Created by:
Harry Shorten & Edd Ashe
Real Name:
Blain Whitney
Joined Mighty Crusaders:
In an untold story prior to Archie's Weird
Mysteries #3
First Appearance:
Top-Notch Comics #1, December 1939
Origin:
Trained from youth to be a mental wizard, Blain possesses a photographic memory
and supersensory perception, which allow him to tune into criminal activity. His
costume also made him invulnerable.
Joined the Mighty Crusaders
History:
Ever since the founding of the United States of
America, members of the Whitney family have served America and have
helped the country in its hour of need. Among those members of the
Whitney family who have served America include such notables as General
Steven Whitney, who had helped cover General George Washington's retreat
from Long Island and cleared the way to Valley Forge; Capt. Ambrose
Whitney, who was a privateer commander during the War of 1812; Major
Thomas Whitney, who accepted Robert E. Lee's saber at Appomattox
Courthouse on behalf of Gen. Ullysses S. Grant to end the Civil War; and
James Whitney, a federal agent with the Bureau of Indian Affairs who
signed a treaty with several tribes of Native Americans to put an end to
a series of raids against white settlers. They were among the many
members of the Whitney family to serve America at her darkest hour (Top-Notch
Comics #1).
But what is not known about the Whitney family is that in each
generation, one member of that family emerged with mental abilities that
far exceeded those of any man at that time. These great mental powers
included possesing photographic memories, genius level intellegence, and
most importantly; super sensory perception which is the ability to
mentally picture events that are occurring at a distance. When combined
with a very formidable knowledge of the science and technology of the
times, this transformed any member of the Whitneys who possessed these
powers into a virtual wizard. It was these abilities that led certain
members of the Whitney family to adopt the identity of the Wizard and
under that identity, fought any threats to the United States.
The first of the American Wizards to emerge was Blane Whitney, Sr., who
during the American Revolution, fought against threats from the British
(Shield-Wizard Comics #1). The
next Wizard to emerge was his son, Blane Whitney, Jr who fought against
the British during the War of 1812 (Shield-Wizard
Comics #2). And in each suceeding generation of Whitneys, a new
Wizard emerged to fight against America's enemies. Each one of them
donning the red cloak and red domino mask that was to become the
trademark of the Wizard. All off this cullimated in the emergence of the
Wizard of the World War II era, Blane Whitney.
As a child of 14, Blane Whitney was showing signs of mental wizardry
when he invented a powerful solvent that could burn through battleship
steel. On the advice of President Woodrow Wilson, he chose to use his
mental gifts wisely and n the service of his country. Whitney would soon
graduate from both high school and college with the highest honors (and
very likely a doctorate or two). During his college days, he also
excelled in athletics where he developed his physique and athletic
abilities to above-Olympian levels. He would also develop his scientific
and engineering abilities to the maximum which allowed him to invent the
ultra-sophisticated devices that he would later use as the Wizard. His
mental abilities were now on the level of those of his ancestors and
would eventually become even stronger.
After his graduation form college, Blane Whitney used the tremendous
wealth of his family to allow him to begin his career as the Wizard. He
adopted the cover image of being a shiftless socialite who would rather
play polo or host a social function than do anything constructive. Only
his brother Admiral Grover Whitney of Naval Intellegence knew that this
was only a cover for his activities as the Wizard. Blane even took
advantage of his socialite image by using the formal attire he wore to
some social functions and teamed it with the red cape and domino mask
worn by previous Wizards to wear as his costumed identity. His immense
wealth combined with his super-scientific knowledge allowed him to
create the arsenal of weapons and devices he would use in his battle
against evil. And to make his physical prowless equal to that of his
super-mental powers, he invented a serum that increased his strength to
superhuman levels.
In his first recorded case, the Wizard
smashed a plot by the Jatsonians to destroy the submarine base at
Pearl Harbor (Top-Notch #1).
In his next few cases, he fought against plots to attack America by
such foriegn menaces as the Sybernians who tried to invade North
America through Alaska (Top-Notch
#2); the Borentals, who tried to destroy the Panama Canal (Top-Notch
#3); and the Bundonians who tried to bomb the state of Texas
(Top-Notch #4). In each
case, he left his calling card with the defeated invaders. The
calling card bore a picture of the American flag along with the
phrase "Our Country right or wrong, - Our Country! (signed) The
Wizard". But his greatest mission was ahead of him.
In mid 1940, the country of Mosconia plotted a series of attacks to
destablize America and allow for an easy takeover of the country.
They first tried to kill the Wizard in his civilian identity of
Blane Whitney by planting a bomb in his house. He survived the
explosion and another attempted bombing by putting the plotters'
house in the path of the enemy bombs. He then prevented the
destruction of the Capitol by catching a shell fired by the
Mosconians in mid-air and hurling it back at them. After learning of
a plot to destroy both West Point and Annapolis via his
super-sensory perception; the Wizard allerted the FBI to this plot
and to other threats from the Mosconians. This led to his first
meeting with another newly-emerging "mystery man", the Shield.
With the Shield helping to smash any other plots by the Mosconians,
the Wizard was free to smash the plots against Annapolis and West
Point. ANd with the aid of Midshipman Lee Sampson (at Annapolis) and
Cadet Keith Kornell (at West Point), the Wizard was able to smash
both potential attacks by the Mosconians. He also managed to rescue
his brother Grover from being killed with poison gas by his
Mosconian captors and an attempt to bury both of them alive with
cement. After getting out of that death-trap, the Wizard left the
Mosconians go to try to track down their leader. Thus was the
beginning of his greatest mission (Top-Notch
#5).
After rescuing his brother Grover, the Wizard and
Grover discussed what they knew about the spy activities of the
Mosconians. He then managed to get a vision of the Mosconian invaders,
only to learn that they were planning a massive series of attacks. This
led to the Wizard practically waging a one-man full scale war against
the Mosconians. He managed to save a city and the Army from attacks by
the Mosconians. He then sent a message to Grover to have the U.S. Fleet
meet up with him to smash a potential invasion of California (Top-Notch
#6).
The Wizard then proceeded to the Mosconian's hidden headquarters on
Washington's state border with Canada. He managed to break in to the
Mosconians' headquarters and encountered the Mosconian heads, including
their leader the Master-Mind. As he unmasked the Master-Mind - who
turned out to be the Mosconian ambassador - the Master-Mind sprayed a
corossive amonium chemical in the Wizard's eyes blinding him. Although
blinded by the chemical, the Wizard still managed to destroy the
Mosconian headquarters and - via his robot-piloted stratoplane - reach
Cailfornia where - as Blane Whitney - he had emergency surgery to
restore his sight.
Knowing that the Wizard had been blinded by the chemical, the
Master-Mind and what was left of his spy ring began planning to launch
their ultimate attack, to destroy the Golden Gate Bridge leaving mass
transportation vunerable. Knowing that they could use acid against his
eyes or could use any other means to harm him, the Wizard created a
special uniform to protect him from any harm. That uniform turned out to
be the now-familiar blue and red costume that he would wear for the rest
of his career. With the aid of the Shield, the Wizard smashed the plot
to destroy the Golden Gate Bridge and destroy the Mosconian spy ring and
capture the Master-Mind puting an end to the Mosconian threat once and
for all (Top-Notch #7).
In September of 1940, newspaper publisher
John Howard was murdered by mobsters working for racketeer Benny
Schultz. Blaine Whitney came upon Schultz's men as they tried to
kill Howard's would-be rescuer and the only witness to the killing,
a 12 year old orphan by the name of Roy Rossman. As the Wizard,
Whitney fought against the killers and with Rossman's aid,
apprehended them. Impressed by the boy's bravery and fighting
abilities, the Wizard began training the boy to become his junior
partner. He would also - as Blane Whitney - become the boy's legal
guardian.
His first case with his new junior partner - Roy, the Super Boy -
was to destroy Schultz's mob and also destroy the corrupt political
machine of Schultz's ally, Mayor Beadle. Schultz himself would meet
his untimely end when attempted to destroy the newspaper that was
once owned by the late John Howard (now owned by Blane Whitney).
During the climatic battle with the Wizard and Roy, Schultz fell
into the presses and was crushed to death by the presses. And due to
a series of articles written by Jane Barlow (Whitney's one-time
fiancee who became a reporter for the paper), Mayor Beadle's
polictical machine was destroyed as well and he lost the election by
a landslide (Top-Notch #8).
Probably because of his new-found responsiblity to the community at
large he gained through his work as newspaper publisher Blane
Whitney, the Wizard began concentrating most of his efforts on
smashing crime and corruption on the city and state level. But that
didn't stop him and Roy from occasionally going after any threats to
national security. Among those threats included a Nazi bund that was
terrorizing German-American businesses (Top-Notch
#22) and the Nazi saboteur Doctor Defeet (Shield-Wizard
#11). And like more than a few of his contemporaries in the
"mystery man" field, he encountered more than quite a few colorful
adversaries such as the Jingler and the Purple Mafia. And in the
meantime, Roy began teaming up frequently with the Shield's junior
partner Dusty and began fighting crime as the Boy Buddies.
The Wizard's celebrated career lasted until the end of World War II.
His postwar life and his fate (and that of Roy) remains unknown and
has long been the subject of many rumors. These rumors were further
fueled by the emergence of a magic powered super criminal calling
himself the Wizard who bedeviled an earlier incarnation of the
Mighty Crusaders. The rumor that this Wizard was actually the Wizard
of the 1940's was started by his appearance on the scene.
Fortunately the reputation of the Wizard as a great superhero
remains largely intact and continues to inspire generations of
heroes to the present. Considering the threats to America that have
since emerged during the opening years of the 21st century, it
wouldn't be too surprising to see another generation of Whitneys
emerge to serve America in her hour of need. Nor would it be too
surprising to see the emergence of another member of that clan to
don the familiar red cloak and mask of the Wizard.
Powers & Weapons:
The Wizard has a photographic memory, a powerful mind, invulnerability,
and supersensory perception. He creates such weapons as the Dynamagno-Saw
ray projector secret formula F22X, and the H2-VX-0 ray.
Checklist:
