In Drawing Crazy Patterns, I spotlight at least five scenes/moments from within comic book stories that fit under a specific theme (basically, stuff that happens frequently in comics). Note that these lists are inherently not exhaustive. They are a list of five examples (occasionally I'll be nice and toss in a sixth). So no instance is "missing" if it is not listed. It's just not one of the five examples that I chose.
Today, we look at five supervillains whose secret identities were only revealed AFTER they died!
THE HATE-MONGER
The Hate-Monger debuted in Fantastic Four #21 (by Jack Kirby, Stan Lee and George Roussos), the same issue that introduced the older version of Nick Fury into the Marvel Universe.
Anyhow, the Hate-Monger does just what his name says, he creates hate and he was slowly turning the world against each other when the Fantastic Four stop him and his own henchmen turn on him and kill him. After he is dead, we learn that he is...ADOLF HITLER?!?
It is a good thing they threw in "Or one of his doubles!" because that made it simple for later writers to say, "Yes, it was one of his doubles."
THE CRIMEMASTER
Steve Ditko had done a storyline involving the Big Man whee there was a big reveal that the Big Man was Frederick Foswell, a reporter for the Daily Bugle. This time around, Ditko wanted to play against expectations, so he presented Foswell (who had been released from prison and given another chance by J. Jonah Jameson) as a possible identity as the Crimemaster.
Instead, when the cops kill the Crimemaster, he turns out to be just some no-name crook...
THE OUTSIDER
Here is a really tricky one where the secret identity of the supervillain was someone who was dead BEFORE the villain debuted!
In Detective Comics #328 (by Bill Finger, Sheldon Moldoff and Joe Giella), Alfred dies saving Batman and Robin...
Six issues later (in a Gardner Fox story), Batman and Robin discover a mysterious new villain known only as the Outsider...
Twenty-two issues later, we discover that the Outsider was actually Alfred the whole time! He was brought back to life and turned evil!
THE BIG MAN II
In Marvel Team-Up #39 (by Bill Mantlo and Sal Buscema), we met a new Big Man AND a new Crimemaster!
However, in the next issue, the Crimemaster grows tired of working for the Big Man, so he shoots the Big Man...
It then turned out that the Big Man was secretly Frederic Foswell's daughter, and the Crimemaster's fiancee!!
The HOBGOBLIN
The Hobgoblin slowly became one of the top Spider-Man villains of the 1980s.
Well, in 1987's Spider-Man vs. Wolverine, Peter went to Europe with Ned Leeds, who was one of the prime suspects to be the Hobgoblin. That seems to have been taken off the table when Ned Leeds is murdered!
However, in a major twist, Peter David reveals that there is a NEW Hobgoblin who had the first Hobgoblin, Ned Leeds, murdered, in flashback in Amazing Spider-Man #289!
Later, it turned out that Ned Leeds was framed.
If anyone else has an idea for a future Drawing Crazy Patterns, drop me a line at brianc@cbr.com!