BRITISH SUPERHEROES OF THE 1960s

This weekend’s escapist, light-hearted superhero post from Balladeer’s Blog looks at some of Great Britain’s homegrown superheroes from the 1960s. For their 1940s heroes click HERE.

GADGETMAN

Secret Identity: Burt Travis

Debuted: 1968

Origin: Burt Travis was the scientific genius who ran Travis Corporation. He used some of his inventions and the costumed identity of Gadgetman to fight criminals, aliens and other menaces. 

Powers: Burt Travis had a hidden teleportation device in his office. When he wanted to become Gadgetman he would teleport to his secret headquarters and go into action. This hero could fly via jet-shoes, shoot assorted ray-guns called Gadget Guns and release a substance from his costume that made him slick and impossible to hold onto.

Gadgetman also piloted a flying Gadgetcar and Gadgetcycle. Burt Travis’ lab apprentice Gary Stewart was really Gimmick-Kid, with a costume and gadgetry similar to Gadgetman.

CAT-GIRL

Secret Identity: Cathy Carter

Debuted: 1969

Origin: Cathy Carter was the daughter of a widower private investigator. In their home’s attic she found an old cat costume that was a gift from an African head of state her father had helped. Putting on the costume, she gained various powers and fought crime as Cat-Girl. 

Powers: Cat-Girl has greater than human strength, speed and incredible agility. She can see in the dark and gains magnified senses of smell and hearing. Her claws can cut through metal and other objects. In costume she can control the prehensile tail.

CAPTAIN HURRICANE

Secret Identity: Hercules Hurricane

Debuted: 1962

Origin: Hercules Hurricane was born with mutant powers and used them as a Royal Marine Captain and special operative for the British government.

Powers: Captain Hurricane possesses incredible super-strength and invulnerability. The angrier he becomes in battle the stronger he becomes. And ya have to like a hero who looks crazed.

THE WINGED SCHOOLGIRL

Secret Identity: Julie Bradshaw

Debuted: 1965

Origin: Schoolgirl and Vicar’s daughter Julie Bradshaw’s eccentric Uncle Lionel invents a device which Julie uses to fight the forces of evil when Lionel fails to control it. 

Powers: The Winged Schoolgirl could fly by using her high-tech harness of wings and electronic controls. She was also skilled at unarmed combat.

TRI-MAN

Secret Identity: Johnny Small

Debuted: 1969

Origin: High school student Johnny Small falls into a vat of molecular stimulator at the same time Professor Meeks is shooting his Energy Concentrator Ray into it. This gives Johnny superpowers, so he dons a costume and fights crime as Tri-Man. 

Powers: Tri-Man has more strength than three men combined, can run more than three times faster than the fastest human, can leap more than three times higher than normal people and his senses are more than three times as powerful as normal humans. He also has incredible agility. 

THE GIRL FROM TOMORROW

Secret Identity: Atlanta

Debuted: 1969

Origin: Atlanta was from the year 2200 A.D. by which time most people have superpowers. She wound up stranded in 1969 and used her powers to fight the forces of evil.

Powers: This heroine can levitate, temporarily increase her strength, read minds and generate a force field around herself. She can also rearrange molecules to cause hard objects to crumble or simply to mold one object into a different shape.

BLACK ARCHER

Secret Identity: Clem Macey

Debuted: 1966

Origin: A mysterious old man used his laboratory’s scientific devices to grant clumsy reporter Clem Macey superpowers and a costume. From then on Clem fought crime as the Black Archer.

Powers: The Black Archer can transform from civilian clothing into his costume and back again at will. He has miraculous accuracy shooting his high-tech crossbow bolts that boasted gadgets like those of bow-and-arrow heroes like Hawkeye, Green Arrow, etc. In addition, this hero is skilled at unarmed combat and also wields a knife that shoots fire. 

DANGER MAID

Secret Identity: Jane Hardwick

Debuted: 1960

Origin: Jane Hardwick and her twin brother Jet became the Danger Twins, sidekicks of the superhero Danger Man, when he gave them high-tech equipment.

Powers: This heroine lives on a satellite orbiting the Earth. When help is needed anywhere in the world she can fly to the rescue in her Zoomet Rocket.

She had a small flying saucer device that could track criminals or anything else by scent and wielded other technology as needed. Her helmet could pick up broadcasts anywhere on Earth. She was also skilled at unarmed combat.   

IRON MAN

Secret Identity: Robert Farrad

Debuted: 1963

Origin: Professor Wentworth Farrad created a powerful android but was killed for the secret soon after. His nephew Tim Branton took in the android and helped him adapt to human culture. When needed, it would go into action as Iron Man.

Powers: This superhero was “stronger than 100 men” and was skilled at all manner of combat. Iron Man did not need to breathe and could therefore travel any distance underwater.

In addition, he could download enormous amounts of information for playback or future use. Iron Man would wear plastic skin over his iron body and dress in clothing when he needed to seem like a human being out in public. 

THE HUMAN MAGNET

Secret Identity: Maggie (last name unknown)

Debuted: 1961

Origin: This teenage superheroine is an apparent mutant whose powers manifested themselves naturally.

Powers: Maggie has a variety of magnetic powers.

THUNDERBOLT

Secret Identity: Mick Riley

Debuted: 1965

Origin: Inept police constable Mick Riley was relegated to desk duties. One day the dying scientist Professor Markham gave Mick his master creation – a seeming wristwatch that could inject “thermo-clyodine phostium” into Riley’s body at will. The chemicals would grant him superpowers. He donned a costume and fought crime as Thunderbolt.

Powers: Thunderbolt possessed a degree of super-strength and could fly at high speed.

JUSTICE

Secret Identity: Justine Jones

Debuted: 1969

Origin: On vacation in Greece, Justine saved an old hermit trapped among rocks. He rewarded her with the Cloak of Icarus, the Arrows of Sleep, a Magic Visor and a Magic Mirror. Back in England, she uses those items to fight the forces of evil.

Powers: The Cloak of Icarus grants Justine superhuman strength and the power to fly faster than jets. The Arrows of Sleep knock out anyone she hits with them. The Magic Visor (goggles) lets her see for miles and through solid objects or storms. The Magic Mirror allows two-way video and audio communication with the hermit when she needs advice. 

ERIC DOLMANN

Secret Identity: Jonas Luthor is his business alias

Debuted: 1966

Origin: Eric Dolmann is a scientific genius who works as an undercover agent for International Security. His specialty is creating toy-sized robots that he passes off as mere dolls in his store called the House of Dolmann. The doll shop is a front for his secret agent activities.

Powers: Eric devised and remotely controls a group of small androids with built-in weaponry. The control device is worn around Dolmann’s neck. The souped-up car he uses to transport his robots is called the Dolmobile. Long before the Puppet Master films, this figure’s powered “dolls” included: a commando, a sumo wrestler, an elastic stretcher, a digger, a jester and many more.

VANESSA FROM VENUS

Secret Identity: Vanessa (last name unknown)

Debuted: 1961

Origin: Vanessa was a humanoid from Venus passing herself off as a British teenager, presumably to observe Earthlings.

Powers: This superheroine had the power of telekinesis.

JANUS

Secret Identity: Cliff Adam

Debuted: 1968

Origin: Hedonistic playboy Cliff Adam was saved from a murder attempt by a Brazilian mystic and was then cursed to earn his undeserved stay of execution. His once-handsome face was transformed into a monstrous one and he was granted superpowers to fight the forces of evil until he had made amends for his misspent life. At that time his face would turn back to normal. 

Powers: This hero adopts the nom de guerre Janus because of the artificial skin-masks he wears on his monstrous face to go out in public. Those masks deteriorate after prolonged outside exposure so had to be used sparingly. Janus possesses the strength of two men and amazing agility. He would tear off his false face in order to go into action in order to preserve his secret identity as Cliff Adam. 

THE MAGIC EYE

Secret Identity: Maisie Macrae

Debuted: 1969

Origin: Teenager Maisie Macrae, a student at St. Matilda’s School, came across a fallen meteorite. She made a brooch for herself out of the material and gained superpowers from it. She called the brooch her Magic Eye.

Powers: Maisie’s Magic Eye could let her influence people’s actions as well as enable her to transform living and unliving matter however she pleased. The massive power was difficult to control and Maisie fought to master it by channeling it through her hands.

PURPLE HOOD

Secret Identity: Lee Briton

Debuted: 1967

Origin: Government agent Lee Briton would adopt the costumed identity of the Purple Hood when sent on missions.

Powers: The Purple Hood is in peak physical condition, is more agile than an acrobat and excels at armed and unarmed combat. He goes into action with state-of-the-art firearms of all sizes and calibers.

FOR AUSTRALIA’S HOME-MADE SUPERHEROES CLICK HERE.

FOR CANADA’S GOLDEN AGE SUPERHEROES CLICK HERE.