Mister Mind
The Monster Society Of Evil is a fictional team of supervillains published first by Fawcett Comics, then by DC Comics. It is historically important for being the first supervillain group in comics, for its huge roster, and for its epic-length introductory story. The Monster Society Of Evil first appeared in Captain Marvel Adventures #22.
Earth-2
The first appearance of the Monster Society, chronologically, was in All-Star Squadron #51-54 (November 1985 to February 1986). In the universe known as Earth-2, Mr. Mind came to Earth during World War II, drawn by its radio broadcasts; he especially loved Charlie McCarthy. Upon learning his beloved Charlie was not real, he decided to conquer the world instead. To this end, he formed the first Monster Society Of Evil, which was merely a shadow of what was to come. Not long after its founding, the other villains tried to kill him, and Mr. Mind retreated to Earth-S. Without his leadership, the team was quickly defeated in battle by the All-Star Squadron.
Membership:
- Mr. Mind, two-inch talking worm with telepathic powers and a genius intellect
- Dummy, a living puppet
- Mr. Who, superstrong criminal genius
- Nyola, magic-wielding Aztec priestess
- Oom, giant animate statue with magical powers
- Ramulus, alien with the ability to control plants
"Nightmares From Now On"
As a side-effect of the Crisis On Infinite Earths, Mr. Mind arrived in the universe of Earth-S sometime around 1846 (it was mentioned in this story that he had been working on a weapon for 97 years). His brilliant intellect, telepathic powers, and ruthlessness allowed him to conquer much of space, establishing bases on many different worlds as well as varied locations on Earth. He recruited supervillains, armies, and entire alien species to aid him in his attempt to conquer the Earth. He began his reign of terror on Earth in 1943, boasting that he and the Monster Society Of Evil would give the world's greatest superhero, Captain Marvel, "nightmares from now on." Easily the longest story of the Golden Age of Comics, his attempts to do so were featured in Captain Marvel Adventures #22-46 (March 1943 to May 1945).
He had many and varied plans: to steal magical, future-telling pearls; to lead the Allied army in Africa astray; to bomb Pearl Harbor a second time; to crush North America beneath a giant glacier; to make Captain Marvel his mental slave; to topple all the buildings in Captain Marvel's home city; to trap the United States in eternal darkness; to move the Great Wall Of China to crush the Chinese Army; to immobilize the air fleet of Australia; to use the ten-mile-wide gun "Great Big Bertha" to literally blow holes in America and Russia; to invade Scotland from an artificial island; to cause a giant volcano to erupt in the middle of Britain; to literally blow the Earth in two; to make a movie about himself to intimidate the world; to destroy Earth's armies with a Black Death Ray; to publish a book about himself to try and convince everyone he should be their rightful leader; to create a vicious, multi-headed Hydra; to smash an asteroid into America; and to wreck the world's navies. But Captain Marvel stopped them all, dismantled all of his resources, and arrested, frightened away, or accidentally killed all of his henchmen. Finally, a desperate Mr. Mind attacked Captain Marvel's alter ego, Billy Batson, with ether and left him unconscious. But he then realized that without his henchmen, he was practically helpless and unable to kill him. He tried frantically to push a live electrical wire onto Billy, who woke up just in time. Mr. Mind fled into the infrastructure of radio station WHIZ, Billy's place of work, but with a little help from an exterminator, Captain Marvel soon captured the world's wickedest worm and the Earth could sleep soundly again.
Membership:
- Mr. Mind
- Archibald, satyr
- An army of termites and worms
- Artifical bodies Mr. Mind could mentally inhabit, consisting of:
- A Goat-Man, half-man, half-goat
- A robot, seemingly indestructible
- An octopus with a human face, constantly grinning
- A circus strongman, with strength rivalling that of Captain Marvel himself
- Bonzo, fanged hunchback with large eyes
- Captain Nazi, superstrong Aryan warrior
- Crocodile-Men, a race of humanoids from the planetoid Punkus
- Dobbin, Mr. Mind's seahorse steed
- Dome attendants who tend to Mr. Mind's undersea base, consisting of:
- A pig-man
- A goblin
- A werewolf
- An ogre
- A midget submarine captain, the last of Mr. Mind's minions to leave him
- Dr. Hashi, spiky-haired Japanese scientist
- Dr. Peeyu, tall Japanese scientist
- Dr. Sivana, the "world's wickedest scientist"
- Dr. Smashi, short Japanese scientist and one of Mr. Mind's three lieutenants
- Evil Eye, monster with the ability to hypnotize
- Herkimer, Crocodile-Man and Mr. Mind's second-in-command
- Herr Phoul, bald Nazi scientist with a monocle and one of Mr. Mind's three lieutenants
- Adolf Hitler and all the resources of Nazi Germany
- Hydra, head-regenerating monster created by Mr. Mind
- IBAC, criminal who sold his soul for superstrength and durability
- Jeepers, last of a race of bat-monsters
- Jorrk, greatest scientist of the Crocodile-Men and one of Mr. Mind's three lieutenants
- Marmaduke, criminal with big ears and a fat face
- Monster Brigade, undersea monsters under Mr. Mind's command, consisting of:
- A sperm whale
- A giant octopus
- A hammerhead shark
- A huge sea-serpent
- Monster Professors, teachers at Mr. Mind's Monster School, consisting of:
- A human,
- A Crocodile-Man,
- A fanged monster,
- A humanoid with the head of a hippopotamus
- Monster Students, pupils at the Monster School, consisting of:
- Human tough guys
- Crocodile-Men
- A black, horned demon
- Mr. Banjo, criminal and leaker of secrets via music from his banjo
- Benito Mussolini and all the resources of Fascist Italy
- Nippo, master swordsman and spy for the Japanese
- Sylvester, Crocodile-Man and one of Mr. Mind's preferred gunners
- Synthetic animals created by Mr. Mind, consisting of:
- Oscar, a giant lobster
- Oliver, a giant octopus with human hands
- Ophelius, a huge ram
- Oliphant, a dragon
- Tough guys, generic human enforcers of Mr. Mind's wishes, notable ones include:
- A tommy-gun wielder
- A cloaked swordsman
- A beret-wearer
- A typical "Goomba"
- A Gatsby cap-wearer
- Hideki Tojo and all the resources of Imperial Japan
Return Of The Monsters
Almost thirty years later, the Monster Society Of Evil was briefly reformed in Shazam! #14 (September-October 1974). An escaped Mr. Mind, hungry for revenge, assembled a new, smaller group. Although armed with a new and improved death ray that drew on their combined hatred, they were no match for Captain Marvel, Mary Marvel, and Captain Marvel Jr.
Membership:
- Mr. Mind
- Dr. Sivana
- IBAC
- Georgia Sivana, Dr. Sivana's youngest daughter
- Sivana Jr., Dr. Sivana's youngest son
The Monster Society Strikes Back
Mr. Mind reformed his Monster Society Of Evil one last time, in World's Finest Comics 264-267 (August-September 1980 to February-March 1981). Arguably the strongest incarnation of the group ever formed, almost the entire Marvel Family had to unite in order to stop them--Captain Marvel, Mary Marvel, Captain Marvel Jr., and the three Lieutenants Marvel: Tall Marvel, Fat Marvel, and Hill Marvel (the only ones who didn't battle them were Black Adam, who was a member of the Monster Society Of Evil, and Uncle Marvel, a powerless yet wily old man). Their wicked plans were wide-ranging, culminating in a massive assault on the Rock Of Eternity, the point where all time and space can be accessed and the home of the Marvels' benefacor, Shazam.
Membership:
- Mr. Mind
- Dr. Sivana
- IBAC
- Black Adam, traitorous first of the Marvels
- King Kull, last of the Beastmen with enormous strength
- Mr. Atom, indestructible genocidal robot
- Oggar, immortal sorcerer of great power
Post-Crisis
In the new, post-Crisis DC continuum, the new Mr. Mind formed a Monster Society Of Evil in Power Of Shazam #38-41 (May 1998 to August 1998). This new "group," however, had only two members, and Mr. Mind's plot to set off a nuclear holocaust is foiled by the Marvel Family and several Green Lanterns.
Membership:
- Mr. Mind
- Mr. Atom
World's Funnest
In the Elseworlds story Superman & Batman: World's Funnest (November 2000), the two near omnipotent imps Mr. Mxyzptlk and Bat-Mite engage in a tremendous duel that destroys many planes of reality. One of these appears to be a version of Earth-S. During his time there, they run into a version of the Monster Society Of Evil slightly different than any other; it almost seems like a "Greatest Hits" version. Mxyzptlk easily destroys them when they begin to annoy him, along with the rest of the universe; however, by the end of the book, all is returned as it was.
Membership:
- Mr. Mind
- Black Adam
- Captain Nazi
- Dr. Sivana
- IBAC
- Mr. Atom
- Mr. Banjo
Return In 2005?
Writer/artist Jeff Smith is working on a miniseries entitled SHAZAM: THE MONSTER SOCIETY OF EVIL, due to be released in 2005. As of yet, however, little is known of the plot.