune. However, the bride of each heir to the title is to close herself up in a room at the top of the tower and bow to the demon. When the current Earl tells this story and his bride, Lady Brenda, is dared to do so, she heads to the top only to really see the demon. When her husband comes to save her, the demon kills him with one punch. Bentley again suspects murder: his brother Lionel who would now be the heir and who also loves Lady Brenda, the butler who is remembered in the will, or the cousin who seems to stand nothing to gain. All seems to point to the brother until Bentley reveals the costume along with an iron glove that the cousin used to kill the Earl and frame Lionel, thus making him next in line for the title.
Hunter: 1942, Pep Comics #31. When the Hangman carries the war to occupied France, a Nazi by the name of the Hunter is brought in to deal with him. The Hunter is a muscular man wearing animal skin over one shoulder and a horned viking-like helmet. His hunting hounds Bruno and Thor are shot by German soldiers but not before they almost rip their owner to shreds.
Hyena: 1942, Zip Comics #29. The grotesque Hyena is a Nazi agent and after a black portfolio case that contained secret invasion plans. The Hyena's grinning face seems to be almost hypnotic, causing his victims to be laughing histerically even as he kills them, by knife or gun. When Dora succumbs to the laughter but is not killed, after she is brought out of it by Steel Sterling, she remembers nothing after seeing the Hyena's mocking face. Little else is revealed about him, how he got his powers, whether it's a mask or somehow his real face. He is knocked off a tall building and presumed dead by Steel Sterling.
Dr. Jacobs/Chick Ross: 1943, Topnotch Laugh Comics #32. When a criminal is executed, his body is taken for dissection to Dr. Jacobs, the head of a small medical college. However, when Jacobs pulls the sheet back from the body, he sees a face almost identical to his own. Driven, he chooses not to dissect the body but bring it back to life. Later during an operation, Jacobs' hands are shaking and nervous, the patient dies on the table. A concerned nurse seeks him out later and sees Jacobs' body in a trunk. However, when she brings orderlies, Jacob is alive and walking around. Investigating the strange goings on, the Black Hood discovers that the criminal's body belonged to Chick Ross, who had been a surgeon earlier in life. From there, noticing burn marks on the Dr. Jacobs, he realizes that the surgeon is actually Chick Ross. Dr. Jacobs had succeeded in raising the dead, the body of his brother. But, the killer Ross killed Dr. Jacobs for being robbed of eternal rest and taken over his identity. So, Ross is fated for the electric chair again.
The Jackal: See the Hangman.
Joodar: 1941, Pep Comics #6. Evil Chinese magician through a genii is able to raise water demons to fight his enemy Fu Chang.
The Jinx: 1943, Pep Comics 48. The Jinx is a blind black monkey. Owner after owner dies but the monkey manages to survive until it comes to Dusty, the Shield’s kid partner. The Shield discovers through an anthropologist friend that the monkey is an idol of sorts to the Thuggi cult of India and represents all evil and bad luck to all but the Thuggi. Higgins arranges for the monkey to be sent to Japan.
The Judge: 1941, Jackpot Comics 1. No name given, this is his job in a small village near a lighthouse that is supposed to be haunted. In truth, the Judge is the head of a gang of pirates and using his influence is able to find out which ships carry wealth coming near the lighthouse. By use of false beacons, they wreck and loot the ships as well as keeping the legend going that it's all the work of a ghostly mermaid. However, when Barbara Sutton, the girlfriend of rivals Joe Strong and Kip Burland (the Black Hood), comes to visit her uncle, it all comes to a head. Note: No mention is made of whatever became of her uncle.
Dr. Karvalla: A mad scientist type who hates mankind. Enough that he comes up with a chemical that when combined with a spoken formula, "IKCOH24" (I feel safe sharing it, I said it and nothing happened for me) that allowed him to make his body 4th dimensional, allowing him to walk through solid objects and saying it again allows him to return to normal. In a tussle with the hero Red Rube, he forgets the formula, reciting "ICO52K4" which lets a dragon out of the 4th dimension. While trying to escape from both dragon and the Red Rube, he runs headlong into a wall, because he still cannot recall the correct formula. He's carted off to jail where he stews trying to remember the formula but can only think of how much he hates Red Rube. NOTE: If this sounds like a familiar character, it should. The Red Rube is clearly based on Fawcett's Captain Marvel but never really quite pulls off that character's charm and originality. Likewise, Dr. Karvalla is meant to be Rube's Dr. Sivana. However, Karvalla, other than a rather pronounced bulbous nose, is a normal looking bald man and not the evil gnome like figure of Sivana. He comes off as a rather generic mad scientist character, not the gleefully evil genius that Sivana achieves.
Light of Death: 1940, Blue Ribbon Comics. Hooded thieves make use of this horrible invention that they can use via a flashlight or a searchlight on top of their armored vehicle, a light that kills whoever it falls upon. However, they didn't count on meeting up with Mr. Justice, a hero who cannot be killed for he¹s already dead! In protecting Miss Clark, the mayor¹s daughter, Mr. Justice becomes a special agent for the city in his mortal identity.
Mad Professor: 1940, Top Notch Comics #8. Created massive monster men as slaves by inserting mechanical brains into them in efforts to create a new master race. Unfortunately for him, he kidnaps Harley Hudson who's just starting out as the powerful hero known as the Firefly!
Madam Satan: 1941, Pep Comics 17. "The Devil searched far and long for an ally to wreak havoc amongst mortals…..then, the black corrupt soul of a beautiful woman, a victim of her own fiendish plan on Earth, left its bodily habitation to stand before the king of purgatory…..and his search was at an end….the Devil had found himself a fitting mate and called her……Madam Satan" Pep Comics 17. Not many criminals get their own title, but Madam Satan is a cut above the rest though similar in theme and origin to Timely’s Black Widow.
Her mission was to travel to Earth and seduce and corrupt men to damn their souls. Sometimes she succeeded, sometimes not. Her real name may be Iola as that how’s she’s introduced on Earth. Her face is able to take on a green skull appearance and she’s able to kill with a kiss. Interestingly, the love interest of her victims in the first two stories are Anita and Nita respectively. She’s opposed by a cherubic agent of the light called Brother Sunbeam who appears as a monk on a donkey. A very dark series for the company that would become known for Archie.
Magi: 1940, Zip Comics #4. Magi is a sorcerer for a race of mermen and mermaids that have been living beneath the oceans for thousands of years. For some reason if they can bring back a surface breather who's a descendent of theirs back to their city they will be able to live above water again. Unfortunately for them, they run afoul the magician hero Zambini. The mermen have fish like faces and clothes of spun gold.
Big Boy Malone: 1941, Pep Comics #17. Captured by the Comet and about to go to trial, he sends his men after the chief witness John Dickering. Only they screw up and kidnap his visiting brother Bob. When the Comet (secretly John Dickering, but you knew that already) rescues Bob, he is mortally wounded and Bob decides to avenge him. As the Hangman, Bob uses the image of the gallows to torment and bring Big Boy Malone to justice who is hanged for his crimes.
Man Monster of London: 1940 Pep Comics #5. This big tough green man is a bit of an oddity in the Inspector Bentley stories, he’s literate, has a name (Monk) and is apparently a real monster. At least til he’s shot dead. He and his human Londoner partner Remek. Both work for the chief of the Inrak (Indian) army but is also seeking to overthrow its government.
Mandarin: 1942, Blue Ribbon Comics #22.A rash of fingerless corpses found in the river attracts the attention of reporter Ruth Ransom. She tracks the murders to a hidden opium den in a Chinese museum and is captured by the man only known to us as the Mandarin. Luckily for her she was followed by the Fox who rescues her from the death trap and sends the Mandarin to the doom he granted so many others: a pit with a ladder whose rungs are conceal blades that slide the fingers when grabbed. And the water is fed by the East River.
Markov: 1943, Black Hood Comics #9. French criminal Markov is bemoaning his fate being stuck in America where all the criminals have no imagination. When two thugs actuall attempt to mug him, he subdues them and hits upon the idea of showing them how to commit crimes intelligently and opens up his own crime college. While he is clever and has some scientific knowledge, he is still captured by the Black Hood. NOTE: This is an interesting story. The idea of a college of crime is not too unusual in comics, but this one... the pages introducing us to Markov are lifted scene for scene for a Yellowjacket story in 1944. See TOPAZ in the regular villain pages.
Master I: 1940, Pep Comics #8. The master criminal's voice would boom out of the heavens decreeing death on the populace and high voltage rays would blast forth killing scores of people until he held a city in his grasp. Only through the efforts of Thelma Gordon and the vigilante the Comet would make him pay for his crimes.
Master II: Top Notch Comics #4. This robed fiend was smuggling Chinese into the country but when caught, the agent would kill the cargo, even in the face of vengeance from the hero Bob Phantom. The Master is eventually revealed to be the beautiful Chinese Princess Ah-Ku who jumped in a seemingly bottomless pit rather than be captured.
Master Mind: Top Notch. Masked leader of the Mosconians and behind the plots that tested the abilities of the Shield and the Wizard.
Master of the Living Dead: 1942, Zip Comics 22. In Wakiki, a tall white skinned ghoul rules the living dead in honour of their long dead ruler Queen Key-Law-Knee through the power of a pendant. A elderly professor Dezzero is an authority on the legends of the living dead and strikes down their leader to take his place. He raises the queen and the living dead in order to take over Hawaii. However, Steel Sterling forces him to confront the zombies and he realizes he’s lost the pendant and the control over them and they turn against him.
Master of the Valley of Death: 1940, Top Notch #8.On his way to the land of the Master Brahmins, Kardak, Lorna, and Balthar encounter this strange being who lives in a fortress designed to look like coffins. The Master himself looks like a green skeleton in purple robes and is able to raise beings like him from the dead as well as demonic vulture-bats. A precursor to Airboy's Misery perhaps?
Mayfair Monster: 1940 Pep Comics #1. Sir Rupert is after his ward’s money, so he dresses up as a werewolf to kill her, but instead is driven off and ultimately stopped by Inspector Bentley.
Ming Low: 1940, Zip Comics #9. In the Old West, Nevada Jones and Little Joe are investigating rumors and disappearances of people from the Southern Rockies. He finds a hidden jungle surrounded by the steep mountains and in this jungle in a cavernous lair is a gang of Asians and their mastermind Ming Lo. From here, conducts his criminal empire such as counterfeiting and beheading prisoners taken for whatever reason. Nevada leads an uprising of the prisoners and Ming is taken prisoner. Not too many Yellow Peril menaces in Old West stories.
The Mist: 1941, Top Notch Comics #15 (?). Able to dissolve himself into a mist thanks to a molecular disintergrater belt (yet still able to carry and grab things though not be touched himself) the Mist fought the Black Hood.
Mr. Nimbus: 1940, Zip Comics #9. Mr. Nimbus is an older looking man who seems to have the habit of referring to himself in the third person. He develops a deadly corrosive green gas that he first uses to rob an armored truck and then to launch confusion on the audience of an opera house while he snatches necklaces and such off panicked people in the crowd. He also has a glowing ring that he can use to numb the will and hypnotise. Despite his apparent age, he's able to give the Scarlet Avenger a run for his money.
Monocled Monster: 1941, Shield-Wizard #5. Foe of the Shield and Dusty. The Monocled Monster is a vampire. On the inside pages, he's normal looking apart from the monocle and fangs, and wears a tux with tails.His "home" is a mausoleum in the local graveyard and he travels the city looking for sustenance and those to convert to vampires. However, when he targets a young lad who turns out to be the Shield's partner Dusty as well as the girlfriend of the Shield's pal Ju Ju, he finds himself up against those heroes. In a twist, it is Ju Ju who stakes the Monster while the Shield holds him down and the duo seal him in his tomb. Like traditional vampires the Monocled Monster fears dawn and is able to transform into a large bat.
Monster: 1941: Shield-Wizard Comics #4. This costumed ghoul prowling the State Reformatory was seeking the secrets of eternal life by transferring it from youths who had to be terrified for it to work. The Wizard revealed him to be the warden Lewis, a fomer scientist and child psychologist.
The Monster II: 1943, Shield-Wizard 10. Tim Peters is hanged for the murder of the village mayor without benefit of trial. Only thing, he's innocent. As he swings from the tree, a lightning bolt strikes him bringing him back to life. He shambles back into town to exact vengeance on the real killer. However, his neck is broken so his head lolls about giving him a horrendous appearance and the lightning has made his touch electrifying. He accidentally kills a neighbor's dog, his girlfriend and her new boyfriend (didn't take her too long) before moving onto the mayor. Blane Whitney and Roy are there to look into his case and as the Wizard and Roy, the Superboy, they clash with Tim. Tackled by the Superboy, Tim falls against a radiator, contact with his powers causing a huge fire where he presumably perishes again.
Monster of Shadow Pond: 1940, Zip Comics #2. "Professor Heaslip had come to Shadow Pond with a group of scientists, but strange things had happened. Three men had died. They had disappeared into the pond, and their bodies had never returned. Tracks of a pre-historic monster had been found!" So, naturally the Professor calls on Mr. Satan to investigate. Turns out that Heaslip¹s brother wanted the Radium Ray invention that the scientists were working on as well as Mrs. Heaslip. The two of them used the pond's reputation and a modified diving suit in efforts to rid themselves of the rest.
Mosconians: 1940 Pep Comics/Top Notch?. This fictional country wages war against America. The Shield, the Wizard, and the Midshipman Lee Samson guest star in each others’ strips as this storyline crosses strip and comic titles
Mother Goose: 1942, Pep Comics 30. A woman raises three sons who abandon her when they reach adulthood. Years later the sons receive odd nursery rhyme invitations to join their uncle John at the castle of Cradle Island and receive their inheritance. They find themselves stalked and killed with nursery rhymes malignantly changed to fit their deaths. The old hag calling herself Mother Goose is revealed by the Hangman as their uncle who was getting revenge for them leaving his sister. He commits suicide at the end.
Mummy: 1941, Top Notch Comics 11. A magician in the time of King Tut armed with all the secrets of evil. He conspired against the legacy of the pharoahs and was put to death and mummified. However, when dug up, he awakens in the museum and kills the scientists who found him. Before returning to sleep in his sarcophagus, he leaves the mark of a beetle on their foreheads. However, the murders attract the attention of the Firefly. His strength is almost but not quite equal of the hero’s and he’s returned to his coffin which is promptly buried.
Natcha: 1941, Blue Ribbon Comics #8. Natcha is a modern day amazon, a tough woman leads an all-male gang of jewel thieves, tougher than any of them. Stopped by Hercules.
Nameless Nine: Blue Ribbon Comics #5. A group of racketeers who run the local political government machine opposed by Hercules. Symbolically representing the 9 headed Hydra.
Night Riders: 1940, Blue Ribbon Comics #4. A group of dark robed hooded masked men terrorizing a West Virginia town, whipping citizens to death. They are indirectly responsible for Paul Patton to become the Fox after they beat him and kidnap the reporter Ruth Ransom. They are basically a Klu Klux Klan organization and stopped by the new hero, the Fox.
Oom the Mystic: 1943, Zip Comics #34. Fake medium exposed by Steel Sterling and Officer Clancy.
Owl: 1946, Pep Comics #58. Basically a re-tooling of a Hangman tale featuring the Walrus. The Owl is a former vaudeville performer captured years ago by the Shield and Dusty. He manages to get his pet seal to perform with him on stage for a prison show during which a massive jail break is staged. He and the seal manage to get out of jail but the seal is killed during the getaway leading to him crash his boat and a watery grave. The Owl is like all villains of that name, big round eyes and tufts of brown hair parted in the middle.
The Persian: 1942 Pep Comics 37.Tall and strong (enough to thrust a spear clean through two bodies), this unnamed Persian kills in efforts to get a lamp from a museum. He reveals to a captured Hangman that it’s the lamp of Aladdin and he then uses it to flee from the cops into the past, the distant past where he ends up at the end of a rope as one of the original thieves that stole Aladdin’s lamp.
Pied Piper: 1941, Top-Notch Comics #24. By playing a flute, this madman could control thousands of rats. However, he loses his instrument while fighting the Firefly aboard a deserted freighter and is attacked by his own rats. The Firefly throws kerosene on the rats, setting the vermin, his opponent and ship on fire and they sink into the depths.
Poet Pirate: 1942, Blue Ribbon Comics 21. 16th Century pirate, with long red hair, beard, and an eye patch. He's as bad a pirate as they come, only he has a penchant for writing verse and carries his book of poems with everywhere he goes. It's his only possession when found floating in the sea. Before he's hanged, he writes a few verses which purport to show the location of a great treasure if figured out. The book passes from hand to hand through the centuries as people murder for the chance to own the book and find the treasure until it ends up in the hands of the villainous Black Hand.
Poker Face: 1942, Zip Comics #23. In the African jungle, 3 men are playing poker, when one starts winning heavily, Rudolph Wane slips him a spiked drink and Anthony Phelps stabbed him. The two murderers shared the loot and left the man for dead when natives found him. He returned, vowing revenge. He returned sending threatening letters and a poker chip to announce his vengeance. When he kills Wane with a specially treated dart, Wane's features fade, becoming pale and mask-like, a poker face similar to the villain's own. He proves a master of disguise and expertly disguises himself as Phelps in order to try to trap the hero Black Jack. It's unclear whether Poker Face's white featureless face is intended to be a mask or some tragic condition.
Portygee - the Hooker: 1940, Pep Comics #8. Called the hooker because of a hook instead of a right hand, this man was a shark fisherman before he turned to smuggling Chinese into the country. Only he'd dump them for shark food if the officials got on his tail. Eventually he hits upon the plan of smuggling them inside large sharks. He and the man he works for, Commissioner Warren, are undone by Fu Chang and his chessmen. NOTE: the plan of smuggling Chinese inside of large fish was also related in a Lt. Drake of Naval Intelligence strip in Mystery Man Comics #12 by Fox.
Princess Cleo: 1940, Zip Comics #8. Princess Cleo is really a woman called Sonia who has a record and seems to be a bit of an actress or scam artist. She's recruited by a group of red hooded and robed men to pass herself off as being descended of pharaohs to the wealthy of Formal Park district in New York City and sow fear by helping them commit murders and pass them off as a "Curse of the Pharaohs". Part of the trick is to drug certain ones that will give temporary homicidal mania. However, the plan is quickly stumbled upon Dudley Bradshaw aka Mr. Satant and his would be girlfriend Doris. The leader of the robed men is unmasked as Benjie Frasier, one of their own, who knew of plans to build a reservoir and wanted to scare off the inhabitants and buy the valuable land cheap.
Princess Ling Foy: 1940 Pep Comics #4. With her large metal robots she tries to smash the Ti Yang Tong but Fu Chang destroys them with acid. When he spurns her after letting her go she makes an effigy that she is able to hurt Chang through. She also is able to summon little Chinese demon sprites. She is apparently shot to death by Chang’s girlfriend Tay Ming. The witch-princess has Chinese features and complexion but European style blonde hair.
Quantus: 1940, Top Notch Comics #7. Venesian pirate and foe of Streak Chandler.
Queen of Hearts: 1942, Zip Comics #22. Queen Cleopatra lives again and sails into New York harbor on an ancient Egyptian barge. A young man named Tony Mark falls madly in love with her with one look and convinced he’s Marc Anthony reborn joins her. She becomes the rage of society and the rich and powerful fall under her sway and commit suicide by poison. Blackjack confronts her and she kills Anthony and commits suicide, her spirit flying out a window and body crumbling to dust. NOTE: Just as there is a prophecy about her being reincarnated and a reign of terror, there is another warning her that her great foe in the past would confront her again, suggesting that Blackjack too is a reincarnated soul.
Queen Loha: 1940, Zip Comics #8. Queen Loha rules natives in a hidden kingdom among the Shining Mountains, so-called because of the light they reflect. Her men kidnap Kate Goodwill, Kalthar's intended mate. He comes, kills some lions, rescues Kate's and cuts off the bridge that spans the chasm to their kingdom.
The Radium Corpse: 1943, Jackpot #9. Mike O'Hara is a killer and slated for execution. Nearby, Dr. Edward Stimes has been experimenting with radium and using it to make someone immune to death and is apparently ready for human trials. He secretly aims his machine to the coordinates of the execution chamber and bathes O'Hara in the rays the same time the switch is thrown. O'Hara is bathed in a blinding blue light and he dies but there's no pulse in his body and he's pronounced dead. Mr. Justice is suspicious and is investigating when Stimes arrives. Stimes is shocked to find O'Hara not only dead, but his skin burnt away. O'Hara rises, his body glowing and the flesh transparent enough to show his skeleton (ala Dr. Phosphorous) and for some reason now has pointed ears. He kills a guard and Stimes flees back to his lab, to destroy the machine and end O'Hara's un-natural life. Mr. Justice changes to his ghost form and goes to Hell to see the Keeper of Lost Souls, for he knows that O'Hara died and thus his soul has moved on. After a brief struggle with the Keeper and Imps of Hell, he gets the scepter and heads back to the realm of the living. O'Hara has managed to track down Stimes, the destruction of the machine doesn't kill him and O'Hara kills the doctor as Mr. Justice arrives. Using the scepter and a spell that he knows, he commands the spirit of O'Hara back into the corpse. Once the corpse is animated once more, it becomes mortal and the radium consumes him. The Radium Corpse is colored yellow with a white corona, but the text says he glows blue. He doesn't seem to have any other powers beyond his un-natural life, the two killings he commits are by strangulation.
Radium King: 1940, Zip Comics #4. Masked villain stealing Radium, and revealed to be just another identity of the presumed dead Black Knight, foe of Steel Sterling.
Rattler: Killer dressed in scales with a snake mask and used needles to kill. Captured by Inferno and Steel Sterling in an adventure that helped prompt Inferno to reform to the life of the straight and narrow.
Ratzer: Blue Ribbon Comics. Ruthless Nazi "whose cunning and savge deviltry make him feared from Bombay to Bristol!" He wears purple suit complete with hood and aviation goggles and a yellow cape and belt. He has a cunning mind and is an able pilot. But it's Corporal Collins, not a masked hero that opposes him.
Reklek: Pep Comics. Tyrant of the Diamond Empire and opposed by the rightful ruler the Queen of Diamonds and Earthman named Rocket.
Rialb: Blue Ribbon Comics. A villainous mystic who could summon up monsters to do his bidding. Foe of Mr. Justice NOTE:The name is a play on Mr. Justice creator/writer's name Joe Blair.
Ribo: Blue Ribbon Comics. Green skinned villain with an evil eye. Stopped by Mr. Justice.
Gustave Ritter: 1940, Blue Ribbon Comics #4. WWII has lasted to the year 2039 and much of civilization is in ruins. Gustav Ritter is a half-caste Mongol warlord whose barbaric hordes have conquered much of what is left and enslaved them even though his armies are only armed with knives, spears, bows and arrows. He uses his slaves to build a massive palace (more akin to Hindu architecture than Mongolian). He's opposed by Doc Strong and a small gang of scientists who seek to rebuild civilization and science.
Robot Gang: Pep Comics #1. Only on the cover fighting the Shield. But they look too cool to pass up at least mentioning.
Harold Rogers/Sir Harold Rogers: 1942, Blue Ribbon Comics #22. Harold Rogers is walking by an old castle when he gets an eerie feeling. When he investigates he is greeted by the caretaker and discovers he is the spitting image of his ancestor Harold Rogers who lived there years before. Further research reveals that in 1040 his ancestor betrayed Prince James, and he and his men were in return destroyed by James' ghost before it went to rest until freed as Mr. Justice centuries later. That night, sleeping in the castle, Rogers is greeted by the ghost of his namesake who sends him on a mission into the past to destroy Prince James' body and therefore Mr. Justice. However, when pursued by Mr. Justice into the past, Rogers sets fire to the castle by accident, burning his ancestor's body and while fleeing is impaled on spikes and dies 9 centuries before his birth.
Mr. Romero: 1941, Jackpot Comics #1. Dope smuggler and head of a Chinese gang in Chinatown. He comes up with a method of smuggling powdered dope in hollow eggs. However, near the Chinese newyear, the eggs go to a café by mistake and get painted green (green eggs being considered symbols of luck and prosperity according to the story) and handed out to customers. Romero's chief henchman Tang and the rest go about killing and stealing green eggs, drawing the attention of Steel Sterling and his cop pals.
Saki: 1940 Zip Comics #6. In Egyptasia, Saki leads a group of cultists who worship the long dead King Akkaman. Saki has dark skin, wears a hat and cloak and brown robes. He also possesses some psychic abilities such as hypnosis and speak backwards magic. His men are turned into mummies and left entombed in the tomb of King Akkaman. Presumably he is too. Their defeat was at the magical hands of Zambini.
Satan I: 1940 Pep Comics #2 (un-named). He’s the crime boss behind the Face in the Clouds and survives to return in issue 3 to fight the Comet again. This time through the aid of Doc Zadar, a hypnotist, the Comet is bent to their will robbing and murdering. Only Satan is keeping larger portions of the loot for himself and Doc Zadar sics the Comet on him to kill.
Satan II: 1940 Zip Comics #3. Satan is a ruler of Underworld and Devil-Men (they have devil-horns). As he's defeated by Zambini who manages to freeze his Hell and kill him and his minions, it can probably be assumed that he's not really THE Satan.
Doctor Scott: 1948, Pep Comics 65. Doctor Scott discovers a serum that can bring someone back to life. However, he’s betrayed by fellow scientist Dr. Ray before he can test it on someone he’s just killed and goes to the chair for murder. When another friend, Dr. Green revives him with his formula he hunts down those that put him away but is stopped by the Shield. He injects himself with a potion that kills rather than being captured.
Shark-man: 1941, Top-Notch Comics #22. Pearl divers off Malo Island are being attacked by the legendary Shark-man. When the vacationing Firefly investigates he finds that the Shark-man is in reality a thug by the name of Lobrow in the service of Tuana Masters, businessman and partner with Linda Marlow. He had hoped by scaring away the divers, Miss Marlow would sell her half of the island and business cheap. However, Masters is eaten by a Great White when he falls into the waters while fighting the Firefly.
Sheba: 1942, Top Notch Comics 27. A shipwreck leaves the Firefly and survivors on an island where they encounter Sheba, a white queen of ancient Ethiopia. She possesses magic that allows her to madden people through the glow of the moon. By means of a huge hourglass, she takes Firefly back to Ethiopia to rule beside her. This story was unfinished as Top Notch became a humor book the next issue.
Anton Schultz/Eric Schliztz: 1940, Zip Comics #1. An ace polo player, he lost in a match against the American twins Tom and Tim Shane in a rough game in which he twice fouled the twins. The feud is continued in the air over Europe as Schultz flies for the Nazis and they for the RAF. Unsure if Herr Schlitz is supposed to be the same man or not.
The Skull: 1940, Top Notch Comics. This malevolent mastermind was on a crimewave the cops couldn’t stop and even managed to frame one of their own: Kip Burland which led the officer to becoming the Black Hood in order to stop him. He has green skin, and death’s head face, wears a black suit and a flowing opera cape.
Snail: 1943, Pep Comics #44. Contortionist Twisto discovers that his wife has been playing him false with the strongman Samson. He attacks Samson but is knocked out by his own wife. While unconscious, Samson has him imbibe a poison, so when he comes to and goes through with his act, his muscles seize up and he's stuck in his final hunched over pose that makes his shadow resemble a gigantic snail. Bitter, he pursues the two lovers and comes up with slow ways to kill them and that embodiment of justice, the Hangman. He is killed when he blows up his hideout, but his wife and the Hangman manage to escape. NOTE: There's another Twisto who was a supervillain only he had real powers and fought Steel Sterling.
The Snake Charmer: 1943, Hangman Comics #8. Three explorers in India see a snake charmer with the very rare but sacred snake called a Ringed Python. At night while he sleeps, they steal the snake, but Baxter and Wiley are forced to leave Gorley who's being crushed to death by another python. As they leave, the Hindu awakens and imparts the "curse of the sacred python" upon them. In the states, they sell the snake for a half million and retire with their fortunes. However, one night Baxter hears oriental music and finds the snake in his bed. Under the control of the music, it crushes him to death. It turns out Wiley didn't keep his share, never wanting to steal the snake anyway and feeling bad about Gorley's death, he sent the money to his widow while Wiley still lives in a rundown neighborhood. It doesn't spare him from the curse. He's helped by the Hangman when the snake attacks, but it's too late. And the robed Snakecharmer knocks the Hangman out, leaving him alive to spread the tale of the curse. The Hangman deduces the snake came from the zoo and that it had to be an inside job. He unmasks the killer as none other than Gorley who was getting revenge for being left to die in India. He dies again, strangled by the python.
So-Guli: 1943, Shield-Wizard Comics #12.Voodoo priest that helps out overseer Mr. Johnson kill estate owner Mr. Garner. The Wizard and Roy, the Superboy get involved.
Son of the Skull: 1942, Jackpot Comics #6. The Son of the Skull adopts his father's look and goes after the men responsible for sending his dad to the electric chair. He knows that Kip Burland is the Black Hood. He has darts with a poison that turns the skin green and give them a skull like face as well as killing them.
The Strangler: 1942, Pep Comics #30. Almost looking like a hairless ape wearing a homemade costume, the Strangler is one of Hitler’s top agents. Despite his brutish appearance and sadistic pleasures, he likes to paint (something else in common with uncle Adolph). He went up against the newly powerless Shield.
Tania and Neek-olaus: 1940, Zip Comics. Tania is the beautiful "queen of the pirates" and she's aided by the devoted lovestruck Neek-olaus, famous first canonner of the ex-Czar's imperial army. Neek-olaus is a large man with a red beard and an eye-patch over his left eye and it turns out has a shrewish wife. Their schemes for wealth and power put them in conflict with Captain Valor and his gang.
The Telepathist: 1943, Shield-Wizard #10. Axis agent and mystic with telepathic powers. He is the head of a small group of saboteurs, fronted by a phony mystic Swami. He is able to levitate others and communicate directly with Hitler via telepathy. His mental powers seem to be on par with those of the Wizard but is defeated all the same.
The Terror: 1940 Pep Comics #2. The Terror of Rocky Pool, or simply the Terror, is a bat-winged, green skinned vampire that terrorizes the village of little Rockham (or possibly Little Rockham, darn all caps text) and lives in a ‘bottomless’ pool. However, when Inspector Bentley sees the Terror kill Mr. Blake, he suspects murder and investigates Blake's fiance Joan Edmunds, his cousin whom she really loves, and his uncle.
Texa: 1940, Zip Comics #3. Female scientist and villain whose abilities and inventions and organization rival those of her foe the Scarlet Avenger. Enough, that even the Avenger had trouble putting her away once and for all. Texa is a tall amazon and has a gang of hooded men. In addition to super-science, she has pterodactyl creatures, a large zeppelin and hypnosis abilities.
Tiger-Devil: 1940 Pep Comics #2. The Tiger-Devil Cult leaders plot to rule Chinatown with the aid of their god which they summon forth. They recognize they must first defeat the detective Fu Chang which they fail to do miserably.
Torgo: 1941, Shield-Wizard #4. A foreign saboteur who is wanted by the FBI. He has a way of killing with a poison that is put on goggles (such as ski goggles) that is activated by high speed. He is apparently killed when tangling with Roy, while the Wizard rescues Jane.
El Tornado: 1944, Zip Comics. The most ferocious bull in Mexico, having killed 75 matadors. Red Rube travels to Mexico on a good will tour and is expected to enter the arena against the bull. However, some Japanese spies have tried to fix things in Tornado's favor by drugging the hero with sleeping pills. Still Rube proved to be tougher than Tornado who spent the rest of his days as the most peaceful of all bulls.
Twisto the Rubber man: 1941, Zip Comics #9. Twisto is a jealous and paranoid circus performer. He claims to be from Kentucky, born of normal parents, but discovered his unique abilities at the age of 2. His bones are like rubber, allowing himself to stretch and mold his features. He is also a talented knife thrower. Having bought out the mortgage on the circus, he's killing off performers in order to drive it out of business so he can take over. When his wife Lilli, the lion tamer, finds out, he feeds the big cats human blood taken from himself so that they will attack and kill her. He then searches for a "replacement" and settles on Dora, the girlfriend of John Sterling aka Steel Sterling. He's captured but escapes from jail. He then hooks up with two other performers by blackmailing them with their past misdeeds: Hefto the Mighty Man and Inferno the Fire Breather. They "kill" John Sterling which Steel allowed as he found his dual identity as twin brothers was endangering lives of his friends. Hefto later died and the other two continued their crimes. Twisto himself is killed when he uses his ability to mold his face but accidentally makes himself look like the wanted felon "Pig Pan" Wood. He's mistaken for Wood and shot by police officer Clancy. When Wood hears of his apparent death, he becomes the villain the Rattler (see "The Rattler"). Inferno reforms and tries to save Steel's life only to have the hero save him so Inferno helps Steel capture the Rattler and then turned himself in to the police. Twisto's whole body seems to be of pliable rubber or putty, allowing him to twist and mold his features. However, when hit, his features can get misshapen and he doesn't seem to have the fine muscular control to remold them without use of his hands.
Tyrannasaurus Rex: 1942, Hangman Comics #4. Dr. Gonig brings back this prehistoric monster from Africa where it breaks loose and kills hundreds as it wanders across the country. However, it keeps seeking out heavily populated areas which leads the Hangman to smell a rat. Sure enough, he discovers the terrible lizard to be a machine driven by Gonig and other Nazis using it to destroy defense plants. The robot went over a cliff, killing everyone but the Hangman, and the metal became scrap for the war effort.
Ugly Man: 1942, Pep Comics #22. Carnival freak is billed as the Ugliest Man in the world. Unable to take the jeers and laughter anymore he decides to take revenge on the world. The Hangman tries to prevent him from this path, but it’s too late for the Ugly Man as he’s insane by this point. Ultimately, they clash and the Ugly Man flees to a hall of mirrors in trying to escape. He dies when he tries to dive through the mirrors. The tale ends on an ironic note as Bob (the Hangman) Dickering remarks the Ugly Man learned too late that you can’t take the law into your own hands.
Un-named - Dr. Volt: 1941, Jackpot Comics #4. Dr. Volt is a mad scientist with a pale/bluish pallor. He also has a strong-man assistant. He's torturing a woman when Steel Sterling and the Black Hood intervene.
Un-named - Green Skeleton Legion: 1942, Zip Comics #32. A pair of Green Skeleton Nazis lead a a group of gas masked soldiers but were opposed by Steel Sterling and the Web.
Un-named - Hunchback: 1942, Jackpot Comics #6. The Hunchback was a Japanese agent working alongside some Nazis, but they were busted by the team of Steel Sterling and the Black Hood. He carried a wicked blood dripped sword.
Un-named – Nazi Mole Man: 1942, Zip Comics #30. The Mole Man and his grotesque Troglodytes are engaging in some sabotage of a mine as well as killing a beautiful unconscious woman. Stopped by Steel Sterling and the Web.
Un-named - The Headless Men: 1940, Zip Comics #9. Group of large dark skinned men without heads but brains attached and thus able to operate independently. About to behead a woman and stopped by the hero Steel Sterling.
Un-named - Inferno Demon: 1940, Zip Comics #10. While Steel Sterling faced a man calling himself Inferno inside the book, that man was merely a circus fire eater and not a fully enflamed demonic looking force as the one on the cover.
Un-named - The Torture Squad: 1940, Zip Comics #8.The Torture Squad consists of three men. Two with green skin, one of whom has long fingernails indicating that he's probably the leader who does little to no physical activity himself and the other a tiny hunchbacked imp possibly directing him. Last, there's the large dark-skinned masked axe-man/executioner about to kill a woman bound to a spiked wheel. Sadly, only on the cover and more interesting than any of the stories within.
Vulture: 1941, Pep Comics 11. Clad in green complete with cowl, he seems to be a mad scientist complete with a television device that allows him to watch his agents and a secret laboratory in his own castle. In his first appearance he was behind an insurance fraud scheme: shipping magnate Mr. William Oswald would insure fake cargo and then the Vulture would destroy said cargo and they’d split the money. However, in carrying out the scheme, the Vulture’s men blow up a plane piloted by Dusty’s father leading the lad to become the partner of the Shield.
In a later appearance, he’s green skinned with a purple costume.
Walrus: 1942, Pep Comics 25?. Caught by the Hangman, this murderous Cockney gets his name from his bald head, drooping white mustache and prominent front teeth. He’s aided by a pet seal. Since he’s in jail at the start of issue 25, I don’t know if there’s a prior appearance where he was first captured or not.
Doctor Wang: 1941 Pep Comics 19 or 20? Japanese agent and foe of the Shield.
Werewolf of France: 1942, Zip Comics 32. In unoccupied areas of France, the werewolf (also called ‘the werewolf of the hills’) strikes, leaving terror in his wake. Military Intelligence calls in Steel Sterling to travel to France to stop the werewolf. The werewolf is strangely strong enough at one point to briefly go toe-to-toe with Sterling, but in the end is revealed to be a disguised Nazi. They needed body parts to patch up German soldiers, but couldn’t just take Frenchmen without causing an uprising, so they came up with the idea of werewolves to prey on the French (though we only see the one wolf and the doctor, there are hints of being more than one, maybe the doctor is the one Sterling fought earlier).
The Wherling Dervish: 1941, Top-Notch Comics 20. Firefly Foe.
Deuces Wilde: 1942, Zip Comics 26. A racketeer with city councilman Kent in his pocket. When the mayor dies suddenly putting Kent into the mayorship, the two frame Black Jack for murder putting him on the run until he can get evidence implicating Kent into the hands of the governor.
Walter Willard: Anthony Durrant writes: Walter Willard was a gossip columnist whose articles revealed that J.L. Bowen had imbezzled money from the insurance company where he worked, that Robert Frazer was begging on the streets to support his son Jack, and that the actress Bobby James was going into burlesque. Bowen committed suicide and was found by the metallic crimefighter, Steel Sterling, in his apartment, but Willard's body was later found in his apartment. Robert Frazer, Jack Frazer and Bobby James were brought to Willard's apartment by Sterling, and Ms. James confessed to having shot Walter Willard. However, Sterling discovers that Willard was dying of heart disease and that he had in fact taken his own life by gulping down his heart medication, which was a deadly poison in large doses. Walter Willard was based on the news commentator Walter Winchell.
Yehudis: 1943, Zip Comics #38. Two small mischievous gremlins called Yehudis are invisible, omniscient and providing secrets to the Nazis. Stopped by Steel Sterling. NOTE: I hate to speculate on such a matter here, but the name is too compelling. This could very well be an anti-Semitic jibe. Yehudis is a popular name for Jewish women and is indeed one of the great women heroines of the Jewish people. In 164 BC, Greek general Holofernes besieged the town of Bethulia. The town elders were about to surrender and the woman Yehudis rebuked them. She went to Holofernes and offered her services as a spy. Meeting with him privately in his tent, she fed him salty cheese leading him to drink large amounts of wine until he fell asleep. She beheaded him and fled back to her town. When his soldiers found the corpse they fled in fear, Yehudis saved her village with nothing more than cheese.
Yat Sing: 1940 Zip Comics #3. Another Asian warlord and foe of Captain Valor's.
Yen Fat Sing: 1940 Pep Comics #5. After a buried treasure, this yellow peril character has control of some man-eating trees that grow and seek after flesh in the night. He is killed when his car is run off the road by Fu Chang.
Yum Chac Cult: 1940, Zip Comics #8. Yum Chac is an ancient Mayan rain god and Zambini finds a cult of them holding sway in the Yucatan amongst ancient ruins who have convinced locals that foreigners are responsible for the drought and the way to end it is by sacrificing them. However, Zambini's powerful magic convinces them the errors of the ways. They wear enveloping red hoods and capes.
Zarro, the Master of Zombies: 1941, Jackpot Comics 1. Green skin, black mop top hair, large fiendish eyes and fanged teeth, his appearance alone is monstrous. He makes a pact with some Nazi agents to turn American workers into zombies for a plant in Haiti. However, when a rash of strange deaths without apparent causes occur in several American defense plants, Mr. Justice investigates. When he kills Zarro, the zombies are restored to living beings.