Citizen "V" was actually British Lieutenant John Watkins. He fought deep in the heart of Nazi-controlled Europe, and even inspired an underground resistance--the "V" Battalion. He enlisted the aid of these common people to help him battle the Nazis on their own turf. As a calling card, Citizen "V" would relieve Nazi officials of their shirts and leave a large red 'V' on their chest. He would use whatever was available to do this, including iodine.
Citizen 'V' worked more than any other hero with the subjugated citizens of Nazi-invaded countries and that in turn made him more popular with average citizens. He was not only fighting for them, he was fighting with them.
Thanks to Mr. Modok for sending me the following information on Citizen V: "He was killed by Baron Zemo I during the war. Baron Zemo II later utilized the identity of "Citizen V" (falsely claiming to be the grandson of the original) when he formed the Thunderbolts. Zemo has resumed his nefarious ways, but a new female Citizen V has emerged in his place. This was all portrayed in a recent issue (maybe a Thunderbolts annual?)." Thanks!
INSIDE STORY: Citizen "V" was created and drawn by Ben Thompson. Sadly, there weren't many exploits of this interesting character. He was one of the few British heroes of the time, and the stories were the most realistic of any other series. The Germans weren't made into the exaggerated buffoons they were portrayed as in most American propaganda stories. Their cruelties were shown realistically. Perhaps that's why Citizen "V" never truly caught on: it was hitting too close to home in a time when people read comics to escape. (The espionage themes and connection to the underground in Citizen "V" reminds me of two great films from the 1960s: "The Train" starring Burt Lancaster and "The Counterfeit Traitor" with William Holden. If you're into these kinds of WW II stories, then I highly suggest you make the effort to track them down. They're plot intensive and hardly just eye candy, but the intelligent plots are worth your time--eric).
First Appearance and Origin: DARING MYSTERY COMICS #8 (1942)
Other Appearance: COMEDY COMICS #9 (1942)
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The Fiery Mask was in fact Dr. Jack Castle (probably no relation to Frank "Punisher" Castle). Dr. Castle was called by police captain Benson to aid on a mysterious case. Eight street tramps had vanished, and one of them turned up with a green complexion and a thirst for blood. Castle checked with the power company to see if any houses had been using excessive amounts of electricity. His hunch paid off and he went to investigate one house that had been using massive amouts of power. Dr. Castle knew he was in the right place when he was greeted at the door by a deathly looking man with a similar green appearance. The man told Jack that he would be useful to "the master," and he led Jack down ancient underground corridors to a place where people where hypnotized into becoming zombie slaves. Jack was attracted to one woman, who wasn't completely under "the master"'s thrall. But she was guarded by giant mutated buzzards (I swear I am not making this up!--eric). Jack quickly went to see "the master"--A gigantic mad scientist with pale yellow skin. He used a green ray to convert people to his will, but Jack was too strong and caused the machine to explode when the scientist turned it on him. The rays gave Jack superhuman strength, and he used his new powers to defeat the scientist and free the girl. Jack created a costume and fought crime as...the Fiery Mask!INSIDE STORY: OK, I'll be honest, this is one of the lamest origins in comics history. Even weirder (and more far-fetched) than the Whizzer's. Why in the world would a police captain ask a physician to not just advise on a case, but to actually handle the case? Wouldn't he rather have, say, a COP investigating??? Not to mention the villain is so pathetic that creator Joe Simon (hard to believe he also created Captain America, huh?) didn't even give him a name. Well, the Fiery Mask was certainly an original hero, but his ridiculous origin and vaguely defined powers kept him from hanging around too long. Oh well, c'est la vie.
First Appearance: DARING MYSTERY COMICS #1 (1940)
Other Appearances: HUMAN TORCH #2 (1940); DARING MYSTERY COMICS #5,6 (1941)
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The FIN
Lt. Peter Noble was one of Marvel's first mutants. He was born with the ability to live on land or at the crushing black depths of the ocean. Peter used this ability to fight crime as the Fin! He tangled with Nazi spies and sea raiders. What became of him after the war is unknown.
INSIDE STORY: The Fin was a likable character with a snappy costume. But, sadly, he could never really be anything more than a pale imitation of the Sub-Mariner. Both characters were created, written, and drawn by Bill Everett. They even used a lot of the same vocabulary (like saying "Hello?" everytime they discovered something). But the Fin never really had Namor's temper and natural "coolness." That's probably why Namor was revived in the Silver Age and became popular all over again and the Fin was pretty much dry-docked after a successful Golden Age run. The Fin did make a very small cameo in the Invaders--sort of. In #5, his picture appears in a newspaper. Namor looks at the picture and proclaims "A pallid imitation of myself!" Not too far off the mark there, Namor. Still, the Fin was mentioned a few more times in the series, and if Roy ever writes anymore Invaders stories I wouldn't be shocked to see the Fin turn up.
First Appearance: DARING MYSTERY COMICS #7 (1941)
Other Appearances: DARING MYSTERY COMICS #8(1942); COMEDY COMICS #9 (1942); [as an hallucination] AVENGERS #97 (1972); (picture only) INVADERS #5 (1976)
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The HURRICANE
The Hurricane was the son of Thor (but he's never actually been linked to the Silver Age Thor we all know and love). He was the last descendant of the ancient gods and was sent to earth to battle his eternal nemesis Pluto, the Devil. Pluto had taken a hand in earth crime, doing business with shady crime bosses. Hurricane always stayed one step ahead, working with the police to stop criminals and defeat Pluto. It was ultimately revealed that the Hurricane was actually the Eternal Makkari.
INSIDE STORY: Hurricane had the distinction of appearing in CAPTAIN AMERICA COMICS #1, making his first appearance very valuable. Hurricane was a fairly popular character, thanks to the creative input of artist/writer Jack Kirby. While Hurricane's stories were a long way away from Kirby's incomparable accomplishments with Stan Lee, these early works are entertaining enough and show the evolution of a future master in the medium.
First Appearance: CAPTAIN AMERICA COMICS #1 (1941)
Other Appearances: CAPTAIN AMERICA COMICS #2-11 (1941-43)
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