The Angel was millionaire Thomas Halloway. Thomas was fascinated by angels, and decorated his sprawling Los Angeles estate with statues of them. He took his belief in angels to another step when began battling Nazis as the Angel. He was one of the first costumed heroes of the war, and towards the end he had his brother fill in for him as the Angel. In later years, Thomas was so disgusted by crime that he financed the Scourge of the Underworld. The Scourge killed several costumed criminals before Captain America stopped him. The Angel's connection to Scourge was discovered by the U.S. Agent, but there wasn't enough evidence to convict Halloway.
Thomas' brother was killed a few years later by the fanatical villain calling himself Everyman. Thomas had invited his hobo brother to a reunion of Golden Age heroes, and Everyman had decided to kill them all. He killed Thomas' brother but Captain America stopped him from killing any other Golden Age heroes. Thomas Halloway is retired now and lives on his estate. He is no relation to the X-Man Warren Worthington, also known as the Angel.
First Appearance: ALL-WINNERS COMICS #1 (1941)
Other Appearances: HUMAN TORCH #5 (1941), SUB-MARINER #1-21 (1941-47), DARING COMICS #10 (1944), [as an hallucination] AVENGERS #97 (1972), CAPTAIN AMERICA #442 (1995)
Return to the Golden Age page
The Black Marvel was actually Dan Lyons, a "man about-town." When not hanging out with his friends Pat Casey and Mary Nash, Dan was fighting criminals on the homefront as the Black Marvel. Although he possessed no actual super-powers, Dan was an excellent athlete and hand-to-hand combatant; he used these skills (and a sharp knife!) to vanquish hoods like, well, like The Red Hood and his Hood Gang. After the war ended, the Black Marvel retired. He was invited to a 50th anniversary reunion of Golden Age heroes in 1995 by the Angel, where he met his idol Captain America.
Thanks to Mr. Modok for sending me the following update on the Black Marvel: "Black Marvel has been very prominent in the soon-to-be canceled Slingers book. Apparently, in an effort to regain his former glory, Black Marvel made a pact with Mephisto to recruit and train the Slingers (Prodigy, Dusk, Richochet, and Hornet). Did I mention that the Marvel is slightly off his rocker? In the most recent issue, Black Marvel's soul was sucked into hell." Yipe! Thanks Modok!
INSIDE STORY: The Black Marvel had an interesting costume--for the time--but was fairly lifeless as a character; he came across as a poor imitation of Superman. He was always sneaking away to change into costume when there was trouble; he even got Lois Lane styled quips from the Mary Nash character. This is surprising, considering that the Black Marvel was the brainchild of a young Stan Lee (artwork was handled by Al Avison and Al Gabriele). The Black Marvel only made one appearance during the Golden Age, but Stan, of course, went on to bigger and better things (like, I don't know, Spider-Man?).
First Golden Age Appearance: ALL-WINNERS COMICS #1 (1941)
Other Appearances: CAPTAIN AMERICA #442 (1995); SLINGERS #? (1999)
Return to the Golden Age page
Louise Grant worked as the secretary for private investigator Mark Mason in the early 40s. When not working for Detective Mason during the day, Louise was helping him with his cases at night as the Blonde Phantom! Although Louise was in lover with Mark, he was in love with the Blonde Phantom. After growing tired of this, Louise told him who she really was and he proposed. They were married in 1949 and settled down, until Mark died in the late 1980s.
Louise then became a secretary for New York's District Attorney Mr. Towers. Louise arranged for Jennifer Walters, the She-Hulk, to work for Mr. Towers. Louise became a close friend and aid to the She-Hulk, and helped her as both a secretary and crimefighter. Although Louise briefly reconsidered donning her Phantom Blonde garb again, she decided she was too old and out of shape for it (not to mention she was now a brunette!). Louise stayed with the She-Hulk until her retirement.
INSIDE STORY: John Byrne is a great comic historian, and often brings Golden Age characters into the present. He brought the Blonde Phantom into the Silver Age in the pages of She-Hulk. The premise of that book was that the She-Hulk knew it was a comic book. She would talk to the readers and manipulate the comic itself to help her out (like walking in between panels to get from one place to another or actually ripping the page and running across the advertisements to get to the bad guys). Louise knew she was in a comic too, and that's why she wanted to be a supporting player in the SHE-HULK series. Louise realized that, if you're in a comic book, you never age. She had aged all these years because she had been out of the comics, and that's why Mark Mason died. SHE-HULK was the Blonde Phantom's attempt to prolong her life. A pretty clever idea, if you ask me. He may be arrogant, but Byrne has provided some truly inspired comic book moments.
First Appearance: BLONDE PHANTOM #12 (1946) [#1-11 was actually ALL-SELECT COMICS. The title switched when the Blonde Phantom first appeared.]
Other Appearances: BLONDE PHANTOM #13-22, ALL-WINNERS COMICS (vol. 2) #1 (1948), SUN GIRL #2,3 (1948), SUB-MARINER #25-31 (1948-49), SHE-HULK (vol. 2) #4-60 (1989-94)
Return to the Golden Age page