Mystic Comics #4 (1940)
written by: unknown
pencils by Klaus Nordling
cover by Alex Schomburg
We don’t actually know who wrote this one. Klaus Nordling has very few superhero stories to his credit, but he’s the co-creator of the adventurer Lady Luck.
Let’s leave the cover story for later and start with Thin Man. Who COULD have been the first “stretchy” superhero, beating Plastic Man by a year… but never used his powers THAT way.
Notice that, while there’s an infodump about his origins on the first panel…
…we actually DO witness his origin story. Then what’s the use of the infodump?
Our hero wakes up (fully costumed) in Discount Shangri-La, where everyone has the power to become thin.
Okay I kind of get why you gave him powers, since everyone has them in your society, but did you really need to change his clothes?
This story is still technically part of the Marvel Universe, so I look forward to meeting those Martians.
You “elected” him to join your society against his consent? What?
To show these guys that there’s still evil in the outside world, our hero ask to bring a GINORMOUS television screen.
Look, I’m not saying that people gunning down taxicabs isn’t a bad thing, but… this was published in June 1940, is this REALLY the most evil thing going on in the world!?!?
So our hero is allowed to return to the outside world to save taxicabs, together with his new love interest Olalla.
Yes.
That is her name.
These guys are not just masters of dieting and interdimensional travel, they have also wrecked thermodynamics!
As soon as the plane is back in the US… oh come on, I WAS KIDDING about taxicabs!!!
Seriously, is ALL the technology from Discount Shangri-La about taxicabs!?!?
The Taxi Viewer™ does indeed find images of a driver that is refusing to paying protection money.
Olalla might be reconsidering her life choices.
Thin Man manages to sneak into the base of the racketeers by, well, being really really thin.
So he beats them up…
…only to be knocked out THE NEXT PANEL.
Not that it matters: he wakes up in a car, tied up with ropes that do nothing.
Just in time to sneak out of the car…
…and MOW DOWN THE RACKETEERS.
Oh La La!!!
And so we end with the police commissioner finding a present from both Thin Man and Olalla.
Nice of him to credit her, I guess?
Historical significance: 1/0
Silver Age-ness: 7/10
Does it stand the test of time? 0/10
I can stretch this review only so far.
How close is this to the modern character? 5/10
This was the ONLY Golden Age appearance of Thin Man. He wouldn’t show up until 1976 in a story by, who else, Roy Thomas.
There, he was retconned into being a member of the Liberty Legion, a WWII-era team that didn’t actually exist in the Golden Age.
The color scheme of his costume was changed to green and yellow to be more distinctive.
He’s made a handful of appearances in stories set in the Golden Age.
But AMAZINGLY he showed up in the present, joining the New Invaders in 2004.
He’s kind of a badass in the New Invaders, mostly because it relies HEAVILY on him having the knowledge of the super-science from Discount Shangri-La and not on his lame powers.
That series recaps the origin story in a MUCH better light.
And there is no mention of freaking taxicabs!!!
But it’s also where we learn why Thin Man has a bad relationship with Captain America: because he murdered the Nazi responsible for destroying Discount Shangri-La.
In fact, he’s secretly one of the bad guys of the story.
It warms my heart that someone was willing to find SOME depth in freaking Thin Man.
But I also I have to show the artwork from his entry in the Marvel Handbook, because it’s hilarious.
So what else is in Mystic Comics #4? Aside from the Golden Age Black Widow, who will get her own review…
The cover story is about Hercules. Or should I say, one of the dozen or so Hercules-es from the Golden Age. This one lasted two stories.
We have the Blue Blaze, whose Golden Age career lasts four stories.
There’s Invisible Man, who really didn’t make an impression with just three stories.
There’s “Merzah the mystic”, whose name might make you believe he’s yet another Mandrake ripoff, but he’s the first telepathic mutant! Well, he only has one Golden Age story, but he was retconned into being a mutant.
There’s the fourth and last Golden Age story of Dynamic Man. Who (like Black Widow) would be completely forgotten until he was brought back by J. Michael Straczynski on “The Twelve”.
Considering he doesn’t do anything of interest before or after The Twelve, I’m skipping him.
And finally, we have Flexo. Who ALSO had the chance to beat Plastic Man as the first stretchy hero but dropped the ball.
This one’s an alien, with only four Golden Age stories. But he’s recently been retconned into being from the same race of the Venom symbiote, for some reason.
