Do You Think That a Little Thing Like a Broken Head Could End the Career of Theoprastus Bombastus Paracelsus?

I was taking a look at Red Band Comics #3, and I'll be jimmied if it wasn't the origin of CAPTAIN WIZARD!

Yeah, I never heard of him either.

The thumbnail version is he's a regular guy who got framed for murder (which, as every comic reader knows, guarantees he'll become a crime-fighter himself) and takes a turn into a wax museum whilst running from the cops:

That's right!  This random happenstance will, by an amazing coinkydink, give this guy his powers!

Okay, first: Am I the only one who thinks he looks like Mr. America?  And the similarities don't end there:

See?  The cape could move... almost like a flying carpet, which Mr. America had.

The cape could actually do a lot more.  Pretty much whatever Captain Wizard wished for, the cape would make it happen.  The sticking point is that, much like Johnny Thunder's Thunderbolt, he had to tell it what to do.

But what I found hilarious is that the cape was his only source of power.  The rest of that getup wasn't necessary at all.  I guess Theoprastus Bombastus Paracelsus had a sick sense of humor.

Hmmm... that's actually a rather subjective standard.  I'd kind of like to know where the cloak stands on quite a few social issues before I use it for flying into combat.  I'd hate to find out that the cloak had moral objections to violence before I plowed into a gaggle of mobsters, know what I mean?

Hey!  Here's a recycled name!

Yup!  His real name was Hugh Mann (I know... eesh).  He tried to fly to Mars and landed on Brutus, a planet of "supermen" (their words, DC Legal Department!) and was given that name because of his wits.  Personally, I like the Marvel character a lot more, but it's awesome to see that the name was in use decades before.  Comics history is fun!

See you tomorrow!