VIRUS VIGILANTE (4)
By:
November 12, 2020
One in a series of posts about the Antiviral Alliance, a now-forgotten squad of comic-book vigilantes who during the years leading up to (and through) WWII worked tirelessly to prevent another Spanish Flu-like pandemic. Fun fact: The original intercompany crossover, this “event” would inspire National Comics and All-American Publications to form the Justice Society of America in 1940–1941.
Unlike many police officers today, who out of misguided machismo refuse to wear any sort of mask when out in public, Detective-Sergeant Stephen Thatcher exercised an abundance of caution when it came to contracting or spreading respiratory illnesses. Beginning in 1933, he “moonlighted” as The Moon Man, robbing criminals and distributing the loot to the poor… while sporting a spherical helmet of Argus (one-way mirror) glass. How did he breathe without fogging up his dome? It’s literally unclear.
The Moon Man is credited with inspiring the Antiviral Alliance. However, because he was never a comic-book character, he wasn’t a member.
First appearance: Ten Detective Aces, “The Sinister Sphere”, 06/01/33
Created by: Frederick C. Davis
INTRODUCING… THE ANTIVIRAL ALLIANCE. PRE-COMICS: THE MOON MAN (1933). ORIGINAL TRIO (joined forces in 1939): THE CLOCK | SANDMAN | FANTOM OF THE FAIR. AND THEN THERE WERE SEVEN (joined 1940): THE SHADOW | LADY LUCK | THE LAUGHING MASK | KINKS MASON. SECOND-WAVE SIX (joined 1941): BLAZING SKULL | THE CHALLENGER | THE THUNDERER | DOCTOR NEMESIS | HUMAN BOMB | THE VIGILANTE. LATE TO THE PARTY (joined post-1941): MICRO-FACE | THE DESERT EAGLE.
SIMILAR HILOBROW SERIES: MEET THE L.I.S. | 4CP FRIDAY — themed comic-book detail galleries | CHESS MATCH — a gallery | COMICALLY VINTAGE | DC — THE NEW 52 | FILE X — a gallery | KIRB YOUR ENTHUSIASM — 25 writers on 25 Jack Kirby panels | SECRET PANEL —Silver Age comics’ double entendres | SKRULLICISM