SIMBA KARNO

PERSONAL DATA 

REAL NAME: NA 

OCCUPATION: Nazi agent, professional criminal, adventurer 

IDENTITY: Secret 

CLASS: Mutate human 

LEGAL STATUS: Citizen of Austria 

OTHER ALIASES: The Scourge 

PLACE OF BIRTH: Vienna (Austria) 

MARITAL STATUS: Single 

KNOWN RELATIVES: Jakob Karno (foster father) 

GROUP AFFILIATIONS: NA 

BASE OF OPERATIONS: Mobile 

FIRST APPEARANCE: Blue Bolt v02 #01 (June 1941) 

HEIGHT: 6' 8" 

WEIGHT: 350 lbs 

EYES: Blue 

HAIR: Blond 

HISTORY 

Jakob Karno was a very brilliant scientist, but also an unscrupulous man. He had been greatly impressed by a lecture by Professor Blair on human enhancement and decided to carry out his own experiment. After getting a baby in an orphanage, he put all his efforts into making him a super-man... A super-man completely under his orders. Karno called the boy Simba. Simba's development paralleled Dick Cole's, in a way, his reflection on the other side of the mirror. It was then that the Nazis came to power in Germany and the annexation of Austria took place. Dr. Karno quickly became a leading member of the party. By 1941 Simba and Karno had already carried out numerous missions for Hitler (robbery, kidnapping, assassination). Their next assignment was to eliminate Dr. Blair and his ward. After several clashes ended in a draw, Simba turned against Karno, seeing the difference in treatment that Dr. Blair gave to his ward. Simba crippled brutally Dr. Karno and left him abandoned to his fate. From that moment on he began working independently, free from Dr. Karno's agenda or the Nazis. He continued antagonizing with Dick, although little by little their relationship became a mere competition to see which one was the best, and even, much later, a certain fraternity, for both sharing a similar origin.  

POWERS & WEAPONS 

Because of the chemical compounds Dr. Karno administered to him during his upbringing, Simba was stronger, faster, and more agile than the average human. In fact, Simba was much stronger and heavier than his American counterpart. Like Dick Cole, he could get injured, but he was generally tougher than a normal human and also healed much faster. Mentally he was also above average, though due to Karno's upbringing, he was much more aggressive and less cerebral. 

KARNO

PERSONAL DATA 

REAL NAME: Jakob Karno 

OCCUPATION: Scientist, government agent, terrorist 

IDENTITY: Secret 

CLASS: Human technology user/Genius level intellect 

LEGAL STATUS: Citizen of Austria 

OTHER ALIASES: Dr. Karno, The Chessmaster 

PLACE OF BIRTH: Vienna, Austria 

MARITAL STATUS: Single 

KNOWN RELATIVES: Simba Karno (foster son) 

GROUP AFFILIATIONS: Chessmen (leader) 

BASE OF OPERATIONS: Vienna (Austria); Mobile; Fox City (USA) 

FIRST APPEARANCE: Wonderworld Comics #9 (May 1940) 

HEIGHT: 5' 10" 

WEIGHT: 215 lbs 

EYES: Blue 

HAIR: Brown 

HISTORY 

Jakob Karno was a very brilliant scientist, but also an unscrupulous man. He had been greatly impressed by a lecture by Professor Blair on human enhancement and decided to carry out his own experiment. After getting a baby in an orphanage, he put all his efforts into making him a super-man... 

A super-man completely under his orders. Karno called the boy Simba. Simba's development paralleled Dick Cole's, in a way, his reflection on the other side of the mirror. It was then that the Nazis came to power in Germany and the annexation of Austria took place. Karno quickly became a leading member of the party. By 1941 Dr. Karno and Simba had already carried out numerous missions for Hitler (robbery, kidnapping, assassination). Their next assignment was to eliminate Dr. Blair and his ward. After several clashes ended in a draw, Simba turned against Karno, seeing the difference in treatment that Dick Cole received from his mentor. After crippling him, Simba left Dr. Karno abandoned to his fate. Karno would take several decades to reappear, trapped on a wheelchair and calling himself "the Chessmaster". When the Chessmaster and his Chessmen kidnapped young heiress Irene Jonson and scientist Dr. Fung and his young assistant, american Dan Barrister, the old hero Crimson Moth came to the rescue. Unfortunately Crimson Moth was defeated by the Chessmen and killed. But thanks to the hero's sacrifice, Fung, Barrister and Irene managed to escape taking with them one of the Chessmen's combat suits. Fung modified the uniform for his assistant to wear, calling himself the Crimson Moth, after the man who had sacrificed his life for them. Barrister (with Fung's help) managed to defeat the Chessmen and turned Karno over to justice to finally pay for all of his crimes. 

POWERS & WEAPONS 

Karno was a true scientific genius with extensive resources. He also had his Chessmen, brainwashed henchmen blindly faithful to him, who wore bulletproof flying suits and carried futuristic weapons. 

MOTH

PERSONAL DATA 

REAL NAME: NA 

OCCUPATION: Adventurer 

IDENTITY: Secret 

CLASS: Magically empowered human (supposedly) 

LEGAL STATUS: DECEASED 

OTHER ALIASES: Crimson Moth 

PLACE OF BIRTH: NA 

MARITAL STATUS: NA 

KNOWN RELATIVES: NA 

GROUP AFFILIATIONS: Ultimate Super Agents (USA) 

BASE OF OPERATIONS: Mobile 

FIRST APPEARANCE: Mystery Men Comics #9 (April 1940) 

HEIGHT: 6' 0" 

WEIGHT: 189 lbs 

EYES: Black 

HAIR: Black 

 

HISTORY 

The first hero known as Crimson Moth was a true man of mystery. He used to act on Fox City and was a member of Ultimate Super Agents (USA), but other than that, little else is known about him.

When Jakob Karno, aka the ChessMaster, and his Chessmen kidnapped scientist Dr. Fung and his young assistant, american Dan Barrister, the old hero Crimson Moth came to the rescue. Unfortunately Crimson Moth was defeated by the Chessmen and killed. But thanks to the hero's sacrifice, Fung, Barrister and young heiress Irene Jonson managed to escape taking with them one of the Chessmen's combat suits. Fung modified the uniform for his assistant to wear, calling himself the Crimson Moth, after the man who had sacrificed his life for them. Barrister (with Fung's help) managed to defeat the Chessmen and turned Karno over to justice to finally pay for all of his crimes. Dan, as Crimson Moth, was part of The Crime Smashers Unlimited, where he met and formed an unbreakable friendship with his partner Rip Regan, aka the Power Jacket. 

POWERS & WEAPONS 

The first Crimson Moth possessed authentic super-powers, such as increased strength, great resistance to physical damage, and the ability to fly. He never revealed the true origin of those powers. Crimson Moth II, for his part, wore a bulletproof battle-suit (a modified Chessmen one), which allowed him to fly and wielded a gas gun as weapon.