The "Wingless" Wizard is one of those somewhat quaint villains who fell out of favor when Marvel Comics got supercharged and cosmic. Guys like the Wizard seemed to be loosely motivated, seemingly coming back again and again, suffering defeat after defeat for little more than pure pride. He started out fighting only the Human Torch, but became the leader (of sorts) of the Frightful Four. He along with The Trapster (formerly Paste-Pot Pete) seemed quickly to get outpaced by Medusa who was part of the enimatic Inhumans and the Sandman who got a redesign by Kirby which really clicked. They tried it here with the Wizard, introducing his "Wonder Gloves", but it never really seemed to matter.
Paste Pot Pete: great villain name only Stan & Jack could have come up with…
ReplyDeleteI first met him as "The Trapster" but I agree that Paste Pot Pete is by far the better name.
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I love the Frightful Four. I think they are the best FF villains other than Doctor Doom.
ReplyDeleteBut yeah did you ever notice that villains in DC comics are usually robbing something but villains in Marvel just attack the hero
As I've gotten older, the motivations of villains has made more of a difference. Once upon a time, it was a enough that they just cause trouble, but later I cared about what motivated them. Money is logical.
DeleteAlways loved the Frightful Four, although most of the time I read about them, there were only three. Liked when Thundra was one.
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Yeah they never could find a permanent fourth. I think Klaw was the natural choice. He joined when Englehart was writing the FF.
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