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Timeline_of_Earth-4_1930s_to_1950s [2016/03/07 21:56] – created docquantum | Timeline_of_Earth-4_1930s_to_1950s [2023/11/12 07:00] – docquantum | ||
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**Return to [[Timeline of Earth-4]]** | **Return to [[Timeline of Earth-4]]** | ||
- | **Return | + | **Go to [[Timeline of Earth-4 (19th century to 1920s)]]** |
- | **Continue to [[Timeline of Earth-4 (1960s to 1970s)]]** | + | ==== 1931 ==== |
- | **Timeline of Earth-4:** [[Timeline of Earth-4 (prehistory to 18th century)|prehistory to 18th century]] | [[Timeline of Earth-4 (19th century to 1920s)|19th century to 1920s]] | [[Timeline of Earth-4 (1930s to 1950s)|1930s to 1950s]] | [[Timeline of Earth-4 (1960s to 1970s)|1960s to 1970s]] | [[Timeline of Earth-4 (1980s to present)|1980s to present]] | [[Timeline of Earth-4 (the future)|the future]] | [[Timeline of Earth-4 (alternate timelines)|alternate timelines]] | + | * The first atomic rocket ship from Mars lands secretly on Earth near Helena, Montana. By 1948, over the next 17 years, 411 Martian ships secretly land on Earth, leaving behind over 40,000 Martians, who look identical to humans. Helena, Montana, is their landing base. //Note: This information was related in 1948 by a Martian calling himself Jason DeKoven, who may have been lying or exaggerating. Although at least two Martians are shown to have the strength of ten men, others may have no enhanced strength; certainly human-identical Martians depicted in other stories have no added strength. Still others may be affected by Earth diseases; it is possible that of the 40,000 Martians that landed on Earth over 17 years, most of them may have died from disease, since they lacked the immunity to fight it. Sometime after the failed 1948 invasion of Earth, most if not all of the remaining Martians are returned to Mars or otherwise die on Earth. It is also possible that Martian interference on Earth, whether intentional or otherwise, may have resulted in the age of super-powered men and women, beginning in 1939 with the debut of Wonder Man.// ["Zero Hour," The Mysterious Traveler (1943 Mutual Broadcasting System radio series)] |
+ | |||
+ | ==== 1933 ==== | ||
+ | |||
+ | * The Feeder, a sentient pocket of parasitic energy that feeds on fear, lands on Earth and inhabits an infant named Gantry Babbitt, who grows up to be first a juvenile delinquent and then a television preacher. [E-Man (First) #7] | ||
+ | |||
+ | ==== 1936 ==== | ||
+ | |||
+ | === April, 1936 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * April 19: [[William Donalley]], an electric company repairman, is electrocuted by high tension wires. Although he is apparently considered dead for three and a half hours, he comes back to life with vastly increased intelligence and various mental abilities. [" | ||
+ | |||
+ | === February, 1936 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * **[[Phantom XXI|The Phantom XXI]]**, real name Paul Walker, begins protecting the jungles of Bangalla as his ancestors have done for centuries. //Note: The Earth-4 Phantom is not exactly the same as the Phantom who appeared in the Phantom comic strip. For example, Diana Palmer was born much later and became the wife of the 1960s/1970s Phantom. Also, this Phantom is named Paul instead of Kit, a name he gives his son.// [The Phantom (King Features Syndicate newspaper comic strip)] | ||
+ | |||
+ | ==== 1937 ==== | ||
+ | |||
+ | === July, 1937 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * July 7: The Second Sino-Japanese War breaks out. | ||
+ | * Reporters Jack Flynn and Joan Joyce, lost in an unknown region of Tibet while en route to cover the war in China, meet the immortal [[Shangra]], | ||
+ | |||
+ | ==== 1938 ==== | ||
+ | |||
+ | * The Phantom XXI has an adventure that takes him to Casablanca, where he meets Rick Blaine. //Note: Some characters from the films Casablanca (1942) and the Maltese Falcon (1941) appear in this story.// [The Phantom (Charlton) #70] | ||
+ | * John Ordway, a research scientist afflicted with albinism, invents a serum that causes invisibility, | ||
+ | |||
+ | ===== The Heroic Age ===== | ||
+ | |||
+ | ==== 1939 ==== | ||
+ | |||
+ | === March, 1939 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Fred Carson becomes the super-powered mystery man known as **[[Wonder Man]]**, has a **single case**. [Wonder Comics #1] | ||
+ | * Wonder Man ends the devastating civil war in Tatonia by stopping the corrupt Gen. Attila, one of the leaders of the rebel army. //Note: Since the Spanish Civil War also ended at this time (officially ending on April 1, 1939), it is possible that Tatonia is either Spain itself, a province in Spain, or most likely a small country next to Spain. Gen. Attila is probably affiliated with Franco of Spain.// [Wonder Comics #1] | ||
+ | * [[Patty O' | ||
+ | * [[Dr. Fung]], master sleuth of the Orient, begins adventures, with ally Dan Barrister. [Wonder Comics #1] | ||
+ | * [[K-51]] (originally called K-5 and whose real name is Ken Flynn), agent in the Secret Service, begins adventures. //Note: K-51's name is never revealed in his original series.// [Wonder Comics #1] | ||
+ | * [[Gang-Buster Robinson|Richard G. " | ||
+ | * [[Spark Stevens]], sailor, begins adventures, with ally Chuck Lawton. [Wonder Comics #1] | ||
+ | |||
+ | === April, 1939 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * **[[Yarko the Great]]**, a magical mystery man considered the mightiest magician of all time, has his first public case. He defeats the second most powerful magician of the age, the evil Shaddiba, whom he had previously met in India. //Note: Yarko the Great has been active since 1937 and has helped law enforcement several times already. Since the character Mr. Mystic, created by Will Eisner to act as a backup series for the Spirit Section, is actually a retooled version of Yarko the Great, also created by Eisner, Mr. Mystic can be considered the Earth-X parallel of Yarko the Great.// [Wonder Comics #2] | ||
+ | * K-51 meets Claire Conos, alias agent [[Z-19]] of the Secret Service. [Wonder Comics #2] | ||
+ | |||
+ | === May, 1939 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Gary Preston becomes the super-powered mystery man known as **[[Flame (Gary Preston)|the Flame]]**. [Wonderworld Comics #11 (origin); Wonderworld Comics #3] | ||
+ | * Yarko the Great battles Death and the Devil. [Wonderworld Comics #3] | ||
+ | * K-51 battles recurring criminal foe [[Lin Sun]], a Mongolian princess, for the first time. Although Lin Sun appears to die, she actually fakes her death. //Note: K-51 and Z-19 (Claire Conos) become engaged sometime between this story and the next.// [Wonderworld Comics #3] | ||
+ | |||
+ | === June, 1939 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Walter Green, a former soldier whose wife was murdered by criminals, becomes the mystery-man and outlaw known as **[[Green Mask (Walter Green)|the Green Mask]]**, a modern-day Robin Hood based in New York City. Only " | ||
+ | * [[Chen Chang]], criminal mastermind who is accompanied by the sultry [[River Lily]], begins his criminal adventures, opposed by the heroic [[Richard Kendall]]. [Mystery Men Comics #1] | ||
+ | * [[Wing Turner]], air detective, begins adventures. [Mystery Men Comics #1] | ||
+ | * **[[Zanzibar]]**, | ||
+ | * [[Inspector Bancroft]] of Scotland Yard begins adventures. [Mystery Men Comics #1] | ||
+ | * Dan Garret, a rookie policeman, becomes the mystery man known as **[[Blue Beetle (Dan Garret)|the Blue Beetle]]**, originally a non-powered crime-fighter in a blue business suit, hat, and mask. His only confidante is Dr. Abe Franz, a druggist who keeps a special room in the back of his store for the Blue Beetle to operate from. In his first case, he avenges his policeman father who was killed. As a police officer himself, Dan is partnered with his father' | ||
+ | * [[D-13]] (Richard Anthony), secret agent, begins adventures. [Mystery Men Comics #1] | ||
+ | * [[Denny Scott|Captain Denny Scott]] of the Bengal Lancers begins adventures. [Mystery Men Comics #1] | ||
+ | * [[Lt. Drake]] of Naval Intelligence begins adventures. [Mystery Men Comics #1] | ||
+ | |||
+ | === July, 1939 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * The Blue Beetle begins wearing a short-sleeved chainmail costume devised by Dr. Abe Franz that makes him bulletproof. [Mystery Men Comics #2] | ||
+ | * For weeks, mysterious radio broadcasts announce the impending arrival of **[[Stardust the Super-Wizard]]**, | ||
+ | * Dr. Harry Kane, a brilliant young government chemist on a special assignment working on a formula for a new steel compound, is murdered by enemy agents who steal the formula, leaving his wife and assistant Shannon Kane a widow. Finding a formula for a spider-web fluid in his records, which Harry never found a use for, Shannon develops the formula and finds that when shot into the air the fluid becomes a thin, adhesive filament. Later inventing a set of special bracelets to contain the fluid and release it as needed, Shannon eventually uses it to become a mystery woman called the Spider Queen. //Note: The Spider Queen begins fighting crime sometime before her official debut two years later in July, 1941. The enemy agents are never identified; it is possible that these are agents of the Soviet Union rather than Nazi Germany, explaining why she hates communism.// | ||
+ | |||
+ | === August, 1939 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * K-51 seemingly averts the coming war in Europe, apparently stopping the plans of Hitler (who supposedly murdered Mussolini and is supposedly killed himself) and convincing Stalin not to cooperate with Hitler. Unfortunately, | ||
+ | * A powerful man known only as Rip-the-Blood, | ||
+ | * Stardust the Super-Wizard arrives on the planet Mars, where he battles individuals trying to start a world war there for the next four months. One of those individuals is an Earthman named Dr. Martinious, who traveled to Mars in his own rocketship sometime earlier and began making himself the warlord of Mars by stirring up Martian nations against each other. [Fantastic Comics #6] | ||
+ | |||
+ | === September, 1939 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * September 1: Germany invades Poland, sparking World War II. | ||
+ | * [[Yank Wilson|David " | ||
+ | * [[Captain Savage]], sea rover, begins adventures on the high seas. [Mystery Men Comics #4 (November, 1939)] | ||
+ | * The Blue Beetle now wears his familiar long-sleeved chainmail costume devised by Dr. Abe Franz that provides almost full-body protection from bullets. [Mystery Men Comics #4 (November, 1939)] | ||
+ | * The Green Mask gains a paralyzer-gun invented by a criminal scientist named Nicoli, alias the Professor. [Mystery Men Comics #4 (November, 1939)] | ||
+ | |||
+ | === October, 1939 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * During the 1939 World' | ||
+ | * Sam, a super-strong, | ||
+ | * [[Captain Kidd]], pilot, begins adventures. [Fantastic Comics #1] | ||
+ | * [[Flip Falcon]] (originally Flick Falcon), scientist and explorer, invents a fourth dimension machine and uses it to travel through the fourth dimension to explore various destinations, | ||
+ | * **Lin Sun**, recurring criminal foe of K-51, has her last recorded battle with K-51. [Wonderworld Comics #8] | ||
+ | |||
+ | === November, 1939 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * **Inspector Bancroft**' | ||
+ | * **Mob Buster Robinson**' | ||
+ | * Dr. Fung battles recurring criminal foes [[Karno the Chessman]] and his henchmen (several costumed, winged henchmen who use jet-packs to fly; one is dubbed [[Moth (villain)|the Moth]] by the press). [Wonderworld Comics #9] | ||
+ | |||
+ | === December, 1939 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Bill Powers (sometimes called Ted Powers) becomes the super-powered mystery man known as **[[Eagle (Bill Powers)|the Eagle]]**. [Science Comics #1] | ||
+ | * Jim Andrews gains electrical super-powers and becomes the mystery man known as **[[Dynamo (Jim Andrews)|Electro]]**. [Science Comics #1] | ||
+ | * **[[Marga, the Panther Woman]]**, is infused with panther blood and begins adventures alongside aviator Ted Grant in the jungles of Africa. [Science Comics #1] | ||
+ | * **[[Navy Jones]]**, able to breathe water and equipped with a special submarine, begins adventures in the deep sea, protecting the Undersea Kingdom populated by the fish-men (also called the gill-men) and ruled by Princess Coral and her father, the king of the sea. //Note: The Undersea Kingdom is also known as the Hidden Empire as seen in Doomsday +1 #4; although the events of Doomsday +1 take place in an alternate future, the Hidden Empire has existed for many centuries by that time and exists in the main timeline of Earth-4. Other underwater races include the chalk-white-skinned amphibians, who created the gill-men as well as their enemies, the shark-men.// | ||
+ | * At the end of the four-month-long Martian world war, Dr. Martinious has become the warlord of Mars. [Fantastic Comics #6] | ||
+ | * Stardust the Super-Wizard battles the Demon, a criminal scientist who believes the world is overpopulated and plans to destroy every large city in the world to reduce the population. The Demon creates a huge tidal wave that destroys an ocean liner, killing all 2000 passengers. Stardust kills the Demon and saves New York City from being destroyed by the tidal wave. //Note: Stardust the Super-Wizard has been on Mars stopping the world war there since August, 1939, and is thus too late to prevent the world war on Earth. It is possible that he is bound by strict rules concerning which criminals he can stop (such as those possessing super-scientific weapons that can immediately change the balance of power), explaining why he doesn' | ||
+ | * Recurring criminal foe **Karno the Chessman** with his henchman, **the Moth** (who dies), battle Dr. Fung for the last time. [Wonderworld Comics #10] | ||
+ | * The Crime Syndicate is formed when gangsters Frankie Ciconi of New York City, Rod Riley of Chicago, " | ||
+ | |||
+ | ==== 1940 ==== | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Doctor Doom, criminal scientist and mass-murderer, | ||
+ | |||
+ | === January, 1940 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * **Denny Scott**' | ||
+ | * Electro changes his mystery man name to **Dynamo**. [Science Comics #2] | ||
+ | * A giant unnamed mad scientist based in the Gobi Desert in Mongolia uses a chemical substance to create a volcano in the middle of Lake Michigan, but Stardust the Super-Wizard prevents it from destroying Chicago, Illinois. Stardust then delivers the giant to the Interplanetary Police. //Note: This is the first mention of the Interplanetary Police, which is not pictured.// [Fantastic Comics #4] | ||
+ | |||
+ | === February, 1940 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * The wealthy Jim Blake, endowed by a famous biologist with the power of flight and tremendous energy to overcome almost all obstacles, creates a winged flying costume to control his flight and becomes the mystery man known as **[[Lynx (Jim Blake)|the Moth]]**. [Mystery Men Comics #9] | ||
+ | * Grant Farrel is given super-powers by the god Thor and begins adventures as the mystery man called **[[Thor (Grant Farrel)|Thor]]**. [Weird Comics #1] | ||
+ | * [[Sorceress of Zoom|The Sorceress of Zoom]], sometimes a villainess, sometimes a heroine, begins adventures in Zoom, a traveling city in the clouds. //Note: The city of Zoom is probably originally from a magical dimension, such as the Land of the Nightshades.// | ||
+ | * [[Dr. Mortal]], criminal scientist, begins adventures. [Weird Comics #1] | ||
+ | * [[Voodoo Man|The Voodoo Man]], witch doctor, begins adventures, opposed by young Dr. Bob Warren. [Weird Comics #1] | ||
+ | * **[[Bird Man|The Bird Man]]**, gifted with the ability to fly, begins adventures on the plains. [Weird Comics #1] | ||
+ | * A group of super-scientific criminals known as the Miracle Men led by a criminal scientist called Wolf-Eye abduct the wealthiest men in the United States using invisible vacuum tubes, then demand outrageous ransom sums for each of them. The FBI decides not to cooperate, and Stardust the Super-Wizard arrives just in time to save several FBI agents from being destroyed by Wolf-Eye' | ||
+ | |||
+ | === March, 1940 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Flip Falcon stops the plan of his recurring foe, the fallen angel [[Lucifer (Earth-4)|Lucifer]], | ||
+ | * March 15: Dr. Martinious, the warlord of Mars, uses Martian technology to invade the Earth during the Ides of March. The Brain Men of Mars, working for Martinious, begin an invasion of Earth by bombarding it with meteorites containing disease germs and Martian insects. Stardust the Super-Wizard delivers crucial chemicals to scientists on Earth to combat the disease germs and insects, then attacks the Martian laboratory of the Brain Men. The governments of the world, including both the Allies and the Axis, unite to combat the Martian invasion of microbes using Stardust' | ||
+ | * March 21: Victor Sage is born in Crown City. | ||
+ | |||
+ | === April, 1940 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * A criminal gang led by " | ||
+ | * Percy Van Norton, wealthy playboy, becomes the super-powered mystery man known as **[[Strongman]]**. [Crash Comics #1] | ||
+ | * [[Buck Burke]], a zoologist commissioned to capture wild animals in Africa for American zoos, begins adventures with the help of his interpreter, | ||
+ | * [[Z-2]], secret agent, begins adventures. [Crash Comics #1] | ||
+ | * Don-Vin becomes the super-fast mystery man known as **[[Blue Streak (Don-Vin)|Blue Streak]]**. [Crash Comics #1] | ||
+ | * [[Flying Trio|The Flying Trio]] ([[Ray (Flying Trio)|Ray]], | ||
+ | * [[Jane Drake]], teenaged daughter of attorney Sheldon Drake, begins adventures as a detective aided by her boyfriend, Jerry King. [Crash Comics #1] | ||
+ | * Tom Kenny, a farm hand, gains super-speed after being caught up in a cyclone and becomes **[[Tornado Tom]]**. [Cyclone Comics #1] | ||
+ | * [[Mister Q]], master detective, begins adventures. [Cyclone Comics #1] | ||
+ | * [[Koroo the Black Lion]] begins adventures. [Cyclone Comics #1] | ||
+ | * [[Buzz Sawyer|Sgt. Buzz Sawyer]], state trooper, begins adventures. [Cyclone Comics #1] | ||
+ | * [[Ted Cameron]], soldier of fortune, begins adventures. [Cyclone Comics #1] | ||
+ | * [[Anthony Conrad]], explorer, discovers the lost kingdom of Artica below the Arctic Ocean and becomes its new king. [Cyclone Comics #1] | ||
+ | * [[Nick Nelson|Lt. Nick Nelson]] of the U.S. Navy begins adventures. [Cyclone Comics #1] | ||
+ | * [[King Vito]] of the ancient kingdom of Verdina flees his nation after the Germans invade. He, Queen Elga, and their child are taken to the Moon in a spacecraft invented by the elderly scientist, Nerim. King Vito establishes the Kingdom of the Moon. [Cyclone Comics #1] | ||
+ | * Guy Newton, a scientist, creates a device that turns him into the mystery man known as **[[Volton (Guy Newton)|Volton]]**, | ||
+ | * Peter Blake becomes the mystery man known as **[[Cyclone (Peter Blake)|Cyclone]]**. [Whirlwind Comics #1] | ||
+ | * [[Smash Dawson]], reporter for the //New York Record//, begins adventures. [Whirlwind Comics #1] | ||
+ | * [[William Blake (police officer)|Inspector William Blake]] of Scotland Yard begins adventures. //Note: Blake (born circa 1881) was the boy named Billy, who was the protege of Sherlock Holmes in the 1890s (see the 1939 film The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes), and he is recognized as Holmes' | ||
+ | * [[Wings Bordon]], aviator, begins adventures. [Whirlwind Comics #1] | ||
+ | * [[Jim Landis|Lt. Jim Landis]] of the U.S. Coast Guard begins adventures. [Whirlwind Comics #1] | ||
+ | * [[Dick Blaze]], college sports hero, begins adventures. [Whirlwind Comics #1] | ||
+ | * Marga, the Panther Woman, gains super-strength from a serum created by the evil Dr. Meier, who had sought to change her into one of his monstrous winged beasts, but her panther blood kept her from transforming. [Science Comics #5] | ||
+ | * Navy Jones meets Captain Nemo. [Science Comics #5] | ||
+ | |||
+ | === May, 1940 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * **Bird Man**' | ||
+ | * **Lt. Nick Nelson**' | ||
+ | * [[Robo]], an android of the little people, begins adventures. [Cyclone Comics #2] | ||
+ | * [[Scoop Hanlon]], reporter, begins adventures. [Whirlwind Comics #2] | ||
+ | * The Emerald Men of Asperus, based on an asteroid between Mars and Jupiter, bombard the Earth with special missiles meant to knock it out of orbit, but Stardust the Super-Wizard causes them to become inert. Stardust then battles and defeats the Emerald Men, then relocates Asperus to another solar system that is uninhabited. //Note: The Emerald Men use the same type of transmitting suits later used by Space Smith in the 22nd century.// [Fantastic Comics #8] | ||
+ | |||
+ | === June, 1940 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Michael Shelby and his father, Senator Dan Shelby, are gunned down by agents of the Grim Circle; the senator dies, but his son barely clings to life. Prof. Martin Lascomb uses his experimental vita-ray machine to revive the injured Michael, but an accident causes him to be struck by thousands of volts of electricity at the same time, granting him the super-powers of strength, vitality, and limited flight. After meeting Walter Green, who retires as the original **Green Mask**, Shelby becomes **[[Green Mask (Michael Shelby)|the Green Mask II]]**. An orphaned boy named Don Mason is injured and also healed by vita-rays, which grant him vitality but doesn' | ||
+ | * The Blue Beetle begins using Vitamin 2X, created by Dr. Abe Franz, which originally grants the Blue Beetle super-energy but later enables him to gain full-fledged super-powers. [Mystery Men Comics #13] | ||
+ | * Jim Blake changes his costumed name from the Moth to **the Lynx**. He adopts an orphaned boy named Phil, who becomes **[[Blackie the Mystery Boy]]**, the Lynx's teenaged crime-fighting partner. [Mystery Men Comics #13] | ||
+ | * The Eagle loses his wings and gains flight power through his cape. [Science Comics #7] | ||
+ | * Caius Martius, an ancient Roman, awakens from a 2,200-year sleep and becomes the mystery man known as **[[Dart (Caius Martius)|the Dart]]**, taking the name Caius Martius Wheeler in his everyday identity as high school history teacher. Andy Barlow becomes **[[Ace the Amazing Boy]]**, the Dart's teenaged crime-fighting partner, nicknamed the Amazing Boy. [Weird Comics #5] | ||
+ | * **Thor**' | ||
+ | * The Sorceress of Zoom attacks the city of Nagpur, India, but the aging Hindu sorcerer Rana Bhat (Rani-Bey) and his son Loknath Bhat (Lani-Bey) successfully fend off her attack. //Note: Since Bey is a Turkish-based title and a Muslim surname, it would be unusual to say the least for a Hindu family to bear this name; therefore, we have assumed that the names " | ||
+ | * [[Jag (jaguar)|Jag]], | ||
+ | * In deep space, Stardust the Super-Wizard battles the interplanetary space warlord Moloka, destroying his fleet and preventing him from invading the solar system. [Fantastic Comics #9] | ||
+ | |||
+ | === July, 1940 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * David Merrywether becomes the mystery man known as **[[Cat-Man (David Merrywether)|the Cat-Man]]**. [Crash Comics #4] | ||
+ | * Peter Thor gains super-powers and begins adventures as **[[" | ||
+ | * An unnamed amnesiac boy becomes **[[David (hero)|David]]**, | ||
+ | * **Anthony Conrad**' | ||
+ | * [[Reynard the Fox]] begins adventures. [Cyclone Comics #4] | ||
+ | * **Cyclone**' | ||
+ | * **Smash Dawson**' | ||
+ | * **Inspector Blake**' | ||
+ | * **Wings Bordon**' | ||
+ | * **Lt. Jim Landis**' | ||
+ | * **Dick Blaze**' | ||
+ | * **Scoop Hanlon**' | ||
+ | * An extraterrestrial criminal scientist called the Super Fiend of the Lost Planet uses a thermal ray spore to cause the Martian moon of Phobos to burn, killing its entire population of Martian colonists in the process. The Super Fiend then sends the burning Phobos toward Earth to set it afire as well. Stardust the Super-Wizard saves Earth, stops the fires on Phobos, and returns Phobos to its orbit around Mars. Stardust battles the Super Fiend and leaves him on the ruined moon of Phobos, alone with the charred bodies of all the Martians he murdered. //Note: In the story, the entire population of Mars is killed by fire, while the planet itself is sent to strike Earth. Since other stories show the Martian population still thriving, there must be another explanation. We theorize that it was the largest of Mars' two moons, Phobos, that was populated by Martian colonists and that was sent to Earth.// [Fantastic Comics #10] | ||
+ | |||
+ | === August, 1940 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * A huge criminal gang led by " | ||
+ | * The Blue Beetle begins regularly working alongside [[Joan Mason]], reporter for the //New York Chronicle// (later for the //Daily Star//). //Note: Since Joan Mason is already known to Blue Beetle in this story, it is possible that the Blue Beetle actually met Joan Mason in an earlier story featuring an unnamed kidnapped female reporter with strawberry blonde hair as seen in the 6th story (about an arson ring) in Blue Beetle #2 (May, 1940). Joan Mason is depicted as a blonde in this story.// [Mystery Men Comics #15] | ||
+ | * K-51 begins using special vitamins that make him super-strong or increase his mental powers and hearing. //Note: The vitamins K-51 uses are probably very similar to Vitamin 2X, invented by Dr. Abe Franz and used by the Blue Beetle. It is possible that K-51 began using these vitamins in the previous story or even earlier.// [Wonderworld Comics #18] | ||
+ | * The Sorceress of Zoom briefly travels through time to the 6th century of Camelot, where she meets Sir Gareth and outwits the sorceress Morgana Le Fay, only to be outwitted herself by the wizard Merlin, who sends her back to her own time. [Weird Comics #7] | ||
+ | * The Blue Beetle teams up with the Green Mask II and Domino. [" | ||
+ | |||
+ | === September, 1940 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * The Blue Beetle begins to gain super-powers from Vitamin 2X. [Blue Beetle #5] | ||
+ | * [[Bob Preston]], explorer, has a **single adventure**. [Crash Comics #5] | ||
+ | * Flip Falcon saves Earth from a destructive beam created by an alien being from the fourth dimension named Chongo. [Fantastic Comics #12] | ||
+ | * **Tornado Tom**' | ||
+ | * **Sgt. Buzz Sawyer**' | ||
+ | * **Ted Cameron**' | ||
+ | * **Volton**' | ||
+ | * **Mister Q**'s last case. [Cyclone Comics #5] | ||
+ | * **Koroo the Black Lion**' | ||
+ | * **King Vito**' | ||
+ | * **Robo**' | ||
+ | * **Jag**' | ||
+ | * **Reynard the Fox**' | ||
+ | * Kaos, a criminal scientist on the planet Venus, attempts to conquer Earth using gigantic vulture-like creatures able to fly at incredible speeds and crush concrete and bend metal between their powerful talons. Using a special beam, Kaos transmits the vultures into Earth' | ||
+ | |||
+ | === October, 1940 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Bud Huston becomes **[[Buddy the Daredevil Boy]]**, the Eagle' | ||
+ | * Flip Falcon stops the plans of Chang, a Tibetan lama who has invented his own fourth dimension machine and tried to loose all the monsters of the fourth dimension on Earth in an attempt to conquer the world. [Fantastic Comics #13] | ||
+ | * Stardust the Super-Wizard uncovers a gigantic Fifth Column in the United States led by a scientist named Yew Bee. The Fifth Column installs its own officers at crucial defense points along the East Coast, where they cripple the defense and early warning systems, allowing a fleet of transport ships to bring in thousands of super-tanks to New York City and a fleet of bombers to reach U.S. airspace. Stardust causes the bombers to destroy the line of super-tanks, | ||
+ | * October 7: The Blue Beetle, the Flame, and Samson team up for the first time as **[[Big Three|the Big Three]]**. [supposition based on the cover of Big 3 #1] | ||
+ | |||
+ | === November, 1940 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Stardust the Super-Wizard learns that large numbers of the Fifth Column have survived and plan to take over South America and then the United States. He also learns that Nazi Germany has been approached by emissaries from Mars known as the Sky-Demons, who send a fleet of rocketships to assist Germany' | ||
+ | * George Davis becomes the mystery man known as **[[Black Lion]]**. His nephew, Larry Davis, becomes **[[Cub|the Cub]]**, the Black Lion's teenaged crime-fighting partner. They battle their recurring criminal foe, [[Blitz]]. [Wonderworld Comics #21] | ||
+ | * The Lynx battles recurring criminal foe [[Rook|the Rook]] (who uses a hypnoray) for the first time. [Mystery Men Comics #18] | ||
+ | |||
+ | === December, 1940 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Stardust the Super-Wizard, | ||
+ | * The Eagle and Buddy fight recurring criminal foes [[Beast (villain)|the Beast]] and [[Gimp|the Gimp]] (rivals) for the first time. [Weird Comics #11] | ||
+ | * The Flame battles recurring criminal foe [[Doctor Drool]] for the first time, after the villain was brought back to life after being executed for his crimes. [Flame #4] | ||
+ | |||
+ | ==== 1941 ==== | ||
+ | |||
+ | === January, 1941 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Yank Wilson foils a planned Japanese (" | ||
+ | * A gangster named " | ||
+ | * In his last known case on Earth, **Stardust the Super-Wizard** uncovers a plot by a criminal gang led by " | ||
+ | * K-51 is promoted to Chief of the Espionage Bureau of the National Defense Committee. //Note: It is possible that K-51 gained this rank in the previous story or even earlier.// [Wonderworld Comics #23] | ||
+ | |||
+ | === February, 1941 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * John Perry becomes the mystery man known as **[[Black Fury (John Perry)|the Black Fury]]**. **[[Black Fury (Chuck Marley)|Chuck Marley]]** becomes the Black Fury's teenaged crime-fighting partner, known only as **Chuck**. [Fantastic Comics #17] | ||
+ | * February 5: Steve Austin -- the future cyborg OSI agent nicknamed the Six Million Dollar Man -- is born to Capt. Carl Austin of the U.S. Army Air Force and his wife Helen. //Note: Austin' | ||
+ | |||
+ | === March, 1941 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * [[Blaze Baylor]], anti-arsonist, | ||
+ | * [[Deacon|The Deacon]], a reformed crook, begins adventures with sidekick Mickey Matthews. [Cat-Man Comics #1] | ||
+ | * Dr. Drake Gorden gains a black diamond that gives him super-strength and becomes the mystery man known as **[[Doctor Diamond]]**. [Cat-Man Comics #1] | ||
+ | * [[Lucky Landers]], war correspondent, | ||
+ | * [[Hurricane Harrigan|Hank " | ||
+ | * Reporter Jay Garson, Jr., becomes the mystery man known as **[[Rag-Man (Jay Garson, Jr.)|the Rag-Man]]**, | ||
+ | * Linda Masters becomes the mystery woman known as **[[Black Widow (Linda Masters)|the Black Widow]]** and has a **single case** in which she brings to justice the men who murdered her husband. [Cat-Man Comics #1] | ||
+ | * [[Lance Rand]], explorer and soldier of fortune, begins adventures. [Cat-Man Comics #1] | ||
+ | * The Black Fury and Chuck battle recurring criminal foe [[Fang|the Fang]], who can become invisible, for the first time. [Fantastic Comics #18] | ||
+ | |||
+ | === April, 1941 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * [[" | ||
+ | * [[Commandos of the Devil Dogs|The Commandos of the Devil Dogs]] begin adventures. [Cat-Man Comics #2] | ||
+ | * **The Beast** and **the Gimp**, recurring criminal foes of the Eagle and Buddy, apparently die (the Beast kills the Gimp, and Eagle kills the Beast, but the two villains have both come back from the dead before). [Weird Comics #15] | ||
+ | * **Doctor Drool**, recurring criminal foe of the Flame, has his last recorded battle with the Flame, in which he dies for the third time but apparently revives (he was brought back to life already twice before). [Flame #5] | ||
+ | * **The Rook**, recurring criminal foe of the Lynx and Blackie, battles the Lynx for the last time. [Mystery Men Comics #23] | ||
+ | |||
+ | === May, 1941 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Lawyer Steve Prentice becomes the mystery man known as **[[Pied Piper (Steve Prentice)|the Pied Piper]]**. [Cat-Man Comics #2] | ||
+ | * **Lucifer**, | ||
+ | * The Eagle joins the U.S. Army. [Weird Comics #16] | ||
+ | * **Dr. Mortal**' | ||
+ | * **Black Lion** and **the Cub**' | ||
+ | * **Wing Turner**' | ||
+ | * **K-51**' | ||
+ | * The Green Mask II regains his power of flight for the first time in months through a vita-ray treatment. [The Green Mask, Mystery Men Comics #24 (July, 1941)] | ||
+ | |||
+ | === June, 1941 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * After he is visited by the spirit of his Revolutionary War era ancestor, John Fearless dresses in buckskins and becomes the mystery man known as **[[Captain Fearless]]**. [Captain Fearless #1] | ||
+ | * [[Dick Carter|Sgt. Dick Carter]] of the United States Border Patrol begins adventures guarding the U.S.-Mexico border. [Captain Fearless #1] | ||
+ | * Joe Smith operates as the mystery man known as **[[Alias X]]** (he is actually just called X). //Note: According to the initial story, X has been fighting crime for about a year by this time.// [Captain Fearless #1] | ||
+ | * [[Diamond Jim]], adventurer, begins adventures. [Captain Fearless #1] | ||
+ | * [[Hannibal Stone|Capt. Hannibal Stone]] (originally called Capt. Hannibal Storms), ace investigator of the Naval Marine Intelligance, | ||
+ | * The unnamed son of the Unknown Soldier becomes the mystery man known as **[[Citizen Smith]]**. [Captain Fearless #1] | ||
+ | * [[Pat Corrigan]], trooper, begins adventures. [Captain Fearless #1] | ||
+ | * Joan Wayne, stenographer, | ||
+ | * [[Rusty Dugan|Corp. Rusty Dugan]] begins adventures as a member of the French Foreign Legion. [Captain Fearless #1] | ||
+ | * The magical mystery man known as **[[Mister Miracle (Earth-4)|Mister Miracle]]** begins adventures. [Captain Fearless #1] | ||
+ | * Michael Shelby (the Green Mask II) meets Olivia Tracy, his love interest, when the Green Mask II proves that her uncle John Healey is innocent of murdering his partner, who faked his death. They also meet Olivia' | ||
+ | * **" | ||
+ | * Jim O' | ||
+ | * **The Fang**, recurring criminal foe of the Black Fury and Chuck, has his last recorded battle with Black Fury. [Fantastic Comics #21] | ||
+ | * **Flip Falcon**' | ||
+ | * **Captain Savage**' | ||
+ | * In **Navy Jones**' | ||
+ | * **Chen Chang**' | ||
+ | * Lens Crockett, photographer, | ||
+ | * **Lt. Drake**' | ||
+ | * Jack Cody becomes the western-based mystery man known as **[[Black Rider|the Black Rider]]**. [Weird Comics #17] | ||
+ | * **[[U.S. Jones]]** becomes a patriotic mystery man under his own name, accompanied by his plainclothes pal, [[Grumbler Harris]]. [Wonderworld Comics #28] | ||
+ | * **[[Lu-Nar]]** arrives on Earth and begins adventures as a mystery man. //Note: Lu-Nar (often called Lunar) is likely a member of an offshoot of the Martian race, which is ten times stronger than humans.// [Wonderworld Comics #28] | ||
+ | * June 9: Modifying a useless black-light ray device sent to her father to create her blackout ray, Sandra Knight decides to start adventuring as a costumed mystery-woman called **[[Phantom Lady (Earth-4)|Phantom Lady]]**, and soon creates a yellow and green costume for herself, as well as equipping the front and the back of a black roadster with blackout rays. In her first case as a costumed mystery-woman, | ||
+ | |||
+ | === July, 1941 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Shannon Kane becomes a mystery woman known as **[[Spider Queen|the Spider Queen]]**, often assisted by plainclothes detective Mike O' | ||
+ | * [[Nagana, the Queen of Evil]], a criminal mastermind, begins adventures. [Fantastic Comics #22] | ||
+ | * **Captain Kidd**' | ||
+ | * **D-13**' | ||
+ | * Samson battles the Japanese agent known as [[Dragon (villain)|the Dragon]] and his sister, [[Orchid (Earth-4)]], | ||
+ | * **The Wasp**, recurring criminal foe of Samson, has his last recorded battle with Samson. [Samson #6] | ||
+ | * [[Dirk Delancey]], convict-turned-special agent, begins adventures. [Samson #6] | ||
+ | * Barry Graham becomes the tuxedo-clad mystery man known as **[[Topper|the Topper]]**. [Samson #6] | ||
+ | * [[Peg Miller]], girl detective, begins adventures. [Samson #6] | ||
+ | * [[Swoop Curtis]], aviator, begins adventures. [Weird Comics #18] | ||
+ | * **Doctor Diamond**' | ||
+ | * **Blaze Baylor**' | ||
+ | * **Citizen Smith**' | ||
+ | * The Green Mask II battles a costumed killer called the Manx, who is equipped with a steel claw on a band on his right wrist. //Note: The Manx, a male minx, resembles DC's Wildcat, except with a brown costume.// [The Green Mask, Mystery Men Comics #26 (September, 1941)] | ||
+ | * Samson battles recurring criminal foe [[Wasp (Earth-4)|the Wasp]], a bald midget killer, for the first time. [Big 3 #5] | ||
+ | * When the Hermese Embassy in Washington, D.C., burns down, killing the ambassador, the tiny Asian nation of Herma blames the U.S. and threatens war. Phantom Lady discovers that the fire was caused by agents of Imperial Japan, who plan to step in and take over Herma in the guise of protecting it from the U.S. Phantom Lady finds and rescues Ambassador Kivoya of Herma, ending the threat of war between the U.S. and Herma. //Note: Imperial Japan is referred to in this story as Kioland.// [Phantom Lady, Police Comics #2 (September, 1941)] | ||
+ | |||
+ | === August, 1941 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Jack Castle, a criminal scientist, has his brain transferred into the body of a gorilla and begins his war on mankind as [[Gorilla|the Gorilla]]. [Blue Beetle #9] | ||
+ | * Jake Baxter becomes the aviator mystery man known as **[[Blackbird|the Blackbird]]**. [Blue Beetle #9] | ||
+ | * [[Davy the Wish Master]] is an ordinary, poverty-stricken boy suddenly given the magical ability to have his wishes granted. [Blue Beetle #9] | ||
+ | * Two adventurers from the 19th century, [[Yank (Earth-4)|the Yank]] and [[Rebel (Earth-4)|the Rebel]], arrive in the 20th century to help America in her hour of need. [Flame #7] | ||
+ | * **[[Tumbler]]**, | ||
+ | * Gary Kennedy dies and returns as the ghostly mystery man, **[[Wraith|the Wraith]]**, able to briefly possess people as well as create a solid form of his Gary Kennedy identity when needed. [Mystery Men Comics #27] | ||
+ | * Linda Dale gains super-powers and becomes **[[Flame Girl]]**, the Flame' | ||
+ | * U.S. Jones joins the Secret Service as an agent. [Wonderworld Comics #30] | ||
+ | * After Don Borden is kidnapped by a Nazi spy nest, Phantom Lady frees him and helps subdue the spies after being framed for the kidnapping herself, and Don begins to notice her resemblance to Sandra Knight. [Phantom Lady, Police Comics #3 (October, 1941)] | ||
+ | |||
+ | === September, 1941 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * **Samson** and **David**' | ||
+ | * Dan Kenneth, art aficionado, becomes the Roman-themed mystery man known as **[[Gladiator|the Gladiator]]**. [Fantastic Comics #23] | ||
+ | * **Dynamo**' | ||
+ | * **The Gorilla**' | ||
+ | * Phantom Lady saves Don Borden and the English ambassador from two Nazi spies named Kurtz and Heine, who sabotaged a dirigible before a test flight with a time bomb and replaced the American crew with Germans. [Phantom Lady, Police Comics #4 (November, 1941)] | ||
+ | |||
+ | === October, 1941 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Katie Conn becomes the Cat-Man' | ||
+ | * FBI agent Craig Williams becomes the mystery man known as **[[Hood|the Hood]]**. [Cat-Man Comics #5] | ||
+ | * [[Captain Aero]], a pilot fighting the Japanese in the Pacific Theater of World War II, begins adventures. [Captain Aero Comics #1] | ||
+ | * Major Hornet, aide to U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, becomes the mystery man known as **[[Flagman]]**, | ||
+ | * **[[Solar]]**, | ||
+ | * **Blackbird**' | ||
+ | * **Tumbler**' | ||
+ | * Phantom Lady exposes Captain Ortega of Parador as a Nazi spy and stops him before he can sink a U.S. Navy ship. [Phantom Lady, Police Comics #5 (December, 1941)] | ||
+ | |||
+ | === November, 1941 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Rusty (Flagman' | ||
+ | * U.S. Jones battles the fang-toothed villain [[Moloch]], who is a Nazi agent and master of disguise, during a **single case**, but Moloch may have appeared earlier. [U.S. Jones #2] | ||
+ | * U.S. Jones battles his recurring criminal foe, [[Crimson Saint|the Crimson Saint]], in **two cases**. [U.S. Jones #2] | ||
+ | * **Grumbler Harris**, pal of U.S. Jones, makes his last appearance. [U.S. Jones #2] | ||
+ | * **Dirk Delancey**' | ||
+ | * **Topper**' | ||
+ | * **Peg Miller**' | ||
+ | * **Spider Queen**' | ||
+ | * **Voodoo Man**' | ||
+ | * **The Yank and the Rebel**' | ||
+ | * **Eagle** and **Buddy**' | ||
+ | * **Sorceress of Zoom**' | ||
+ | * **Dart** and **Ace**' | ||
+ | * **Marga, the Panther Woman**' | ||
+ | * **Black Rider**' | ||
+ | * **Swoop Curtis**' | ||
+ | * **[[Rapier|The Rapier]]**, a mystery man, has a **single case**. [Weird Comics #20] | ||
+ | * **Patty O' | ||
+ | * **Yarko the Great**' | ||
+ | * **Dr. Fung**' | ||
+ | * **Lu-Nar**' | ||
+ | * Olivia Tracy, girlfriend of Michael Shelby (the Green Mask II), becomes the guardian of her infant nephew, Joseph Nemo. [" | ||
+ | |||
+ | === December, 1941 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Phantom Lady captures a group of Nazi spies after Sir Edward Hendville is murdered at the English Embassy during a war-relief masquerade. [Phantom Lady, Police Comics #7 (February, 1942)] | ||
+ | * December 7: With the entry of the United States into World War II, several mystery men abandon their costumed identities and enlist. Some die during the war, while most of the others that survive the war simply never return to their costumed identities. [speculation based on the fact that Fox Feature Publications went bankrupt in early 1942 and ceased publishing, ending the adventures of a number of mystery men and adventurers] | ||
+ | * Inspired by the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the entry of the United States into World War II, the patriotic Jerry Steele joins the **[[V-Agents]]** and becomes **V-Man**, leader of the **[[V-Boys]]**, | ||
+ | * On December 9, U.S. war correspondent Jack Wayne is blinded by the Nazis while in Germany. A doctor calling himself Doctor Dismal gives him a special pair of glasses that enables him to see, and he becomes the mystery man known as **[[Blackout (Jack Wayne)|Blackout]]**, | ||
+ | * After being shipwrecked, | ||
+ | * [[Al Addin]], a young boy, gains a magic lamp with a genie at his command and begins adventures. [Cat-Man Comics #7] | ||
+ | * **Flame** and **Flame Girl**' | ||
+ | * V-Man takes Samson' | ||
+ | * **Davy the Wish Master**' | ||
+ | * **Gladiator**' | ||
+ | * **Nightbird**' | ||
+ | * **Green Mask** and **Domino**' | ||
+ | * **Wraith**' | ||
+ | * **Lynx** and **Blackie**' | ||
+ | * **Zanzibar**' | ||
+ | |||
+ | ==== 1942 ==== | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Adolf Hitler gains the Tabriz Rose, a Persian rug woven by rugmaker Haji Al Ub centuries ago and cursed to drive any man of evil who owns it mad. ["The Room of Madness," | ||
+ | |||
+ | === January, 1942 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * **[[Mystery Men of America|The Mystery Men of America]]** is formed by eight costumed mystery-men: | ||
+ | * Lee Ainsley, counter-espionage agent, is believed to be killed but fights Nazi agents under the name [[Black Friday]]. [Cat-Man Comics #8] | ||
+ | * **[[Volton (android)|Volton II]]** appears. //Note: This is an android with all of the original Volton' | ||
+ | * Mickey Matthews and Katie Conn (the Kitten) form [[Little Leaders|the Little Leaders]], a duo team of teenaged crime-fighters. [Cat-Man Comics #8] | ||
+ | * **Queen of Evil**' | ||
+ | * **Banshee**' | ||
+ | * **Yank Wilson**' | ||
+ | * Sandra Knight, Senator Henry Knight, and Don Borden visit Havana, Cuba, where Phantom Lady and Don round up a group of Nazis planning to take over the island nation in a coup. [Phantom Lady, Police Comics #8 (March, 1942)] | ||
+ | |||
+ | === February, 1942 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * [[Captain Aero's Sky Scouts]] (youngsters Jimmy Blair and Bobby Blair) begin adventures. //Note: The Sky Scouts may have appeared in earlier issues.// [Captain Aero Comics #4] | ||
+ | * Dan Collins, playboy millionaire, | ||
+ | |||
+ | === March, 1942 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * World War I flying ace Chuck Benson returns to his old identity of **[[Phantom Falcon|the Phantom Falcon]]**, costumed aviator, and begins adventures fighting the Axis in the skies above Europe and Asia. [Cat-Man Comics #10] | ||
+ | |||
+ | === April, 1942 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * **Black Fury** and **Chuck**' | ||
+ | * Sparkington J. Northrup, an American orphan raised in England by his adoptive father, Lord Wellington Northrup of Suppleshire, | ||
+ | |||
+ | === May, 1942 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * **Volton II**'s last case in the 1940s. [Cat-Man Comics #12] | ||
+ | |||
+ | === June, 1942 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Blue Beetle battles [[Death Mask]], a villain wearing a green death' | ||
+ | |||
+ | === July, 1942 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Dr. Peter Hall becomes the mystery man known as **[[Red Cross|the Red Cross]]**. [Captain Aero Comics #8] | ||
+ | * [[Hammerhead Hawley]] begins adventures. [Captain Aero Comics #8] | ||
+ | * Blue Beetle battles the Red Robe (who is likely the **Death Mask**), whom he unmasks as Otto Bohm, head of the Nazi Gestapo in the United States. ["Red Robe of Death," | ||
+ | * Blue Beetle battles the Japanese agent called the [[Yellow Fang]]. Joan Mason begins volunteering part-time as a nurse. ["The Terror of Yellow Fang," Blue Beetle #14 (September, 1942)] | ||
+ | * Blue Beetle battles [[Eye|the Eye]], who uses powerful, instantaneous hypnotism to make people do his bidding. ["The Blue Beetle Matches Wits with the Eye," Blue Beetle #14 (September, 1942)] | ||
+ | * Sparkington J. Northrup arrives in the United States, and patrolmen Dan Garret (Blue Beetle) and his partner Mike Mannigan are assigned to protect him from Nazi Gestapo agents led by an assassin named Hautman, who seek to kidnap the boy, who is sent to live with the Cartwright family in New York City. After the Nazis make a second attempt to kidnap Sparkington, | ||
+ | * Sparkington J. Northrup, alias Sparky, joins the League of Infinity, comprising members from several historical and future eras. [speculation] | ||
+ | * One rainy night, Phantom Lady helps capture a group of Nazi saboteurs in Washington, D.C., after Sandra Knight and Don Borden find the corpse of a federal investigator. [Phantom Lady, Police Comics #11 (September, 1942)] | ||
+ | |||
+ | === August, 1942 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * The Blue Beetle and Sparky battle [[Madam Fang]], a Japanese agent. //Note: Madam Fang's lieutenant, Moto, may be the father of the villainous scientist Dr. Tetsuo Moto and the grandfather of the heroic boy scientist Akira Moto; see " | ||
+ | * After Sandra Knight and her father Senator Henry Knight visit U.S. Army testing grounds to find new army tanks in poor shape, Sandra goes undercover by getting a job in the factory as a riveter, where she makes a friend named Maisie. Phantom Lady quickly discovers saboteurs at work damaging one tank with acid, sledgehammers, | ||
+ | |||
+ | === September, 1942 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * [[Sherlock Holmes]], somehow retaining his youth since the Victorian Age, is brought out of retirement to assist the Allied war effort in a series of cases. In his first case, Holmes is enlisted by the inner council of British Intelligence to assist them in stopping Nazi saboteurs in Britain whose activities are announced in advance on the radio. Dr. Watson, still retaining some youth himself, assists him. //Note: The Sherlock Holmes of this film series is the same Sherlock Holmes of the 1956 Charlton series. The original stories written for The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1939 radio series), which were broadcast beginning in 1943 after the radio series ran out of the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle-written stories, take place in the Victorian Era.// [Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror (1942 Universal Studios film)] | ||
+ | * **The Phantom Falcon** dies while destroying a Japanese base and killing 20,000 Japanese soldiers, preventing an attack on the Allied forces. [Cat-Man Comics #15] | ||
+ | * **The Devil Dogs**' | ||
+ | * Phantom Lady is framed for bombing a neutral foreign consul in Washington, D.C., and hunted by the law. While driving with her friend Maisie, Sandra Knight gives a ride to a woman wearing a Phantom Lady costume beneath her coat, and Phantom Lady discovers that she is an impostor working for Nazi agents. Phantom Lady stops their next plan, which is to bomb the White House. [Phantom Lady, Police Comics #13 (November, 1942)] | ||
+ | |||
+ | === October, 1942 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * The Blue Beetle and Sparky battle [[Mimic (Chalmers)|the Mimic]], a master of disguise named Chalmers, who supposedly **dies**. ["Who is the Mimic?" | ||
+ | * October 24-25: While Sandra Knight and her spinster Aunt Priscilla are visiting the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, Phantom Lady stops two criminals working for a German spy from drugging the soldiers' | ||
+ | |||
+ | === November, 1942 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Sparky changes his nickname to **Spunky**. [Blue Beetle #18] | ||
+ | * The Blue Beetle and Spunky battle [[Red Knight (German villain)|the Red Knight]], a German officer capitalizing on an ancient curse dating from the Crusades to gain a huge, invaluable diamond. ["The Case of the Red Knight," | ||
+ | * **Hammerhead Hawley**' | ||
+ | |||
+ | === December, 1942 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Sandra Knight visits the home of Baron Thorpe, who runs an informal school instructing gullible women on how to be a spy. One young woman named Melinda uses her knowledge to plant a clock containing a dictagraph within it, then delivers it to Baron Thorpe, not realizing he is a real Nazi spy and has helped him learn when the U.S. Navy ship the //S.S. Ambria// is sailing the next day. Phantom Lady, suspecting Thorpe, rescues Melinda from from her imprisonment in Thorpe' | ||
+ | |||
+ | ==== circa 1942-1945 - World War II ==== | ||
+ | |||
+ | * [[Ian Heath]], the Iron Corporal, has adventures as an American volunteer in the Australian army in New Guinea. [Army War Heroes #22-37] | ||
+ | * [[Rufus Archer|Captain Rufus Archer]] and [[Corporal Jack]] have adventures. [Army War Heroes #24-29] | ||
+ | * [[American Eagle|The American Eagle]], the most-feared fighter pilot in Europe' | ||
+ | * [[Devil' | ||
+ | |||
+ | ==== 1943 ==== | ||
+ | |||
+ | === January, 1943 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * **V-Man**' | ||
+ | * **Spark Stevens**' | ||
+ | * Spider Queen and Mike O'Bell battle and defeat the Spider Man, a German saboteur riding a mechanical spider. [Feature Comics #66] | ||
+ | * The Masters of the Elements (minor incarnations of the Olympian gods) save the life of a toddler named David Crandall, son of Floyd and Myra Crandall, also imbuing him with some of their power over fire, earth, air, and water, which will turn him into Nature Boy thirteen years later. [Nature Boy #3] | ||
+ | |||
+ | === February, 1943 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Sherlock Holmes battles arch-foe [[James Moriarty|Professor Moriarty]], who is still alive and in league with the Nazis. Moriarty supposedly dies at the conclusion of this case, but in reality he survives once more. [Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon (1943 Universal Studios film)] | ||
+ | |||
+ | === April, 1943 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * In the city of Knickerbocker, | ||
+ | * Sherlock Holmes has a case in the United States. [Sherlock Holmes in Washington (1943 Universal Studios film)] | ||
+ | * Dan Garret (Blue Beetle) quits the police force to enlist as an intelligence agent, spending a few months in training until his graduation at this time, alongside his new friend Bill Dailey. ["The Case of the Transformation," | ||
+ | * Phantom Lady (Sandra Knight) saves her father Senator Henry Knight from being killed by a time-bomb set beneath his house by criminals. //Note: This is the first of three murder attempts on Senator Knight or his daughter over two months.// [" | ||
+ | * April 25: During an Easter egg hunt at the Knight estate, Sandra Knight and Don Borden uncover a plot by a man dressed as the Easter Bunny to kill Senator Henry Knight with explosives in the shape of golden eggs. Phantom Lady unmasks the Easter Bunny as Killer Dan, a criminal whom Knight sentenced to prison ten years ago when he was a judge. //Note: Phantom Lady wears a black domino mask in this story. This is the second of three murder attempts on Senator Knight or his daughter over two months.// [" | ||
+ | |||
+ | === May, 1943 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * [[Willy Shultz|Captain Willy Shultz]], an American officer in North Africa (the Germans withdrew from North Africa in May of 1943, hence the first half of the series takes place before and during that withdrawal) of German extraction is falsely accused of a battlefield murder, supposedly having killed his commanding officer who was actually killed by a German soldier. He gets railroaded into a court-martial and is convicted of murder and sentenced to hang, though he escapes into the desert and dons the uniform of a dead German soldier, seeking refuge in the Afrika Corps. ["The Charge Is Murder," | ||
+ | * Sandra Knight (Phantom Lady) is nearly murdered by two assassins working for a gang boss who wants to get even with her father Senator Henry Knight for his racket-busting. //Note: This is the third of three murder attempts on Senator Knight or his daughter over two months.// [Phantom Lady, Police Comics #19 (May, 1943)] | ||
+ | |||
+ | === June, 1943 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Sgt. Rip Jagger, the last remaining U.S. soldier on a small island in the South Pacific, is taught martial arts by a Japanese martial arts master known only as Sensei after saving the life of his granddaughter, | ||
+ | * Receiving a note from Detective Mike O'Bell that Senator Henry Knight is being held prisoner, Phantom Lady rushes to the docks, where she fights a gang and frees both O'Bell (who was captured shortly before) and Senator Knight. //Note: In the original story, the Raven appears instead of Mike O' | ||
+ | * Detective Mike O'Bell introduces Sandra Knight (Phantom Lady) to Shannon Kane (the Spider Queen), in order to capture the gang responsible for the assassination attempts on Sandra and her father, Senator Henry Knight. But after the Spider Queen and Phantom Lady track down the gang leader and fight the gang with O' | ||
+ | * The gang responsible for trying to assassinate Senator Henry Knight lures Phantom Lady, the Spider Queen, and Detective Mike O'Bell into a trap by sending a note to Phantom Lady purportedly from the Spider Queen challenging her to a duel, while the Spider Queen receives a similar note. Spying on the two as they duel, the gangsters recognize them without their masks before they start shooting at them, striking O'Bell with a bullet in the back. Phantom Lady and the Spider Queen capture the killers and hand them over to the police, while O'Bell is hospitalized for a few weeks. [" | ||
+ | |||
+ | === July, 1943 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * While talking on the phone with Sandra Knight (Phantom Lady), Shannon Kane (the Spider Queen) is kidnapped by a gang and taken to the remote Lookout Hotel. There Shannon finds that Detective Mike O'Bell has supposedly joined the gang responsible for assassination attempts on Sandra and her father, Senator Henry Knight. The big boss, Larkins, arrives soon after disguised as Senator Knight, since he intends to replace him for a few days in the U.S. Senate. Phantom Lady arrives to rescue the Spider Queen but ends up needing a rescue by O' | ||
+ | * Detective Mike O'Bell attempts to end the feud between the Spider Queen and Phantom Lady by forcing them to work together, only to put all their lives in danger when gangsters try to kill them. Working together, they defeat the gang, and the two heroines become friends at last. [" | ||
+ | * Saying goodbye to the Spider Queen and Detective Mike O' | ||
+ | |||
+ | === August, 1943 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * In her last solo case, **Phantom Lady** (Sandra Knight) fights a group of lunatics who have escaped from the asylum and taken over her home after tying up the servants. [Phantom Lady, Police Comics #23 (October, 1943)] | ||
+ | |||
+ | === September, 1943 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * [[Durrand Draw]], detective, begin adventures. [Blue Beetle (Holyoke) #27] | ||
+ | |||
+ | === October, 1943 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Dr. Malcolm Muir becomes the mystery man known as **[[Grey Mask|the Grey Mask]]**, assisted by the Dove. [Suspense Comics #1] | ||
+ | * [[Martin Corliss]], a private detective known as the Tracker, begins adventures. [Suspense Comics #1] | ||
+ | * [[Sunset Kid]], private detective, begins adventures. [Suspense Comics #1] | ||
+ | * [[Boxie Weaver]], prize fighter, begin adventures. [Blue Beetle (Holyoke) #28] | ||
+ | * October 22: Phantom Lady leaves the Mystery Men of America to form **[[All-Girl Squad|the All-Girl Squad]]** with Miss Victory, Spider Queen, and Marga the Panther Woman, fighting Nazi agents. [speculation based on Femforce Special #1] | ||
+ | |||
+ | === November, 1943 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * [[Kid Terrific]], adventurer, begins adventures accompanied by teenaged crime-fighting partner Jimmie. [Terrific Comics #1] | ||
+ | * [[Juggernaut]], | ||
+ | * [[Mister Nobody]], mystery detective, begins adventures. [Terrific Comics #1] | ||
+ | * [[Buck Jordan]] and [[Broncho Boyd]], soldiers, begin adventures. [Terrific Comics #1] | ||
+ | |||
+ | === December, 1943 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * [[Mysterious Traveler|The Mysterious Traveler]] first appears, telling tales of mystery, detection, and suspense. //Note: A number of early episodes state that, prior to becoming the Mysterious Traveler, he practised medicine or worked as a coroner, usually under the name Dr. Smith.// [The Mysterious Traveler (1943 Mutual Broadcasting System radio series); Mysterious Traveler Comics #1; The Mysterious Traveler Magazine] | ||
+ | |||
+ | ==== 1944 ==== | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Eve Eden is born sometime this year, the daughter of Sen. Wayne Eden and his wife Magda, an exiled princess of the Land of the Nightshades. | ||
+ | |||
+ | === January, 1944 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Capt. Lloyd Raleigh of U.S. Army Intelligence becomes the mystery man known as **[[Boomerang]]**, | ||
+ | * [[Molly O' | ||
+ | * [[Captain Flight]], aviator, begins adventures. [Captain Flight Comics #1] | ||
+ | * [[Ace Reynolds]], war correspondent, | ||
+ | * [[Professor X]], crime doctor, begins adventures. [Captain Flight Comics #1] | ||
+ | * [[Dash the Avenger]] has a **single case**. [Captain Flight Comics #1] | ||
+ | |||
+ | === February, 1944 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * **Martin Corliss**' | ||
+ | |||
+ | === March, 1944 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * **Professor X**'s last case. [Captain Flight Comics #2] | ||
+ | |||
+ | === April, 1944 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * [[Hell' | ||
+ | * Joan Mason, reporter friend of the Blue Beetle, begins solo adventures. [Blue Beetle #31] | ||
+ | * [[Dusty Dugan]] has a **single case**. [Power Comics #1] | ||
+ | * [[Jerry Jr.]] begins adventures. [Power Comics #1] | ||
+ | * [[Terry Moore]], detective, has a **single case**. [Power Comics #1] | ||
+ | * Dr. Richard Dale visits the elderly Prof. Clark, for whom he was a lab assistant ten years earlier. He learns that Clark and his assistant Barton have invented an advanced robot named Alpha, which has an artificial brain of protoplasm combined with a small amount of brain tissue from an executed murderer named Richards. Believing that Clark plans to destroy it, Alpha kills Clark, then destroys a car and kills its driver, Jed Thompson, leaving the passenger Fred Jennings as a witness. Barton explains that Clark asked Dale there to help them build more robots and shows him Beta, the second robot built by Clark that looked perfectly human but was insane because it also had Richards' | ||
+ | |||
+ | === May, 1944 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Michael Shawn, taxi driver (originally named Matty Martin), dons a tuxedo and top hat to become the mystery man known as **[[Reckoner|the Reckoner]]**, | ||
+ | * Dennis Quinn, air ace of World War I, fights in World War II as the aviator mystery man known as **[[Golden Eagle|the Golden Eagle]]**, accompanied by his pet eagle, Liberty. [Contact Comics #1] | ||
+ | * Col. Moore Williams becomes the mystery man known as **[[Flamingo|the Flamingo]]**. [Contact Comics #1] | ||
+ | * Mary Roche, a physical therapist and aviator, becomes the leatherclad mystery woman known as **[[Black Venus]]**. [Contact Comics #1] | ||
+ | * [[Tommy Tomahawk]], pilot, begins adventures accompanied by his pal, Red Wing. [Contact Comics #1] | ||
+ | * [[Speed Spaulding]], | ||
+ | * [[ZB-3]], secret agent, begins adventures. [Captain Flight Comics #3] | ||
+ | * [[Zaan]] of the jungle begins adventures. [Captain Flight Comics #3] | ||
+ | * **Captain Willy Shultz**' | ||
+ | * **Jerry Jr.**' | ||
+ | * Visiting Canada for a conference on the occult, Sherlock Holmes solves the mystery of the legendary monster of La Mort Rouge. [The Scarlet Claw (1944 Universal Studios film)] | ||
+ | |||
+ | === June, 1944 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * On his 15th birthday, schoolboy Johnny Green becomes the super-powered mystery man **[[Green Mask (Johnny Green)|the Green Mask III]]** when he screams emotionally. //Note: Johnny' | ||
+ | * Capt. Patrick Kelly, a U.S. Army Air Force pilot in the Pacific Theatre of War, becomes known as [[Rocket Kelly]] after he is shot down on the Burma Road, is imprisoned by Japanese soldiers, and finally escapes by affixing a rocket to his plane that he got from a dying fellow prisoner who is a brilliant engineer. Capt. Kelly is accompanied by Corp. Whacky, a former Brooklyn cab driver who acts as his gunner and mechanic in their modified plane, the Rocket-Avenger. Kelly' | ||
+ | * [[Satan (Earth-4)|Satan]], | ||
+ | * **[[Black Raider]]** begins adventures. [Power Comics #3] | ||
+ | * **[[Doctor Mephisto]]** begins adventures. [Power Comics #3] | ||
+ | * **[[Miss Espionage]]** begins adventures. [Power Comics #3] | ||
+ | * **[[Merlin the Boy Magician]]** begins adventures. [Power Comics #3] | ||
+ | * **Spunky**' | ||
+ | |||
+ | === July, 1944 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Vince Harley, crime fiction writer for Dark Detective Magazine, becomes involved in a jewel robbery as source material for a story, and he is discovered by the thieves who use a carton of yellowjackets to finish him off. Harley discovers he is immune to bee stings, which actually grant him superhuman strength, and he soon acquires the ability to control them. He seeks revenge as the costumed mystery man known as **[[Yellowjacket]]** and continues his costumed career after capturing them. //Note: Yellowjacket' | ||
+ | * The goddess **[[Diana the Huntress]]**, | ||
+ | * [[Danny King]], the famed circus animal trainer called the King of the Beasts, begins adventures. [Yellowjacket Comics #1] | ||
+ | * Juan Martinez becomes known as [[Fip, the Filipino Kid]], Phillippine resistance fighter and spy who works against the Japanese occupation of the Phillippines and spies in Japan for the U.S.. [Yellowjacket Comics #1] | ||
+ | * Anteas (Antaeus) of Greek myth, in the form of a statue sculpted by his descendant, artist Adam Anteas, Jr., becomes the mystery man known as **[[Bouncer|the Bouncer]]**. [The Bouncer #10] | ||
+ | * [[Kitty Kelly]], adventuress, | ||
+ | * During the " | ||
+ | * **Boomerang** and **Diana**' | ||
+ | * **Doctor Mephisto**' | ||
+ | * **Miss Espionage**' | ||
+ | |||
+ | === August, 1944 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Tetsuro Tanaka, a 13-year-old Japanese orphan, becomes **[[Judomaster (Tiger Tanaka)|Tiger]]**, | ||
+ | * Rocket Kelly and Whacky meet the mysterious Manta, leader of a primitive tribe in Burma. She soon joins Kelly and Whacky in their adventures. [The Bouncer #12] | ||
+ | |||
+ | === September, 1944 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Alan Dale (also called Alan Hale), a puppet shop owner, becomes the mystery man known as **[[Captain V]]**. //Note: It's possible that Alan Dale is related to Linda Dale, also known as Flame Girl, and Barry Dale, also known as Atoman.// [All Top Comics (1944)] | ||
+ | * [[Merciless the Sorceress]], | ||
+ | * **[[Red Robbins]]**, | ||
+ | * [[Titan (detective)|Titan]], | ||
+ | * [[Johnny Earthquake]] begins adventures. [All Top Comics (1944)] | ||
+ | * **Kid Terrific**' | ||
+ | * **Juggernaut**' | ||
+ | * **Buck Jordan** and **Broncho Boyd**' | ||
+ | * **Flamingo**' | ||
+ | |||
+ | === October, 1944 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Captain V changes his name to **the Puppeteer**. [All Good Comics (1944)] | ||
+ | * Anita (Ann) Morgan becomes the mystery woman known as **[[Purple Tigress|the Purple Tigress]]**. [All Good Comics (1944)] | ||
+ | * In Harlem, Red Robbins meets black teenager Sam " | ||
+ | * Jethro Dumont becomes **[[Green Lama|the Green Lama]]** and begins his adventures. //Note: this version of the Green Lama is the one designed by Mac Raboy and published by Spark Publications; | ||
+ | * Tuffy, Mickey, and Wellington Smith team up as the boy gang known as [[Boy Champions|the Boy Champions]]. [Green Lama #1] | ||
+ | * Nerdy, bespectacled boy Wilbur Klutz gains super-powers and hires out his services as **[[Lieutenant Hercules]]**. [Green Lama #1] | ||
+ | * [[Rick Masters]], aviator, and his sidekick Mike, together nicknamed the Twin Eagles, begin adventures. [Green Lama #1] | ||
+ | * Mischievous magical fairy [[Angus MacErc]] begins adventures after being awoken by a V-2 rocket outside London, England. [Green Lama #1] | ||
+ | * [[Cap' | ||
+ | * [[Deep Sea Dawson]] begins adventures. [Captain Flight Comics #5] | ||
+ | * **Durrand Draw**' | ||
+ | * Rocket Kelly learns that his female ally Manta is really American nurse Susan Diana Andrews (daughter of Prof. Andrews, founder and head of a Burmese hospital). After a tribesman kills Prof. Andrews, Sue joins Kelly in his further adventures. //Note: Sue Andrews is originally known as Manta, then called Sue Andrews, and finally called Diana; we guess that Sue is her first name and Diana is her middle name, while Manta is a completely fictitious identity.// [The Bouncer #14] | ||
+ | |||
+ | === November, 1944 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Steve Drake, FBI agent, becomes the mystery man known as **[[Black Cobra|the Black Cobra]]**, spy smasher. An office boy at the FBI becomes his teenaged crime-fighting partner, **[[Cobra Kid|the Cobra Kid]]**. //Note: This is the Earth-4 version of the Black Cobra, a character originally published by Dynamic/ | ||
+ | * Rocket Kelly, Whacky, and Sue Andrews travel to the planet Selura. There, with the help of a dwarf ally named Sabio, they liberate the planet Selura from an Earthman named Dr. Malik, a scientist. Contacting Earth, they receive a reply stating that Kelly is the official Earth ambassador to Selura. On Earth, a rocketship capable of interplanetary travel called the New Yorker is built and launched into space, where it is magnetically pulled to Selura by Kelly. From this point on, Rocket Kelly becomes an interplanetary explorer and hero, traveling in a rocketship. //Note: Although it is not evident, the building of the New Yorker and the communications with Kelly on Selura are actually completely classified and top secret, known only to the highest levels. The public merely believes that a science fiction movie is being filmed. Probably the New Yorker was built using the same classified technology as that of Dr. Hans Zarkov, ally of Flash Gordon. It is never explained how Dr. Malik first traveled to Selura, but presumably he also had access to Zarkov' | ||
+ | |||
+ | === December, 1944 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Rocket Kelly meets his arch-nemesis, | ||
+ | |||
+ | ==== 1945 ==== | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Steve Lane, zoo keeper, becomes the mystery man known as **[[Jaguar Man]]** and has a **single case**. [All Great Comics (1945)] | ||
+ | * The White School on the multi-dimensional island of Tourmaline is attacked and bombed by a group of former students turned Nazi mystics from Earth-X, members of the Thule Society who seek to use the Clock Tower to conquer parallel universes and other dimensions. To defend itself, the island disappears into the mystical dimension of Darkworld, causing the Nazi mystics to drown in the ocean. Most of the instructors and students are saved, each returning to his or her world of origin and given partial amnesia about the island and the school. [" | ||
+ | |||
+ | === January, 1945 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Col. Carver, retired, becomes the aviator mystery man known as **[[Phantom Flyer|the Phantom Flyer]]** (also called the Flying Phantom), accompanied by his ward, Kenny, and has a **single case**. [Contact Comics #5] | ||
+ | |||
+ | === February, 1945 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * **Black Raider**' | ||
+ | * **Merlin the Boy Magician**' | ||
+ | * **[[Shroud]]** has a **single case**. [Mask Comics #2] | ||
+ | |||
+ | === March, 1945 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Kitty Kelly gains super-strength and briefly calls herself by the patriotic mystery woman name of **Yankee Girl**. [Captain Flight Comics #8] | ||
+ | * Don Wallace creates a flying suit and becomes the mystery man known as **[[Torpedo Man]]**. [Captain Flight Comics #8] | ||
+ | * **The Bouncer**' | ||
+ | |||
+ | === April, 1945 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * April 30: According to official reports, Adolf Hitler commits suicide. He had partly been maddened by the Tabriz Rose, a Persian rug woven by Haji Al Ub centuries ago and cursed to drive any man of evil who owns it mad. A Russian officer takes it back to Moscow. //Note: According to "Death Comes for Adolf Hitler" | ||
+ | |||
+ | === May, 1945 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * May 9: Adolf Hitler supposedly dies in the U-boat //Wolf// after having escaped Germany during the Battle of Berlin and substituted a corpse double for himself to be found by the Russians. //Note: This story may not necessarily be true, since it comes through a radio message by a German submarine officer, which may not be a reliable source.// [" | ||
+ | * Tommy Preston discovers the Heart of Gold in his grandfather' | ||
+ | * Armed with a crossbow, editor Jon Dart of the Weekly Star becomes the mystery man known as **[[Swiftarrow]]**. [Golden Lad #1] | ||
+ | * [[Johnny Hopper]], air rover, begins adventures. [Golden Lad #1] | ||
+ | * Stretch, Rags, and Dickie team up as the boy gang known as [[Kid Wizards|the Kid Wizards]]. [Golden Lad #1] | ||
+ | * A small party of Nazis reach the Moon in an experimental rocket ship. There, they meet a race of telepathic aliens who do not breathe but live on cosmic rays. At first the Nazis are given free reign to live among the aliens, but their hatred soon causes discord among the alien civilization, | ||
+ | |||
+ | === June, 1945 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * While on a mission to free several Allied POWs from the Japanese, **Judomaster** (Rip Jagger) disappears from history, witnessed by Tiger and a Chinese national named Kwan Li. Judomaster is presumed to die in the war, but in reality he is transported through time because of the Crisis on Infinite Earths to the year 1985, where he remains. His teenaged partner **Tiger** (Tetsuro Tanaka) retires. //Note: In 1953, eight years after Judomaster' | ||
+ | * **The Hood**' | ||
+ | |||
+ | === July, 1945 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Sherlock Holmes battles his arch-foe, **Professor Moriarty**, for the last time when the villain dies from a fall. [The Woman in Green (1945 Universal Studios film)] | ||
+ | * Kitty Kelly drops the name Yankee Girl but continues to act as a mystery woman under her own name. [Captain Flight Comics #9] | ||
+ | |||
+ | === August, 1945 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * **The All-Girl Squad** has its last case as World War II ends. [speculation] | ||
+ | |||
+ | === September, 1945 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * An 11-year-old schoolboy named Tom " | ||
+ | * After New York City is flooded, Rocket Kelly, Whacky, and Sue Andrews learn that the ones responsible are extraterrestrials based on a planetoid led by Indus. The trio travel to Indus' planetoid (actually an asteroid in the asteroid belt) and stop the aliens before fleeing just as the alien base there is destroyed by its own folly. [Rocket Kelly #1] | ||
+ | |||
+ | === October, 1945 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * **Captain Flight**' | ||
+ | * **Ace Reynolds**' | ||
+ | * **ZB-3**' | ||
+ | * **Zaan**' | ||
+ | * **Deep Sea Dawson**' | ||
+ | * **Captain Dash**' | ||
+ | * Rocket Kelly battles his arch-nemesis Diablo again, saving the mystical Flame of Democracy from him and becoming the new Keeper of the Flame after the old keeper -- a man of ancient Rome or Greece -- dies. //Note: The home of the Flame of Democracy is apparently a small planetoid with an artificial gravity field that looks much like Earth on its surface. It seems to exist in real space, despite the fact that the Flame of Democracy is also a symbolic concept. It is probable that the home of the Flame only exists in physical space whenever the Keeper of the Flame is replaced.// [Rocket Kelly #1] | ||
+ | |||
+ | === November, 1945 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * [[Old Witch|The Old Witch]] (also known as the Ancient Witch) appears for the first time, regaling listeners with tales of terror. [Yellowjacket Comics #7] | ||
+ | * Rocket Kelly battles **Diablo** for the last time. [Rocket Kelly #1] | ||
+ | |||
+ | === December, 1945 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Scientist Barry Dale, working at the Atomic Institute, gains atomic super-powers after being exposed to radiation and becomes the mystery man **[[Atoman]]**. //Note: It's possible that Barry Dale is related to Linda Dale, also known as Flame Girl, and Alan Dale, also known as Captain V/The Puppeteer.// | ||
+ | * [[John Kendrick]], crusading district attorney, has a **single case**. [Atoman Comics #1] | ||
+ | * Henpecked husband Marvin Smith (an ordinary-looking short man) is magically given super-powers by the god Mars and becomes the mystery man **[[Marvin the Great]]** (who looks the same as Marvin Smith, except for a Roman-themed costume), having a **single case**. [Atoman Comics #1] | ||
+ | * **Red Cross**' | ||
+ | * **[[Zaro]]**, | ||
+ | * [[Ted Hart]], detective, begins adventures. [Sparkling Stars #10] | ||
+ | |||
+ | ==== 1946 ==== | ||
+ | |||
+ | === January, 1946 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * **Green Lama**' | ||
+ | * **Lieutenant Hercules**' | ||
+ | * **Rick Masters**' | ||
+ | * **Angus MacErc**' | ||
+ | * **Ted Hart**' | ||
+ | * **Zaro**' | ||
+ | * **Golden Eagle**' | ||
+ | * **Black Venus**' | ||
+ | * **Tommy Tomahawk**' | ||
+ | * Rocket Kelly travels to Mars and defeats the Robot Ruler of Mars, freeing Martirois, the capital city in Zenoba, one of the three Martian nations. Returning to Earth, he discovers that the Robot Ruler is actually a disguised Prof. Mogul, assistant to Prof. Kelly, Rocket Kelly' | ||
+ | |||
+ | === February, 1946 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Golden Lad battles criminal recurring enemy [[Minstrel (Earth-4)|the Minstrel]] for the first time. [Golden Lad #4] | ||
+ | * **Atoman**' | ||
+ | * **Boy Champions**' | ||
+ | * **[[Magga the Magnificent]]**, | ||
+ | * [[Johnny Mason]] has a **single case**. [Atoman Comics #2] | ||
+ | * [[Click Hunt]], police detective, begins adventures. [Sparkling Stars #12] | ||
+ | * Phil Gant, actor and star of the Jungo movies, loses his memory and becomes the real **[[Jungo]]** (also called Jungol), the strong, athletic man-beast. [Sparkling Stars #12] | ||
+ | * Sherlock Holmes battles his old foe, **Colonel Sebastian Moran**, for the last time. [Terror by Night (1946 Universal Studios film)] | ||
+ | |||
+ | === March, 1946 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * **Merciless the Sorceress**' | ||
+ | * **Red Robbins**' | ||
+ | |||
+ | === April, 1946 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * **Diana the Huntress**' | ||
+ | * **Danny King**' | ||
+ | * **Cap' | ||
+ | * **Filipino Kid**' | ||
+ | * **The Old Witch**' | ||
+ | * [[Kit of the Canyon]] begins adventures. [Rocket Kelly #3] | ||
+ | * **Golden Lad**' | ||
+ | * Peggy Shane, a schoolgirl, finds a shard of Golden Lad's Heart of Gold and uses its magic to become the super-powered mystery girl **[[Golden Girl]]**, having only a **single case**. [Golden Lad #5] | ||
+ | * **Shaman** and **Flame II**'s last case. [Golden Lad #5] | ||
+ | * Golden Lad is knocked unconscious by **the Minstrel** and put into suspended animation for 36 years by the Keeper. [Charlton Bullseye v2 #10] | ||
+ | |||
+ | === May, 1946 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Maj. Randy Ronald becomes the mystery man known as **[[Bronze Man]]**. [Blue Beetle #42] | ||
+ | * [[Johnny Mace]] has a **single case**. [Contact Comics #12] | ||
+ | * [[Ace Diamond]] has a **single case**. [Contact Comics #12] | ||
+ | * **Kitty Kelly**' | ||
+ | |||
+ | === June, 1946 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * **Cat-Man** and **Kitten**' | ||
+ | * **The Deacon**' | ||
+ | * **Molly O' | ||
+ | * **Little Leaders**' | ||
+ | * **The Reckoner**' | ||
+ | * **Captain Aero**' | ||
+ | * **Sky Scouts**' | ||
+ | * **Miss Victory**' | ||
+ | * **Sherlock Holmes**' | ||
+ | |||
+ | === July, 1946 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * **Johnny Earthquake**' | ||
+ | * **Mister Nobody**' | ||
+ | * **Satan**' | ||
+ | * **Grey Mask** and **the Dove**' | ||
+ | * Rocket Kelly travels to the planet Turo and frees it from the grip of the Minstrel of Death. Kelly also prevents the invasion of Earth by the Minstrel' | ||
+ | |||
+ | === August, 1946 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * **Green Mask III**' | ||
+ | * **Yellowjacket**' | ||
+ | * **Kit of the Canyon**' | ||
+ | |||
+ | === September, 1946 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * The United Nations forms a secret intelligence and enforcement agency called THUNDER (The Higher United Nations Defense Enforcement Reserves), recruiting some of the best available minds in the free world, including brilliant inventors Prof. Wallace Jennings and Dr. Anthony G. Dunn. At this point it is little more than a think tank patterned after the OSS and MI5, with a small number of special military agents. [T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents #4] | ||
+ | |||
+ | === October, 1946 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * [[Fangs]], the wolf boy, begins adventures. [Sparkling Stars #20] | ||
+ | * **Titan**' | ||
+ | |||
+ | === November, 1946 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * **Speed Spaulding**' | ||
+ | |||
+ | === December, 1946 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * **[[Blue Flame|The Blue Flame]]**, fire-powered mystery man, has a **single case**. [Captain Flight Comics #11] | ||
+ | * **Black Cobra** and **Cobra Kid**' | ||
+ | * **Torpedo Man**' | ||
+ | * After five years of work, Prof. Jonathan Davis creates a form of artificial life from protoplasm. After a reporter writes a false story claiming the protoplasm is slowly gaining humanoid form, a public controversy about it develops when the readers believe it is a monster, and the artificial life slowly begins to grow larger and more monstrous even as the public' | ||
+ | |||
+ | ==== 1947 ==== | ||
+ | |||
+ | === April, 1947 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * [[Rulah]], jungle goddess, begins adventures. [Zoot Comics #7] | ||
+ | |||
+ | === May, 1947 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * **Puppeteer**' | ||
+ | * [[Jo-Jo]], Congo king, begins adventures in the jungle with first name Gwenna and second mate Geesha. [Jo-Jo #7A] | ||
+ | * **Bronze Man**' | ||
+ | * **Purple Tigress**' | ||
+ | |||
+ | === June, 1947 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Sandra Knight resumes her solo mystery woman career as **the Phantom Lady** with a new costume. [Phantom Lady #13] | ||
+ | |||
+ | === July, 1947 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * [[Junior Hancock]], typical teenager, begins adventures. [Junior Comics #9] | ||
+ | * **Dr. John Watson**' | ||
+ | |||
+ | === October, 1947 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * [[Dagar]], desert hawk, begins adventures in the Middle East. [All Great Comics #13] | ||
+ | * [[Sunny Sender]], teenage girl and America' | ||
+ | |||
+ | === November, 1947 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * **Click Hunt**' | ||
+ | * **Jungo**' | ||
+ | |||
+ | === December, 1947 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * [[Tangi]], jungle girl, begins adventures. [Dagar #14] | ||
+ | * [[Safari Cary]], jungle pilot, begins adventures in the Congo. [Dagar #14] | ||
+ | |||
+ | ==== 1948 ==== | ||
+ | |||
+ | * The multi-dimensional island of Tourmaline emerges into the physical realm from the Darkworld, appearing as a seemingly new island in the South Pacific simultaneously on Earth-1, Earth-2, Earth-S, Earth-X, and Earth-4. Gareth Gallowglass, | ||
+ | |||
+ | === January, 1948 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * **Fangs**' | ||
+ | * **Hell' | ||
+ | * On January 13, Mars seemingly explodes, causing widespread panic on Earth. In **Rocket Kelly**' | ||
+ | |||
+ | === April, 1948 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * [[Louie Lue]], detective sergeant in the Honolulu Police Department, has his first public case accompanied by his number one son, Lee Lue. //Note: Although this series features the character Charlie Chan, his Earth-4 counterpart is named Louie Lue, renamed following Charlton' | ||
+ | * **Sunny Sender**' | ||
+ | |||
+ | === May, 1948 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * **Junior Hancock**' | ||
+ | |||
+ | === June, 1948 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * [[Tegra]], jungle empress, begins adventures. [Tegra, Jungle Empress #1] | ||
+ | * Prof. Dana Freidberg and writer Keith Roberts visit the site of a meteor crash in Helena, Montana, and discover that it was an extraterrestrial space ship. They then learn from Jason DeKoven, a Martian already living on Earth, that 411 atomic rocket ships from Mars have secretly landed in the same place on Earth since 1931, leaving over 40,000 Martians (who look human but are ten times as strong as humans) on Earth, with 7,000 in the United States and the rest scattered all over the world. The two learn that Mars will invade Earth on June 22. //Note: The Martian invasion does begin on June 22, but the story of how it was repelled has yet to be told. The hostile Martian nation of Luravia (one of three Martian nations) is behind the invasion, and it is probable that the ruler of Luravia (which has existed since at least 1931) is overthrown at this time by the other two Martian nations, Zenoba (led by Zeltan Zamba) and Cloland (led by Queen Thula) and assisted by Montague Dexter (father of Rex Dexter of Mars). The actual invasion fleet is likely stopped by a large team of super-powered mystery men, with assistance by Rocket Kelly.// ["Zero Hour," The Mysterious Traveler (1943 Mutual Broadcasting System radio series)] | ||
+ | |||
+ | === July, 1948 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * [[Zago]], jungle prince, begins adventures. [Zago, Jungle Prince #1] | ||
+ | * **Blue Beetle**' | ||
+ | |||
+ | === August, 1948 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Tegra (who originally has brown hair) dyes her hair blonde and changes her name to Zegra. [Zegra, Jungle Empress #2] | ||
+ | |||
+ | ==== 1949 ==== | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Prof. Carl Engstrom, accompanied by his wife Alice Engstrom and infant daughter Gloria Engstrom, discovers the Land That Time Forgot (a land populated by dinosaurs) in the depths of Africa. There, his wife dies and his daughter Gloria goes missing. He is forced to return home and will not return for 14 years, during which time Gloria grows up to become the White Goddess of the prehistoric ape-men there. [Gorgo #15] | ||
+ | |||
+ | === January, 1949 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * **Zago**' | ||
+ | |||
+ | === February, 1949 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * **Safari Cary**' | ||
+ | * **Zegra**' | ||
+ | |||
+ | === March, 1949 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * **Phantom Lady**' | ||
+ | |||
+ | === May, 1949 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * **Rulah**' | ||
+ | * **Dagar**' | ||
+ | * **Jo-Jo**' | ||
+ | |||
+ | === June, 1949 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * June 22: Jaime Sommers -- the future cyborg OSI agent nicknamed the Bionic Woman -- is born, the daughter of James and Ann Sommers. [The Bionic Woman (1976 ABC television series)] | ||
+ | |||
+ | === August, 1949 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * [[Martin Kane]], private eye, begins adventures in New York City. [Martin Kane, Private Eye (1949 Mutual Broadcasting System radio series, 1951 NBC radio series); Martin Kane, Private Eye (1949 NBC television series); Martin Kane, Private Eye #4 (#1)] | ||
+ | |||
+ | ==== 1950 ==== | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Magda Eden, exiled princess of the Nightshades, | ||
+ | |||
+ | === January, 1950 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * January 1: **The Mystery Men of America** break up the day after their last New Year's Eve dinner of the 1940s. [speculation] | ||
+ | * [[Jungle Jo]] begins adventures in the jungle. [Jungle Jo (no number, 1950)] | ||
+ | |||
+ | === February, 1950 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Dan Garret returns to the U.S. after a year-and-a-half absence and becomes **the Blue Beetle** again. [Blue Beetle #58] | ||
+ | * [[Jungle Lil]] begins adventures in the jungle. [Jungle Lil #1] | ||
+ | * [[Bwaani]] begins adventures. [Jungle Lil #1] | ||
+ | * Prof. Hodges, a physicist at a Pennsylvania college, invents a time machine able to send a man's mind back in time to occupy a person in the past. He enables the mind of Tom Morrison (author of a book called //If Lincoln Had Lived//) to travel back in time to April 13, 1865, where Morrison plans to save President Abraham Lincoln. Unfortunately, | ||
+ | |||
+ | === March, 1950 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * [[Romeo Tubbs]], typical teenager, begins adventures. [Romeo Tubbs #26] | ||
+ | |||
+ | === April, 1950 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Prof. Wilbur Malcolm of New York's City University invents a time machine. He sends his assistant Fred Andrews into the future date of April 10, 2050, where Andrews discovers that America has become a totalitarian state that has been at war for 95 years (since 1955), leaving the surface uninhabitable and driving the civilization literally underground. He learns that an accident in 1955 will spark the 95-year war, and he returns to the present to prevent the war, but upon his return his memory is completely lost. [" | ||
+ | * At Red Rock, Arizona, work begins on the first space rocket. Eventually the site is abandoned in favor of Cape Canaveral as the preferred base for NASA. The abandonment of Red Rock as a space base inadvertently prevents a war from breaking out in 1955. [" | ||
+ | |||
+ | === May, 1950 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * **Bwaani**' | ||
+ | |||
+ | === June, 1950 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * **Blue Beetle**' | ||
+ | * **Jungle Lil**' | ||
+ | * [[Monty Hall]] of the U.S. Marines has his first adventure as the Korean War breaks out. [Monty Hall of the U.S. Marines #1] | ||
+ | * [[Tripoli Shores|Sgt. Sam " | ||
+ | * [[Leatherneck Rogers|Sgt. " | ||
+ | |||
+ | === August, 1950 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * [[Captain Atom (adventurer)|Captain Atom]], a costumed adventurer equipped with devices based on proven scientific principles, begins adventures accompanied by friends Professor King, Rusty, Jeff, and Jill. [Captain Atom (Nation-Wide) #1] | ||
+ | * [[Canteen Kate]] has adventures in Japan during the Korean War. [Fightin' | ||
+ | |||
+ | === September, 1950 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * [[Little Al Conway]] of the FBI begins adventures. [Little Al of the F.B.I. #10] | ||
+ | |||
+ | ==== 1951 ==== | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Yarko the Great battles ninja-like shadow creatures in San Francisco. Tracing their origin, Yarko reaches Grim Island and meets Doctor Occult of Earth-2, Doctor Mist of Earth-1, Captain Marvel of Earth-S, and Margo the Magician of Earth-X. Together, the mystical heroes of five Earths confront Gareth to stop his island from being a menace to each of their worlds as a gateway to Hell. After a short battle commences, a time-traveling Abby Cable of Earth-1 from 1987 convinces Gareth to allow the other mystics to help him ward off the forces of Hell by founding a new school of magic called the Grimoire Academy to defend five Earths from a demonic invasion. Yarko the Great becomes one of the school' | ||
+ | |||
+ | === January, 1951 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * **Jungle Jo**'s last adventure. [Jungle Jo #6] | ||
+ | * **Tangi**' | ||
+ | |||
+ | === February, 1951 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * **Captain Atom**' | ||
+ | |||
+ | === May, 1951 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Little Al Conway joins the Secret Service. [Little Al of the Secret Service #10 (#1)] | ||
+ | |||
+ | === August, 1951 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * A radioactive comet dubbed Comet X passes through the solar system, causing a brief panic, but does not come close enough to the Earth to cause damage. //Note: In the original story, which is an alternate timeline, Comet X's tail passes through the Earth and its radiation kills most life on the surface, leaving only a handful of survivors hiding a thousand feet underground.// | ||
+ | |||
+ | === September, 1951 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * [[Clint Curtis]], hot rod racer, begins adventures. [Hot Rod Comics #1] | ||
+ | * [[Speed Davis]] and [[Buster Camshaft]], hot rod racers, begin adventures. [Hot Rods and Racing Cars #1] | ||
+ | |||
+ | === October, 1951 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Jon and Susi Doon travel back from the alternate future year of 2228 and assassinate a politician named Farrington Farnsworth, preventing him from later becoming the U.S. President in 1964 and then the first U.S. dictator in 1972, beginning a 200-year-long dictatorship. Farnsworth is believed by the world to have died from a natural heart attack. The assassination causes Susi (Farnworth' | ||
+ | |||
+ | === November, 1951 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Mr. and Mrs. Chase, private detectives, begin adventures. [[Curtis Chase]] is a famous mystery writer and amateur sleuth, and [[Merry Chase]] is his wife. [Crime and Justice #5] | ||
+ | |||
+ | === December, 1951 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * During an experiment, a physicist named Dr. Eustus Riko transports an ape into Dimension 2-K-31, resulting in [[Creature from Dimension 2-K-31|the Creature from Dimension 2-K-31]] (a genetically engineered, shape-changing, | ||
+ | |||
+ | ==== 1952 ==== | ||
+ | |||
+ | === January, 1952 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * The Grimoire Academy of Applied Learning on the multi-dimensional Grimoire Island opens its doors to students from Earth-4, Earth-1, Earth-2, Earth-S, and Earth-X. This school is built and founded by the 16-year-old prodigy Gareth Gallowglass of Earth-1, Yarko the Great of Earth-4, Doctor Mist of Earth-1, Doctor Occult of Earth-1, Shazam of Earth-S, and Margo the Magician of Earth-X, who each contribute their knowledge and experience to the curriculum. [" | ||
+ | |||
+ | === February, 1952 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Two men, USAF Lt. Daniel Walker and Pete Mendez, crash land on Bikini Island in the Pacific, where they discover it is populated by monstrously huge, atomic-irradiated animals such as 20-foot-tall crabs. [" | ||
+ | * A scientist named Dr. Lazarus creates a growth solution that can enlarge someone for a brief time, and he uses it to defeat his muscular bullying assistant in the wrestling ring. He plans to keep using the solution to become the most powerful man in the world, but instead one of his white rats ingests the solution and possibly him as well. //Note: Although the story implies that Dr. Lazarus is eaten by the giant white rat, he may have somehow escaped that fate.// [The Thing! (Charlton) #2] | ||
+ | * Associate Prof. Steve Reynolds of State University creates Formula 87, a chemical that can rapidly accelerate plant growth. It inadvertently causes not only rapid plant growth but also causes plants to grow to monstrous size. //Note: This story does not explain the fact that the simultaneous appearance of a new small planet entering Earth' | ||
+ | * A boy named Freddy stops the extraterrestrial invasion of a traveling gas planet populated by gaseous humanoids, who planned to poison the Earth and kill all its inhabitants. //Note: Although the gas planet is strangely called Mars, other depictions of Mars contradict this story, so it must be another planet entirely. This planet is likely the same one destroyed by the Creature from Dimension 2-K-31.// ["The Sentinel," | ||
+ | * Several places across the world are afflicted by strange funguslike growths, although the effects are mostly localized. During this fungus epidemic, **the Creature from Dimension 2-K-31** escapes from captivity as the Russian tank it is imprisoned within is taken apart by military scientists at the Pentagon in Washington, DC (which has been particularly afflicted by the fungus growths). The military hunts the Creature while the public mistakenly believes it to be the cause of the fungus growths, and several people try to hunt it down, leading to the biggest search the nation has ever known. After the Creature is cornered and forced to flee into a forest of fungus growths, it encounters a scientist named Dr. Zupa and learns by reading his mind that the cause of the fungus growths is the gravity pull of a small new planet entering Earth' | ||
+ | |||
+ | === March, 1952 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * [[J.J. O' | ||
+ | |||
+ | === May, 1952 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * [[Hap Holliday]], the time skipper, invents a time-craft with the help of Professor Eon Tempus and has adventures throughout various time periods. In their first adventure, they rescue Queen Ula of Futuropolis in a future era and bring her with them on their adventures. [Space Adventures #1] | ||
+ | |||
+ | === July, 1952 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * [[Spurs Jackson]], a cowboy, rancher, and electronic engineer, meets men from Mars led by Korok who land their flying saucer at Jackson' | ||
+ | |||
+ | === August, 1952 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * On the trail of missing scientists, Spurs Jackson and Hank Roper are captured and put into a rocketship that lands on the lush planet Venus, where they find robotic winged horses they use to fly back to Earth. After defeating the crooks and freeing the scientists, Jackson returns to Venus on a robotic winged horse, then flies the rocketship back to Earth. //Note: The robotic winged horses are never explained, but they must have been built by a spacefaring race and equipped with force-fields to keep breathable air during space voyages.// [" | ||
+ | |||
+ | === September, 1952 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * **The Mysterious Traveler**' | ||
+ | * **Hap Holliday**' | ||
+ | |||
+ | === October, 1952 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * [[Ramar of the Jungle|Dr. Tom " | ||
+ | * **Romeo Tubbs**' | ||
+ | |||
+ | ==== 1953 ==== | ||
+ | |||
+ | === May, 1953 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Somewhere in Europe, a scientist named Dr. Karasz invents robots and a device allowing him to control the robots remotely with his mind. A criminal scientist named Marko murders Dr. Karasz and seizes his robots and attunes the thought-control device to his own brainwaves. Marko then tries to use the robots to take over the city but is not taken seriously. After giving the order to destroy all humanity, the robots first turn on him and then stop working. The military destroys the robots and the thought-control device, deeming it too dangerous to exist. [The Thing! (Charlton) #9] | ||
+ | |||
+ | === July, 1953 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * [[Johnny Dynamite]] has first public case as a private investigator in Chicago. [Dynamite #3] | ||
+ | * **Monty Hall** of the U.S. Marine' | ||
+ | * **Canteen Kate**' | ||
+ | * **Sgt. " | ||
+ | * **Sgt. Sam " | ||
+ | * A Martian named Gord, who has been masquerading as a human named Edmund Cranston, donates plans for a rocketship with the proviso that he be allowed to be one of the crew. On the way to a planned Moon landing as part of a secret space program, Gord reveals himself as a Martian and hijacks the ship in order to return to Mars. He explains that flying saucers are from Mars, and he and his crew crashed in the Himalayas, and he has sought to return to Mars ever since. Back on Earth, the four people on the rocketship are believed to have died in space in a failed mission. //Note: The rocketship and space flight, as part of a secret space program, are classified and unknown to the public. It is probable that the Martian from this story was part of the failed Martian Invasion of June 22, 1948.// [Space Adventures #7] | ||
+ | |||
+ | === August, 1953 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Tetsuro Tanaka, the former teenaged crime-fighting partner of Judomaster, at the age of 22 becomes **the Tiger**, Japan' | ||
+ | * [[Rip Ryan]], U.S. marshal of the western city of Cowtown, has first public case. [Cowboy Western Comics #46] | ||
+ | * **Spurs Jackson**, **Hank Roper** and **Strong Bow**' | ||
+ | |||
+ | === September, 1953 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * A middle-aged man identified only as [[Teller of Tales|the Teller of Tales]] begins telling stories of horror from his personal library. He keeps company with monsters who also act as storytellers called [[Freddie Demon]], [[Garry Ghoul]], [[Victor Vampire]], and [[Walter Werewolf]], although it should be noted that these are not their real names, since the Teller admits to making up these comical aliases for his own amusement. The Teller' | ||
+ | |||
+ | === November, 1953 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * A morally bankrupt scientist named Herman Lindsay creates a formula that enables his dog Fido to speak and have human intelligence. After teaching him English and how to read, Lindsay uses Fido to case his friends' | ||
+ | * A criminal scientist named [[Max Murphy]] invents a substance in pill form that vastly increases his metabolism and enables him to move at a speed up to a thousand miles per hour. Using his super-speed, | ||
+ | * Dr. James Boyle invents a drug called muiclac, which is meant to treat people with brittle bones by softening them. Taking muiclac, his patient [[Lawrence Dawson]] gains the ability to stretch his body and manipulate it like rubber, and he realizes he can become rich and famous because of this ability. Dawson, fearing Dr. Boyle will give the drug to another who will gain the same ability, kills him. Fleeing from the law, he finds that his stretched body is becoming loose and won't return to his original appearance. He seeks the help of scientist Dr. Harrell, a friend of Dr. Boyle, but murders Harrell out of fear before receiving a treatment. When the police track him down at his apartment, he takes the rest of the bottle of muiclac, and his body liquifies, apparently **killing him**. [" | ||
+ | |||
+ | === December, 1953 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Death itself appears in the form of [[Doctor Death (Earth-4)|Doctor Death]] for the first time. [This Magazine Is Haunted (Charlton) #15] | ||
+ | * The mummy of Rah Kamsis, an ancient Egyptian sorceress and witch of the dead, is briefly brought back to life by a ray invented by the famous scientist Prof. Vincent Huntley, who happens to be a direct descendant of Tutankhamun, | ||
+ | |||
+ | ==== 1954 ==== | ||
+ | |||
+ | === March, 1954 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Three members of the U.S. Navy -- Capt. Small, Robert Crane, and Huey -- are rescued during the destruction of submarine R-93 and brought to an underwater, domed city of Atlantis by fish-men (also known as gill-men) ruled by air-breathing humans. There, they meet Queen Shar-La who asks for their help to restore their light source with a repaired atomic engine. Unfortunately, | ||
+ | |||
+ | === April, 1954 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * **Rip Ryan**' | ||
+ | |||
+ | === June, 1954 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * **Martin Kane**' | ||
+ | |||
+ | === July, 1954 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Last appearances of **the Teller** and his associates, **Freddie Demon**, **Garry Ghoul**, **Victor Vampire**, and **Walter Werewolf**. [Horrific #13] | ||
+ | |||
+ | === August, 1954 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * After a few years of special classified work overseas for the Central Intelligence Department, Dan Garret returns to the U.S. Still a CID agent, he rejoins the New York Police Department as his cover and resumes his **Blue Beetle** mystery man career, marking the beginning of a new (although brief) era of mystery men, which finally ends with the disappearance of Nature Boy at the end of the 1950s. //Note: This story is a reprint, and the first new Blue Beetle story is not until Blue Beetle (Charlton) #20, but this issue can be marked as Blue Beetle' | ||
+ | * **The Black Cobra** resumes his mystery man career as a communist spy smasher. An office boy at the FBI becomes his teenaged crime-fighting partner, **[[Cobra Kid II|the Cobra Kid II]]**. [Black Cobra (Ajax-Farrell) #1] | ||
+ | * In an unnamed U.S. city, Lt. Detective Paul Andrews encounters an extraterrestrial shapeshifter who kills a few people while in the guise of another alien species. After informing Andrews that the human race has no chance of surviving without outside intervention, | ||
+ | |||
+ | === September, 1954 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * **Mr. and Mrs. Curtis Chase**' | ||
+ | * **Doctor Death**' | ||
+ | |||
+ | === October, 1954 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Sandra Knight resumes her mystery woman career as **Phantom Lady**. [Phantom Lady (Ajax-Farrell) #5 (1)] | ||
+ | * Kip Adams becomes the mystery man known as **[[Flame (Kip Adams)|the Flame III]]**. [Flame (Ajax-Farrell) #5 (1)] | ||
+ | |||
+ | === November, 1954 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * [[Crime Smasher]], a man who is considered America' | ||
+ | |||
+ | ==== 1955 ==== | ||
+ | |||
+ | === January, 1955 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * **Yarko the Great**, mightiest magician of all time, returns for a **single case** in which he combats a group of Viking warriors that had been preserved in the ice for a thousand years and thawed out by a criminal. //Note: This story is actually an Ibis the Invincible story reprinted from Whiz Comics #45, with the year updated from 1943 to 1955. Since this is merely a reprint and not an original Ibis story, we conclude that there is no Ibis the Invincible on Earth-4. Rather, Yarko the Great acted as a substitution in this story, assisted by an unnamed wife (in place of Ibis' wife Taia) whose identity has not yet been revealed.// [Danger and Adventure #22] | ||
+ | * **[[Wonder Boy (Earth-4)|Wonder Boy]]**, an alien boy with super-strength, | ||
+ | * **Black Cobra** and **Cobra Kid**' | ||
+ | |||
+ | === February, 1955 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * **Samson** resumes his mystery man career. [Samson (Ajax-Farrell) #12] | ||
+ | * Donning a power-suit slightly boosting his agility, speed, and strength, Rip Regan becomes the globetrotting mystery man known as **[[Red Rocket (Rip Regan)|the Red Rocket]]** and has a **single case**. //Note: This story is edited and slightly redrawn from a Power-Man story from Fight Comics #14, published by Fiction House. Because of this, the Red Rocket can be considered the Earth-4 version of Power-Man. Although the Red Rocket' | ||
+ | * [[Michael Gallant|Capt. Michael Gallant]] of the Foreign Legion begins his adventures. [Captain Gallant of the Foreign Legion (1955 NBC television series); Captain Gallant #1] | ||
+ | |||
+ | === March, 1955 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * **Flame III**' | ||
+ | |||
+ | === April, 1955 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * [[Mike Danger]] begins his adventures. [Danger and Adventure #24] | ||
+ | * [[Johnny Adventure]] begins his adventures. [Danger and Adventure #24] | ||
+ | * [[Bo (dog)|Bo]], a dog, begins his adventures. [Bo #1] | ||
+ | * [[John K. Farnsworth|Inspector John K. Farnsworth]] of Scotland Yard has first public case. [Scotland Yard #1] | ||
+ | * [[Capt. Brooks]], secret agent, has **only two cases**. [Danger (Charlton) #12] | ||
+ | * The USSR builds a space platform and puts it into orbit. On a reconnaisance assignment from the CID, Blue Beetle is attacked by Soviet weapons and retaliates by bringing the platform out of orbit and back into Earth' | ||
+ | |||
+ | === May, 1955 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * **Phantom Lady**' | ||
+ | * **Wonder Boy**' | ||
+ | |||
+ | === June, 1955 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * **Samson**' | ||
+ | * [[Danny Blaze]], firefighter, | ||
+ | * [[Unknown Soldier (Earth-4)|The Unknown Soldier]], the spirit of an unidentified fallen soldier who represents them all, appears for the first time to tell tales of the tragedy of war. [Never Again #1] | ||
+ | * [[" | ||
+ | |||
+ | === August, 1955 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * **Bo**' | ||
+ | * **Danny Blaze**' | ||
+ | * **Little Al Conway** of the Secret Service' | ||
+ | * The great English detective **Sherlock Holmes**, still not having aged after nearly a century of sleuthing, has a series of adventures in the United States working alongside local law enforcement and by request of the U.S. government. //Note: The 1940s Sherlock Holmes series featuring Basil Rathbone -- beginning with Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror (1942) and ending with Dressed to Kill (1946) -- may feature the same character, a Sherlock Holmes who operates in contemporary times (in that case World War II) without having aged at all since the Victorian Era.// [Sherlock Holmes (Charlton) #1] | ||
+ | |||
+ | === September, 1955 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * [[Sam Barton]] begins adventures as a rookie police officer. //Note: an earlier " | ||
+ | |||
+ | ==== 1956 ==== | ||
+ | |||
+ | === January, 1956 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Brett Carson, alias **[[Mister Muscles]]**, | ||
+ | * On the thirteenth anniversary of his rescue, David Crandall learns that he has powers over fire, earth, air, and water, given to him by the Masters of the Elements (minor incarnations of the Olympian gods led by King Neptune, ruler of the seas, that include King Gusto, ruler of the wind; King Fura, ruler of fire; Queen Eartha, ruler of the earth; Queen Allura, ruler of love; Queen Azura, ruler of the skies; King Electra, ruler of electricity; | ||
+ | * **Blue Beetle**' | ||
+ | * **Inspector John K. Farnsworth**' | ||
+ | * [[Richard Manning]], public defender, has first public case. [Public Defender in Action #7] | ||
+ | * [[Tim Bennett]], reporter for the National News Service, has **only three known cases**. //Note: Tim Bennett may have appeared in the previous issue as well.// [Foreign Intrigues #14] | ||
+ | * **Sherlock Holmes**' | ||
+ | |||
+ | === February, 1956 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * A Hollywood film producer named Paul Protto is funded by a mysterious Texas billionaire named Egro Setus to film a flying saucer movie featuring an attack on Washington, D.C. Protto plays along but secretly conspires with the U.S. Army to put in place a real defense plan in Washington, D.C., since the so-called Texas billionaire is actually a Martian named Egro. The U.S. Army successfully defeats this entire small Martian fleet as it attacks the city. //Note: Egro and his servant Sporo are both bald, short, human-looking men who look similar to the inhabitants of the nation of Zenoba on Mars. It is likely that the public was told that this invasion was actually staged as part of the flying saucer film production.// | ||
+ | * [[Zaza the Mystic]], a woman of Romani (Gypsy) descent with psychic abilities, has first public case. [Zaza the Mystic #10] | ||
+ | * **Louie Lue**' | ||
+ | |||
+ | === May, 1956 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * The mysterious [[Doctor Haunt]] makes his first appearance. [This Magazine Is Haunted (Charlton) v2 #12] | ||
+ | * **The Unknown Soldier**' | ||
+ | * [[Nyoka the Jungle Girl (Earth-4)|Nyoka the Jungle Girl]], begins adventures as a jungle guide in Kenya. //Note: Nyoka of Earth-4, who is blonde, has strange speech patterns, and appears only in new Charlton stories, is a parallel Earth version of Nyoka Gordon of Earth-S, who is brunette and appears in the original Fawcett series and the film serials. Therefore, the Fawcett series does not take place on Earth-4.// [Nyoka the Jungle Girl (Charlton) #17] | ||
+ | * **Mike Danger** and **Johnny Adventure**' | ||
+ | * **" | ||
+ | |||
+ | === June, 1956 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * **Mister Muscles**' | ||
+ | * **The Mysterious Traveler**, who claims that nothing is unknown to him, reappears for the first time since his last appearance in 1952. He is a figure wearing a dark trench coat and hat who is able to observe events unseen, has vague mystical powers, seems to be able to travel through time and space effortlessly, | ||
+ | * The Mysterious Traveler meets the spirit of time itself, Father Time, who prevents a plot to destroy a Swiss watchmaking factory that makes the greatest timepieces in the world. [Tales of the Mysterious Traveler #1] | ||
+ | * **Johnny Dynamite**' | ||
+ | * After helping establish a brief period of worldwide peace, Nature Boy stops an air invasion of the United States by a treacherous Eastern European leader named Malo who seeks to take advantage of the disarmament talks. Nature Boy meets President Dwight Eisenhower. [Nature Boy #4] | ||
+ | |||
+ | === July, 1956 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * **Zaza the Mystic**' | ||
+ | * **Dr. Tom " | ||
+ | |||
+ | === September, 1956 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Nature Boy stops another invasion attempt on the United States, this one from atomic submarines. [Nature Boy #4] | ||
+ | |||
+ | === December, 1956 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Nature Boy battles the extraterrestrial being known as Ikzip, the so-called Man from Jupiter, after Ikzip plays like the pied piper and takes away the teenagers of the city of Centerville, | ||
+ | * Grier Grant, a white teenage girl living in Africa, is given powers by the Masters of the Elements and becomes **[[Nature Girl]]**. She has a **single case** in which she saves her pet elephant, Bonga, from a hunter. [Nature Boy #5] | ||
+ | * A reporter named Tom Blake uncovers a circus stuntman named Invulnerno, who seems impervious to any harm. At first believing he's an extraterrestrial, | ||
+ | |||
+ | ==== 1957 ==== | ||
+ | |||
+ | === March, 1957 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * **Nature Boy**' | ||
+ | * A boxer named Tony Malento is sent through a time-warp to the distant past of ancient Rome, where he becomes one of Emperor Nero's pugilists before returning to the present. ["The Man Who Came Back," Tales of the Mysterious Traveler #3] | ||
+ | |||
+ | === June, 1957 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * **Sam Barton**' | ||
+ | * **Police Inspector J.J. O' | ||
+ | * [Tales of the Mysterious Traveler #4] | ||
+ | |||
+ | === August, 1957 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * **Richard Manning**' | ||
+ | |||
+ | === September, 1957 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * **Martin Kane**, private investigator, | ||
+ | * **Nyoka**' | ||
+ | |||
+ | === October, 1957 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * An Englishman named John Potter, who has never needed food but only water and whose skin has turned green, prompting people to call him [[Green Man (John Potter)|the Green Man]], learns that he is a plant-man and leaves civilization in search of a green girl like him. **No further appearances**. ["The Green Man," This Magazine Is Haunted (Charlton) v2 #14] | ||
+ | * [[Lance Cabot]], a chemistry student at a state university, has an accident with chemicals that changes his atomic structure, causing him to shrink. He is able to tell his story to Capt. Samuels of the Bureau of Missing Persons just before he shrinks to microscopic size and even smaller. ["The Man Who Disappeared," | ||
+ | * A man named [[Mister Evriman]] becomes a hit on quiz game shows when anyone looking at him sees a person just like himself. Mister Evriman, calling himself Homer Evriman at this time, is nothing less than the collective spirit of humanity itself, appearing at its hour of need. [" | ||
+ | |||
+ | === November, 1957 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * [[Joe Pride|Sgt. Joe Pride]] of the Racket Squad police division, with partner Hank O' | ||
+ | * The Mysterious Traveler rescues the Soviet dog Laika from Sputnik 2 while in orbit. The general public believes that Laika died in space. [Tales of the Mysterious Traveler #12] | ||
+ | |||
+ | === December, 1957 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * **Capt. Michael Gallant**' | ||
+ | |||
+ | ==== 1958 ==== | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Brilliant criminal scientist Jarvis Kord creates the first model of a series of super-strong robots. [Blue Beetle (Charlton) v4 #2] | ||
+ | * The 14-year-old Eve Eden (who later becomes Nightshade) receives training from Tetsuro Tanaka, the Japanese hero known as the Tiger. [" | ||
+ | * **Martin Kane**' | ||
+ | |||
+ | === January, 1958 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * **Sgt. Joe Pride**' | ||
+ | * An elderly door-to-door salesman named Ezra Benton drinks an elixir given to him by extraterrestrial visitors and inadvertently regains his youth as he de-ages 30 years. Benton vows to make the most of his newfound youth. ["The Elixir," | ||
+ | |||
+ | === March, 1958 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * **Doctor Haunt**' | ||
+ | |||
+ | === May, 1958 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * May 6: Two time-traveling Cro-Magnon men from the Upper Paleolithic era (Late Stone Age) briefly visit Prof. Howard Gaines using a time machine of their own invention, proving Gaines' | ||
+ | |||
+ | === December, 1958 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Walter Dykes, a young man afraid to face the world who spends his life reading books, discovers a cave containing an alien device with a helmet. Putting the helmet on, he seems to be instantly transported to the planet Kotura, where he saves the intelligent inhabitants from beasts that rule their world. After returning to his own world, he realizes that the helmet creates the illusion of living in a story or history, and he never actually left Earth. He escapes from the cave as an earthquake seals it off, vowing to now face life rather than retreat from it as he has been doing. [Tales of the Mysterious Traveler #10] | ||
+ | |||
+ | ==== 1959 ==== | ||
+ | |||
+ | * After Nature Girl dies of illness, Nature Boy rebels against the Masters of the Elements who granted them powers. They retaliate by taking away his memories, and David Crandall wanders the world as an amnesiac who doesn' | ||
+ | * In Los Angeles, Assistant District Attorney Larry Davis (formerly the Cub, kid sidekick to the original Black Lion, George Davis) becomes the **[[Black Lion (Larry Davis)|Black Lion II]]** and takes on the Mafia single-handedly as a vigilante. Sometime later he goes missing, and he is rumored to have been killed by the Mafia, with his body buried under Dodger Stadium (which began construction in September, 1959, and was officially opened in 1962). [" | ||
+ | |||
+ | === February, 1959 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * A college student named **[[Bart Corey]]**, who possesses telekinesis that enables him to levitate and move himself and other objects, seeks to rid himself of his powers in order to be normal. Instead, his college dorm janitor, **[[Simms]]**, | ||
+ | * A truck driver named Johnny Layton helps a group of benevolent aliens stop an invasion of Earth from their own home planet. [Tales of the Mysterious Traveler #12] | ||
+ | |||
+ | === August, 1959 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * Clint Curtis joins [[Road Knights|the Road Knights]]. [Hot Rods and Racing Cars #42] | ||
+ | |||
+ | === September, 1959 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * A seemingly ordinary man named Eustace Brazod, who works as a janitor in a laboratory where the most advanced computer is being constructed, | ||
+ | * On his 18th birthday, Alex Lorraine begins seeing visions of strange objects and events, such as a futuristic tank, a sea monster, a fleet of spacecraft, and others. A mysterious figure tells Alex that his visions are real, and that he is taking him away to begin his studies in the realm of all understanding, | ||
+ | |||
+ | === October, 1959 === | ||
+ | |||
+ | * October 7: While on vacation in Rock City, Carl Daniels discovers a time machine in a cave and is sent a day forward into time in the form of a transparent phantom, only returning to normal when the time machine vanishes. He does not know this, but scientists of the year 2159 were experimenting with a time machine they call the Time Skipper. ["The Time Skipper," | ||
+ | |||
+ | **Go to [[Timeline of Earth-4 (1960s to 1970s)]]** | ||
+ | |||
+ | **Timeline of Earth-4:** [[Timeline of Earth-4 (prehistory to 18th century)|prehistory to 18th century]] | [[Timeline of Earth-4 (19th century to 1920s)|19th century to 1920s]] | [[Timeline of Earth-4 (1930s to 1950s)|1930s to 1950s]] | [[Timeline of Earth-4 (1960s to 1970s)|1960s to 1970s]] | [[Timeline of Earth-4 (1980s to present)|1980s to present]] | [[Timeline of Earth-4 (the future)|the future]] | **Special timelines: |