NEGLECTED HORROR-THEMED HEROES

This weekend’s light-hearted, escapist superhero post from Balladeer’s Blog looks at several obscure characters from around the world whose horror-tinged natures make them ideal for Halloween Season. 

THIS FIRST ENTRY IS FROM BRAZIL. For Brazilian superheroes who aren’t horror-based click HERE.

PENITENTE (Penitent)

Secret Identity: Not revealed as yet.

Debut Year: 2006

Origin: This character had been a professional hitman for organized crime in Brazil for several years. One night he was killed in his sleep on orders of his own bosses, but Heavenly forces offered him a chance at redemption. In exchange for them allowing this figure’s soul to animate his now dead body they would grant him supernatural abilities.

To redeem himself in the eyes of Heaven, the Penitente had to save seventy times seven the number of innocent victims he had killed while alive. As part of this purgative servitude he would also be periodically pitted against dark forces which had escaped from Hell.

Powers: The Penitente pursued his activities in his own dead body, which was now unstoppable, albeit bearing many, many scars. He was immune to much physical pain, and his greater than human strength and uncanny skill with guns and other weapons were crucial to his mission.

Comment: Our hero rose from his grave and masked his decaying, scarred face behind a red cloth like those worn during Brazil’s Procession of the Penitents.

And yes, I know this character’s general origin is, uh, reminiscent of an American creation of the 1990s but at least the Penitente’s power set is more grounded, and his “look” is pretty cool.

Here’s a Brazilian superheroine with horror trappings.

MIRZA A MULHER VAMPIRO (Mirza the Female Vampire)

Secret Identity: Mirela Zamanova

Debut Year: 1967

Origin: Mirela Zamanova was born centuries ago to a noble family in Krakow, Poland. She was the 7th daughter in a row in the family, which brought a curse on them. One by one Mirela had to see her mother, five of her six sisters and her father Duke Zamanova die tragically.

She herself was transformed into a vampire by the curse when her sole surviving sister’s lover Tristao tried to rape her. Mirela’s new vampiric powers let her kill and drink the blood of Tristao, then her own sister, who witnessed the deed. Our heroine fled and, under the name Mirza, traveled the world but established her home base in Brazil. She fights all manner of supernatural menaces.

Powers: Mirza had greater than human strength as well as the other powers and vulnerabilities of a vampire.

Comment: Mirza’s cover identity from the 1960s onward was that of a supermodel and socialite. In her stories vampires could be captured on film. She traveled with her hunchbacked servant Brooks and when satisfying her thirst for blood she endeavored to kill only deserving figures.

UP NEXT IS AN ENTRY FROM SPAIN. For non-horror Spanish superheroes click HERE.

LOBISOME (Wolfman)

Secret Identity: Jacinto Larran Olea

First Appearance: Iberia, Inc. #1 (1996)

Origin: As the seventh son of a seventh son, Jacinto inherited the curse of lycanthropy. 

Powers: Lobisome can transform back and forth between his human and wolfman forms at will. In lupine form he has greater than human strength, speed and senses. He also has formidable claws and teeth, plus he possesses the “efecto fierabras” which lets him heal from any wound. (A “healing factor” you might say.)

Comment: In his secret identity as Jacinto Olea this character maintains his career in writing and archeology while also remaining a member of the Spanish government’s official superteam Iberia Inc.

THREE CHARLTON COMICS HORROR FIGURES. For dozens more Charlton superheroes from before DC bought them click HERE.

THE WITCH

Secret Identity: Winnie (last name never revealed)

First Appearance: Ghost Manor #13 (July 1970)

Origin: The Witch was a practitioner of the occult who had been immersed in the craft long enough for her skin to have turned blue.

Powers: This character wielded the traditional eldritch powers of witches, and could also conjure up images and engage in remote viewing.

Comment: Winnie used her powers purely in her role as a Horror Hostess in one of Charlton’s many horror comic books. Just like Marvel eventually made their similar Horror Host character Digger active in their superpowered community, Charlton could have done the same with this Witch.

PROFESSOR COFFIN (Charlton)

Secret Identity: Arachne Coffin

First Appearance: Midnight Tales #1 (December 1972)

Origin: Arachne Coffin followed in the footsteps of her uncle, Professor Cyrus Coffin, both by becoming a professor at Xanadu University and by investigating supernatural phenomena and chronicling firsthand experiences with the unknown.

Her uncle was also known as the Midnight Philosopher.

Powers: Professor Coffin drew upon her encyclopedic knowledge of monsters and horrific lore from around the world to deal with any situation she encountered. She was courageous and very skilled at self-defense. 

Comment: During her years as an assistant to her Uncle Cyrus, Arachne Coffin faced carnivorous plants, reanimated mummies, a cat-lizard-dinosaur monster, a Hell Train, a large double-faced ape-creature with suction cups on its long tongue, and living human-sized marionettes plus many more oddities.

COUNTESS VON BLUDD (Charlton)

Secret Identity: Countess Rosa H. Von Bludd

First Appearance: Scary Tales #1 (August 1975)

Origin: In Eastern Europe during the 1400s, Count Gregor Von Bludd, a vampire, forced the reluctant beauty named Rosa to marry him. He turned her into a vampire like himself, but she and her maid Olga engineered Gregor’s death by wooden crossbow bolt.

Over the centuries, Countess Von Bludd moved to America, where there was a much larger pool of potential victims to draw from.

Powers: Countess Von Bludd had the supernatural strength of a vampire, and was immune to all weapons except wooden stakes, holy water and sunlight.

Rosa wielded a whip to deadly effect and to disarm vampire hunters. She was compelled to drink human blood to survive.

Comment: Like Winnie the Witch and Professor Arachne Coffin, Countess Von Bludd deserved to be a big horror star for Charlton Comics.

IF YOU’RE A FAN OF HELLBOY, THIS NEXT FIGURE WAS IN THE SAME UNIVERSE. For a look at every one of this character’s stories click HERE.

THE HERETIC

Secret Identity: Dominic DeMarco

First Appearance: The Heretic #1 (November 1996)

Origin: Much of the Heretic’s past remains shrouded in mystery. In his early adult life he left the seminary and joined the Brotherhood of Cain, a covert order of religious assassins who presented themselves as righteous warriors crusading against evil.

That turned out to be a lie, so the disillusioned figure left the order and was branded a heretic, a label he embraced as his nom de guerre. Acting independently, he used the skills and abilities he learned from the order to begin his own war against the crime and corruption at all levels of society, including government and organized religion.

Gaining bizarre superpowers, the Heretic also battled the infernal forces behind all Earthly evil, from the lowest street crimes to the bloodiest wars. He learned that God and Satan exist. Heaven and Hell exist. And there’s no predicting which side the rest of us will end up on.

Powers: The tattoos on the Heretic’s body, a mix of holy and unholy symbols, grant him superpowers. His hands can morph into talons that are far larger than human hands. Black wings can spring from the tattoos on his back, letting him fly. The tattoos on his arms and legs grant this hero a degree of super-strength, a healing factor and superhuman agility.

Against opponents who wield supernatural relics that can neutralize his own otherworldly powers, the Heretic uses the custom-made, souped-up vintage pistols that he’s been using since his assassin days. Those guns pack more power than a magnum.  

Comment: The Heretic’s adventures were set in Terceron City, home of the insidious Babylon Corporation.

UP NEXT IS A JON MALIN HEROINE FROM HIS LAUDED GRAVEYARD SHIFT SERIES. For my look at the first three volumes, click HERE.

THE BRIDE

Secret Identity: Lilith Mayhew, MD

First Appearance: Graveyard Shift #1 (2019)

Origin: Like her teammates in the Graveyard Shift, Dr. Lilith Mayhew was killed in a laboratory disaster but exposure to the facility’s Regen Technology and other mutagenic factors brought them back from the dead endowed with new abilities. The team then took on assorted supernatural menaces.

Powers: The Bride possessed a degree of super strength, reflexes far faster than living human beings, and was virtually invulnerable to everything except OVER-exposure to sunlight and the removal of her heart. Unfortunately, she also had a vampiric compulsion to drink blood and had to struggle against preying on the innocent.

Comment: All the praise you’ve heard about Graveyard Shift is accurate. It combines horror and superheroics in a fun valentine to the macabre. Other members of the team are The Monster, Professor Blood, Ghost in the Machine, Monster Girl and Sea Urchin.  

UP NEXT IS ANOTHER INDEPENDENT CHARACTER. For his entire saga click HERE.

THE COFFIN

Secret Identity: Ashar Ahmad, PhD

First Appearance: The Coffin #1 (2000)

Origin: Dr. Ashar Ahmad, an atheist, developed polymer techno-suits so impermeable that they could even contain the energies of a living being’s soul after the body died. After experimenting on such suits with dogs and other animals, Asher was about to move on to human trials.

Heller Technologies, a rival company to the one that employed the scientist, had thugs try to force the secrets of the techno-suits out of Asher so that the dying tycoon who owned that company could use one before his imminent death. Mortally wounded by the thugs, Dr. Ahmad climbed into the suit designed for a human and, as his body then died, he was trapped forever in the armor which had become his Coffin. 

Powers: The Coffin’s suit could withstand weaponry up to missile strength and its polymer muscles could lift 5 tons. In addition, the arms and legs of the suit could telescope, expanding for great lengths and the limbs (but not the torso or headpiece) could morph into various forms for both offense and defense.

This hero had no need to eat or drink ever again, and the energies of his immortal soul – the energies he sought as a power source – kept his armor functioning while his corpse lay within. 

Comment: As Dr. Ahmad fought to save his daughter and keep his techno-suits out of Heller’s hands, his adventures showed him that his atheism was wrong. God and Satan did exist and his hubris had gotten him caught up in battles between holy and unholy forces.

THIS FINAL CHARACTER IS FROM AN ISRAELI SUPERHERO TEAM. For the non-horror members click HERE.

DOCTOR Z’ROA

Secret Identity: Reuben Bachar, MD

First Appearance: Infinite Horizon #1 (January 2004)

Origin: Muscular, brilliant family man Dr. Reuben Bachar developed seeming tumors in his left arm. After ascending levels of medical and scientific experts were baffled by the disfiguring tumors spreading along the arm and to both legs, a partial answer was found in folklore.

Dr. Bachar’s left arm had become “infected” by a shedim, an entity from Jewish folklore which was transforming Reuben’s left arm and legs. The left arm was singled out as the “shank” or “z’roa” limb of a lamb or other animal being prepared for sacrifice.

Science blended with the supernatural when Dr. Bachar was on hand at a nuclear research center just as a disaster exposed many people present to high levels of radiation. Some were killed, some were granted superpowers and in Reuben’s case the radiation arrested the spread of the shedim possessing his left arm and legs but left him in semi-monstrous form.

After his panic and outrage over his changed body drove him to a brief rampage, Dr. Bachar was calmed down and persuaded to join Israel’s forming superhero team Infinite Horizon, which defended Israel from physical and supernatural menaces.

Powers: Doctor Z’Roa can stretch and morph his shank limb into a variety of shapes and sizes, plus cause it to sprout additional smaller arms as needed. His mutated legs are very powerful and let him leap much further than normal humans can, and his clawed feet let him cling to objects like the Beast. 

This character’s already impressive strength was increased to greater than human levels, and his shank limb became even stronger, plus it could heal from any damage.

Comment: Doctor Z’Roa’s now-monstrous form gave him the tragic hero element of similar mutated figures like the Thing, the Hulk, Metamorpho, Darkoth and others. Non-horror members – male and female – of Infinite Horizon were Monitor, Splendor, Mammoth, Fever, Gazelle, Mediator and Lionet.    

FOR MY LOOK AT HALLOWEENISH GHOST RIDER COVERS CLICK HERE.

FOR MY LOOK AT HALLOWEENISH WEREWOLF BY NIGHT COVERS CLICK HERE. 

FOR LILITH, DRACULA’S DAUGHTER CLICK HERE. FOR EARLY BLADE STORIES (1973-1983) CLICK HERE.