BLONDE PHANTOM: HER 1940s STORIES

For this weekend, Balladeer’s Blog’s light-hearted, escapist superhero blog post will look at the Golden Age superheroine the Blonde Phantom from Marvel Comics, back then called Timely Comics. 

BLONDE PHANTOM

Created By: Stan Lee (yes, he was that old), Charles Nicholas and Syd Shores

Secret Identity: Louise Grant

First Appearance: All-Select Comics #11 (September 1946) Her final Golden Age appearance came in 1949. 

Origin: Wanting to fight crime and foreign spies without endangering the lives of people close to her, Louise Grant, secretary for private investigator and former OSS man Mark Mason, donned a costume and fought the forces of evil as the Blonde Phantom.

Powers: The Blonde Phantom was in peak human condition and was more agile than an Olympic gymnast. She was a master of unarmed combat and was also incredibly proficient with her .45 handgun. In addition, this heroine was an expert investigator.

Comment: Louise Grant’s boss Mark Mason had the hots for the Blonde Phantom but overlooked his secretary Louise, who downplayed her beauty in her secret identity.

ALL SELECT COMICS Vol 1 #11 (September 1946)

Title: The Atom Spells Doom

Villains: Signor Korte and Senator Mushbell 

Synopsis: The Blonde Phantom is referred to as having been active for a while even though this is her first appearance. She thwarts the theft of atomic secrets by a spy ring that includes a South American diplomat and a traitorous American Senator.

Title: The Scarlet Scorpion

Villains: Freyda Rhent and Alfredo

Synopsis: Our heroine tries to track down a Nazi war criminal in an unnamed South American nation. His widow Freyda Rhent and a fascist spy named Alfredo vie with the Blonde Phantom for the Scarlet Scorpion containing the late Nazi’s secret formula. Naturally, the superheroine wins out.

BLONDE PHANTOM COMICS Vol 1 #12 (December 1946)

NOTE: As of this issue the publication’s title changed to Blonde Phantom Comics but retained the All Select Comics numbering, making this issue number 12.

Title: Skyride to Doom

Villains: False Face, Signor Korte and Senator Mushbell

Synopsis: The Blonde Phantom faces an international spy called False Face, who impersonates U.S. Army Colonel Ryder at the test for a radio-controlled atomic missile. Our heroine learns that False Face, with help from Signor Korte and Senator Mushbell, plans to reprogram the missile so that it strikes and destroys New York City.

The superheroine captures False Face, saves New York City from atomic annihilation and saves the life of Mark Mason. 

Title: Death After Dinner

Villains: Mrs. Breese, Signor Korte and Senator Mushbell

Synopsis: A female spy named Mrs. Breese runs La Glamour Beauty Salon, where her clientele includes the wives of many federal government bigwigs. Breese hypnotizes the women into stealing state secrets from their husbands, and she turns those secrets over to Korte.

The Blonde Phantom investigates La Glamour Beauty Salon and brings down the spy ring, but Korte and Mushbell again escape exposure.

BLONDE PHANTOM COMICS Vol 1 13 (March 1947)

Title: Peril from the Past

Villain: The Redcoat

Synopsis: A supervillain called the Redcoat hires a gang to help him steal a collection of jewels that were given to George Washington back in the 1700s. The Blonde Phantom defeats and captures all the gang members, then battles the Redcoat, who is revealed as the descendant of British Loyalists during the Revolutionary War period. The villain, real last name Westminster, falls to his death during the clash and our heroine recovers the stolen jewels. 

Title: Horror in Hollywood

Villain: Mr. Stranger

Synopsis: The Blonde Phantom steps in when Sunrise Studios is subjected to a reign of terror by a disguised man called Mr. Stranger. That villain kills off several people involved in making the studio’s latest movie until our heroine catches him and exposes him as washed up and embittered actor Edgar Elliot, who faded into obscurity after one lone film role. 

BLONDE PHANTOM COMICS Vol 1 #14 (June 1947)

Title: Horror at Haunted Castle

Villain: Baron Frankenstein

Synopsis: Castle Frankenstein has been disassembled and transported to America, brick by brick, then reconstructed. A villain calling himself Baron Frankenstein but costumed as the Frankenstein Monster begins terrorizing the new owners. The Blonde Phantom gets involved and eventually captures the villain, exposing him as the latest descendant of the Frankenstein family. She also finds the family gold which was painted to look like bricks in the tomb.

Title: What the Blonde Phantom Fears Most

Villains: Assorted criminals

Synopsis: One day at the office, Mark Mason is telling his secretary Louise Grant (really the Blonde Phantom) about how fearless the Blonde Phantom is. He recounts seeing her face down an armed killer, climb hand by hand across a rope between two skyscrapers, save victims in a burning building and rescue a drowning man from rapids in a river. The only thing he has ever seen her fear is autograph seekers at the end of her adventures.

Title: Tune of Terror

Villain: The Ox (no relation to the 1960s Marvel supervillain of that name)

Synopsis: After capturing a gang of crooks, the Blonde Phantom gets involved in the case of a recently freed convict called the Ox. The violent man is tracking down his former girlfriend, nightclub singer Gloria Vance. Our heroine discovers that Gloria has married a rich man she plans to kill for his money, and she has been shooting to death former chorus girl friends of hers.

The Blonde Phantom battles both the Ox and Gloria, and is on hand as they both kill each other out of greed and jealousy.

BLONDE PHANTOM COMICS Vol 1 #15 (September 1947)

Title: The Man Who Deserved to Die

Villains: Bert Hogan and Colonel Bella

Synopsis: The Blonde Phantom busts up a pair of criminals who have been dealing in priceless valuables that had been plundered by the Nazis during World War Two. The heroine also has to prove Mark Mason’s innocence when he is accused of killing one of the men.   

Title: Glamour Can Be Fatal

Villain: Porky Potter

Synopsis: Our heroine thwarts an attempt by porcine-faced gangster Porky Potter and his thugs to steal millions of dollars in diamonds from a visiting official from Tibet. 

MARVEL MYSTERY COMICS Vol 1 #84 (October 1947)

NOTE: The Blonde Phantom had grown popular enough that she began appearing in multiple publications per month, like Timely’s other superstars Captain America, Sub-Mariner and the original Human (android) Torch.

Title: The Menace of the Mad Magicians

Villains: Abra and Cadabra

Synopsis: The Blonde Phantom interrupts a bank robbery being carried out by a pair of mystics calling themselves Abra and Cadabra but they use their powers to defeat her and teleport away. Using her investigative abilities, our heroine tracks them down and corrals them when they try to mystically rob a theater’s safe.

BLONDE PHANTOM COMICS Vol 1 #16 (December 1947)

Title: Modeled for Murder

Villains: Stillface and Venita Van

Synopsis: The Blonde Phantom gets to the bottom of things when a crook called Stillface (for the porcelain that was used to restore his face from gunshot wounds) and a woman named Venita Van are framing models at the Carleton Agency for thefts that they themselves carry out. Mark Mason asks Blonde Phantom out on a date, but she politely refuses.

Title: The Sultan Strikes

Villain: The Sultan

Synopsis: When a middle eastern sultan and two assistants carry out armed robberies of the wealthy across America, the Blonde Phantom clashes with them, and after a few defeats, bags them in the end. The fallen Sultan’s former country becomes a democracy in his absence. 

MARVEL MYSTERY COMICS Vol 1 #85 (February 1948)

NOTE: In this issue, the Blonde Phantom had a solo adventure, like Captain America, the Human (android) Torch, Sub-Mariner and Miss America

Title: The Dummy is No Dummy

Villain: Omar the Ventriloquist

Synopsis: After recovering the stolen Carvath Diamonds, the Blonde Phantom finds herself investigating a series of robberies at performances of a ventriloquist named Omar. It turns out that Omar’s dummy is really a midget disguised as a dummy. Omar and the Dummy nearly kill our heroine, but she survives their death trap and turns them over to the cops.

BLONDE PHANTOM Vol 1 #17 (March 1948)

Title: Best Man for Murder

Villain: Van Glint

Synopsis: The Blonde Phantom clears a war hero policeman of murder and robbery, and nabs the real culprit, a con man called Van Glint.

Title: The Cop and the Kid

Villain: Uncle Pete

The Blonde Phantom helps a cop who works with disadvantaged youth keep a boot black named Jimmy from following his villainous Uncle Pete’s footsteps into a life of crime. And for my fellow fans of bad movies, I’ll point out that when it comes to his boot blacking business, Jimmy “likes it very much.”

SUB-MARINER COMICS Vol 1 #25 (March 1948)

NOTE: Along with two stories featuring Sub-Mariner and his cousin Namora, this issue featured a Blonde Phantom tale.

Title: You Can’t Get Away with Murder

Villain: Miss Armanda

Synopsis: In this adventure, the Blonde Phantom takes it upon herself to clear an aspiring actress named Molly Day of the murder of Broadway producer Oscar Malone when he turns up dead after Molly threatened to kill him for not hiring her for his upcoming play Music Time.

In the end, our butt-kicking sleuth nails the real murderer, Miss Armanda, a stage actress who was being written out of Music Time. 

BLACKSTONE THE MAGICIAN Vol 1 #2 (May 1948)

NOTE: A Blonde Phantom story was published along with a few Blackstone stories in this issue.

Title: The Runaway Suspect

Villain: The Blonde Phantom investigates when Mark Mason is hired by Ruth Daley to clear her fiance Dick Wayne of her father’s murder. Our heroine learns that her mother, Mrs. Daley, is the real murderer.

It turns out that Mrs. Daley has a gambling problem and bumped off her husband to inherit his wealth to pay off the gangsters she owed. The Blonde Phantom succeeds in clearing Dick Wayne and exposing Mrs. Daley. 

MARVEL MYSTERY COMICS Vol 1 #86 (June 1948)

NOTE: This time around the Blonde Phantom shared the issue with the original Human (android) Torch, Sub-Mariner, Captain America and Detective Skip McCoy. 

Title: Staged for Murder

Villain: Vincent

Synopsis: A team of playwrights hire Mark Mason as a consultant to help them come up with a perfect murder for their upcoming stage production. He does so with Louise’s help, but weeks later a real murder takes place obviously employing the same plan.

The Blonde Phantom steps in and solves the case, proving that one of the playwrights, Vincent, used the offered murder plan to kill off a woman who was blackmailing him about his criminal past.

SUB-MARINER COMICS Vol 1 #26 (June 1948)

Title: Framed for Crime

Villain: Doris Montagne and her hired gunmen

Synopsis: The Blonde Phantom steps in to save a struggling artist from being used as the fall guy for a racket involving the selling of copies of priceless portraits as if they are the real thing.

The action-packed case ultimately leads to our heroine stowing away on board the villains’ ship and taking down the entire crew before forcing the vessel to return to its home port so the criminals can be arrested.

BLONDE PHANTOM COMICS Vol 1 #18 (July 1948)

Title: The Last Man

Villain: Ignatius Fowler

Synopsis: The Blonde Phantom saves scientist Ignatius Fowler from communist agents trying to steal atomic materials from his laboratory. After she turns them over to the authorities, Fowler proposes marriage to our heroine, but she turns him down.

Infuriated, the mad scientist hatches a plan to force the Blonde Phantom to become his wife. He unleashes a purple gas that puts all men into deep comas and then makes a radio broadcast stating he will not cure the men until the Blonde Phantom is brought to him and marries him.

Eventually, a vigilante mob of women overwhelm our heroine and take her to Fowler’s laboratory. The Blonde Phantom turns the tables on the mad scientist and unleashes the cure for the world’s comatose men. The defeated Fowler is committed to an insane asylum.   

Title: Murder in Print

Villain: The Ghastly Detective

Synopsis: The Blonde Phantom looks into a series of crimes that appear to imitate the pulp stories of writer Gordon Henderson. A masked perpetrator is behind it all. Ultimately, our heroine catches the masked villain in the act and reveals him to actually be Gordon Henderson himself. He suffers from a split personality, and after writing about the crimes in his normal state of mind, his criminal second identity would carry them out in real life. 

BLACKSTONE THE MAGICIAN Vol 1 #3 (July 1948)

Title: Spotlight on Murder

Villain: Enrico

Synopsis: Enrico, the former business partner in the city’s magnificent opera house, is disgruntled and tries to sabotage the establishment now that he has been tossed out of the partnership.

The Blonde Phantom intervenes to save the opera house, its female singing star AND an up and coming female opera singer from Enrico’s planned vengeance.

MARVEL MYSTERY COMICS Vol 1 #87 (August 1948)

Title: Mad Music Moans a Devil’s Dirge     

Villain: Judge Fellows

Synopsis: The Blonde Phantom takes action when it seems that a recently freed convict named Johnny Drago has returned to his thieving ways.

In the end, our heroine discovers that Drago is being framed by the villainous Judge Fellows, who saw an opportunity to get rich while blaming his thefts on the hapless Johnny.

SUB-MARINER COMICS Vol 1 #27 (August 1948)

Title: Back from the Past

Villain: Gunner Malone

Synopsis: A lot of sleuthing is required in a case that finds the Blonde Phantom reuniting the wealthy newlywed Sally Barrows with her long lost ex-con brother, Sniff. (Sniff?)

Our heroine must save Sniff from being the fall guy for an armed robbery being carried out by gangster Gunner Malone and his thugs. Sniff and his sister get a happy ending, while Gunner and his boys are taken down.

ALL WINNERS Vol 1 #1 (August 1948)

NOTE: This title is separate from the canceled Timely series All Winners Comics that ran from 1941-1946. I reviewed that series HERE. 

Title: Personal Appearance for Murder

Villains: Eight-Ball Olsen and Toothpick Twilliger

Synopsis: At an unauthorized movie about the Blonde Phantom, Louise’s boss Mark Mason is shot and injured by Eight-Ball Olsen and Toothpick Twilliger, two criminals that Mark had previously collared. Louise becomes the Blonde Phantom and gets revenge on the two villains, clobbering them and sending them back up the river.

BLONDE PHANTOM COMICS Vol 1 #19 (September 1948)

Title: Justice for Jimmy Sullivan

Villains: Big Dan Folsom and Pinky Desmond

Synopsis: When a woman named Elaine hires Mark Mason to disentangle her fiance Jimmy from criminal Big Dan Folsom, the Blonde Phantom gets involved. Our heroine saves Elaine from a drive-by shooting at the hands of Pinky Desmond, then takes down both Pinky AND Big Dan.

Title: Her Double Trouble

Villain: Dr. Demise

Synopsis: The Blonde Phantom sends a female surgeon named Dr. Demise to prison for illegally experimenting on human subjects. When the villainous doctor is done serving her sentence she performs plastic surgery on her former cellmate to make her look exactly like the Blonde Phantom.

Dr. Demise has the fake Blonde Phantom commit a few random shootings throughout the city for a few days. When the real superheroine tracks down the doctor and her accomplice, Dr. Demise captures her, but in the end the Blonde Phantom exposes her imposter and nabs the not so good doctor.

Title: Rhapsody in Death

Villains: The Nick Symes Gang

Synopsis: Our heroine has been trying to corral the Nick Symes Gang as they commit a series of armed robberies. One night the gang impersonates members of the Harry Charles Band to infiltrate a party with a wealthy guest list. The Blonde Phantom foils the gang’s attempted robbery of the guests and rescues the captive band members. 

BLACKSTONE THE MAGICIAN Vol 1 #4 (Sept 1948)

Title: Identity: Known

Villain: Jonathan J. Littleton

Synopsis: Jon Littleton, a madman who has just escaped from an insane asylum, confronts Louise Grant at work and tells her he has deduced that she is really the Blonde Phantom. He also informs her that he is going to commit a series of robberies and if she tries to stop him, he will expose her secret to the public.

Littleton begins his crime spree as promised, but the Blonde Phantom nabs him anyway, no matter the risk to her secret identity. Luckily for her, Littleton is so crazy that neither the police nor his doctors believe him when he tries telling them who the Blonde Phantom really is.

MARVEL MYSTERY COMICS Vol 1 #88 (October 1948)

NOTE: The new lineup of solo stories in this series features the Blonde Phantom, the original Human (android) Torch, Sub-Mariner, Sun Girl, Captain America and Golden Girl.

Title: The Clown Who Couldn’t Laugh

Villain: The Carnie

Synopsis: Jeepo the Clown delivers a performance in which he is so down in the dumps he can’t make himself laugh. The Blonde Phantom learns that’s because he thinks his son Jerry is behind robberies occurring at the carnival. The box office receipts have been stolen and now passengers through the Tunnel of Love are being robbed. Our heroine rounds up the evildoers and Jeepo is relieved that his son is not among them.   

NAMORA Vol 1 #2 (October 1948)

NOTE: Yes, the Sub-Mariner’s cousin Namora had become popular enough for her own series, too.

Title: Curtain Call for Crime

Villains: Bank Robbers

Synopsis: The Blonde Phantom uncovers a brilliant covert plan to break into a bank after hours and rob the safe and the safety deposit boxes. A gang of robbers are tunneling from the basement of a run-down vaudeville theater next door to the bank. Our superheroine defeats all the members of the gang and turns them over to the police.

SUB-MARINER COMICS Vol 1 #28 (October 1948)

Title: The Test of Fear

Villain: Faulty aircraft construction

Synopsis: The Blonde Phantom saves test pilot Tom Clements by dragging his body from the burning wreckage of the aircraft he was testing. Soon, Mark Mason is hired to do security work for the Trans-American Clipper Company, who are convinced that their planes are being sabotaged. The Blonde Phantom gets Tom Clements to test-fly the company’s latest aircraft and he determines that no sabotage is taking place, there is a problem with the wing construction. Thrilling.

BLONDE PHANTOM COMICS Vol 1 #20 (November 1948)

Title: Laughter on Judgement Day

Villain: Masked men

Synopsis: The Blonde Phantom steps in to save Mark Mason’s father Henry, a retired judge, when a group of masked men claiming to be criminals he sentenced abduct him and Mark. They hold a mock trial and our heroine attacks, only to learn that the whole affair is a practical joke being played on Henry Mason by his colleagues. 

Title: Came the Spring

Villain: The Springer

Synopsis: The Blonde Phantom comes to the rescue of Mark Mason’s latest client, a toy manufacturer, when he and his employees become subject to a reign of terror by a supervillain called the Springer. This man uses his springed boots and springed weapons in a citywide running fight with our heroine before she collars him.

Title: The Mental Maelstrom

Villain: The Muse

Synopsis: In this story the Blonde Phantom clashes with a supervillain called the Muse, who uses his weird hypnotic powers to enthrall his subjects into painting abstract works of art, which he sells and keeps all the money. She nabs the villain and frees his latest thrall.

MARVEL MYSTERY COMICS Vol 1 #89 (December 1948)

Title: Benefit Show for Horror

Villain: Nails

Synopsis: When the Blonde Phantom makes an appearance on a radio show to hype a charity, Nails, a criminal she once sent to jail, teams with another ex-con to discredit her. He and his accomplice threaten siblings to make a girl accuse the Blonde Phantom live on the air of just being a glory seeker. In the aftermath, our heroine captures the villains and makes them confess on-air about their effort to blacken her reputation.   

SUN GIRL Vol 1 #3 (December 1948)

Title: The Spoiler

Villain: The Spoiler and his gang

Synopsis: The Spoiler, a supervillain who we’re told has been publicly humiliating various superheroes, decides to target the Blonde Phantom next. He broadcasts a challenge to our heroine to meet him in battle, all the while planning to plunge her into the sewers when she arrives. Mark Mason rushes to the site and attacks the Spoiler and his thugs before our heroine shows up. The Blonde Phantom winds up having to save Mark before defeating and nabbing the Spoiler and his gang.

BLONDE PHANTOM COMICS Vol 1 #21 (January 1949)

Title: Kidnapped into the Future

Villain: Professor Kall and His Excellency

Synopsis: In the 30th Century, His Excellency, the global leader, sends Professor Kall back to 1949 in a time machine. As ordered, Kall rounds up assorted people and takes them back to the 30th Century to serve as zoo specimens. The Blonde Phantom is one of the people abducted to the future, where she escapes captivity, then defeats His Excellency and Kall. Our heroine frees her fellow captives and returns with them to 1949.

Title: The Thing That Haunted Hawkins Lake

Villain: The Thing in the Lake

Synopsis: At Hawkins Lake, a glowing humanoid monster has been driving away potential home buyers from the Hawkins Lake area. The Blonde Phantom investigates and exposes the monster as costumed property owner Prunella Hawkins, who was trying to drive away people because she mistakenly thought gold had been discovered in the area and wanted it for herself.

MARVEL MYSTERY COMICS Vol 1 #90 (February 1949)

Title: Unmasked

Villain: Mark Mason

Synopsis: Mark Mason decides to try impressing the Blonde Phantom by learning her secret identity. He initiates a plan that even his secretary Louise is not privy to.

After a failed classified ad intrigue on Mark’s part, our heroine preserves her secret identity and Mark abandons his efforts to unmask the Blonde Phantom.

SUB-MARINER COMICS Vol 1 #30 (February 1948)

Title: Studio of Terror

Villain: Vance Van Psmythe

Synopsis: When an artist wants to paint a portrait of the Blonde Phantom, our heroine winds up having to protect the man from the attempted revenge of Vance Van Psmythe, a violent criminal from the artist’s past.   

BLONDE PHANTOM COMICS Vol 1 #22 (March 1949)

Title: Trapped Under the Earth

Villain: The Mole

Synopsis: The Blonde Phantom intervenes when a criminal mastermind called the Mole uses his “electronic gravity control” to make the entire penitentiary he is in sink down to caverns miles beneath the Earth. From there the villain plans to use the prison building as a headquarters from which he and the other prisoners will raid the surface world at will, then escape back to this subterranean lair. The superheroine thwarts those plans and recaptures the criminals.

Title: Jackpot of Death

Villain: “Brow” Benson and his gang

Synopsis: The Blonde Phantom defeats gangster Brow Benson and his thugs when they try to steal the $25,000 prize at a live radio quiz show.

Title: Doomed for Death

Villain: Caspelli

Synopsis: A supernatural figure calling himself Father Time summons the Blonde Phantom to sic her on a criminal whose date for death is fast arriving. That man is George Caspelli, who stole $250,000.00 in bonds and fled. The Blonde Phantom follows him to “New City” (obviously New Orleans), where she clashes with the costumed and sword-wielding Caspelli during raucous Mardi Gras celebrations. Caspelli winds up dead, as Father Time foretold, and our heroine recovers the stolen loot. 

NOTE: This issue included a text statement from “The Marvel Editors” in response to apparent links being drawn by some people between comic books and juvenile delinquency. Marvel’s editors made the commonsense point that a lot of youngsters read comic books, so naturally some delinquents will be among them.

MARVEL MYSTERY COMICS Vol 1 #91 (April 1949)

Title: Alone with a Killer

Villain: Strongo

Synopsis: When circus strong man Strongo steals the circus’ entire payroll, the Blonde Phantom chases him. She battles him alone in a high-rise and thoroughly kicks his butt before turning him over to the cops. 

FOR SIMILAR 1940s SUPERHEROES FROM MARVEL/ TIMELY CLICK HERE.