Revisiting the team of Peter Cannon, the Thunderbolt, and his right-hand man Tabu, we meet a recurring nemesis that they encounter throughout their partnership...the Hooded One! Apparently in the distant past, Hoody performed a noble act of self sacrifice for his masters leading to his facial predicament..which left him embittered as a result. Why the personal anomosity between the Bolt and the Hood? Let's explore this further...
Evidentally, the Hooded One obtained sufficient information from the ancient scrolls...before his opposite number inherited them, to make him a formidable presence in the lives of Team T-Bolt. He repeatedly plagued the duo in Thunderbolt #s 1, 51, 54, 58, and 59 (with a cameo in issue #56). At one point, Pete returned to Asia to find a precious plant necessary in saving the life of faithful Tabu...leading to this encounter with his foe...
On a return trip to the largest continent, the Hooded One launched his most formidable attack against Pete and Tabu...this time with an entire tribe backing him up...and once more came up flat despite his best efforts.
After a subsequent duel in England with similar results, the Hooded One disappeared and so had his rivals. Despite his extensive knowledge and connections with skilled agents like Dum Dum Barnes, Evila and a tribe bent to his will, he only proved his masters' decision correct...Thunderbolt was the one who deserved the knowledge granted him as it led to victory...and justice...concepts Hoody never quite grasped despite his many attributes.
On the opposite side of the coin, another hooded one debutted decades earlier, himself the victim of a noble sacrifice as police officer Kip Burland was framed for a crime he didn't commit by his arch-enemy, the Skull (who we considered earlier). Along the way, he was tricked into a trap that left him literally in limbo for several years by a vengeful foe..
In the intervening years, Black Hood took the opportunity having all the time on his hands to read, read, read...and become a brilliant scientist who could invent cool toys which he never had access to in the 40's.
The weirdest invention he devised was his flying robotic steed, Nightmare. How Nightmare attained altitude despite his lack of aerodynamic features in his design is beyond me. Here we see both meeting the Fly for the first time, in route to their joining the Mighty Crusaders. The Hood had a modest run of solo appearences during the silver age, from Fly Man #35, Mighty Comics #s 42, 43, 44,46, 47, 50. He had a rocky relationship with fellow Crusader, the Shield.
Eventually, Kip had later bequeathed his black hood to his nephew, also named Kip (at which point we learn that the hood had been passed along throughout the Burland family for centuries...or by a hermit). So while one Hood used his knowledge and years of exile from humanity for evil, the other used it for good. While one was resentful for another coming to take his place, the other welcomed it. Both had limitless potential never fully realized.As the Hooded One faded into obscurity, the original Black Hood became the victim of these notorious criminal gangs, perishing ignominious.
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