One of the current retrospectives is following World’s Finest, and so far I’ve only considered the Superman/Batman stories. But at this point in the series it’s also publishing the Tommy Tomorrow series which is quite boring, and a Green Arrow series which so far has been exceedingly meh.
But this issue introduces a villain ludicrous enough to qualify for the villain origins: the Clock King. He’s not the first time-based villain I’ve covered so far, but he pre-dates Chronos by two years.
WORLD’S FINEST 111 (1960)
by Ed Herron & Lee Elias
We begin this short story with the Clock King planning to rob a costumed party.
It’s incredible just how frequent costumed parties are in superhero comics… you would think that with supervillains being a real thing they’d be rare!
His plan isn’t all that bad, but I’m distracted by his mask for two reasons.
First of all, how the heck does he see anything!?
Second, I’m really annoyed by the fact that the giant clock on his face is not actually a functioning clock.
And just how did the Clock King accomplish this feat? Does he have some kind of gadget that sabotages clocks? No, he just… moved the hands.
This looks like a job for Green Arrow, SOMEHOW, so he’s summoned by the Arrow-Signal.
Green Arrow and his sidekick Speedy track down the villain, but then the Clock King outsmarts them by… giving his costume to a statue.
I can’t help but feel underwhelmed, but at least whoever is writing those newspaper titles is having a great time!
Luckily Green Arrow is able to deduce that the Clock King is after clocks!
And they say that Batman is the World’s Greatest Detective.
To prove that he’s not a one-note villain, however, the Clock King is not going to rob a clock store!
Just the store NEXT to the clock store.
This was actually a clever(citation needed) ruse to lure Green Arrow and Speedy into the Clock King’s lair… which is full of clocks.
Green Arrow… you just fell into a trap by the Clock King. The freaking CLOCK KING.
Admit it, they let you into the Justice League because you bribed someone, didn’t you?
But don’t worry, he escapes because his arrows suck.
And that’s the end of the Clock King!
As a reminder, this is NOT supposed to be a parody.
Historical significance: 
Silver Age-ness: 
Does it stand the test of time?
How close is this to the modern character? 
I’ve made fun of Daredevil’s terrible rogues gallery during the Silver Age, but Green Arrow has it rough. Admittedly I haven’t read much of his original run, but the Clock King is the only one to have ANY sort of staying power. And often not even thanks to Green Arrow!
He’s MOSTLY known for being a joke villain in the post-Crisis version of the Justice League International by DeMatteis&Giffen.
But he probably has to thank Batman for being around in any serious story.
Because there WAS a Clock King in the 1966 TV series. Which, something rare for that series, was actually LESS ridiculous than the comics version.
That’s probably why there was a completely different Clock King in the Batman: The Animated Series from the 90s. And this one was actually an interesting villain!
There have been other people taking the mantle (WHY!?!?), but to be perfectly honest I haven’t read a single story where these people appear.
So, uhm, yeah, not much to say about this one. But I have to say something positive about the original Clock King: that is probably the most ridiculously Silver Age costume ever.
Just look at this doofus! Could he be taken seriously in ANY other era!?
