Friday Fiends: Brains Behind the Braun

During the resurgence of superheroes in the early 1980s, leading to the reformation of the Mighty Crusaders, wasn't happenstance. The alien Brain Emperor had reemerged from his seclusion set on conquering his adopted world, with the goal of one day using it as his base of power to control the entire universe... including his home world he was exiled from so long ago. However, knowing that the threat remained of metahumans, such as himself, who could forestall his schemes... he initiated a long term plan whereby he recruited a number of fellow felons. Some costumed, some not, yet all troublesome thorns in the sides of those who opposed him.

 

However, there was an even greater threat to the Crusaders, one of their own who was a mole planted amidst their group to undermine it from within. Who would this threat be? While at this time it hasn't been revealed, visual clues in our next Team-Up Tuesdays may reveal his identity.

 

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Nothing this overt occurred on the parallel Earth where the Sentinels of Justice operated, as Doctor Spectro had largely been erased from the equation through his various battles with arch-foe Captain Atom, and hence never had the opportunity to effect change as had the Emperor.

 

 

Crossover Month: Colorful Crooks

Of the many colorful cats we've introduced into this blog, none are more so than are Doctor Spectro of Charlton and Rainbow Raider of DC Comics. Both rogues and long-time adversaries of  Captain Atom and the Flash, respectively. Each utilized technology allowing them to maniuplate emotions through colors they project, as well as more solidified attacks from this same energy. While Spectro was a disgruntled scientist transformed into a supervillain after exposure to his equipment, Raider was a color-blind artist embittered with his lot in life and exploiting the special goggles his father bequeathed him.

While neither were prolific in their number of appearances, they each made their mark while they were being showcased as potential real threats towards their foes... and towards the fashion world as well!

World's Wickedest Wednesdays: Devious Docs

Dual demented docs do doggedly devilish deeds! Say that five times fast! Or better yet, have the bad Doctors... Sivana and Spectro... of adjacent Earths S and 4 say that via their cloned proxies. Each of the good Captains... Marvel and Atom... faced off against these evil geniuses more than once. And on one occasion, against several duplicates of themselves. Thankfully, their heroic opposite numbers still proved superior!

Doctor Thaddeus Bogus Sivana was once an aspiring physicist who invented various revolutionary devices for the benefit of mankind. And yet, secular authorities scoffed at him, and as a result Sivana swore revenge against his fellow man. From that point forward, upon meeting the World's Mightiest Mortal, Sivana was Captain Marvel's most persistent and deadly foe. In fact, on on occasion he trapped the hero and his allies in suspendium. Alas, the mad mental menace and his family was also captured and held in stasis along with the heroic Marvels in suspended animation for decades. Even after his revival, Sivana never won except once when his inventions were actually acclaimed to the point where he received a Nobel Peace Prize when Marvel used them to aid mankind... much to Sivana's chagrine!

Doctor Spectro also wanted to use his colored light technology for the medical benefits of mankind. However, once he was attacked by a gang of opportunistic hoods and his beam was reflected back on himself, Spectro turned evil and gained vast powers which he used against Captain Atom on more than one occasion... including when a miniature malicious mob of his clones attached the Atomic Avenger intent on reassembling Spectro into one man once more. Yet a good persona existed in the group of Docs, who attempted to exert control over the reconstituted Spectro later.

An analog for Sivana over at MLJ/Mighty Comics would probably be the Fly's arch-foe the Spider, another deformed bald midget of malice with a mind for marvelous machinery.

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In 1954, aspiring comic book publisher Charlton purchased the rights to several prominent characters from the expiring Fawcett Comics, such as Ibis, Golden Arrow and Lance O'Casey. In 1980 and 1985, DC Comics purchase Fawcett's Marvel Family then Charlton's Action Heroes, and the two were linked once more, now on parallel Earths, Four and Shazam.Now the MLJ has been added to their stable of characters, we examine the parallels in this series.

Friday Fiends: Masters of Moods Materialize

Carrying on from our last Team-Up Tuesdays, let's dissect our two masters of moods and see who they are, how they first came into conflict with our heroes, and what awesome powers they display. Presenting Spectro and Eterno, the doctor and the tyrant, for your reading pleasure:

Interesting, both men not only possessed the power of mind control and vast energy displacement abilities, they each seemed to survive their own demise and reappear with armies of superpowered clones. Each also displayed an arrogant demeanor which left them defeated at the hands of Captain Atom and the Mighty Crusaders despite superior assets. Ah well...

Team-Up Tuesdays: Multiplying Mood Masters

The following neatly fits under both categories of Team-Up Tuesdays and Friday Fiends, as the arch-villians created small armies of like-minded pawns to do their bidding. Today we'll focus on the gangs they spawned to due their evil bidding against the good Captains, Strong and Adam (also known as Sheild and Captain Atom), and Friday we'll go back in time to witness their first appearences and origins.

Let's get started. Eterno the Tyrant first appeared in July 1966's issue of Fly-Man #32, and Doctor Spectro first appeared in Captain Atom #79. When they next appeared, in Mighty Crusaders #s 1-3 and Captain Atom #81, respectively, they seemingly returned from the dead. In actually, both escaped doom from their previous encounters with our heroes and sought revenge. Using their indominable mental force that bent men to their will, they spawned super powered costumed gangs...each sharing the mind of their masters directing their every action.

Here we see Eterno, in his Atlantean fortress, as he is about to commence transferring his mind into seven genetically engineered bodies with the goal of wiping the Crusaders off the face of the Earth! And so are formed, the Mighty (or Malevolent) Legion of Jaggernauts! And since you are what you eat, assuming these vegatable men are vegatarians, they're a litle green around the edges. They'll soon see that the grass is not always greener on the other side.

Doctor Spectro reconstitutes his energized form only to find that the master of moods is now in five individual bodies. Each manifests a slightly different personality or aspect of the original doctor, and they soon realize they need to reform in order to stand a chance at conquering the world as originally intended. Thankfully, they find a handy satellite base (decades ahead of time as to technological advancement) to investigate how they can become one.

Whether his reason for selecting these identities was a lack of originality, or to get under the skin of his old foes the Crusaders, Eterno the Tyrant selects a colorful brigade of classically clad minions to due his bidding. Each seems to display near limitless energy emitting powers and superhuman physical forms. Must be an organic diet, yes?

Captain Atom discovers that his old foe has returned with a vengence, and quickly realizes that he has his hand's full combatting the diminutive devils. This leaves hin scratching his head...not realizing that he actually is about to face not one or two but five Doctor Spectros shortly! How will he triumph over their superior numbers and single minded strategy? Or is Team Spectro more divisive internally than it seems?

The Malevolent Legion of Jaggernauts quickly track down the Crusaders whereabouts at the Shield's secret mountain headquarters, and bring their host a house present in the form of quick de-feet (ouch). It becomes quickly apparent to the assembled gathering of guardians that these unwelcomed guests are not their old allies but are something wicked! And possessed as if of one solitary mind guiding their every action. And with not an ounce of fear in any of these sinister solitary forms.

In a return match against Captain Atom, the Doctors Spectro combine their limitless energy against the human nuclear furnace. And they make some headway,  thanks to the tactics employed by the purple Spectro. His agenda, however, is different from his fellow Lilliputians...he actually is good and wants to assume dominant control over the reconstituted Doctor. He realizes the good he could perform once he assimilaties his fellow beings.

The Crusaders make quick work of the Legion of Veggies as they lose their power source...the sun...when the Comet's uses his spaceship's tractor beam to pull Eterno's raised city base Atantis away from Earth and into the sun. While the Crusaders are whisked away thanks to Darkling's teleportation abilities, the Jaggernauts themselves never return (although Eterno does return at the dawn of the next century to join other villians).

The Spectro Doctors bask in the glow of victory over the Atomic Captain, however right when they are to merge and become one sentient being, Cap throws a patented atomic fireball at their machine's control panel. The result? One Dr. Spectro remains, weakened and led away by the authorities. However, the purple persona murmurs to himself. Will he turn over a new leaf? Alas when a Crisis occurs, he is once more in the villain's camp.

Next on Friday Fiends, we dissect the secret origins of the masters of moods before they multiplied into the teams we just considered.