Continuing a look back at the earliest examples of super-villain team-ups in comics. In Part 1, we established the belief that the meeting of Dr. Fate's adversaries Wotan and Karkull in More Fun Comics # 70 (August 1941) was probably the first such joint effort among bad guys. Part 2 discussed the Hand's five fingers versus the Seven Soldiers of Victory in Leading Comics # 1 (Winter 1941) as the likely second example. Now, Part 3 brings us the big one.
The original Captain Marvel's battle with "The Monster Society of Evil" was an epic with no precedent in the then-short history of comic books: A 25-part serial with the hero facing an army of organized bad guys. Some of the bad guys were the true-life villains the Allies were fighting contemporaneously in World War II. But most were comic-book adversaries, many of whom had appeared in previous battles with our hero. And all of these ne'er-do-wells took malevolent orders from a sinister worm called Mister Mind.
As "The Monster Society Of Evil" began, no one--not even writer Otto Binder--knew Mister Mind was a literal creepy, crawly worm from outer space. In the serial's first chapter in Captain Marvel Adventures # 22 (March 1943), a voice from the stars introduces himself as Mister Mind, and sets his minion (and familiar Captain Marvel foe) Captain Nazi to carry out his evil plan. What plan? For EVIL, of course! The initial burst of evil involves the theft of a magic pearl, with powers Mister Mind wants out of the Allies' reach and in the hands of the Axis (the real-life Monster Society of Evil). The good guy Captain defeats the Aryan Captain, but Mr. Mind calls in reinforcements including Captain Marvel enemies Dr. Sivana, Ibac, Nippo, and Mr. Banjo, plus a still-fighting Captain Nazi. Captain Nazi is captured, but Ibac escapes with the magic pearl. Victory in the first round of this battle goes to Mister Mind and his Society.
The splash page for this first chapter indicates the source of inspiration for this comics serial. The success of the 1941 twelve-chapter movie serial The Adventures Of Captain Marvel nudged Fawcett Comics (Cap's publisher) toward the idea of an extended storyline to keep the kids coming back for more. During World War II, Captain Marvel was one of the best-selling superheroes in comics. With one magic word--SHAZAM!-- young Billy Batson was transformed into the mighty Captain Marvel, whose popularity rivaled and even surpassed that of DC Comics' standard bearer Superman. That didn't sit well with the folks at DC, who spent years trying to litigate Cap out of business, eventually prompting Fawcett to settle the suit and cancel its superhero line of comics. Decades later, DC wound up buying the Captain Marvel character outright, marketing him as Shazam in deference to other rival Marvel Comics swooping in to trademark the Captain Marvel name in the interim. The comics business is a business, kid.
The name of DC's early '40s swell bunch of guys the Justice Society Of America was likely an unconscious (or conscious) influence on Otto Binder when he concocted Mister Mind's swinish bunch of guys and called 'em the Monster Society of Evil. Reminiscences published in Steranko's History Of The Comics suggest that Binder had no preconceived notion of precisely what Mister Mind would be, and the idea of making the World's Mightiest Mortal's elusive and resourceful enemy an itty-bitty li'l worm occurred after the story was underway. But some chapters included occasional teaser glimpses of an unidentified worm--because, really, who goes around identifying worms?--before Mister Mind was revealed in Captain Marvel Adventures # 27 (September 1943). The serial concluded in Captain Marvel Adventures # 46 (May 1945), as Mister Mind was captured, tried, convicted, and executed for his crimes. Serves 'im right, the little worm.
Multi-part comic book serials are commonplace now, their eventual ubiquity jump-started in the '60s at Marvel. And there had certainly been to-be-continued comics stories before Mister Mind put his gang together. But it was a radical move for a comics publisher to attempt a 25-part comic book serial in the '40s, when funnybooks were absolutely considered ephemeral and disposable, a time when it certainly wasn't a given that the audience would remain invested, month after month, eager to trade their dimes again and again and again for the next exciting installment of an extended storyline.
That audience came back for Captain Marvel Adventures and "The Monster Society Of Evil." The power of SHAZAM!
After shining a spotlight on this epic multi-chapter super-villain team-up, HONOR AMONG THIEVES will return to more familiar single-issue shenanigans in Part 4. Meanwhile, back in Gotham City....
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