comicspeak: août 2010

THE TWELVE INDEX
Black Widow: Mystic Comics 4 (Aug 40), 5, 7, USA Comics 5, All-Select Comics 1 (Fall 43)
Blue Blade: USA Comics 5 (Summer 42)
Captain Wonder: Kid Comics 1, 2 (Feb, Summer 43)
Dynamic Man: Mystic Comics 1-4 (Mar-Aug 40)
Electro: Marvel Mystery Comics: 4-19 (Feb 40-May 41)
Fiery Mask: Daring Mystery Comics 1, 5, 6, Human Torch Comics 2 (Jan-Fall 40)
Laughing Mask: Daring Mystery 2-4 (Feb-May 40)
Mastermind Excello: Mystic Comics 2-3 (Apr-Jun 40)
Mister E: Daring Mystery Comics 2 (Feb 40)
Phantom Reporter: Daring Mystery Comics 3 (Apr 40)
Rockman: USA Comics (Aug 41-May 42)
Witness: Mystic Comics 7-9 (Dec 41-May 42)

BLACK WIDOW

MYSTIC COMICS Vol. 1 #4/5 (cover)
Cover Date: August 1940
Cover: Alex Schomburg (penciler, inker)
Story: "Introducing the Black Widow" (7 pages)
Credits: George Kapitan (scripter); Harry Sahle (penciler, inker)
Feature Characters: Black Widow (Claire Voyant; first appearance; between TWELVE 2 (2:4-6)-FB and MYSTIC COMICS 5/5; not to be confused with Black Widow from M/K:SM 9, Black Widow (Natalia Alianovna Romanova) from TOS 52, Black Widow (Yelena Belova) from INH2 5, Black Widow (Petra) from BW3 1, or the Black Widow operatives (including Stacy Matheson and Anna) from BW4 1)
Villains: "Satan" (first appearance; next in MYSTIC COMICS 5/5; not to be confused with other demons that used the alias, including Mephisto from SS 3, Satannish from DRSTR 174, Marduk Kurios from M/SPT 13, and Lucifer from GR5 1, or "Satan" (also known as Kro) from E 3)
Other Characters: Mrs. Wagler and her children, James and Patricia Wagler (first appearance for all; all three die)
Paraphernalia: Hades (an extradimensional realm; first appearance; next in MYSTIC COMICS 5/5; not to be confused with the alleged realm of Hades from VENUS 16/2, or Pluto (Hades) or his realm of Hades from T 127)
Synopsis: Claire Voyant, a spiritual medium of arguable ability, comes to the attention of a demon claiming to be "Satan," who collects the souls of human criminals before they are able to repent. Seeking to place her within his service, "Satan" influences the confused Voyant to proclaim a curse upon her clients, Mrs. Wagler and her adult children James and Patricia, during a seance. That evening the demon causes an automobile accident that kills Mrs. Wagler and Patricia, and the surviving James, blaming the curse, returns to the home of Voyant and murders her. After her body and soul are transported to his extradimensional realm of Hades, "Satan" uses a mystic rite to revive Voyant and grant her supernatural powers, transforming her into the immortal Black Widow, an assassin he dispatches to kill designated evil men so that he may derive strength from their corrupt souls. As she returns to Earth, the Black Widow finds James Wagler alone on a dock and touches his forehead, burning a black widow brand into his flesh and killing him in revenge for her murder.
Chronology: 1940 (OHOTMU5 2).
Comments: It is unrevealed whether the "Satan" associated with the Black Widow is Marduk Kurios, Lucifer, Mephisto, Satannish, or another demon using that alias. The realm of Hades ruled by "Satan" is probably one of the Splinter Realms from MGK2 3, as opposed to the Hades realm ruled by the Olympian god Pluto from T 127. The name of Claire Voyant was mentioned as "possibly an alias" in OHOTMU5 2, but was later confirmed as her real name in TWELVE 1. The origin is told differently in TWELVE 8.

MYSTIC COMICS Vol. 1 #5/5 (cover)
Cover Date: March 1941
Cover: Alex Schomburg (penciler, inker)
Story: "Garvey Lang" (8 pages)
Credits: George Kapitan (scripter); Harry Sahle (penciler, inker)
Feature Characters: Black Widow (between MYSTIC COMICS 4/5 and MYSTIC COMICS 7/3)
Villains: Garvey Lang (first appearance; dies) and his gang (first appearance for all; two die), "Satan" (between MYSTIC COMICS 4/5 and MYSTIC COMICS 7/3)
Paraphernalia: Hades (between MYSTIC COMICS 4/5 and MYSTIC COMICS 7/3)
Synopsis: The Black Widow is dispatched by "Satan" to collect the soul of Garvey Lang, a hijacker responsible for stealing $250,000 from a train. She becomes invisible and enters his hideout, mentally influencing one of his men to turn on Lang, who in turn kills his former henchman. Widow then influences Lang to think that another of his men had cheated him out of money he had stolen, and Lang kills him as well. During a masquerade party hosted by Lang the following evening, the Widow appears in costume and dances with Lang, who is captivated by her beauty. As they enter a private room, Lang asks her for a kiss. The Black Widow removes her mask to reveal her unliving visage and touches his forehead, branding him with a black widow mark and killing him.
Chronology: 1941 (cover date).

MYSTIC COMICS Vol. 1 #7/3 (cover)
Cover Date: December 1941
Cover: Jack Kirby (penciler)
Story: "Lewis and Sykes" (5 pages)
Credits: Stan Drake (penciler, inker)
Feature Characters: Black Widow (between MYSTIC COMICS 5/5 and USA COMICS 5/2)
Villains: Lewis, Sykes (first appearance for both; both die), "Satan" (between MYSTIC COMICS 5/5 and USA COMICS 5/2)
Paraphernalia: Hades (between MYSTIC COMICS 5/5 and USA COMICS 5/2)
Synopsis: As "Satan" is unwilling to wait for the deaths of Lewis and Sykes, corrupt munitions manufacturers who are selling weapons to both the Allied forces and the Axis powers, he dispatches the Black Widow to collect their souls. She approaches them at their offices for a secretarial job while disguised, and after she is alone with the two men, reveals her identity as the Black Widow and kills Lewis with her touch. After Sykes finds his gun ineffective upon her as he opens fire, he douses her with chemicals that briefly slows her advance, but she swiftly recovers and subsequently slays him with her cape.
Chronology: 1941 (cover date).

USA COMICS #5/2 (cover)
Cover Date: Summer 1942
Cover: Al Gabriele (penciler); George Klein (inker)
Story: "Murder, Unlimited" (5 pages)
Credits: George Kapitan (scripter); Mike Sekowsky (penciler); George Klein (inker)
Feature Characters: Black Widow (between MYSTIC COMICS 7/3 and MARVELS 1 (42:2-45:1))
Villains: Karl Koodamore (first appearance; dies) and his henchmen of Murder Unlimited (first appearance for all; two die), "Satan" (between MYSTIC COMICS 7/3 and ALL SELECT 1/5)
Other Characters: John Marriman (first appearance; dies)
Paraphernalia: Hades (between MYSTIC COMICS 7/3 and ALL SELECT 1/5)
Synopsis: The Black Widow is dispatched from Hades to collect the soul of the leader of the syndicate known as Murder Unlimited, the hitman Karl Koodamore, who has profited from the killing of others. After the actor John Marriman is slain while performing on-stage by a henchman of Koodamore, the Widow appears and then kills the henchman. She pursues Koodamore into a nearby office as his men unsuccessfully attempt to shoot her down. Koodamore orders one of his men to deal with her as he flees in an automobile, but the terrified gunman is unable to harm her and turns the gun upon himself. While he is escaping on a country road, the Black Widow appears before his car and Koodamore tries to run her down, but misses her and drives over a cliff into the river below. With the death of Koodamore, the Widow subsequently returns to Hades.
Chronology: 1942 (cover date).
Comments: Sometime after this story, Black Widow accompanies the Invaders and other mystery men on a European mission in late 1942 (MARVELS 1 (42:2-45:1)).

ALL SELECT COMICS #1/5 (cover)
Cover Date: Fall 1943
Cover: Alex Schomburg (penciler, inker)
Story: No title given (5 pages)
Credits: Stan Drake (penciler, inker)
Feature Characters: Black Widow (between MARVELS 1 (42:2-45:1) and TWELVE SPEARHEAD 1)
Villains: Ogor (first appearance; dies; not to be confused with Ogor from TTA 14/3, or Ogor from A 14), "Satan" (between USA COMICS 5/2 and TWELVE 2 (2-22))
Other Characters: Pepito (first appearance)
Paraphernalia: Hades (between USA COMICS 5/2 and TBD)
Synopsis: The Black Widow is sent by "Satan" to collect the corrupt soul of Ogor, a false seer and faith healer, who had become rich by swindling money from those who believed that he would use his alleged powers to heal them. As Ogor tries to leave town, the charlatan is confronted by the Widow as she attempts to claim his soul, and the terrified Ogor immediately dies of heart failure. Before she returns to Hades, the Black Widow subsequently uses her mystic powers to regenerate the amputated leg of a child named Pepito, the latest victim that Ogor had promised to heal, as an act of kindness.
Chronology: 1943 (OHOTMU5 2).
Comments: There was a Black Widow that was active postwar and shown defeating a crime wave alongside the Angel (Thomas Halloway), Challenger (Bill Waring) and Falcon (Carl Burgess) in M/K:SM 9 (14:3)-FB. This Black Widow is probably a successor to the original, likely also granted powers by the demon "Satan," as Claire Voyant herself was in suspended animation during this time (TWELVE 1). It is possible that this successor is the person whom, decades later, sorcerer Ian McNee would hear rumor of working with Patsy Walker ("she is working with a little old widow named Claire") investigating occult crimes (M/TAROT).

BLUE BLADE

USA COMICS #5/5 (cover)
Cover Date: Summer 1942
Cover: Al Gabriele (penciler); George Klein (inker)
Story: No title given (5 pages)
Credits: No credits given
Feature Characters: Blue Blade (Roy Chambers; first appearance; between TWELVE 8 (22:2-4)-FB and TWELVE SPEARHEAD 1)
Villains: Sandai (first appearance)
Paraphernalia: Blue Blade's horse (first appearance)
Synopsis: The Blue Blade is an adventurer armed with a sword and clad in a costume resembling that of a seventeenth century French musketeer. Arriving on the American west coast after riding his tireless horse across the country, he battles espionage and subversion along the Pacific coast and clashes with the Japanese spymaster Sandai.
Chronology: 1942 (cover date).
Comments: The Blue Blade's real name is revealed as Roy Chambers in TWELVE 1. He had become a mystery man for the notoriety ("That's why I got into all this in the first place... do a little stuntwork against the Ratzis, become a famous hero, then go back to my first love, acting."), as confirmed in TWELVE 2. Sandai is the Japanese word for "three."

CAPTAIN WONDER

KID KOMICS #1 (cover)
Cover Date: February 1943
Cover: Syd Shores (penciler, inker)
Story: No title given (14 pages)
Credits: Otto Binder (scripter); Frank Giacoia (penciler, inker)
Feature Characters: Captain Wonder (Professor Steve Jordan; first appearance; next in KID KOMICS 2)
Supporting Characters: Tim Mulrooney (first appearance; next in KID KOMICS 2)
Villains: Mister Death (Max Blucher; first appearance; dies; not to be confused with Mister Death (Omar Khayam Rasch) from AST 3)
Paraphernalia: "Wonder fluid" (chemical which can grant "more power than a dozen men"; first appearance)
Synopsis: Professor Steve Jordan, a chemistry teacher at a high school in New York City, develops a "wonder fluid," capable of granting a person the strength of twelve men. After school, Jordan shows the discovery to his prize student Tim Mulrooney, who merited detention after he bounced a rubber band off the back of the professor's head. Jordan accidentally drops the vial as he hands it to Tim, causing the room to fill with chemical fumes. Although Tim manages to open a window allowing the gases to escape, he and the professor inhale too much of the fumes and are rendered unconscious, but upon recovering Jordan discovers he possesses superhuman strength and is capable of flight, and Tim himself is similarly empowered. Professor Jordan makes the decision to become the mystery man known as Captain Wonder, with Tim becoming his faithful costumed sidekick. The two decide to use their powers in defense of their country and clash with the villain Mister Death (Max Blucher), who subsequently dies during their encounter.
Chronology: 1943 (cover date).
Comments: Sometime before this story, Professor Jordan and his wife Caroline have their sons William in 1940 and David in 1942 (TWELVE 2). Captain Wonder's real name is given as Professor Jordan; his first name is later revealed as Steve in TWELVE 1, although his wife erroneously calls him Earl in TWELVE 2 (8:4-9:3)-FB. During his 1943 appearances, it was unknown if Tim also possessed superhuman powers, but is later mentioned as "similarly empowered" in OHOTMU:GA '04. Their origin is retold in TWELVE 7 (5:5-7:6)-FB

KID KOMICS #2 (cover)
Cover Date: Summer 1943
Cover: Alex Schomburg (penciler, inker)
Story: "The Gaze of Death" (15 pages)
Credits: Frank Giacoia (penciler, inker)
Feature Characters: Captain Wonder (between KID KOMICS 1 and TWELVE 2 (8:4-9:3)-FB)
Supporting Characters: Tim Mulrooney (between KID KOMICS 1 and TWELVE 7 (8:3)-FB)
Villains: Dwarf (first appearance; dies; not to be confused with Dwarf from GR3 25)
Cameos: Adolf Hitler
Synopsis: Captain Wonder and his sidekick Tim clash with the Axis operative Dwarf, who subsequently dies during their encounter.
Chronology: 1943 (cover date).
Comments: Sometime after this story, Professor Jordan's sons enlist and are killed during the Vietnam War (Captain David L. Jordan dies in 1974, Colonel William F. Jordan dies in 1975), and his wife Caroline dies of a heart attack in 1975 (TWELVE 2). Captain Wonder and Tim fight German soldiers, then Tim has a solo career as Captain Tim until losing his powers (TWELVE 7).

DYNAMIC MAN

MYSTIC COMICS Vol. 1 #1/7 (cover)
Cover Date: March 1940
Cover: Alex Schomburg (penciler, inker)
Story: "The Origin of Dynamic Man" (11 pages)
Credits: Daniel Peters (penciler, inker)
Feature Characters: Dynamic Man (Curt Cowan; first appearance; next in MYSTIC COMICS 2/3)
Supporting Characters: Professor Goettler (first appearance; dies)
Villains: King Bascom and his henchmen, Richonian agents (first appearance for all)
Synopsis: Professor Goettler, a brilliant scientist dwelling within a mountain castle, hopes to improve humanity, and constructs an advanced android which he programs to do good in the world. He energizes the inert form of his "perfect creature," but the excitement proves too much for his heart and Goettler dies. As the android comes to life, he decides to use his superhuman powers for the advancement of humanity. Arriving in Washington, DC and becoming a member of the FBI with the assumed human alias of Curt Cowan (an identity produced for him by the deceased Goettler), he also covertly battles crime as the Dynamic Man. After he is sent by the FBI to investigate the claims of a farmer that someone is preventing the rain from falling on local farms, he flies to the area as Dynamic Man and captures criminals using a weather manipulating dynamo to cause the drought from a nearby mountain. The criminals disclose that millionaire banker King Bascom is financing their efforts to enable him to purchase the farmland cheap and eventually control the agricultural industry of America. Dynamic Man arrives at Bascom's island estate, but is subdued in a death trap after being sprayed with liquid lantholum, a rare earth element both corrosive and insulating. After Bascom departs to meet with Richonian government agents to continue his operation from their country, Dynamic Man escapes and infiltrates their meeting by assuming the appearance of one of Bascom's scientists. Dynamic Man discovers evidence of the Richonian's violation of neutrality, and subsequently reveals himself to subdue the operatives and arrest Bascom.
Chronology: 1940 (cover date).
Comments: The country of Richonia is probably a pseudonym for Nazi Germany, such as Prussland (RED RAVEN 1/3), Slaveland (HUMAN TORCH 3 and HUMAN TORCH 3/2), Sovernia (MYSTIC COMICS 2), or Swastikia (TBD). A similar character also named Dynamic Man appeared in Dynamic Comics #1-24, published by Dynamic Publications from 1941-1948. An android created by the scientist Dr. Moore, who died as his creation reached completion, this Dynamic Man assumed the identity of the Bert McQuade, a junior high school coach recently slain, and Ricky McQuade, the younger brother of Bert, became his sidekick Dynamic Boy. This Dynamic Man later appeared in the Project Superpowers #0-7 series by Jim Krueger and Alex Ross, published by Dynamite Entertainment in 2008.

MYSTIC COMICS Vol. 1 #2/3 (cover)
Cover Date: April 1940
Cover: Alex Schomburg (penciler, inker)
Story: "The Sabotage Ring" (7 pages)
Credits: Daniel Peters (penciler, inker)
Feature Characters: Dynamic Man (between MYSTIC COMICS 1/7 and MYSTIC COMICS 3/8)
Villains: Doctor Vee and his saboteur ring (first appearance for all)
Synopsis: The Dynamic Man halts the subversive schemes of the monocled Doctor Vee, a German spy, and his ring of saboteurs.
Chronology: 1940 (cover date).

MYSTIC COMICS Vol. 1 #3/8 (cover)
Cover Date: June 1940
Cover: Alex Schomburg (penciler, inker)
Story: "The Dreaded Hood" (7 pages)
Credits: No credits given
Feature Characters: Dynamic Man (between MYSTIC COMICS 2/3 and MYSTIC COMICS 4/8)
Villains: The Hood (first appearance; not to be confused with Hood from ALL-WINNERS 1/2, Hood (also known as Hooded Horror) from MYSTIC 12/3, Hood from CA 130, Hood (also known as Death's Head) from KOP2 13, Hood (also known as Hooded Boss) from S&L 1/3, or Hood (Parker Robbins) from HOOD 1)
Synopsis: The Dynamic Man clashes with and subdues the dreaded superhuman criminal the Hood.
Chronology: 1940 (cover date).

MYSTIC COMICS Vol. 1 #4/8 (cover)
Cover Date: August 1940
Cover: Alex Schomburg (penciler, inker)
Story: "The Jewelry Store Robbers" (9 pages)
Credits: No credits given
Feature Characters: Dynamic Man (between MYSTIC COMICS 3/8 and TWELVE SPEARHEAD 1)
Villains: Professor Monte, Prentiss and their henchmen (first appearance for all; all die)
Synopsis: Professor Monte constructs a zeppelin, financed by the criminal Prentiss, which is capable of attracting gold and jewelry into its hold. With their gang of jewel thieves, they use the zeppelin to rob the Bank of England, but during their subsequent battle with the Dynamic Man, the criminals perish as the zeppelin is destroyed.
Chronology: 1940 (cover date).

ELECTRO
Marvel Mystery Comics #4
Cover Date:
Feature Character: Pr Philo Zog

Paraphernalia: Electro

FIERY MASK

DARING MYSTERY COMICS #1 (cover)
Cover Date: January 1940
Cover: Alex Schomburg (penciler, inker)
Story: "The Fantastic Thriller of the Walking Corpses" (10 pages)
Credits: Joe Simon (scripter, penciler, inker)
Feature Characters: Fiery Mask (Dr. Jack Castle; first appearance; between TWELVE 3 (16:3)-FB and DARING MYSTERY 5)
Supporting Characters: Captain Benson (first appearance)
Villains: Zombie Master, his giant buzzards (first appearance for both; all die) and zombie minions (including Peter Johnson; first appearance for all; all destroyed)
Other Characters: Police officers (first appearance for all)
Synopsis: Jack Castle is a successful young doctor and police consultant during an investigation into the abduction of the homeless by zombies. While at the police station, he is attacked by the apprehended Peter Johnson, one of the missing derelicts who had somehow been transformed into a mindless zombie, but Captain Benson shoots the former Johnson dead. During his investigation, Castle locates a house at the waterfront that is using massive amounts of electricity, but is attacked by giant buzzards and captured by another zombie. Castle is brought before the Zombie Master, a twenty foot tall mad scientist, who uses a special ray to transform the abducted vagrants into an army of "living corpses" that commit crimes for him. The scientist attempts to transform Castle into another zombie, but with his own knowledge of hypnosis, Castle successfully resists his efforts. After the scientist increases the power to maximum, the machine explodes and kills him, and also imbues Castle with superhuman abilities, who destroys the house with his electroplasmic flame powers and flies away. Castle later reveals his abilities to Captain Benson and subsequently becomes the masked crimefighter the Fiery Mask.
Chronology: 1940 (cover date). The mad scientist states that he had spent "50 years" ashamed of his grotesque size.
Comments: The events of DARING MYSTERY 1 are partially retold in TWELVE 3 (16:5-18:3)-FB. The name of the Zombie Master was not given in this story, but was later revealed in TWELVE 3.

DARING MYSTERY COMICS #5 (cover)
Cover Date: June 1940
Cover: Alex Schomburg (penciler, inker)
Story: "The Jelly of Doom" (7 pages)
Credits: George Kapitan (penciler); Harry Sahle (inker)
Feature Characters: Fiery Mask (between DARING MYSTERY 1 and DARING MYSTERY 6/2)
Villains: Dork (first appearance; dies), his giant ape and protoplasmic creature (first appearance for both)
Synopsis: The Fiery Mask is forced to battle both a bloodthirsty giant ape and a protoplasmic creature with a touch capable of causing acidic burns, the genetic creations of the mad scientist Dork, who dies during the encounter.
Chronology: 1940 (cover date).

DARING MYSTERY COMICS #6/2 (cover)
Cover Date: September 1940
Cover: Jack Kirby (penciler); Joe Simon (inker)
Story: "The Legion of the Doomed" (10 pages)
Credits: Jack Kirby (co-scripter, penciler); Joe Simon (co-scripter, penciler)
Feature Characters: Fiery Mask (between DARING MYSTERY 5 and HUMAN TORCH 2/6)
Villains: Legion of the Doomed (also known as the Legion of the Damned; first appearance for all; not to be confused with the Legion of the Damned from VT 8/4, or the Legion of the Damned from TOD2 6)
Paraphernalia: Hell (an extradimensional realm; first appearance; not to be confused with any of the Splinter Realms of that name, including Mephisto's Hell from SS 3, Hela (Hel) from JIM 102/2 or her realm of Hel from T 176, Hel (Effie Pederson) from TTA3 1, H.E.L.L. (Human Engineering Life Laboratories) from MICRO 4, or H.E.L.L. (Haldane Encephalographic Laboratories Limited) from C:GENE 1)
Synopsis: As the Fiery Mask is transported into the extradimensional realm of Hell, he opposes the fiendish Legion of the Doomed (also known as the Legion of the Damned), an enclave of demonic creatures. After his encounter with the demons, the Mask subsequently returns to the Earth dimension.
Chronology: 1940 (cover date).
Comments: The realm of Hell ruled by the Legion of the Doomed is probably one of the Splinter Realms from MGK2 3.

HUMAN TORCH COMICS #2/6 (cover)
Cover Date: Fall 1940
Cover: Alex Schomburg (penciler, inker)
Story: "The Strange Case of the Bloodless Corpses" (10 pages)
Credits: Joe Simon (scripter, inker)
Feature Characters: Fiery Mask (between DARING MYSTERY 6/2 and TWELVE SPEARHEAD 1)
Villains: Dr. Sendach (first appearance; dies) and his zombie minions (first appearance; all destroyed)
Other Characters: Julie (Dr. Castle's nurse; first appearance), police officers (first appearance for all)
Synopsis: The authorities have Dr. Jack Castle consult on a recent murder in which the victim is completely drained of blood. As the police investigation continues, Castle helps those involved who are suffering, but leaves the police to solve the murder. After the local newspapers soon report more deaths, Castle becomes the Fiery Mask and prepares a trap within his laboratory to apprehend the perpetrators. He soon finds himself battling swarms of zombies and is overpowered, only to be found injured the following morning by his nurse Julie, who learns his secret identity. The Fiery Mask later tracks down the man responsible for both the murders and the zombies, Dr. Sendach, an eminent stomach specialist experimenting with a mechanical stomach who had disappeared long before, and the clash ends with the death of the mad scientist.
Chronology: 1940 (cover date).
Comments: Sometime after this issue, the Fiery Mask clashes with Axis forces, and "by one report, he'd wiped out an entire company of Nazis by willing a firestorm to appear around them" (TWELVE 1).

LAUGHING MASK

DARING MYSTERY COMICS #2/6 (cover)
Cover Date: February 1940
Cover: Alex Schomburg (penciler, inker)
Story: No title given (8 pages)
Credits: Will Harr (scripter); Maurice Gutwirth (penciler, inker)
Feature Characters: Laughing Mask (Dennis "Denny" Burton; first appearance; next in DARING MYSTERY 3/3 (as Purple Mask))
Villains: Lester Deeks (first appearance; dies) and his gang (including Ben, Chuck, Hank and Joe; first appearance for all; all but one die)
Synopsis: His family having been members of law enforcement for generations, assistant district attorney Dennis Burton becomes frustrated by the difficulty in convicting criminals due to the corruption of politicians. Donning a mask resembling an ancient Greek theatrical mask, Burton pursues justice as the vigilante Laughing Mask. He investigates a series of train wrecks and discovers the wheels of the engines had been corroded with acid. Pursuing the saboteurs to their hideout, Burton is captured by the criminal Lester Deeks and his gang, who he learns are sabotaging the locomotives so that the public service commission will revoke their license, allowing Deeks to purchase it cheaply. Bound and locked in the attic, Burton subsequently escapes and assumes his identity of the Laughing Mask, confusing Deeks and the gangsters with a luminescent devil mask and gunning them down. The Mask then subdues the saboteurs at the train yard and prevents the bridge to Rapid Falls from being blown up, leaving the surviving gangster bound at the police station with a signed confession.
Chronology: December, 1939 to January, 1940; train wrecks occur prior to their mention in Daily Star newspaper headline dated "January 1, 1940," the Laughing Mask investigated the events afterwards.
Comments: Sometime before DARING MYSTERY 3/3, he assumes the identity of the Purple Mask. Dennis Burton is confirmed as both the Laughing Mask and Purple Mask in OHOTMU:GA '04. The city in which Laughing Mask is active is unrevealed, but it is near "Rapid Falls."

DARING MYSTERY COMICS #3/3 (cover)
Cover Date: April 1940
Cover: Alex Schomburg (penciler, inker)
Story: No title given (8 pages)
Credits: Will Harr (scripter); Maurice Gutwirth (penciler, inker)
Feature Characters: Purple Mask (between DARING MYSTERY 2/6 (as Laughing Mask) and DARING MYSTERY 4; not to be confused with Purple Mask mentioned in TB 111)
Villains: Bellos and his gang (including Blackie; first appearance for all; all die), Renard (first appearance)
Other Characters: William Grant, Commissioner Herrick, Frederick Swabert (first appearance for all)
Synopsis: Businessman Frederick Swabert informs Dennis Burton and Commissioner Herrick of a threatening note he had received demanding the location of his father's fortune, hidden in a secret vault somewhere beneath his mansion. After his friend William Grant of the National Bank confirms that a book containing architectural plans for the house may have been stolen by a man named Renard, Burton becomes the Purple Mask and enters Renard's apartment, uncovering evidence that he is working with the gangster Bellos. The Purple Mask subsequently arrives at the mansion, rescuing Swabert from being poisoned and shooting Bellos. Following a deadly shoot-out with Renard and his gang, a stray bullet triggers a secret entrance to the Swabert fortune, surrounded by a moat filled with acid. After the gangster Blackie dies in the acid during an attempt to escape, Renard surrenders to the Mask, making a full confession.
Chronology: 1940 (cover date).

DARING MYSTERY COMICS #4 (cover)
Cover Date: May 1940
Cover: Alex Schomburg (penciler, inker)
Story: No title given (8 pages)
Credits: Maurice Gutwirth (penciler, inker)
Feature Characters: Purple Mask (between DARING MYSTERY 3/3 and TWELVE 3 (13:3-4, 14:3-5) (as Laughing Mask))
Villains: Whalen and his gang (first appearance for all)
Paraphernalia: Purple Mask's motorcycle (first appearance)
Synopsis: After he witnesses a daylight bank robbery, Dennis Burton becomes the Purple Mask and pursues the criminals to a farmhouse, but he is overpowered and left behind as they abandon their hideout. As Burton returns to the district attorney's office, he is introduced to Whalen, president of the First National Bank. Recognizing Whalen's chauffeur as a known criminal, Burton soon learns that Whalen is affiliated with the gang he had fought earlier. Whalen leaves town the following day, but is pursued by the Purple Mask on his motorcycle, who subsequently apprehends both Whalen and his gang. As Burton, he later returns the money from the bank heist, claiming that the Purple Mask had entrusted it to him.
Chronology: 1940 (cover date).
Comments: Sometime after this story, Dennis Burton resumes his identity of the Laughing Mask (TWELVE 3 (13:3-4, 14:3-5)). It is possible that the National Bank in which William Grant works in DARING MYSTERY 3/3 is the same as the First National Bank of which Whalen is the president.

MASTER MIND EXCELLO

MYSTIC COMICS Vol. 1 #2 (cover)
Cover Date: April 1940
Cover: Alex Schomburg (penciler, inker)
Story: "The Plot Against America" (7 pages)
Credits: No credits given
Feature Characters: Master Mind Excello (Earl Everett; first appearance; next in MYSTIC COMICS 3/5; not to be confused with Mastermind Excello (Amadeus Cho) from AAF2 15)
Villains: Kadash, Dr. Marko (first appearance for both), Sovernian operatives (including Fritz; first appearance for all; many die)
Synopsis: Master Mind Excello, an operative of the US Naval Intelligence Department, is a precognitive possessing both extraordinary senses and formidable strength, as well as being a genius in technological design. As Excello, also known as society playboy Earl Everett, is returning from a European assignment onboard a vessel of a neutral nation, he senses the presence of spies on the steam liner while he is meditating. He investigates and allows himself to be captured by the two spies, and is subsequently brought aboard a Sovernian battleship anchored nearby. He is brought before the chief operative Kadash and bound in chains, but he remotely eavesdrops upon the Sovernian agents and discovers their plot to detonate explosives beneath every major American city. Breaking free of his chains, Excello has a confrontation with Kadash and Sovernian sailors armed with machineguns, but he shoots a path through them with his "triple propeller pistol." After flying an appropriated biplane to New York City, where he remotely determined the location of the Sovernian terrorists, Excello disguises himself as Kadash and meets with the Dr. Marko, the leader of the saboteurs. Knocking out Marko and escaping from the saboteurs, Excello uses a high explosive liquid of his own design, destroying their "super turbines" which would destroy the city. Using his status as a Naval Intelligence operative, he contacts the navy to launch an attack upon and sink the Sovernian battleship, and to apprehend the surviving spies.
Chronology: 1940 (cover date).
Comments: The country of Sovernia is probably an pseudonym for Nazi Germany, such as Prussland (RED RAVEN 1/3), Richonia (MYSTIC COMICS 1/7), Slaveland (HUMAN TORCH 3 and HUMAN TORCH 3/2) and Swastikia (TBD).

MYSTIC COMICS Vol. 1 #3/5 (cover)
Cover Date: June 1940
Cover: Alex Schomburg (penciler, inker)
Story: "The Ring of Saboteurs" (7 pages)
Credits: No credits given
Feature Characters: Master Mind Excello (between MYSTIC COMICS 2 and TWELVE SPEARHEAD 1)
Villains: Borovich (first appearance) and his saboteur ring (first appearance for all)
Synopsis: Master Mind Excello clashes with a ring of foreign saboteurs led by the villain Borovich, who are responsible for the sabotage of numerous railroads and subways.
Chronology: 1940 (cover date).
Comments: Sometime before 1945, Master Mind Excello prepares for the contingency that he "might one day be propelled through time into... the future," by placing substantial funds into the Banque du Geneve in Switzerland (TWELVE 4).

MISTER E

DARING MYSTERY COMICS #2/5 (cover)
Cover Date: February 1940
Cover: Alex Schomburg (penciler, inker)
Story: "Who in Reality is Mr. 'E'?" (10 pages)
Credits: Joe Cal Cagno (scripter); Al Carreno (penciler, inker)
Feature Characters: Mister E (Victor J. Goldstein, also known as Victor Jay; first appearance; next in TWELVE 3 (6:2, 7:4-5)-FB; not to be confused with Mister E from M/SPT2 9)
Villains: Vampire (first appearance; not to be confused with Vampire (Deke Wainscroft) from P:POV 1)
Other Characters: Betty Snead, J. P. Snead (first appearance for both)
Paraphernalia: Mister E's automobile (first appearance)
Synopsis: Wealthy sportsman Victor Jay investigates the seemingly unrelated deaths of four businessmen during the past few weeks as the mystery man Mister E. He discovers that all four were silent partners with the Snead Oil Company, and were murdered by his old archenemy the Vampire, who had forced them to sign over their financial holdings and then murdered them with a gas that caused their hearts to explode. After abducting Betty Snead, the Vampire forces her father, oil tycoon J. P. Snead, to sign over complete control of his company. Mister E intervenes before the Vampire can kill them, allowing the Sneads to escape with the contract, and the masked men both retreat with the arrival of the police. The following day, Snead and his daughter tell their friend Victor Jay of Mister E, while at his secret laboratory, the Vampire plots his vengeance against his adversary.
Chronology: 1940 (cover date).
Comments: Mister E's name is given as Victor Jay in this story, but TWELVE 3 reveals that he had changed it from his actual name of Victor J. Goldstein to conceal his Jewish heritage, allowing him to become a member of the often bigoted upper class. He is erroneously called Vince Jay in TWELVE 1 and TWELVE 2. Sometime after this story, Victor Jay and his wife Laura have their son Robert in 1940 (TWELVE 3). In Summer 1941 he helps people against the flood in MARVELS PROJECT 6. The city in which Mister E is active is unrevealed, but reference to the "West Forties" implies that it is New York.

PHANTOM REPORTER

DARING MYSTERY COMICS #3/4 (cover)
Cover Date: April 1940
Cover: Alex Schomburg (penciler, inker)
Story: No title given (8 pages)
Credits: Mike Robard (scripter); Sam Cooper (penciler, inker)
Feature Characters: Phantom Reporter (Richard "Dick" Jones, also known as Van Ergen; first appearance; between DARING MYSTERY COMICS 70TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL and TWELVE 2 (11:4)-FB; not to be confused with Richard Milhouse "Rick" Jones from H 1, or Thing (Ricardo Jones) from FF 50)
Villains: Park commissioner, police chief, publishers of the newspapers News-Telegram and The Record (first appearance for all), other criminals (including Chip and Max; first appearance for all; many die)
Other Characters: Daily Express city editor, Saunders the doorman (first appearance for both)
Paraphernalia: Phantom Reporter's automobile (first appearance)
Synopsis: Dick Jones, a former professional athlete, is a cub reporter for the newspaper Daily Express, and also uses the identities of Van Ergen, a millionaire who inherited a fortune from his father, and of mystery man the Phantom Reporter. After numerous assaults on families living on the East Side resulting in deaths, his editor assigns Jones to investigate the story. Despite being discouraged in his investigation by his friend the park commissioner, Jones becomes the Phantom Reporter that evening, defending a family and killing the threatening criminals. His editor ends the investigation after his own family is threatened, and Jones is himself abducted by criminals and taken to a night club, where he is beaten as a warning and released. As the Phantom Reporter, he returns to the club that evening, battling and killing all of the thugs but one. He uses the truth serum Nembutal (also known as pentobarbital) to compel the surviving criminal to confess and reveal that his financiers, corrupt businessmen including the park commissioner, had hired them to force the East Side residents to vacate their homes, allowing the businessmen to resell the real estate for a substantial profit.
Chronology: 1940 (cover date).
Comments: After his father, whom he considered his hero, died during World War I (TWELVE 4), Dick Jones had inherited fifty million dollars from him. Jones is also an "ex-all American fullback, ex-collegiate boxing, fencing (and) wrestling champ." He is a cub reporter for the newspaper Daily Express, but later becomes a reporter for the Daily Bugle (TWELVE 2 (11:2)-FB). As the Phantom Reporter, he "did (his) part back home, before Pearl Harbor (TWELVE 2 (11:3)-FB), but when the war started, (he) had to do something" and became involved with battling Axis forces (TWELVE 2 (11:4)-FB, TWELVE 1).

ROCKMAN

USA COMICS #1/4 (cover)
Cover Date: August 1941
Cover: Jack Kirby (penciler); Joe Simon (inker)
Story: "The Tunnel That Led to Death" (9 pages)
Credits: Basil Wolverton (penciler, inker); Charles Nicholas (penciler, inker)
Feature Characters: Rockman (first appearance; next in USA COMICS 2/5)
Villains: Ivan, Roffler (first appearance for both; both die)
Other Characters: J.J. Gollings and his workmen (first appearance for all; all die), Abysmian council (first appearance)
Paraphernalia: Abysmia (located in Subterranea underneath the United States; first appearance; next in USA COMICS 2/5), the Digger Car (also known as the Mole-Ship; first appearance; next in USA COMICS 3/5)
Synopsis: The foreign operative Roffler hires building contractor J.J. Gollings and his workmen to secretly construct a long tunnel extending from the basement of his house. Upon completion of the tunnel, Gollings and the workmen are murdered by Roffler and his associate Ivan, who intend to destroy an aircraft factory to be constructed in a few months upon the site directly over the tunnel. Unbeknownst to Roffler, his words have been detected by the "vibragraph" machine of Rockman, the ruler of the Subterranean realm of Abysmia, which is located miles beneath the ground. Rockman informs the Abysmian council that he intends to venture to the surface to help their American neighbors oppose foreign aggressors, and over the following weeks, he constructs a Digger Car powerful enough to grind through the hardest rock. Arriving near the surface shortly after the factory has completed construction, Rockman confronts Roffler and Ivan in the tunnel beneath, where they have planted powerful explosives. Rockman collapses the tunnel entrance, entrapping the saboteurs and forcing them to disarm the explosives. The tunnel starts to fill with water and the foreign agents dig their way out, and Roffler kills Ivan so that he may escape first, but is himself drowned when Rockman collapses the rubble and fully releases the water. After escaping in the Digger Car, Rockman soon arrives upon the surface.
Chronology: 1941 (cover date). The factory was constructed in "a few months" and the Digger Car "a few weeks."
Comments: The kingdom of Abysmia is one of the realms of Subterranea (M/ATLAS 2). The Abysmian populace is descended from the first inhabitants from the European continent to migrate to North America, arriving either before or during the last ice age, which ended circa 12,000 years ago (the Pleistocene epoch), and subsequently settled underground within Subterranea ("our ancestors, the first white inhabitants of this continent, sought refuge inside the Earth during the Ice Age"). The Paleoamericans, ancestors of the numerous Native American cultures, also arrived in North American from the Asian continent during this period, having crossed the Bering land bridge circa 12,000 years ago.

USA COMICS #2/5 (cover)
Cover Date: November 1941
Cover: No credits given
Story: "The Killers of the Sea" (7 pages)
Credits: Basil Wolverton (penciler, inker; signed)
Feature Characters: Rockman (between USA COMICS 1/4 and USA COMICS 3/5)
Villains: Zombo (first appearance; dies)
Paraphernalia: Abysmia (between USA COMICS 1/4 and USA COMICS 3/5), Zombo's submarine (first appearance; destroyed)
Synopsis: The merciless pirate Zombo, a telepath and dominator of the minds of others, has destroyed numerous American vessels to plunder the wealth of the nation, using magnetic torpedoes launched from his submarine, one of the swiftest and deeply submersible crafts in the world, with sensitive mine detectors which keep him untouched. Rockman, capable of surviving the intense depths of the ocean, attacks the dreadnought, destroying both Zombo and his vessel, while the Abysmians create a tidal wave which destroys much of his Pacific island base.
Chronology: 1941 (cover date).

USA COMICS #3/5 (cover)
Cover Date: January 1942
Cover: Joe Simon (inker)
Story: No title given (7 pages)
Credits: Stan Lee (scripter; signed)
Feature Characters: Rockman (between USA COMICS 2/5 and USA COMICS 4/6)
Villains: Pixie King and his pixie soldiers (first appearance for all)
Other Characters: Princess Alecia, King of Jugoslavia and his guards, Abysmian prime minister (first appearance for all)
Paraphernalia: Abysmia (between USA COMICS 2/5 and USA COMICS 4/6), Pixie Kingdom (located in Subterranea; first appearance), Digger Car (between USA COMICS 1/4 and USA COMICS 4/6)
Synopsis: Princess Alecia of the country of Jugoslavia is abducted by the diminutive inhabitants of the underground Pixie Kingdom, a subterranean realm ruled by the tyrannical Pixie King, who is obsessed with her beauty and desires to marry her. After the King of Jugoslavia appeals to Rockman to rescue his daughter, the hero descends into the Pixie Kingdom and deposes the Pixie King, subsequently annexing the underground territory into his own realm of Abysmia and appointing an Abysmian prime minister.
Chronology: 1941; sometime after events of USA COMICS 2/5 in 1941, probably before the German invasion of Yugoslavia in April, 1941.
Comments: The country of Jugoslavia is another name for the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, which historically existed 1918-1943. The King of Jugoslavia depicted is probably not the actual king, but rather a member of the royal family, as Yugoslavia was governed during this period by the regent Prince Paul (reigned 1934-1941) in the stead of his young cousin Peter II, and the kingdom was subsequently conquered by Germany in 1941 during World War II, with the entire royal family either arrested or exiled. The Pixie Kingdom is probably one of the underground realms of Subterranea.

USA COMICS #4/6 (cover)
Cover Date: May 1942
Cover: Alex Schomburg (penciler, inker)
Story: No title given (7 pages)
Credits: No credits given
Feature Characters: Rockman (between USA COMICS 3/5 and TWELVE 4 (8-11)-FB)
Villains: La Barbe (first appearance; dies)
Paraphernalia: Abysmia (between USA COMICS 3/5 and TWELVE 4 (8-11)-FB), Digger Car (between USA COMICS 3/5 and TWELVE SPEARHEAD)
Synopsis: Within the northern wilderness of Alaska, the claim jumper La Barbe murders numerous miners and prospectors and steals their gold for himself. Rockman soon hears word of his crimes and travels to Alaska, where he confronts and ultimately kills La Barbe.
Chronology: 1942 (cover date).

WITNESS

MYSTIC COMICS Vol. 1 #7/2 (cover)
Cover Date: December 1941
Cover: Jack Kirby (penciler)
Story: "The League of Blood" (7 pages)
Credits: No credits given
Feature Characters: Witness (real name unrevealed; first appearance; between TWELVE 5 (5:1-6:1, 6:4)-FB and MYSTIC COMICS 8/4; not to be confused with Witness from WITNESS 1, Witness (Ness) from XM 39, Witness (LeBeau) of Earth-1191 from UX 287, or Witness (Nelson Kohler) of Earth-148611 from DP7@ 1)
Villains: Natas (first appearance; not to be confused with Mr. Natas from VENUS 16/2), the League of Blood (first appearance for all)
Synopsis: A vicious criminal named Natas gathers together a group of henchman and forms the League of Blood, becoming murderers for hire. The Witness, a mystery man sworn to witness evil deeds and avenge them, observes some of Natas' hired killers in action. Somehow able to sense when a crime is being committed, the Witness arrives upon the scene and views their illegal activities, but is seemingly unable to interfere while the crime is in progress. After witnessing the completion of the felony, the Witness pursues the criminals far from the city, where he subsequently battles Natas and the League of Blood.
Chronology: 1941 (cover date).
Comments: Natas is the palindrome for "Satan." The Witness is revealed as being Jewish in TWELVE 4.

MYSTIC COMICS Vol. 1 #8/4 (cover)
Cover Date: March 1942
Cover: Al Gabriele (penciler, inker)
Story: "The Gems of Doom" (7 pages)
Credits: Stan Lee (as S.T. Anley; scripter)
Feature Characters: Witness (between MYSTIC COMICS 7/2 and MYSTIC COMICS 9/2)
Villains: The Imp (first appearance; not to be confused with Imp (Pandora Destine) from M/CP 158) and his gang (first appearance for all)
Synopsis: The Witness observes criminals breaking into a store to steal gems and pursues them afterwards. His investigation brings him to an innocent looking pawn shop, where he clashes with the diminutive gang leader the Imp and his henchmen.
Chronology: 1942 (cover date).

MYSTIC COMICS Vol. 1 #9/2 (cover)
Cover Date: May 1942
Cover: Al Gabriele (penciler); Syd Shores (inker)
Story: "The Gambling Ship" (6 pages)
Credits: No credits given
Feature Characters: Witness (between MYSTIC COMICS 8/4 and TWELVE SPEARHEAD)
Villains: Gangsters (first appearance for all)
Synopsis: The Witness investigates a ship where illegal gambling takes place, and observes as some gangsters dump the body of an unconscious and severely beaten man into the river. Although he takes no action to prevent the assault from occurring, the Witness subsequently rescues the injured man from the water before he clashes with the criminals.
Chronology: 1942 (cover date).
Comments: Sometime after this story, the Witness observes the atrocities committed at the Auschwitz concentration camp shortly before he is placed in suspended animation in 1945 ("he said he'd just come from seeing a place called Auschwitz.") from TWELVE 1. Among the survivors of Auschwitz include Meyer Banciewicz (J2 4), Gabrielle Haller (XCAL3 14), Magnus (later Magneto) and Magda (CX 12/2), David and Ruth Shulman (UX 199), and Mr. Weiss (CM 19). Chava Prydeman Rosanoff, the great aunt of Kitty Pryde, died at the camp (UX 199). The personnel at Auschwitz included commandant Karl von Horstbaden (Fritz von Voltzmann; YC 1), guard Karl Reifschneider (Whisper; M/CP2 3/2), and scientist "Nosferatu" (Mr. Sinister; XCAL3 7), and was once visited by Geist (W2 23). American personnel present during the liberation of the camp by Soviet forces on January 27, 1945 included USAF Major Thaddeus Ross (H2 291) and reporter Phil Sheldon (MARVELS 2). There was a Witness that was active postwar in WITNESS 1, and it was erroneously suggested that he may have been the Golden Age era Witness ("may have become ghostly being later in life") in OHOTMU:GA '04.

THE TWELVE

THE TWELVE SPEARHEAD
Cover Date: May 2010
Cover: Paolo Rivera
Story: "Spearhead" (37 pages)
Credits: Chris Weston (writer/penciler); Gary Erskine and Chris Weston (inkers); Chris Chuckry (colorist); Jim Betancourt (letterer)
Feature characters: Dynamic Man (last in MYSTIC COMICS 4/8), Phantom Reporter (last in TWELVE 2 (11:4)-FB), Black Widow (last in ALL SELECT 1/5), Mastermind Excello (last in MYSTIC COMICS 3/5), Mister E (last in MARVELS PROJECT 6), Captain Wonder (last in TWELVE 2 (8:4-9:3)-FB), Blue Blade (last in USA COMICS 5/5), Witness (last in MYSTIC COMICS 9/2), Rockman (last in TWELVE 4 (8-11)-FB), Laughing Mask (last in TWELVE 3 (13:3-4, 14:3-5)-FB), Fiery Mask (last in HUMAN TORCH 2/6) all eleven as the Twelve and next in TWELVE 1.
Guest Stars: Gabe Jones, Percy Pinkerton, Dum Dum Dugan (last in CA:SL2 12-FB), Sgt. Nick Fury (last in F:PM 6 (1-17)), Reb Ralston (last in SGTF 108; all five as the Howling Commandos, last three next in TWELVE 1), Whizzer (between COMPLETE COMICS 2 and TWELVE 1), Blazing Skull (between TBD and TBD), Destroyer (between MSU 9 and TWELVE 1), Human Torch (between N@ 1/2-FB and TWELVE 1), Patriot (between TBD and CA@13), Black Marvel (between MARVELS 1 (42:2-45:1) and TWELVE 1), Union Jack (between SAGAHT 2 and TWELVE 1), Red Raven and Blue Diamond (both between INV 38 and TWELVE 1), Vision (between TBD and TBD), Captain America (before and concurrent with Captain America Annual 13, Tales of Suspense 77-FB and Av 4 and 6-FB), Miss America (between MISS AMERICA MAGAZINE 5 and TWELVE 1), Angel (between SUB-MARINER COMICS 4/3 and TWELVE 1)
Supporting Characters: Professor Philo Zog (between MARVEL MYSTERY COMICS 70th ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL and TWELVE 1)
Paraphernalia: Electro (between MARVEL MYSTERY COMICS 70th ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL and TWELVE 1)

First Flashback: Black Widow assaults a nazi bunker in the middle of winter.
Second Flashback: Witness visits Auschwitz concentration camp.
Chronology: Story occurs in April 45 after Fury got shot (7), when Cap dies (18)

THE TWELVE #1 (cover)
Cover Date: March 2008
Cover: Kaare Andrews, Chris Weston, Garry Leach, Chris Chuckry (cover artists)
Story: No title given (23 pages)
Credits: J. Michael Straczynski (scripter); Chris Weston (penciler); Garry Leach (inker); Chris Chuckry (colorist); Jim Betancourt (letterer)
Feature Characters: Blue Blade (between TWELVE: SPEARHEAD and TWELVE 2; dead body appears in flashforward between TBD and TWELVE 2), Phantom Reporter (in first part between TWELVE SPEARHEAD and TWELVE 1; also in flashforward between TBD and TWELVE 2), Black Widow, Captain Wonder, Dynamic Man, Fiery Mask, Laughing Mask, Master Mind Excello, Mister E, Rockman, Witness (all between TWELVE: SPEARHEAD and TWELVE 2); all eleven as the Twelve, not to be confused with the Twelve from UX 376)
Supporting Characters: Professor Philo Zog (last seen in TWELVE SPEARHEAD; dies behind the scenes between TWELVE 1 (1-10) and TWELVE 1 (11-21)), Colonel Dexter (first appearance; next in TWELVE 2)
Guest Stars: Bucky (Davis; between M/PRM 30 and WI 4 (1-16)), Captain America (Naslund; between CA 215-FB (as Spirit of '76) and WI 4 (1-16)), Human Torch (Hammond; between N@ 1/2-FB and SAGAHT 2 (19:3-23)), Miss America (between TWELVE: SPEARHEAD and WI 4 (1-16)), Sub-Mariner (between N@ 1/2-FB and WI 4 (1-8)), Union Jack (Brian Falsworth; between TWELVE: SPEARHEAD and WI 4 (1-8)), Whizzer (Frank; between TWELVE: SPEARHEAD and WI 4 (1-16); all seven as the Invaders), Dum Dum Dugan (between CA:SL2 12-FB and SGTF@ 1), Sgt. Nick Fury (between TWELVE: SPEARHEAD and F:PM 6 (18-22)), Reb Ralston (between SGTF 108 and SGTF@ 1; all three as the Howling Commandos), Blue Diamond (between TWELVE: SPEARHEAD and CV2 1-FB), Red Raven (father of Dania; between TWELVE: SPEARHEAD and SUB-M 26-FB; both as the Liberty Legion), Angel (Halloway; between TWELVE: SPEARHEAD and CV 1-FB), Black Marvel (between TWELVE: SPEARHEAD and CA 442), Captain Terror (in first flashback between USA COMICS 4/5 and CA 442), Defender (Stevens; between USA COMICS 4/3 and DD2 67-FB), Destroyer (Aubrey; between TWELVE: SPEARHEAD and CV 1-FB), Father Time (Scott; last in MYSTIC COMICS 10/3), Fin (Noble; between COMEDY COMICS 9/8 and INV3 2), Miss Fury (last in MISS FURY 8), Night Raven (first appearance; not to be confused with Night Raven from HULK COMIC 1/5, or Night Raven (Howard Bates) from M/SH (UK) 392/3)
Villains: Nazi general (first appearance; dies), Nazi soldiers and scientists (first appearance for all; many die)
Other Characters: American and Russian soldiers (first appearance for all; in 1945), American military personnel (including Lieutenant Greenfield; first appearance for all; in the present)
Cameos: Baron Blood, Baron Strucker, Baron Zemo, Adolf Hitler, Red Skull (all as portraits or statues)
Paraphernalia: Electro (between TWELVE: SPEARHEAD and TWELVE 2)
Synopsis: During the final days of the Second World War in Europe, both the American and Russian armed forces advance through the city of Berlin. German forces are overwhelmed by a formidable number of mystery men and soldiers, including both the Invaders and Howling Commandos. As eleven of the heroes (Black Widow, Blue Blade, Captain Wonder, Dynamic Man, Fiery Mask, Laughing Mask, Master Mind Excello, Mister E, Phantom Reporter, Rockman and Witness) and the robot Electro, remotely controlled by Professor Philo Zog, investigate the nearby SS (Schutzstaffel) headquarters, they are guided by the extrasensory powers of Master Mind Excello to an underground laboratory. After they are entrapped by a heavy door, which cuts off the control signal for Electro, the other heroes are rendered unconscious by gas released into the room. A Nazi general orders their bodies placed into suspended animation, with the intention of his scientists eventually returning to learn the secrets of their superhuman powers, but most of the officers and scientists are later captured by the Russian forces, and either killed or imprisoned. The heroes remain within suspended animation for decades, and Professor Zog eventually passes away. (1-10)
After the suspended heroes are ultimately discovered in modern day Berlin under a construction site, the United States Army, under the authority of Colonel Dexter, makes the decision to revive them from stasis. When the mystery men are subsequently awakened, the military attempts to gradually transition them by making it appear as if they were still in the 1940s, but Phantom Reporter and Captain Wonder discover the deception. As they are introduced to this strange new world, Captain Wonder is shocked to learn of the death of his family. The colonel convinces them to continue with their heroic careers, and most of them adhere to the Registration Act to disclose their real names, with the exception of the Witness. (11-21)
Flashforward: During a torrential rainstorm, the Phantom Reporter holds his gun in hand, standing over the dead body of the Blue Blade. (23)
Chronology: The flashforward at the end is to November 18, Year 24 (MCAL); "much, much later" than TWELVE 1 (11-21), "several months" after TWELVE 2 (2-22). The story starts on "April 25, 1945" on Elbe Day, the date that American and Soviet troops met at the River Elbe in Germany, their forces effectively separating Nazi Germany in two. During the second part, the mystery men are found "August 2" (TWELVE 1; reference to "2008" is topical), the Phantom Reporter is awakened and in his hospital bed on August 3, and "on the third day," after he and Captain Wonder discover they are in the future, the heroes are briefed by Colonel Dexter on August 5, Year 24 (MCAL). Professor Philo Zog "was already in his sixties during the war," suggesting a birthdate of the 1880s, and is "long dead" when the heroes are revived. The sons of Captain Wonder are mentioned to have died in Vietnam; the topical reference that "his wife died twenty years earlier" is erroneous, as she died in 1975 (TWELVE 2).
Comments: Captain America and Bucky are probably William Naslund (the former Spirit of '76) and Fred Davis, as the original duo (Steve Rogers and James Barnes) were apparently killed on April 18, 1945 (WI 4). After Hans Von Stehle shoots Nick Fury on April 7, 1945, Fury loses his eye and remains in a coma until May 7, 1945 (F:PM 6, ACB); his appearance during Elbe Day suggests that Fury (depicted with a bandaged eye) had briefly recovered and was part of the Allied invasion of Berlin, but had returned to a coma before V-E Day. Miss Fury (Marla Drake, also known as Black Fury) was created by Tarpé Mills and first appeared in a newspaper strip in 1941. Her syndicated stories were later reprinted in MISS FURY 1 to MISS FURY 8 from 1942-1946. Miss Fury has a counterpart on Earth-1136 (confirmed in OHOTMU:AU '05), whose legacy continues with her daughter Black Fury (Stephanie Drake) and grandaughter Miss Fury (Marlene Hale), published by Malibu Comics in Miss Fury vol. 2 #1-4 and Protectors #10-20. The Night Raven depicted is probably a successor to the original Night Raven, who was amnesiac from 1941 (M/SH (UK) 391/3) to 1957 (M/SH (UK) 392/3). The surname of Colonel Dexter is not mentioned in the story, but is given on his nametag.

THE TWELVE #2 (cover)
Cover Date: April 2008
Cover: Kaare Andrews, Chris Weston (cover artists)
Story: No title given (23 pages)
Credits: J. Michael Straczynski (scripter); Chris Weston (penciler); Garry Leach (inker); Chris Chuckry (colorist); Jim Betancourt (letterer)
Feature Characters: Blue Blade (dead body appears in flashforward between TWELVE 1 and TBD), Phantom Reporter (also in flashforward between TWELVE 1 flashforward and TBD; also in second flashback between DARING MYSTERY 3/4 and TWELVE SPEARHEAD), Black Widow, Dynamic Man, Fiery Mask, Laughing Mask, Master Mind Excello, Mister E, Rockman, Witness, Captain Wonder (also in first flashback between KID KOMICS 2 and TWELVE 1; all eleven as the Twelve)
Supporting Characters: Colonel Dexter, Caroline Jordan, David L. Jordan, William F. Jordan (first appearance for all three; in first flashback; all three die behind the scenes between TWELVE 2 (8:4-9:3)-FB and TWELVE 1 (11-21))
Villains: "Satan" (last in ALL SELECT 1/5; next in TWELVE 8), numerous criminals (first appearance for all), two gangsters (first appearance for both; in second flashback), numerous Nazi soldiers (first appearance for all; in second flashback)
Other Characters: Three American soldiers (including Bunche and Martel; first appearance for all)
Paraphernalia: Electro, the Twelve's mansion (first appearance)
Synopsis: As the mystery men arrive at a mansion provided by the government, Colonel Dexter informs them that he hopes they will decide to continue their careers as heroes. As Dick Jones (Phantom Reporter) observes how his comrades are adapting to their new lives, Roy Chambers (Blue Blade) displays enthusiasm to the public notoriety they have earned. Steve Jordan (Captain Wonder) leaves to visit a cemetery, but he breaks down after he sees the graves of his wife Caroline, who had died of a heart attack, and his sons David and William, who were killed during the Vietnam War. Earl Everett (Master Mind Excello) finds the background noise of the modern world almost unbearable, and subsequently contacts the Banque du Geneve in Switzerland. After the Dynamic Man helps some soldiers unload the dormant form of Electro, he spends the evening fighting crime, but betrays his racism when he shows reluctance to help an interracial married couple when they are mugged. As Black Widow watches the full moon, she is contacted by an apparition of the demon "Satan," for whom she is the instrument of vengeance. Rockman descends into the basement of the residence and proceeds to pound upon the hard ground, hoping his people of Abysmia will hear and come for him. (2-22)
First Flashback: During the final months of the Second World War, Professor Steve Jordan decides to battle alongside Allied forces in Europe as Captain Wonder. Although his wife Caroline is reluctant to accept his decision, Steve promises that he will return home to her and their sons, David and William. (8:4-9:3)
Second Flashback: As a civilian reporter for the Daily Bugle, Dick Jones understands that those responsible for corruption in the city are often untouchable. Becoming the Phantom Reporter, he is capable of exposing whole organized crime operations and forcing the police to act. When the Second World War comes, he takes to fighting spies on both the home front and then in Germany. (11:2-4)
Flashforward: The Phantom Reporter stands in the downpouring rain over the deceased body of the Blue Blade, murdered by an unknown assailant, and despite the insufferable arrogance of his fallen comrade, the Reporter thinks to himself that the Blue Blade did not deserve this fate. (1)
Chronology: Flashforward occurs on November 18, Year 24 (MCAL); "much, much later" than TWELVE 1, "several months" after TWELVE 2. The story occurs August 5, Year 24 (MCAL). The first flashback occurs in early October, 1944 (ACB); the war should be over in "another few months." The second flashback is a montage of Phantom Reporter events during the early 1940s, between his debut as the Phantom Reporter in 1940 (DARING MYSTERY 3/4) and the Allied invasion of Berlin in 1945 (TWELVE 1). The dates of birth and death of the family of Captain Wonder are depicted on their tombstones, with Caroline Jordan (1920-1975), Captain David L. Jordan (1942-1974) and Colonel William F. Jordan (1940-1975). His wife had died of a heart attack, and their sons died during the Vietnam War.
Comments: The "NYPD" and "FDNY" logos depicted on a police cruiser and fire engines indicate that these events occur within the area of New York City.

THE TWELVE #3 (cover)
Cover Date: May 2008
Cover: Kaare Andrews (cover artist)
Story: No title given (23 pages)
Credits: J. Michael Straczynski (scripter); Chris Weston (penciler); Garry Leach (inker); Chris Chuckry (colorist); Jim Betancourt (letterer)
Feature Characters: Dynamic Man, Captain Wonder, Rockman, Master Mind Excello, Phantom Reporter, Mister E (Victor J. Goldstein), Black Widow, Laughing Mask, Witness, Fiery Mask (origin retold), Blue Blade,
Supporting Characters: Colonel Dexter, Robert Goldstein, Laura Goldstein (first appearance for both, also in flashback to 1940),
Villains: numerous criminals (first appearance for all; in first flashback), two gangsters (first appearance for both; in second and third flashbacks),"Satan" (between TWELVE 2 and 8)
Other Characters: military personnel, Nurse, Samuel Kingston (Daily Bugle syndicated columns editor), a kidnapped woman, Simon Dexter (dies)
Paraphernalia: Electro, the Twelve's mansion
Flashback: Victor, Laura and Robert at home (6:2)
Flashback: Victor Jay in high society and Mister E catches criminals for the police (7:4-5)
Flashback: Laughing Mask rescues a kidnapped woman and kills her two kidnappers (13:3-4, 14:3-5)
Flashback: Jack Castle at Flannery's (16:3)
Flashback: Jack Castle fights the Zombie Master and his zombies and becomes the Fiery Mask (16:5-18:3)
Chronology:

THE TWELVE #4 (cover)
Cover Date: June 2008
Cover: Kaare Andrews (cover artist)
Story: No title given (22 pages)
Credits: J. Michael Straczynski (scripter); Chris Weston (penciler); Garry Leach (inker); Chris Chuckry (colorist); Jim Betancourt (letterer)
Feature Characters: Master Mind Excello, Phantom Reporter, Black Widow, Laughing Mask, Rockman (also in flashback; next in TWELVE 6), Blue Blade, Mister E (next in TWELVE 6), Fiery Mask, Captain Wonder, Dynamic Man, Witness
Supporting Characters: Colonel Dexter
Villains: criminals
Other Characters: police, goths
Paraphernalia: Electro, the Twelve's mansion
First flashback: The night before, Laughing Mask stops a hold-up. (3:3-4)
Second flashback: Police finds the dismembered body of Simon Dexter (6:1-3)
Third flashback: Rockman's flashback (8-11)
Chronology: The day after the previous story.

THE TWELVE #5 (cover)
Cover Date: July 2008
Cover: Paolo Rivera (cover artist)
Story: No title given (23 pages)
Credits: J. Michael Straczynski (scripter); Chris Weston (penciler); Garry Leach (inker); Chris Chuckry (colorist); Jim Betancourt (letterer)
Feature Characters: Witness, Dynamic Man, Captain Wonder, Fiery Mask, Phantom Reporter, Blue Blade (next in TWELVE 7), Laughing Mask, Black Widow, Master Mind Excello,
Supporting characters: Colonel Dexter, Ms Zogolowski (first appearance; next in TWELVE 7)
Villain: terrorist
Other Characters: a waitress, police, officials, SWAT team, journalists, Chicago police, inmates, Falkstein (Flint; dies), bus driver, Stan (agent; next in TWELVE 7), Al Wallanby (TV producer), school students, goths, Lieutenant Detective Lew Goldman
Cameos: Caroline Jordan, David L. Jordan, William F. Jordan
Paraphernalia: Electro (between TWELVE 4 and TWELVE 7), the Twelve's mansion
First flashback: The Witness is a policeman in Chicago, spends two years in prison and kills himself (5-6)

THE TWELVE #6 (cover)
Cover Date: Aug 2008
Cover: Paolo Rivera (cover artist)
Story: No title given (23 pages)
Credits: J. Michael Straczynski (scripter); Chris Weston (penciler); Garry Leach (inker); Chris Chuckry (colorist); Jim Betancourt (letterer)
Feature Characters: Laughing Mask (next in TWELVE 8), Black Widow, Phantom Reporter, Mastermind Excello, Dynamic Man (next in TWELVE 8), Captain Wonder, Rockman (next in TWELVE 8), Witness (next in TWELVE ), Mister E (next in TWELVE ), Fiery Mask
Supporting characters: Colonel Frank Dexter
Villain: Mech Tomorrow, Boss Clete (in flashback)
Other Characters: police, journalists, inmates, goths (Laura, Steffie), youngsters (die), US Senator and bodyguards, Danielle Rose
Flashback: Daniel Rose (14-18)

THE TWELVE #7 (cover)
Cover Date: Oct 2008
Cover: Paolo Rivera (cover artist)
Story: No title given (22 pages)
Credits: J. Michael Straczynski (scripter); Chris Weston (penciler); Garry Leach (inker); Chris Chuckry (colorist); Jim Betancourt (letterer)
Feature Characters: Phantom Reporter, Fiery Mask, Captain Wonder (also in first and second flashbacks), Blue Blade, Mastermind Excello, Black Widow
Supporting Characters: Tim Mulrooney (last in TWELVE 7 (11:3-6)-FB; also in flashbacks; dies); Elizabeth Zogolowski (last in TWELVE 5)
Other Characters: Lieutenant Detective David Rose (first appearance; next in TWELVE 8), policemen, Stan (last in TWELVE 5)
Cameo: Dynamic Man, Witness, Mister E
Paraphernalia: Electro
First flashback: Origin of Captain Wonder and Tim (5:5-7:6)
Second flashback: Captain Wonder and Tim fight German soldiers (8:3)
Third flashback: Captain Tim loses his powers (10:2-11:1)
Fourth flashback: Tim finds out Captain America is alive (11:3-6)
Chronology: "1945 was just a few months ago"

THE TWELVE #8 (cover)
Cover Date: Dec 2008
Cover: Paolo Rivera (cover artist)
Story: No title given (23 pages)
Credits: J. Michael Straczynski (scripter); Chris Weston (penciler); Garry Leach (inker); Chris Chuckry (colorist); Jim Betancourt (letterer)
Feature Characters: Phantom Reporter, Black Widow (also in first flashback), Fiery Mask (also in second flashback), Blue Blade (also in third flashback), MasterMind Excello, Laughing Mask, Rockman, Dynamic Man (last three last in TWELVE 6)
Supporting characters: Elizabeth Zogolowski
Villains: Lester Maddox (in first flashback; dies), Satan (last in TWELVE 2, also in first flashback to 1928 before MYSTIC COMICS 4/5)
Other Characters: Deborah Voyant (in first flashback; dies in 1928), Detective Rose, policemen, TV staffers, Bill (in third flashback)
Paraphernalia: Electro
First flashback: Black Widow origin, Claire Voyant visits her sister in Los Angeles. Her sister in involved with Lester Maddox who kills her in 1928. Satan offers her powers. She kills Maddox. (2:3-7)
Second flashback: Jack Castle meets a mysterious man with fiery powers (11:3-4)
Third flashback: Roy Chambers in farmland (22:2-4)

MARVEL MYSTERY COMICS 70TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL
Cover Date: July 2009
Cover: Paolo Rivera, Marcos Martin
Story: Project Blockbuster
Credits:
Feature Characters: Sub-Mariner, Human Torch, Ferret, Toro, Angel, Pr Philo Zog (between Marvel Mystery Comics 19/5 and TWELVE: SPEARHEAD)
Supporting Character: Betty Dean
Villains: Dr Manyac (from MARVEL MYSTERY 4), Gaufman
Paraphernalia: Electro (between Marvel Mystery Comics 19/5 and TWELVE: SPEARHEAD), Green Flame robots (from MARVEL MYSTERY 4)
Synopsis: Namor has an appointment with Betty Dean in Coney Island. She's attacked by armed men who also try to kill her contact, the Ferret. A Green Flame robot attacks Namor and escapes. The Ferret briefs them in his apartment, Prof Zog has disappeared. Betty Dean arranges a meeting on a roof with the Human Torch who tells them of his earlier encounter with Dr Manyac and his green flames battlesuits. As HT and Toro leaves they are attacked by Green Flames robots. HT is captured while Toro comes back to alert Namor, Dean and Ferret (still on the roof). The Angel fights nazi spies and asks them where he can find the Torch and project Blockbuster. The Torch is a prisoner, he finds Pr Manyac has allied himself with nazi Herr Gaufman. They have captured Pr Zog and built green flame robots. Namor, Toro, the Angel, Betty Dean and the Ferret attack the place. They fight the robots, free Pr Zog who uses Electro to destroy the robots. The bad guys launch a giant Green Flame robot which gets destroyed. The End.
Chronology: Spring 41

DARING MYSTERY COMICS 70TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL
Cover Date: Nov 2009
Cover: Clint Langley, Marcos Martin
Story: No title (22 pages)
Credits: David Liss, Jason Armstrong
Feature Character: Phantom Reporter (origin told, next in DARING MYSTERY 3)
Villains: Billy Sullivan (dead just before first flashback begins; also in second and fourth flashbacks), Edmund Chancellor (in first and second flashbacks only), Oswald Chancellor (dies in first flashback, also in second, third and fifth flashbacks), Silvio Mannino (in first and fifth flashbacks only)
Other Characters: Sam, a professor (dead; dies in fifth flashback), Mrs Molly Sullivan (also in first and fourth flashbacks)
Cameo: Fiery Mask (between DARING MYSTERY 1 and 5)
Synopsis: Phantom Reporter is talking to a reporter called Sam. They're in a bar at night. In a flashback to 1939, he tells the origin of the Phantom Reporter. He's supported by his editor, his parents, his colleagues (including one that looks like Clark Kent). Masked heroes have started to pop up: Fiery Mask stopping/lifting a car with two people falling from it. Jones learns from Edmund Chancellor that their childhood friend Billy Sullivan is dead along with his wife. A flashback shows the youth of Richard Jones, Billy Sullivan and Edmund Chancellor: Oswald Chancellor tells Billy he's not welcome to stay in his house with Dick and Edmund. Billy turns bad, gets revenge on Edmund when they're adults. (3:6-4:6) Jones investigates, Billy worked for the Manninos, an Italian crime family, Chancellor stops at nothing to get his drugs approved, seeks eternal life. Jones finds out the wife, Molly Sullivan, isn't dead, talks with her. In flashback 7:3 Molly realises that Billy killed a professor last week. Jones keeps investigating, dons a mask when four goons run after him, fights them, interrogates criminals, visits Silvio Mannino in the hospital where his daughter Angela lies in a coma, gets a confession ((15:1-4) flashback: Chancellor and Silvio Mannino learn from the professor about the Philosopher's stone. Billy kills the professor), goes to Oswald Chancellor house, fights him, Oswald Chancellor falls to his death. Learns from Edmund that goons may kill Molly. Speeds up there and arrives too late as a body is taken away. (This is apparently all during the same night) Page 22 concludes his story to the reporter. He wonders what might have happened had she lived and found the formula as he was strongly attracted to her. We see that Molly is in the bar, still young after all these years. Apparently she was checking on PR but hasn't made herself known to him. She must have figured out the secret of the Philosopher's Stone.
First Flashback: Origin of Phantom Reporter (1939) (2-21)
Second Flashback: "Years earlier" Youth of Richard Jones, Billy Sullivan and Edmund Chancellor (3:6-4:6)
Third flashback: "couple of years earlier" Oswald Chancellor would stop at nothing to get his drugs approved, covered his tracks to most of the world. (5:4-6)
Fourth flashback: "last week" Molly Sullivan realises that Billy killed the professor (7:3)
Fifth flashback: Oswald Chancellor and Silvio Mannino learn from the professor about the Philosopher's stone which can grant eternal life. They decide to kill him before he publishes his discovery. Billy kills the professor. (15:1-4)
Chronology: The framing sequence occurs "today", the main story occurs in 1939

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