Team-Up Tuesdays: More on our Obscure Teams!

Let's once more revist two grovy gangs of good guys from the mid-60's, which we had discussed earlier, the T.H.U.N.D.E.R Agents and the Sentational Sentinels of Justice. First the highflying Helio and Raven:

Both men wore special gear that allows them to fly. While Helio was all around good guy Rick Strong, natural born leader of the Sentinels, Raven was one time con artist Craig Lawson, who finds the Agents' heroic ways rubbing of on him.

Meanwhile, a pair of mentally powered rogues were waiting in the wings (no pun intended) to frustrate our noble teams, Menthor and Mind-Bender.

Due to the device he wore, Menthor (John Janus) eventually turned good, first while wearing it and later it influenced him full time. Mind Bender (identity unknown) apparently never had a compulsion towards the welfare of his fellow man, either before or after his accident.

Helio soon clashed with Mind-Bender after this mad man brainwashed Brute. During the course of a lengthy battle, gravity got the better of Bender leading to a gruesome demise for the arch villain.

Menthor however met his ultimate fate valiantly warning his allies of a death trap, showing his heroic spirit.

Years later, he apparently returned via a residual mental presence housed inside his helmet, now worn by a mysterious new heroine as Menthor.

While Helio's further adventures, if he had any, were left unchronicled, Raven returned years later alongside his T.H.U.N.D.E.R. compatriots to battle an early 80's alien invasion then return to relative anonymity. Next week we will touch on the fascinating connection of these teams to our publishers!

Team-Up Tuesdays: Ageless Androids

Last Thursday we were introduced to the forgotten team, the Sensation Sentinels (of Justice, according to Helio when he first named them) and the classic team, the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents (The Higher United Nations Defense Enforcement Reserves). And the three graments of power worn by their members created by deceased scientists Doctor Emil Jennings and Professor Jones Kolotov. Let's pause for a moment to consider two extremely resilient androids involved with these teams: Noman and Titan:

Noman was the creation of Professor Anthony Dunn, an aging scientist who discovered the key to immortality in a strong android body that absorbed his brainwaves. He soon joined T.H.U.N.D.E.R. and wore one of the garments of power, a cloak that granted him invisiblity.

 

Titan was the creation of the mysterious Mind Bender, a renegade telepathic scientist whose true identity was never revealed. Titan first appeared opposing the Sentinels and displaying a remarkable level of self-awareness programmed into his strong android body.

These two androids would not, as it turned out, be alone among their kind. Their creators foresaw the need to create multiple bodies to house brain patterns that lost their human form. This proved essential as they were both, well, accident-prone? Or rather, disaster-prone.

Professor Dunn, through his Noman host, had a long and distinguished career serving with his fellow Agents, from November 1965 until November 1968 in all new stories. In 1983, he returned alongside his compatriots. Meanwhile, Mind Bender's plan to upload the minds of Helio and Mentalia of the Sentinels in Titan's two remaining bodies led to his and his creation's doom. Neither were seen again (nor were his foes).

Next week, we'll get back on track as we investigate the other members of these silver age teams and their actual connections to our publishers (and characters) of choice here at CvsMMLJ.