AUSTRALIA’S GOLDEN AGE SUPERHEROES

This weekend’s escapist, light-hearted superhero blog post looks at the 1940s & 1950s Australian-made superheroes. Back in 2015 I examined Australian-made superheroes of the 1970s and 1980s HERE.

CAPTAIN ATOM

Secret Identity: Larry Lockhart

Debut Year: 1948

Origin: A nuclear accident fused scientist Dr. Bikini Rador with his brother, who was a federal agent using the cover identity Larry Lockhart. This accident granted incredible superpowers and spawned the superhero called Captain Atom.

Powers: Saying the word “Exenor” would let Larry turn into his superhero form. He had Superman level strength, could fly at amazing speeds, was largely invulnerable and could shoot atomic energy blasts from his hands. Captain Atom’s ears could “hear” radio transmissions.

Comment: This Captain Atom ran from 1948 to 1954 in the Golden Age. America’s totally different Captain Atom did not debut until 1960.

ATOM-GIRL

Secret Identity: Lynn Sanders

Debut Year: 1949

Origin: Lynn became Atom-Girl when gifted the futuristic technology of her brother-in-law John Grant.

She fought crime and other menaces, including aliens.

Powers: John Grant’s discovered “ray” gave Lynn a degree of super-strength and made her invulnerable to bullets, other weaponry and deadly gasses.

Atom-Girl wore an “atojet” flying pack on her back, an antigravity harness, a belt that could turn her invisible, plus goggles which could provide x-ray vision. She also wielded two atomic pistols and piloted an aircraft called Miss Hotshot which could change from a jet to a helicopter to a submarine.

This superheroine’s HQ was Voltara, a secret lab in central Australia.

Comment: John Grant was Captain Power, but as usual, my policy with Golden Age superheroes is that when male and female figures have the same origin and powers, I list just the female because of the comparative scarcity of Golden Age superheroines.

THE GREY DOMINO

Secret Identity: Hugh Standish, internationally known racecar driver.

Debut Year: 1951

Origin: Readers are told that Hugh Standish has served as the costumed figure called the Grey Domino (even though he did not wear a domino mask) since World War Two.

He continued his superhero activities after the war, fighting criminals and enemy spies.

Powers: The Grey Domino was in peak physical condition, was more agile than an acrobat and was a master of unarmed combat. He was also a marksman with the handgun he took into battle with him and was skilled at knife-throwing.

Comment: Hugh Standish had been serving with distinction as a commando early in World War Two before becoming the special forces hero called the Grey Domino.

MOLO THE MIGHTY

Secret Identity: None.

Debut Year: 1943

Origin: Molo was an alien from the planet Zot. His spaceship crashed in the Australian outback, stranding him here on Earth. He learned English from an Aborigine and fought crime, Axis villains and other menaces.

Powers: Molo the Mighty possessed much greater than human strength. The powered headband that he wore enabled him to fly and to make his skin steel-hard at will.

Comment: Just as Captain Atom was revived in the 1980s to guest star with the superheroine Vixen and her crimefighting partner Brainmaster, Molo the Mighty was revived in that decade as a guest star in stories of the superhero called the Jackaroo. I examined the Golden Age Aussie superhero Crimson Comet who was revived in the 80s in the pages of the Southern Squadron HERE.

THE MASKED ARCHER

Secret Identity: Both Don Grey and Terry Steel

Debut Year: 1941

Origin: Reporters Don Grey and Terry Steel craved action and so alternated in fighting crime and spies as the Masked Archer. This helped in keeping their identities secret because on many occasions one of the reporters AND the superhero could be seen at the same time. 

Powers: The Masked Archer (no matter which man was costumed as him) was in peak physical condition and excelled at unarmed combat. He was also exceptionally skilled at archery and using trick arrows as Australia’s version of American superheroes like the Arrow, Diana the Hunter, Green Arrow, etc. 

Comment: I like the comparative novelty of having two people sharing the same costumed identity.

WILD GIRL

Secret Identity: Kazanda

Debut Year: 1941

Origin: Kazanda the Wild Girl lived on the uncharted land mass called the Lost Continent. When explorers from the outside world arrived in the jungles of the Lost Continent, Kazanda turned against her mentor Sylf to save the outsiders from becoming one of his blood sacrifices. She fought the forces of evil from then on.

Powers: The Wild Girl was in superb condition and could move through the jungle with speed and agility. She could communicate with and command jungle animals telepathically and had the power of remote viewing, which she called “sky pictures.” Kazanda’s other powers included control of plants and the ability to mentally start fires from a distance.

Comment: This superheroine’s closest animal friend was a tiger named Fang. She also commanded gorillas, elephants, birds and all manner of jungle cats. 

THE BLUE GHOST

Secret Identity: Unknown

Debut Year: 1951

Origin: Unknown

Powers: Top physical condition and agility. The Blue Ghost excelled at unarmed combat and was a marksman with the pistol he took into action with him.

Sources vary on whether this hero had superpowers or a high-tech costume that let him turn intangible or invisible. Some say he had neither, but in issue #13 (May 1951) he definitely teleports or turns invisible early on in the story.  

Comment: Despite the fact that the Blue Ghost always fought crime, it was one of those situations where he was mistakenly believed by the authorities to be a criminal himself. This character regularly threatened people for information, even women. 

JET FURY

Secret Identity: Randy Gray

Debut Year: 1950

Origin: Randy Gray was a wealthy and adventurous aircraft designer who was recruited to work for the Australian Secret Service.

Powers: Jet Fury was an engineering genius and phenomenal pilot. He was in peak human condition and was very skilled at unarmed combat. This hero was also a dead shot with his side arm. Jet Fury’s custom aircraft the Comet could fly at 1,188 miles per hour and boasted high-tech weaponry.

Comment: The Comet was kept in a secret hangar just below Randy Gray’s penthouse apartment. Randy Gray’s girlfriend was reporter Sandy Collier, his Secret Service superior was Bartley Gray and his mechanic and copilot was called Blacky.

FLAMEMAN

Secret Identity: None.

Debut Year: 1946

Origin: This being was also called “the genie of the Sun” and was magically created by the Sun to protect itself. Also, to fight the forces of evil on any of the inhabited planets in our solar system. (This being a comic book it’s possible for more than just Earth to be inhabited.)

Powers: Flameman possessed “enormous strength” and rode a horse made of solar flame. On his forehead he wore a solar gemstone from which he could shoot “radar energy blasts” as well as detect things through the gem’s radar sense.

Comment: In addition to his horse of fire, Flameman was accompanied by his female colleague Tiny (see below). Moira Bertram created these characters including this hero’s human friends – Yogi Dietz the astrologer and his daughter Janet Dietz.  

TINY

Secret Identity: None

Debut Year: 1946

Origin: Tiny was a Tinkerbell sized woman who was a magic being created by the Sun to assist Flameman on his missions. The cover of their comic books were in color and Tiny & Flameman’s costumes were red.

Powers: This superheroine wore her own solar gemstone with powers similar to Flameman’s. It may also enable her to fly. (It’s hard to tell from the few pieces of surviving artwork online.)   

Comment: Like Tinkerbell with Peter Pan, Tiny was very possessive of Flameman and grew jealous of any woman with whom he had to interact. She and her partner fought villains like Black Knox, Saturnit the son of Satan, Lonzo the foreign spy and Madame Zilian the Witch. 

THE SHADOW

Secret Identity: Jimmy Gray

Debut Year: 1950

Origin: When Jimmy Gray inherited the family fortune, he used the money to train himself physically and mentally to fight crime and wrongdoing around the world.

Powers: The Shadow was in peak physical condition, was more agile than an acrobat and was a master of unarmed combat.

He wore a tight purple custom mask to conceal his face and tight rubberoid gloves to conceal his fingerprints.

Comment: Many of this hero’s villains were femmes fatale along the line of the Spirit’s foes. For the Shadow, that included Fifi Daniels, commander of an all-female crew of pirates in a submarine, Mira, an Arabian belly dancer, Senora Montez, a former Nazi spy turned Communist spy, and Lol Soho, international smuggler and jewel thief.

        Despite his first series being canceled after 23 issues, a new Shadow series was launched later in 1952. That second series ran until issue #168, making it the 2nd longest running comic book series in Australian history. 

COMET MAN

Secret Identity: Unknown

Debut Year: 1951

Origin: Unknown, he was known publicly as Comet Man and could be contacted for help by people in need. He was a celebrity who readily granted interviews. It’s possible he was an extraterrestrial. 

Powers: Massive super strength, invulnerability, super-speed and lungs powerful enough to let him blow out large fires.

Comment: Comet Man was okay with killing some of his opponents. This series ran until 1956.

THE EAGLE

Secret Identity: Bob Gray

Debut Year: 1941

Origin: Bob Gray invented a suit capable of winged flight and more. He then fought crime and the Axis Nations.

Powers: The Eagle could fly, wielded a raygun and the top of his helmet contained a pipe that shot sleeping gas. His gloves sported talons.

Comment: Australian comic book writers loved the surname Gray/ Grey, didn’t they?

THE VAMPIRE

Secret Identity: Unknown

Debut Year: 1948 

Origin: No details. In her very first appearance the Vampire was described as already having been at war with criminal networks around the world.

Powers: The Vampire had no vampiric powers. However, she was at maximum female strength, more agile than an acrobat, as stealthy as a ninja and was capable of outfighting multiple armed opponents at once.

She was also uncannily accurate with her side arm.

Comment: In her first published appearance, this superheroine brought down the entire Black Dragon opium ring which was smuggling their product via aircraft from Tibet to Rangoon, Calcutta and elsewhere. The Vampire even blew up their palatial headquarters/ factory in Tibet.   

I can’t help but wonder if the creators of this superheroine were inspired by the female gang of costumed robbers called the Vampires in French silent films.

ATOM MAN

Secret Identity: Unknown

Debut Year: 1946

Origin: This hero either invented or was given an atomic belt which granted him superpowers.

Powers: Atom Man could fly, possessed “radar vision” and could employ atomic energy. 

Comment: This superhero is one of the many Australian Golden Age figures who left behind tantalizingly little information.

THE MASK

Secret Identity: Unknown

Debut Year: 1954

Origin: The Mask was a mysterious figure whose real face was hideous and skull-like. Using his powers he went into action against crime and injustice.

Powers: He had the eerie mystical or scientific ability to morph his face to look like any face he wanted.

Comment: After just 3 issues, the series was banned by the Queensland Literature Board of Review. According to the Mask’s creator, Yaroslav Horak, the reason he was given was that “a full-faced mask was evil” and his employers made him abandon the Mask series. Horak also said that the character’s hat was vital but apparently we’ll never know why.

THE PHANTOM OF THE EAST

Secret Identity: Char Chapman

Debut Year: 1948

Origin: Famous big game hunter Char Chapman decided to take on the forces of evil in jungles around the eastern world. He donned a costume and took action as the Phantom of the East.

Powers: This superhero possessed slightly greater than human strength, speed, senses and agility, all of which he attributed to the secrets of the jungles. He was incredibly skilled at unarmed combat.

Comment: The Phantom of the East was a backup figure beginning in 1948 and then got his own eponymous series in 1953. His adventures were often like Jungle Jim’s and Indiana Jones’. In one tale the Phantom helped scientists prevent dinosaurs from a hidden valley from infecting the rest of the world with the prehistoric diseases they carried with them.   

DARK STRANGER

Secret Identity: Patty (no last name given, but she was created by Rhys Williams so Williams would make a good surname for her)

Debut Year: 1943

Origin: When her brother was murdered by a gangster, Patty adopted the masked, caped and trench-coated identity of the Dark Stranger and fought crime while hunting down her brother’s killer, Red McShane.

Powers: The Dark Stranger was a skilled investigator and urban huntress who was as fit as an athlete and excelled at unarmed combat. In addition, she was amazingly accurate with her handgun.  

Comment: The Dark Stranger’s costume was so well done that people sometimes believed this hero was a man. In the 8th issue of her adventures, she finally got revenge on Red McShane but I haven’t been able to learn if she retired or continued fighting crime.

POWERMAN

Secret Identity: Unknown

Debut Year: 1941 (not 1942 like some other sources say)

Origin: During a secret Australian atomic bomb test this hero was exposed to random radiation which gave him superpowers that he used to fight the forces of evil.

Powers: Powerman could use the radiation coursing through his body to generate a charged forcefield that was almost as tight as his costume. That forcefield would cause bullets to bounce off his body, protect him from other weaponry and let him turn invisible. It would also harm anyone who tried touching him. 

Comment: This hero’s adventures continued until 1945. One multi-part story saw him clash with gangsters led by a supervillain called the Owl. On covers Powerman’s costume varied from red to blue and on at least one occasion yellow.

PHANTOM COMMANDO

Secret Identity: Bruce (no last name given but created by John Dixon so I would use Dixon as a surname)

Debut Year: 1959

Origin: Long before the Navy Seals this hero mastered all combat situations in all elements. He donned a mask and was sent on dangerous missions which called for a virtual one-man army.

Powers: The Phantom Commando thrived on land, in the air and both in and under the sea. He could operate any weapon, drive any vehicle, fly any plane, use any boat and operate any submarine. He was also an excellent paratrooper, demolitions man, scuba diver and hand-to-hand combat expert.

Comment: Though this series started in May of 1959, the stories depicted the Phantom Commando’s activities during World War Two and the Korean War. After a few years the series ran reprints of earlier stories.

CATMAN

Secret Identity: Unknown

Debut Year: 1951

Origin: With a passion for justice, Catman kept his identity safe behind a mask and costume, trained himself physically and invented tech to use in his crusade. Establishing a mountain headquarters for himself, this hero would venture forth to take on villainy in the wilds of Australia and later the world.

Powers: Catman was in peak human condition and was very skilled at unarmed combat. He took a Luger with him into action and had a belt loaded with high-tech gimmicks. His goggles provided night vision and could also cast light like a flashlight.

Comment: This hero’s love interest was Terry West, a reporter for United Nations News. Her father Professor West was a recurring character. For a time Catman practiced the superhero fad of endangering youngsters by having a costumed teen boy called Kit fight at his side.   

THE VESUVIAN

Secret Identity: Vesta

Debut Year: 1947

Origin: The Vesuvian was a Fire Maid from the Volcanic Kingdom. She emerged from a fresh eruption near Mt. Vesuvius in 1947. She encountered a pair of Aussie soldiers and began to learn about human beings.

Powers: This superheroine could fly, was immune to any degree of heat and could use lava as a weapon.

Comment: Vesta the Vesuvian was naive about life on the surface world but luckily her volcanic and lava powers made her capable of fighting any evildoers she encountered.

THE GREEN SKELETON

Secret Identity: Unknown

Debut Year: 1953

Origin: Details unknown, but a monstrous figure called the Green Skeleton had been waging war on organized crime in Australia for a while as mentioned in its very first appearance. This figure’s attacks had left much of the underworld reeling

Powers: Despite the Green Skeleton’s appearance it packed quite a punch and could outfight multiple men at once.

Comment: Very little has survived about the Green Skeleton. Some covers and a few pages from some stories have survived. Even those fragments confirm that nobody in-story knows who or what the Green Skeleton is, either.

        Gangsters held meetings trying to devise ways of destroying this menace to their rackets and media outlets offered 6-figure rewards for information about the Green Skeleton or an interview with the figure. If any readers know more about this obscure character, please let me know.

DIANA HASTINGS

Secret Identity: None, it’s her real name.

Debut Year: 1945

Origin: Diana Hastings grew up learning all about the jungles of the world thanks to her uncle, Professor Hastings.

In her 20s, she traveled from Australia to Africa and other continents having Jungle Jim/ Indiana Jones types of adventures, finding lost tribes, lost treasures, giant apes and fighting enemy agents, etc.

Powers: Diana was an expert in jungle travel, lore and survival techniques.

She was paid large amounts of money to lead expeditions into assorted jungle regions. This heroine excelled at unarmed combat and was a dead shot with her pistol and other firearms.

Comment: Between Premier Comics and Gem Comics, Diana Hastings’ adventures ran from 1945 to 1950. She experienced all the usual jungle queen storylines, but fully dressed and not as a scantily clad heroine like Sheena and others.

        If there’s a man alive who can resist a woman in jodhpurs and a pith helmet, I’ve never met them. (I’m kidding.) 

THE BLUE RAY

Secret Identity: Sep (Septimus?) Perry

Debut Year: 1947

Origin: In “futuristic” 1960, Sep Perry was a young scientist assisting Dr. Rhodes in working on a new metal that will have “tremendous power”.

This metal somehow granted Sep superpowers and he, the Dr. and Molly McKinnon (Rhodes’ niece) ended up in a lost civilization.

Powers: ?

Comment: Blue Ray clashed with a masked and costumed villainess called Batd Lari and seemingly others. Any new details are appreciated. 

THE RAVEN

Secret Identity: The Earl of Ravenscourt

Debut Year: 1962 (Though this was past the Golden Age in the U.S. it still seems to have been the Golden Age in Australia so I’m including this figure.)

Origin: The Seventh Earl of Ravenscourt was framed by his evil brother Sebastian for theft. Sentenced to Dartmoor Prison, our hero escaped and made a hideout for himself in a secret set of rooms in his now-abandoned family castle, Ravenscourt.

After training himself in acrobatics, physical combat and marksmanship with both hands, he donned a green costume and took action to fight injustice in the U.K. and Continental Europe.

As the Raven, this superhero specialized in clearing innocent people falsely accused like he had been. His few years in Dartmoor Prison always haunted him.

Powers: The Raven was in peak human condition, more agile than an Olympic gymnast and a master of unarmed combat. In addition, he was a dead shot with both hands and had more stealth than ninjas or the best cat-burglars. 

Comment: This superhero once spared the life of his miserable, cowardly brother Sebastian because he couldn’t bear to commit fratricide. The Raven was fine with killing off other villains, however.

        Interestingly, the police would periodically raid Ravenscourt Manor to search it for any sign that the fugitive Earl had been there recently, but his hideout was too well hidden.

        The Raven fought domestic and international criminals as well as the Sons of the Reich, a group of Neo-Nazis trying to launch the Fourth Reich. The Sons were led by “Cain”, who wore a half-mask on his face.

        This superhero also fought the supervillain called the Highwayman plus the Asian organization called the Dragon Men and their international empire of crime.

        Supernatural foes popped up from time to time, as well. For just two examples, the Raven fought the Fisherman’s Ghost and investigated ancient Druid ruins which suddenly appeared on Dartmouth Moor near the sea one night.

        NOTE: Some sources say that the Raven was at Stonehenge in his 6th issue but if you actually read the few pages that are available online the ruins are in Dartmoor. They just look similar to Stonehenge because of their Druidic origins.

         Even aliens and UFOs figured in one of the Raven’s adventures. 

FOR MY REVIEW OF CANADA’S 1940s SUPERHEROES CLICK HERE.

FOR MY REVIEW OF BRITISH-MADE SUPERHEROES FROM THE 1940s CLICK HERE.