Monday, December 11, 2023

Russkie-Smashers WONDER BOY "Midnight Showdown"

Like a certain Man of Steel, this character was also a survivor of a doomed planet...
...now a castaway on Earth, battling evil (including Russkies, of course) during his 1940s-50s career!
The teenage Last Son of the Planet Viro, possessing super-strength, speed, and limited invulnerability, arrived on Earth inside a meteor in Quality's National Comics #1 (1940).
Though he came to Earth in his teens, he never referred to his family or life on Viro.
He wore civilian attire from time to time, but he didn't have a secret identity, and everybody called him "Wonder Boy" no matter how he was garbed!
Since he was created and owned by the Eisner/Iger Studio, which "packaged" stories and art for publishers, he and other Eisner/Iger characters (like studio mate Phantom Lady) would be leased to other publishers when contracts weren't renewed, or if the characters' rights were purchased by the client and continued by in-house staff, as was the case with Blackhawk, Uncle Sam, among others at Quality.
In Wonder Boy's case, he bounced from Quality to Elliot, then to Ajax-Farrell, who published this particular tale in Terrific Comics #16 (1955).
BTW, this tale may be a re-working of a previously-published comic story, which Eisner/Iger was notorious for, as shown HERE, where a story written and drawn for one character was modified/updated for a totally-different character!
Or, it may be a totally-new tale.
We're not yet certain.

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