This weekend’s escapist, light-hearted superhero post here at Balladeer’s Blog looks at several home-grown characters from Argentina.
CABALLERO ROJO (Red Cavalier)
Secret Identity: Rafael Reinoso
Debuted: 1996
Origin: Rafael Reinoso is the 34th member of his family line to become the costumed Caballero Rojo. Like the Walker family in the Phantom series or the Black Panther and Red Wolf characters in Marvel Comics, the role has been passed down from generation to generation for centuries.
Powers: This hero is in peak physical condition, excels at unarmed combat and is more agile than an acrobat. Caballero Rojo also uses a high-tech grappling line to swing around the city like Spider-Man. He also wields throwing blades and red smoke bombs. His headquarters is in an abandoned church in Buenos Aires.
CYBERSIX
Secret Identity: Adrian Seidelman
Debuted: 1991
Origin: Dr. Joseph Von Reichter, one of the many Nazis to flee to Argentina after the end of World War 2, has used his genius at bioengineering and cybernetics to keep himself reasonably young for decades.
He also created several humanoid & animal figures who were part biochemical and part cybernetic.
Von Reichter’s creations developed free will, including Cybersix and the pantheroid Data 7, and they rebelled. Von Reichter exterminated all of them except our heroine Cybersix and Data 7, who escaped and have opposed their insane creator, his new creations and other forces of evil ever since.
Cybersix disguises herself as the male teacher Adrian Seidelman at Meridiana High School, with Meridiana being the city in which she resides. Dr. Von Reichter frequently targets that city.
Powers: This heroine possesses super-strength, greater than human speed & agility, and can see in the dark. Like her panther Data 7, Cybersix can make spectacular leaps due to her incredible strength. Continue reading
THE TREASURE OF THE FLAMING MOUNTAIN – The early Pulp adventures of Kapitan Mors continue. The part-Captain Nemo & part-Robur the Conqueror and his mixed crew of Europeans and people from India are flying over Nicaragua. They prevent the suicide of a despairing young woman whose father has been imprisoned by an up-and-coming dictator to try forcing him to reveal the location of his hidden treasure. 
THE GUARDIAN OF MYSTERY ISLAND (1896) – Written by Dr Edmond Molcini. Mystery Island lies off the coast of Maine and everyone near the coast considers the place haunted by a true monstrosity – a large ghost-dog. 
This weekend’s light-hearted, escapist superhero post from Balladeer’s Blog will conclude my look at Marvel’s 1943-1948 heroine from when the company was known as Timely Comics. For Part One and her origin click 
MARVEL MYSTERY COMICS Vol 1 #64 (Jun 1945) 
Last month Balladeer’s Blog gave an overview of the German sci-fi hero Captain Mors the Air Pirate 
MASTER OF THE SKIES – The first short story featuring Kapitan Mors der Luftpirat is set in 1905. This origin tale saw him visit the mountain graves of his wife and children before leading his European and Indian crew against the villains responsible for their deaths and for his fugitive status. 
CRACK COMICS #1 (May 1940) 
CONSOLATIONS IN TRAVEL or THE LAST DAYS OF A PHILOSOPHER (1830) – Written by THE Sir Humphrey Davy, this is largely a work of philosophical discourse but with one section devoted to a science fiction tale: The Vision. 
The first planet they travel to is Saturn, where Davy is awestruck by the alien landscape. Strange clouds fill the skies and among the oddest planetary features are large columns of liquid which flow from the ground upward. Saturn is inhabited by intelligent beings with three pairs of wings and organs like elephant trunks dangling from their bodies. 
MISS AMERICA
That night, during a violent thunderstorm, the fascinated Madeline snuck back to the laboratory to more closely examine the equipment. At one point a lightning bolt struck the lab and Madeline, destroying the equipment but granting her superpowers. Adopting the nom de guerre Miss America, she donned a costume and went into action.
OMEGON (1915-1916) – Written by George Frederick Stratton, this serialized story dealt with a fictional war of super-scientific weaponry between the United States on one side and China, Japan and Mexico on the other. 
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