Creating the worst character in DC history is an accomplishment of sorts.

According to any number of Silver Age buffs, DC’s Brother Power, The Geek is the worst character DC ever gave us.No question the story of a tailor’s dummy miraculously coming to life and wandering through “hippie land” is dreadful, part of the bizarre era of Joe Simon creations that included Prez. But for my money, the worst character in DC history is — no, I’m getting ahead of myself. Wait a few paragraphs, ‘kay?

After blogging Monday about editor Jack Schiff’s Strange Adventures superheroes it occurred to me to add the heroes in Schiff’s Tales of the Unexpected. Unlike Strange Adventures, this was a Schiff book from the get-go and incredibly “meh.” The stories in Unexpected kept the pages from being completely blank and that was all they accomplished. Though like most DC Silver Age books, the covers were perfectly designed to separate us readers from our loose change.

Okay, that last one is about as compelling as week-old chocolate pudding. But they can’t all be gems.

From #40-82 the book showcased futuristic superhero Space Ranger, a millionaire who fought crime with a raygun and a shapeshifting sidekick. After Schiff took over Mystery in Space, Space Ranger jumped to that book, leaving Unexpected without a core character. While Space Ranger was a C-lister he was also the second-longest running hero in any of the Schiff anthologies, coming in behind Martian Manhunter. Schiff’s other efforts for Unexpected wouldn’t come close.

First up, Automan. A robot-for-hire created by Professor Sterling, he had three forgettable stories before vanishing into obscurity. He had none of the personality Robert Kanigher gave to the Metal Men, or that John Broome, then Dave Wood gave to Ilda, the robot secretary to 21st century PI Star Hawkins (whom I mention for reasons I’ll get to).The second creation was DC’s true worst character, the Green Glob. Though “character” is the wrong word as it didn’t have one. It’s exactly what the name implies, a green glob that floats around and, starting in #85, brings people’s fantasies or fears to life. A man unsure about running for office gets a nightmarish view of what could happen if he doesn’t.A criminal fleeing from the law finds a way to escape when he stumbles into “The Supernatural Supermart.”The stories weren’t any better or that different from Unexpected‘s usual material but having the Green Glob at the center makes them feel worse: what’s the point of this creature flying around if all you get is more of the same? The Green Glob justifies the cover image and that’s about the only excuse for it.

The Schiff Strange Adventures heroes vanished as soon as he retired; Automan even before that. The Green Glob made it all the way into Unexpected #103, the first issue edited by Schiff successor Murray Boltinoff. That’s not a bad run for such a stupid concept. Boltinoff then introduced his own running characters: Johnny Peril, a reboot of a Golden Age character, and the Mad Mod Witch hosting the non-series anthology stories. Debuting a month after Cain in House of Mystery she didn’t catch on the same way and vanished into obscurity (she’d show up in Sandman eventually).

Surprisingly this wasn’t quite the end for either Automan or the Green Glob. Automan returned in the “Whatever Happened To …” backup series in DC Comics Presents. This backup series looked at characters who’d fallen into obscurity, mixed in with stories about characters who simply weren’t appearing anywhere just then (e.g., JSA members). One story resolved the cliffhanger with which the Western gunslinger Johnny Thunder ended his adventures; DC Comics Presents #33 tackled Star Hawkins. It turns out Automan has survived into Star’s 21st century setting and he winds up marrying Ilda, Star’s robot Girl Friday. It’s a cute story.The Green Glob showed up in Phil Foglio’s delightful Angel and the Ape series, shattering my conviction nobody but me remembered GG. Foglio reveals the Guardians of the Universe created the Green Glob to manifest people’s fantasies as a learning experience; it’s a better, cleverer origin than that emerald lump deserved.And with that we can say farewell to the strange heroic legacy of Jack Schiff.

#SFWApro. Covers top to bottom by Joe Simon, Dick Dillin, Lou Cameron, Jack Sparling, Jay Scott Pike, Murphy Anderson, Bernard Baily and Foglio.