This weekend’s escapist and light-hearted superhero post from Balladeer’s Blog looks at Spider-Man co-creator Steve Ditko’s iconic Mr. A, warts and all.
MR. A
Secret Identity: Rex Graine, reporter for the Daily Crusader newspaper.
First Appearance: Witzend #3 (1967)
Origin: Rex Graine wanted to fight crime without endangering his friends and loved ones. He assumed the white-costumed identity Mr. A and took on the forces of evil.
Powers: Mr. A was in peak human condition and excelled at unarmed combat. He wore a metal facial mask/ helmet for protection and anonymity. He also wore metal gloves to make his punches more potent. I assumed he wore articulated body armor on his torso too, for protection against bullets.
This character was an expert investigator and used calling cards with no writing – just black on one half and white on the other to represent his black & white moral attitudes.
Comment: Mr. A was a more “pure” version of the Question, Steve Ditko’s similar character also created in 1967 when he worked for Charlton Comics. Ditko owned Mr. A, whose nom de guerre came from the Objectivist principle “A is A”, was an uncompromising vigilante the like of which superhero comic books had rarely seen in 1967. In the decades to come such figures became very numerous in comics. Continue reading
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