The THUNDER Agents are a wonderful blend of superhero and superspy universes enmeshed with a substantial science fiction glamour attached to it all. It is a comic series that is defined by its art as much if not more than any other. The names of the writers of most of the stories are forgotten or disputed, but the artist are much better documented. Wally Wood was given the brief to create the THUNDER Agents and in that mission he brought in such pros as Gil Kane, Mike Sekowsky, and Reed Crandall among others. But it was Wood who defined the series and its characters.
Not least among these was the evocative Iron Maiden, a villainess in the classic vein, desirous of the wealth that crime can bring but foiled time and again by her attraction to the hero Dynamo. What this voluptuous vixen ever saw in dim Len Brown is anyone's guess, but doubtless she wanted to "fix" him.
And he needed fixing. Dyanamo is a modern update of Captain Marvel in may ways. When needed the crackle of electricity and a flash of lightning mark the arrival of Dynamo thanks to his nifty belt that allows him for a brief time to become invulnerable and amazingly strong. Very often Dynamo is portrayed as a weapon, deployed into his missions from bomb bay doors and landing troop carriers. He's a one-man army who is constantly captured but always rescued, either by his own wits or more likely the arrival of his allies in THUNDER.
His greatest ally is NoMan. NoMan is Anthony Dunn, or better to say he was Anthony Dunn before the latter gave up his aged body to inhabit an army of android bodies, each of which is more powerful than his own. He uses a cloak to become invisible at times and is remarkable in that he "dies" in virtually every story he's in. It's a short-lived death as all he has to do it transport his mind into another android and he's at it again. He's effectively immortal in a way.
Menthor was a villain named John Janus who gets the third of THUNDER's great weapons, a helmet that makes him able to use telepathy and telekinesis among other things. Menthor intends to betray THUNDER but the helmet changes him and Janus becomes a true hero. He's a tragic hero because he is killed in the line of duty, a stunning turn of events in the day.
The THUNDER Squad is made up of four stalwarts who represent to varying degrees normal folks who serve the agency. There was a fifth member named Egghead but he was killed so quickly that he didn't even make the poster above. Dynamite shows up once a while to help on missions. Weed gets his own series as something of a light-hearted spy story and plays on his insecurity being among all the alpha males in THUNDER. Kitten is often on hand to turn the tables on the enemy who think she is an easy victim. Her looks affect the other agents from time to time. Not least of which is Guy Gilbert who leads the squad before becoming Lightning, a fourth super THUNDER Agent. He is given the gift of super speed but at the cost of time from his own life.
THUNDER begins in order to fight the Subterraneans, who first appear in the guise of the Warlord who commands an army of zombie soldiers. Soon the greater threat is revealed as all of the planet is threatened by these ghastly folk from deep in the Earth's bowels. THUNDER does eventually defeat them though they keep popping up from time to time.
One of the more fascinating creations of the Subterraneans is Andor. Drawn above by Dan Adkins (who gave his name to Dynamite) Andor is a human taken as a baby and reared in the underworld . He is trained and given inhuman abilities in order to battle the enemy which turns out to be THUNDER. He turns on his masters and becomes a wandering soul looking for his place in a strange world. He sometimes falls victim to his origins, but usually is able to stand up for himself. He's perhaps the most fascinating ongoing figure in the whole saga.
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