If
we acknowledge Wonder Woman as the most successful superheroine of
the Golden Age, then I assert that second place must go to Mary
Marvel. This belief stems from her prolonged existence, lasting from
1942 through 1954, much longer than any other besides WW. She was
the creation of writer Otto Binder, who would later go on to invent
Supergirl at DC.
Besides
the characters of Fawcett’s ‘Shazam Universe’, the publisher
had many other popular heroic-adventure strips. In the pages of
MASTER COMICS, it’s
star was a superhero called Bulletman. Jim Barr’s dad was a
policeman who gave up his life in the line of duty, inspiring his boy
to devote his own life in the name of justice. Barr was a scrawny boy
who’d developed his mind more than his body. Unable to meet the
physical requirements of the police force he instead found himself
working in the crime lab. Independently he developed a compound that
gave him enhanced strength and a flying device that he called the
Gravity Regulator. This invention was conical in form and was worn as
a helmet. It’s shape resembled that of a bullet, inspiring the
naming of his action persona. The Gravity Regulator also allowed him
to repel bullets.
Over
at the lab, Jim worked with an assistant named Susan Kent. Before
long a romance developed and Barr shared his secret with Susan. But
he took it a step further by providing her with the compound and
building a second Gravity Regulator for her use. Together the pair
worked as ‘flying detectives’ in the pages of Master and also in
Bulletman’s own title.
Now
crossovers,
where characters from separate strips join together were stunt events
that had been going on almost from the beginning of superheroes. At
their essence they create excitement as a special occurrence and
commercially tried to draw fans of two different characters into
buying a comic that they may not have ordinarily done. The following
story is a rarity that pools together Fawcett’s two biggest female
stars.
Pat
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