BRITISH SUPERHEROES FROM THE 1940s

This weekend’s escapist, light-hearted superhero post from Balladeer’s Blog will take a look at British-made comic books from the 1940s in the same spirit as my examination of Canadian-made superheroes from the 1940s. 

WONDERMAN

Secret Identity: John Justice

Debut Year: 1948

Origin: A lifelong wealthy playboy, John Justice enlisted in the army during World War Two and rose to the rank of captain. A few years after the war ended, his scientist father’s atomic experiments granted him superpowers with which John fought the forces of evil as Wonderman.

Powers: Wonderman possessed massive super-strength and invulnerability, could fly, had x-ray vision and super-hearing as well as limited telepathy.

Comment: During his superhero career, which lasted into 1951, Wonderman continued to pretend to be merely a good-timing playboy in his John Justice identity. Nobody recognized him as Wonderman despite his lack of a mask and not even his girlfriend Jan Barrie knew about his double-life.

ACROMAID

Secret Identity: Christine McCall, Surgical Nurse

Debut Year: 1947

Origin: After fighting off a criminal who invaded the operating room to try killing the patient, Christine McCall wanted more action. She adopted the costumed identity of Acromaid and fought crime.

Powers: Acromaid was in peak physical condition and excelled at unarmed combat. She was as agile as an acrobat and was also very skilled at knife-throwing. In addition, Acromaid carried vials of truth serum with her so she could inject it into criminals she was interrogating.

Comment: This superheroine was another crimefighter who wore no mask yet maintained a secret identity with no problem. Her roommate and fellow nurse was named Penny.   

CAPTAIN MAGNET

Secret Identity: Johnny Calhoon

Debut Year: 1945 or 1946

Origin: British intelligence agent Johnny Calhoon was sent into Germany to rescue an anti-Nazi scientist who had developed a biochemical formula to enhance human beings. With the scientist dead and the Nazis closing in on the laboratory, Calhoon drank the only sample of the formula to keep it out of Nazi hands, and was granted superpowers that he used to escape.

        Back in England, Johnny adopted the costumed identity of Captain Magnet and took action against criminals and other menaces.

Powers: Captain Magnet had magnetic powers that let him fly as well as attract and repel metal objects – including bullets or other projectiles. He could use his magnetic energies to boost his strength when lifting objects or similar activities.

Comment: Finally, a Golden Age British superhero who protects their secret identity by wearing a mask.

STREAMLINE

Secret Identity: Keenan King

Debut Year: 1947

Origin: When scientist Keenan King was on a walk and noticed that a fire was burning down the 21st National Bank he seized upon the opportunity to at last test his creation Elixir X. That elixir was a chemical formula that, when he injected himself with it, it granted him superpowers. He became the superhero called Streamline from that point onward.   

Powers: Streamline could run and otherwise move at super-speed, like DC’s Flash, Marvel’s (Timely’s) Whizzer and Quality’s Quicksilver. He also healed very, very quickly from any injuries and had greater than human strength to help his body survive the rigors of superfast motion. This hero also used his scientific genius against his foes.

Comment: In color illustrations, Streamline’s costume was yellow with blue gloves and boots. His foes included a gang of armed robbers who would set banks on fire, then, dressed in their asbestos costumes, would rob the banks.

         Another foe was the mad scientist Dr. Du Mar, whom our hero thwarted when he tried to destroy the House of Commons with an atomic ray.     

ARGO

Secret Identity: None, but created by Len Fullerton under his alias Nat Brand, so Len Brand would make a good one.

Debut Year: 1942

Origin: Argo was a scientist who invented a high-tech suit for adventuring beneath the sea. Using that suit, he discovered and set up a base in the underwater city of Tremuda, far beneath the North Pole.

Powers: Argo’s tech-suit let him travel at high speeds underwater thanks to electrical propulsion. His suit provided warmth and gave him the ability to survive the pressure of the ocean depths, and his transparent “celloplex” facial mask let him breathe underwater by filtering oxygen from seawater. The mask also served to amplify his voice.

Comment: Argo wielded assorted weapons, like a harpoon gun, axe and knives. His genius made him a whiz at multiple languages, and he was a capable airplane pilot. 

PHANTOM MAID

Secret Identity: Julie Drake

Debut Year: 1947

Origin: Crime lord “Ape” Scarron killed Julie’s father in the same attack that left her near death.

She survived, however, then trained herself to take on crime as the costumed Phantom Maid and went into action. Her first target was Scarron.

Powers: Phantom Maid was skilled at unarmed combat and was a markswoman with the handgun she took into action with her.

Comment: And another superheroine who doesn’t wear a mask to safeguard her identity. Were British people incapable of recognizing faces in the 1940s?

TORNADO

Secret Identity: Steve Storm

Debut Year: 1948

Origin: London Tribune reporter Steve Storm came from a family which had wielded magic powers until 500 years ago when the Curse of Grosta was placed on them. By Steve being the 13th born in his present-day family, the curse was broken and the magic powers of his ancestors flowed into him.     

Powers: Tornado could magically transform from his costumed identity to his civilian clothes and back again at will. He controlled the winds, letting him fly and perform other deeds. Tornado also wielded a ray-gun.

Comment: Jokes about Tornado’s oddball origin have become a meme by this point.   

BIRDMAN OF THE R.A.F. 

Secret Identity: Flight Lieutenant Brian Hardy

Debut Year: 1940

Origin: Brian Hardy was a barn-storming pilot who eventually developed a pair of motorized wings to perform in carnivals and circuses as “Captain Zoom.”

When World War Two broke out, he patriotically enlisted in the Royal Air Force and used his wings of top-secret design to help fight the Nazis.

Powers: The Birdman could fly at high speeds and was as agile as an acrobat from his circus years. His military training made him proficient in armed and unarmed combat. In addition, he could wield whatever weapons he needed to as a member of the British armed forces. 

Comment: This hero bore similarities to previous mechanically winged heroes from British story papers decades earlier. The Winged Man from 1913 and Batsowl from 1918, previously reviewed HERE.

        There was also the 1887 science fiction novel A Modern Daedalus about Irish inventor Jack O’Halloran, who used his mechanical wings for military purposes. In his case leading an Irish rebellion against England. Reviewed HERE.   

ELECTRO GIRL

Secret Identity: Carol Flane

Debut Year: 1947

Origin: After Carol Flane’s scientist father was killed when one of his experiments misfired, she paid a visit to his laboratory.

Feeling curious, Carol touched some of her late father’s scientific equipment and got a jolt that wound up filling her with electrical powers that she used to fight the forces of evil as Electro Girl. 

Powers: Electro Girl could fly and was able to generate electrical blasts from her hands.

Comment: Well, at least Electro Girl wore a mask sometimes, which is better than none of the time. But look at her get kinky with that criminal in the above left pic.

At any rate, like with Canada’s neglected 1940s superheroes, it is such a shame that characters like Electro Girl have been all but forgotten.   

THE DEATHLESS MEN   

Secret Identities: Aylmer Gregson, Billy Mitchell. No other real, full names are known. 

Debut Year: 1942

Origin: British Secret Service Agent Aylmer Gregson began infiltrating the Nazi power structure shortly before World War Two began. He started recruiting other agents, mostly concentration camp inmates who were disfigured through heinous experimentation by Dr. Mengele and others.

Gregson engineered the escape of assorted concentration camp inmates, then faked their deaths so the Nazis would declare them deceased.

He himself went by the codename Jack One, with his recruits designated Jack Two, Jack Three, etc. for the roughly half-dozen operatives in the Deathless Men.

        They all dressed in grey from head to toe, including grey masks to hide their often-disfigured faces. The Deathless Men carried out assassinations and sabotage missions against the Nazis as the war rolled on.

Powers: The Deathless Men were proficient at unarmed combat and masterfully wielded pistols, machine guns, knives, explosives and any other weapon at hand. Their skill-set combined master cat-burglars with Royal Commandos.

Comment: When World War Two ended, the Deathless Men (Why not the Grey Men?) took to tracking down escaped Axis war criminals for vengeance.

        You may have noticed the way that the angle of these masked heroes being concentration camp inmates disfigured by experimentation seems to have “inspired” the overrated and overpraised Alan Moore’s origin for V in V for Vendetta. Furthering that notion is the fact that, as you can see above, the Deathless Men’s series was titled V for Vengeance. 

THE ATOM MAN

Secret Identity: Ace Hart

Debut Year: 1948

Origin: Scientist Ace Hart developed an elixir which enabled his body to harness atomic energy. From then on he donned a costume and dedicated his life to fighting criminals, spies and aliens.

Powers: This hero could fly so swiftly he could go to the moon and back in mere minutes. He had a degree of superstrength, was invulnerable and could survive in space. In addition, he created a ray-gun which drew energy from his body to shoot atomic rays.

Comment: From 1948 to 1952, Ace Hart the Atom Man saw a lot of action. His base included his invention – a device to notify him of dangers around the world. One of his recurring foes was the foreign female spy Zonda. 

        During an invasion attempt by the alien Vak race, the extraterrestrial woman Valyra became an ally of our hero. Using his elixir she gained the same powers and fought at his side as Val Venture.   

THE BAT

Secret Identity: Never revealed 

Debut Year: 1940

Origin: Never revealed 

Powers: Could fly via a winged costume or was able to morph his body to sprout real wings during his activities as the Bat. He was skilled at unarmed combat and was very agile. He also carried a gun which fired knockout gas powerful enough to down a gorilla if need be.

Comment: The character would go by the motto “Ten lives for a life” when dealing with murderers, but would even jeopardize his own life to keep lesser offenders alive while taking them down. See also the Winged Man from 1913 and Batsowl from 1918, previously reviewed HERE.           

CATGIRL

Secret Identity: Julie Carroll

Debut Year: Early 1940s

Origin: Never revealed

Powers: Catgirl was more agile than an acrobat and excelled at unarmed combat. She was also a skilled investigator.

Comment: When her stories began, Catgirl was already a well-known crimefighter in fictional Majestic City. She fought saboteurs and criminals like the Black Empress, allied with Inspector Kerry Lee. There was an entirely separate British Catgirl superhero in the 1960s.

MASKMAN

Secret Identity: Peter Pilkington

Debut Year: 1948

Origin: Bored wealthy playboy Peter Pilkington, looking for fresh thrills, adopted the costumed identity of Maskman and set out to take on the forces of evil.

Powers: Maskman was in peak physical condition, as agile as an acrobat and highly proficient in unarmed combat.

Comment: Peter Pilkington’s confidant regarding his dual identity was his manservant Fogg.   

ELEKTRA

Secret Identity: None, because Elektra was her real name   

Debut Year: 1948

Origin: Elektra was a security agent in the far-off year … 2000 A.D. When the world was in danger, Elektra would be called into action.

Powers: Elektra could fly via rocket-skates, wielded ray-guns and packed a supply of atom pellets.

Comments: Elektra fought alongside her brother Atom, but as usual, when two male and female Golden Age characters have the exact same origin and powers I list the female to help make up for the comparative scarcity of superheroines in that time period.   

TIGER-MAN

Secret Identity: Phil Britton

Debut Year: 1949

Origin: Scientist Phil Britton was part of Professor Beauclerc’s expedition in Africa. His curiosity led him out of camp and he was attacked by a large saber-tooth tiger which had somehow survived countless millennia. The animal bit Phil’s arm then died.

        Phil had recovered by morning, and when he protected the camp from a hungry lion he realized the saber-tooth tiger had passed its power on to him by biting him as it died. And it wasn’t even radioactive!   

Powers: Tiger-Man had greater than human strength and speed as well as enhanced senses like a saber-tooth tiger.

Comment: The tiger bite had also given Phil Britton greater ferocity than he had before, as demonstrated by his more brash and action-hungry nature after recovering.

MR. MUSCLE

Secret Identity: Mike O’Leary 

Debut Year: 1945

Origin: Mike O’Leary either concocted or was gifted with a drink called “the essence of strength” and used the superpowers he received from it to fight Axis Powers during World War Two.

Powers: Mr. Muscle was strong enough to lift a car over his head, had “super-eyesight” which let him follow specific tire tracks on a road and could run at a speed which let him catch up with a vehicle after it had already vanished out of sight.

Comment: This superhero protected British possessions in the Far East. During the war he clashed repeatedly with Imperial Japanese forces. In his first story he thwarted a planned invasion by Japan. 

GAIL GARRITY

Secret Identity: None. Gail Garrity was her real name.

Debut Year: 1949

Origin: Gail’s late father Buck Garrity, a noted scientist, big game hunter and mercenary, trained her in all of his talents as she grew up.

Powers: Gail Garrity was like those old pulp magazine heroes who had mastered a large number of subjects and skills. She was an expert at armed and unarmed combat including judo and fencing. She was also a brilliant scientist, genius linguist, and talented pilot.

Comment: Gail was dedicated to fighting crime and injustice around the world and wrote up her escapades in the National Tribune. 

THE ROCKET MAN

Secret Identity: Ray Spede

Debut Year: 1948

Origin: Scientist Ray Spede invented a “rocket-ornithopter” and a ray-gun, then took to the skies as an adventurer and crimefighter.

Powers: The Rocket Man could fly at incredible speeds and was capable of incredible maneuvers and aerobatics. He wielded a ray-gun and excelled at unarmed combat. His scientific genius let him rig additional devices as needed.

Comment: This hero would often accompany dangerous expeditions around the world, seeking adventure and protecting the participants. He also had child-bearing hips for some reason. See also the Winged Man from 1913 and Batsowl from 1918, previously reviewed HERE.

MR. X

Secret Identity: Les Manners

Debut Year: 1944

Origin: Les Manners focused on developing his body and mind to the point where he donned a costume and took to fighting the forces of evil as Mr. X. 

Powers: Through his meditation and other techniques Mr. X could conjure up greater than human strength and the ability to levitate himself.

Comment: Les Manners was a private investigator who later became employed by an agency called Retro-Active.   

THE IRON FISH   

Secret Identity: None, because the Iron Fish refers to high-tech mini-subs. Penny Gray is the prominent pilot for my purposes.

Debut Year: 1949

Origin: Professor Gray created a very high-tech submarine vessel called the Iron Fish for his son and daughter – Penny Gray and Danny Gray. As time went by, he created individual Iron Fish vessels – one for each sibling to pilot.

Powers: Penny Gray was well-versed in nautical sciences and submarine tactics and was capable of self-defense. The Iron Fish vessel could travel at high speed under the sea and was impervious to bullets and torpedos. The hull could be electrified to drive off octopi or squids as well as would-be human boarders.

        The Iron Fish could also surface like a submarine and suck water from the sea to fire at high speed from its twin water cannons. This could be used as a weapon or to fight fires. At first the vessel could simply “leap” out of the sea for short distances like a flying fish, but Professor Gray upgraded it to be able to fly like a plane.

Comment: I listed Penny but not Danny for the same reason as Elektra above. Penny’s adventures continued well into the 1950s at least.

POWER MAN

Secret Identity: Kerry Latimer

Debut Year: 1946

Origin: Believe it or not, the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come appeared to Kerry Latimer one Christmas Eve and granted him superpowers. No, I’m not joking. He used those powers to fight crime as Power Man.

Powers: This hero had a degree of super-strength and a degree of invulnerability. He could also fly.

Comment: Power Man’s alter ego, Kerry Latimer, was a British reporter working in Chicago, IL.   

SATIN ASTRO

Secret Identity: None. Her real name is Satin Astro.

Debut Year: 1947

Origin: In the year 3000 A.D. Satin Astro is an intergalactic criminal and folk heroine called the Female Robin Hood of Outer Space.

Powers: Satin is a nearly unconquerable fighter even when she is unarmed. Usually, she wields assorted ray-guns.

        This heroine is also an incredible pilot and a cunning criminal & fugitive.

Comment: For a time, Satin Astro is allied with space cop Burt Steele against their mutual foe – her former boss, the intergalactic crime lord called Krozac. Burt winds up getting killed by Lamarr, the Warlord of Mars.   

KRAKOS THE EGYPTIAN

Secret Identity: None. His real name was Krakos.

Debut Year: 1941

Origin: In 1941, an elderly Egyptian man covertly made his way to a temple in Tanis. Once there he burned sacred herbs which restored his bodily youth to him. He then returned to London and began using his mystical abilities to fight Nazis and criminals.  

Powers: Krakos could fly, remotely detonate Nazi weapons when they tried shooting him, and could make opponents burst into flames at the slightest touch.   

Comment: In this expatriate Egyptian’s London home, his aide Yusef acted as butler.

THE FLYING BOY

Secret Identity: Jack Flash

Debut Year: 1949

Origin: Jack was the son of the top scientist on the planet Mercury. Yearning for adventure, he stole his father’s spaceship and flew to Earth. Losing control of the vessel, Jack Flash crash-landed in the Atlantic Ocean off the southern coast of England. He survived and used his Mercurian powers to fight crime in and around Cornwall as well as protect the populace.

Powers: Jack Flash the Flying Boy could fly under his own power at incredible speeds. He also possessed a bit greater than human strength.

Comment: This hero’s Golden Age run lasted from 1949-1958. The Flying Boy eventually reconciled with his father back on Mercury. The father along with Jack’s two younger siblings visited Earth, resulting in assorted complications.

CAPTAIN MIGHT

Secret Identity: Alan English

Debut Year: 1949

Origin: Atomic scientist Alan English resided in Atomville, England, a secret city populated only by nuclear researchers and their families. One day an explosive lab accident granted him superpowers which he used as the costumed superhero Captain Might.

Powers: This hero possessed greater than human strength and athleticism.

Comment: Did British illustrators ever realize there are colors other than red? (I’m kidding!)

ROBERT LOVETT

Secret Identity: Inspector Mitchell, Inspector Potts     

Debut Year: 1940

Origin: In 1940, a grave robber broke into the Lovett family tomb at Dalton Church Graveyard in Surrey. He tried stealing a mystic ring on the corpse of Robert Lovett, who died in 1827. This caused Lovett to rise from the dead possessed of incredible powers. With the grave digger dead, Robert wandered England fighting the forces of evil.  

Powers: Lovett had greater than human strength, could see through walls and shoot destructive lightning bolts from his eyes. He can also teleport and read minds. Because he is already dead, he is immune to most violence, but physical contact with a crucifix causes him to lose his powers for a few hours.

Comment: This macabre hero’s series was titled Back from the Dead. During its run readers learned that Robert Lovett was born in 1792 and had fought Napoleon’s forces at Waterloo.

ATOMIC TOMMY

Secret Identity: Tom Trevor

Debut Year: 1947

Origin: Private investigator Tom Trevor possesses a high-tech jacket which grants him superpowers that he uses to fight crime and other menaces.

Powers: Atomic Tommy’s “electronic jacket” or “atomic jacket” radiates atomic waves which give this hero the strength of ten men and make him bulletproof. He wears the jacket (more like a vest) under his civilian clothes.

Comment: Atomic Tommy was also called “the Bulletproof Crime Smasher”, so my personal preference would have been to just call the hero Crime Smasher or even Bulletproof and, since he wore his jacket under his clothes I’d have made him one of those Golden Age heroes who wore a mask along with a hat, suit and tie. 

SUPERBOYO

Secret Identity: Alan Brent

Debut Year: 1947

Origin: On an expedition with his legal guardian, scientist Sir Hugo Dunn, Alan Brent ventured into the remote Unknown Land of White Crags. Sir Hugo was machine-gunned by a low-flying plane but before he died told Alan to save himself by crossing Table Mountain and swimming in the mystical pond there. Submergence in those waters granted Alan superpowers to get revenge on Sir Hugo’s murderer and fight other evildoers.

Powers: Superboyo could fly at high speeds and maneuver expertly during flight.

Comment: No, it’s not Superboy, it’s SuperboyO. The hostile plane’s machine gun fire caused an avalanche that buried the mystical pond underneath tons of rock right after Alan Brent flew out of it. 

HONORABLE MENTION

QUICKSILVER (1948) – No other name is known for this red-costumed superhero of the 1800s American West. He lived in a cave in the mountains and came forth to fight rustlers, bank robbers, etc. Quicksilver could fly, was bulletproof and could enable the horse he rode to fly through the sky with him.

LITENING (1948) – Modern day youth Dave Terry is granted superpowers by the Greek gods on Mount Olympus when they observe how noble and altruistic he is. As Litening he possesses a degree of super-strength, a degree of invulnerability and can fly at the speed of light.

TNT TINA (1946) – This superheroine had the same powers and origin as her cousin TNT Tom, but per my policy I am listing Tina only. Friendly extraterrestrials provided a liquid which bestowed superpowers on two school age kids. As TNT Tina and TNT Tom they fought crime and aided those in need. Tina could fly and had super-strength, just like her cousin Tom.

MARSMAN (1948) – Known by no other name, Marsman came to Earth from the Red Planet. His mission was to scout out the Earth, its nations and its cultures. Along the way, he wound up using his powers of flight and strength to battle crime and protect innoccent people. Marsman only lasted one issue. 

HALCON OF CRATER LAND (1942) – Halcon is the Lord of the Crater Land, making him the equivalent of Tarzan in that mysterious wilderness land filled with deadly and exotic animals as well as other dangers. This hero, who has Adonis-like strength and athleticism, not only fights menaces native to Crater Land but also takes on Nazi soldiers and Muslim slave traders. No origin is known for Halcon or for Crater Land.  

FOR MY LOOK AT CANADA’S GOLDEN AGE SUPERHEROES CLICK HERE. 

FOR MY LOOK AT AUSTRALIAN-MADE SUPERHEROES CLICK HERE