It’s a crazy thought, but maybe some super-villains deserve oblivion

A couple of months ago, I cited Flash #209 and Batman #234 as the beginning of what would become a Bronze Age trend — writers using supervillains again rather than “realistic” or “relevant” adversaries. And those are the two heroes to start with because Batman and Flash both have great Rogue’s Galleries. Writing Flash, Cary Bates would bring Barry Rogue’s Gallery back very quickly; on the Bat-books we’d have to wait for 1973 to see the Joker and 1974 for Penguin and Catwoman. Makes me wonder if Two-Face got to return first because he was never on the Adam West TV show. This was the era when we were all still embarrassed that campy show defined the medium for non-comics fans.

Not long after those issues came out, we get two more examples. World’s Finest #207 gave us “A Matter of Light and Death” by Lein Wein and Dick Dillin (cover by Curt Swan). A mystery villain equips some cheap thugs with a magic staff to kill Superman. It turns out the mastermind is Doctor Light, absent from comics since 1968 (1967 if you want more than a cameo). He’s figured out magic generates a small amount of light, and how to collect that energy — presto, a magic weapon of his own! Now he can resume his plan to wipe out the JLA one by one — and he’ll start with Superman!

Needless to say, Batman and Superman are not down with this. It’s a solid, fun story by Wein, showing the talent he’d soon bring to Justice League of America and was already bringing to Phantom Stranger. 

Meanwhile, over at Marvel, Archie Goodwin’s brief run on Fantastic Four brought back the Fantastic Four’s old foe, the alchemist Diablo. Diablo’s a minor foe compared to Dr. Light; after a couple of clashes with the FF in 1964, he vanished until 1969’s Marvel Super-Heroes #20 [wrong! See John King’s comment for the two appearances I missed]. Now, in “The Flame and the Quest” (Goodwin, John Buscema, Buscema cover) he returns from the dead future Earth to which Dr. Doom exiled him in that third story. He also enslaves Crystal with an alchemical potion and starts taking over Central America. Johnny Storm, of course, has objections.

(I will note here my earlier assumption Crystal didn’t return to the series between Fantastic Four #99 and her meeting Quicksilver was dead wrong).

These are both good stories, though the Diablo one is more formulaic. And both Light and Diablo are decent foes. Nonetheless, these two issues foreshadow one of the downsides of the Bronze Age, a heavy reliance on the villains of the Silver Age, even the C-listers, rather than creating new ones.

Look at Fantastic Four, for example. Over the Bronze Age we’d see a few new foes such as Thundra (though she’s tied in to a story from Savage Tales #1, she stands on her own) but we’d a lot more Silver Age recyled villainy.

Galactus, with a new herald, returns yet again.

The Monster was a one-shot from Fantastic Four #97 (cover by Kirby) —

— who returns in #124.

Kala, a subterranean tyrant from 1963’s Tales of Suspense (Kirby cover)—

— returns in FF #127.

Fantastic Four #135 brought back Gregory Gideon.

I enjoyed his original appearance eight years before but it worked perfectly as a one-and-done. No need to return him.

There was less need to return the Miracle Man in FF #138. In his original appearance (FF #3), he faked miracles with mass hypnosis; now though, he has real reality-warping power! It didn’t help.

The FF wasn’t unique. After the first issue of The Cat (cover by Marie Severin), pitting Greer Nelson against a power-hungry millionaire, she ran into the Owl (covers below by John Romita)—

Commander Kraken —

– and Man-Bull.

I suppose the Owl might have drawn in some Daredevil fans but the other two? I think not. #2, dealing with the fallout from the first issue, at least relates to the Cat’s world; #s 3 and 4 could have been the Black Widow or the Scarlet Witch just as easily.

All that said, I loved these returning rogues at the time (okay, not Man-Bull). Hell, I was absolutely thrilled when some obscure C-lister turned back up, though I’m not sure why. And no question Steve Englehart could take obscure figures like the Space Phantom or Deadshot and make them into B and A-listers. Most writers, though, didn’t do anything equally creative with their new-old toys. It feels closer now to them being self-indulgent, having fun playing in the sandbox they loved as kids or teens.

Rereading now, I’m thinking it was more fun for them than it is for me.

Flash cover by Neal Adams. FF covers by Buscema unless stated otherwise.