Wizard (Archie Comics)

The Wizard is a fictional superhero character created by Will Harr and Edd Ashe, Jr. for MLJ Comics, which later became Archie Comics. He first appeared in "Top-Notch Comics #1" in December 1939, and he was the headliner of that title until its cancellation in 1944. He was one of the earliest superhero characters to appear after the debut of Superman in 1938.

His real name is Blane Whitney, a man of great intelligence. In his youth he met President Woodrow Wilson, who told him to use his brain only for good and not for evil. This influenced him to defend America against its enemies. While in college, he was a superb athlete and student. His brother Grover, chief of the Naval Intelligence Service, usually informed him of enemy plots against America. To aid him in his fight against these enemies, the Wizard had various contraptions and machines of his own design available to him, like a vibra-ray gun and a car that could reach up to 500 mph. He had several devices that enabled him to fly. Coming from a rich family, he also had airplanes and submarines at his disposal. ["Top-Notch Comics #1", MLJ Comics, December 1939]

At first, the Wizard, similar to other MLJ superheroes like the Black Hood and the Firefly, did not possess superpowers but was merely a man with great physical and mental prowess. He eventually exhibited super-strength and great mental powers, including a "photographic mind," enabling him to see scenes far away from him, hypnosis, and telepathy. He also started consuming capsules containing a secret formula that replenished his superstrength.

Another Blane Whitney during the American Revolution was the first Wizard, and he helped General Washington in his battles against the British and the Native Americans. At a young age, he too exhibited fantastic abilities.

In his early appearances, the Wizard wore a tuxedo and cape, thus he was similar in appearance to Mandrake the Magician. At first, his cape and mask were white. His costume was eventually simplified into blue tights with red trunks, cape, and mask. This costume made him invulnerable.

The enemies of America that the Wizard faced in each adventure were usually from a fictitious country, like Bundonia, but due to facial features or accents made apparent in speech balloons, these enemies were obvious, unflattering caricatures of Germans, Soviets, or Japanese.

Usually, after each adventure, the last panel would feature a note from the Wizard that read: "Our country / right or wrong / our country / The Wizard."

After several months of publication, the Wizard was given a sidekick named Roy the Super Boy, who was an orphan and a bootblack. Admiring the boy's courage, Blane trained him until he had the strength of ten men. ["Top-Notch Comics #8", MLJ Publications, Sept. 1940] Roy would later join The Shield's sidekick in the super-duo Boy Buddies. ["Special Comics #1", MLJ Comics, Winter 1941.]

Blane Whitney also had a girlfriend named Jane Barlowe, who was a newspaper reporter. She was often disgusted with his playboy lifestyle (Blane enjoyed playing polo). She developed an attraction to his superheroic alter-ego, creating an odd love triangle that is quite common in comic books (i.e. Superman/Lois Lane/Clark Kent, Hal Jordan/Carol Ferris/Green Lantern).

The Wizard was popular enough to receive a second publication alongside another MLJ superhero, The Shield. "Shield-Wizard Comics" first appeared with a Summer, 1940 cover date. He started sharing cover appearances of "Top-Notch Comics" with the Black Hood, an indication of waning popularity. "Top-Notch" was converted into a humorous publication in 1942, but the Wizard continued to appear in "Shield-Wizard Comics" until its cancellation in Spring, 1944.

Archie Comics, formerly known as MLJ Comics, revived its superhero line in the 1960s, but the Wizard returned as a villain and with a different appearance. He had a beard and wore a new outfit. He fought The Mighty Crusaders, a team consisting of many old MLJ heroes. In the 1980s revival, he returned as a hero, with no mention of his villainous period.. Since then, the Wizard has been appearing sporadically throughout the Archie Comics titles on irregular bases.

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