Zora

Real Name: Zora
First Appearance: Prize Comics #44 (August, 1944)
Original Publisher: Prize
Created by: Dick Briefer

Golden Age Origin

Zora was an ancient vampire, who had been burned at the stake as a witch around 1744, but survived due to her supernatural abilities. She was in love with a soldier named Rollo, and spent 200 years looking for a way to complete his transformation into a vampire, since he had died of a gunshot wound before the transformation was complete. She managed to revive him with a ritual. After encountering Frankenstein, Zora put the creature under her power and took him to her home, a spooky old mansion, to add him to her brood of ghouls. While Zora delighted in drinking blood and being a creature of darkness, Frankenstein displayed distaste for her ways, and after he ate garlic bread, Zora and Rollo were forced to abandon their ancient manor. Homeless, they went to New York where they took over an apartment building. There, Zora invited two additional vampires to join her brood. These vampires held an undertaker's convention at the building, and hired one of the undertakers to stay and take care of them during the day. With the help of the caretaker, Frankenstein was no longer needed, and was released from Zora's power.

Powers and Abilities: 

Zora was long lived, and seemed to posses all the standard abilities and weaknesses of a typical vampire. Unlike some vampires, she was also skilled in mesmerism and demonstrated the ability to summon and control bats.

Golden Age Appearances: 

Prize Comics #44-48

Will O' The Wisp

Real Name: Gale Leary
First Appearance: Key Comics #1 (January, 1944)
Original Publisher: Consolidated Magazines
Created by: Chu Hing

New Suit

Origin:

Gale Leary's father, Gregory, was a district attorney in New York. In 1925, when Gale was only an infant, her mother, Martha, was murdered and her father was permanently crippled when they were attacked by Bob Evans and Red Brandois, in revenge for getting Evans convicted. When Gale began to cry, hearing her father's screams, Evans gave her a willow branch in order to quiet her down. Gale kept the branch until she was an adult, and over the years, she began to realize that it made her feel invincible. In fact, the branch did give her supernatural powers, enabling her to avenge the crimes comitted against her parents. Gale adopted the name Will O' The Wisp and used her powers to fight for justice. She later became friends with a man named Jack Snave.

Among other things, the willow branch enabled Gale to glow with a strange light, much like the Will O' The Wisp. It protected her from bullets and seemed to give Gale the ability to repel attackers (possibly through limited telekenesis). It is unclear, but there is some implication that the branch caused the deaths of Evans and Brandois.

Golden Age Appearances: 

Key Comics #1-5

Yellowjacket

Real Name: Vince Harley
First Appearance: Yellowjacket Comics #1 (1944)
Original Publisher: Charlton
Created by: Unknown

Golden Age Origin: 

Vince Harley is a crime fiction writer looking for information on the perfect crime plot because his stories have gotten stale. While at home, relaxing and tending to his bees, Harley is surprised by a woman who appears at his door exhausted and collapses. When he gets her to his couch she tells him that her name is Judy Graves and that she is being chased, before falling unconscious. While she is out cold Vince searches for clues about her and finds valuable jewels in her pocket book. Tired himself he falls asleep in a chair and awakens to gangster Jake Mallon asking him the whereabouts of the girl.

Feigning ignorance, he is roughed up by Mallon's thugs and knocked out. Mallon and his thugs decide to kill Vince by letting his bees sting him to death, they pour the bugs onto his body and leave. Judy comes out of hiding from a closet and watches amazed as the bugs do no harm to Vince but return to their apiary. It turns out "he is one of those rare people that bees don’t sting". Inspired by his ordeal Vince dons a costume similar to a yellow jacket and goes to confront Mallon and his men, sending Judy to the police. At the gangsters hideout Yellowjacket defeats the criminals and escapes as Judy brings the authorities to apprehend the mobsters.

He had a nephew, Yellowjacket Jr., though the two never met on-panel.

Powers & Abilities: 

Vince has the ability to control swarms of bees.

Golden Age Appearances: 

Jack in the Box Comics #11

T-N-T Comics #1

Yellowjacket Comics #1-10

Note: 

Vince's costume and name must refer only to color because Yellowjackets are actually in the wasp classification.

Comics McCormick

Real Name: Comics McCormick
First Appearance: Terrific Comics #2 (March 1944)
Original Publisher: Helnit/Continental/E.C.
Created by: Ed Wheelan

Golden Age Origin: 

"Comics" McCormick was "The World's #1 Comic Book Fan." He lived with his mother Mary McCormick, a factory worker, and his older sister Connie McCormick, a secretary. His friends included his girlfriend Rosalie Brown and also fellow comics fans Wilbur Wiggins and Ajax Johnson who, along with Comics, were all members of the Little Conqueror's Athletic and Reading Club. Other members of his supporting cast included Officer Kelly, a friendly neighborhood cop, and Miss Susan Slate, Comics' patient school teacher.

Comics had a vivid imagination and would dream about going on adventures with his favorite comic book heroes and doing battle with super villains. Some of the heroes who teamed up with Comics included Voltage, Inspector Cosmic, Captain Catapult, and Marvel Maid. Examples of some of the villains he faced include the Super-Robot, the Octopus, the Space Pirates,and Dr. Hunchback. In addition, Comics mentioned reading about heroes such as Super-Dame, Lady Wonder, the Pink Pidgeon, and the Crimson Canary, though he never teamed-up with them.

Often during these dreams Comics would gain superpowers himself, use gadgets, or put on a costume. Even when he did not have powers, Comics usually carried a gun, sometimes a standard one other times a ray gun, during his dreams.

Golden Age Appearances: 

Fat and Slat #1-4

The Land of the Lost Comics #6

Terrific Comics #2-6

Cat-Man Comics #28

Veiled Avenger

Real Name: Ginny Spears
First Appearance: Spotlight Comics #1 (1944)
Original Publisher: Harry A. Chesler
Created by: Unknown

Golden Age Origin:

Ginny Spears was a district attorney's secretary who became fed up with crime. She decides to become the costumed crime fighter known as the Veiled Avenger. Armed only with her bullwhip, the Veiled Avenger had no superpowers. She was not above using deadly force against her enemies, going as far as using her whip to make her foes shoot each other and themselves.

Golden Age Appearances: 

Spotlight Comics #1-3

Red Seal Comics #16

Notes: 

The Veiled Avenger was ranked tenth in the Huffington Post's list of the 10 Most Badass Comic Book Heroines.

Silver Knight

Real Name: Sir Briane
First Appearance: Complete Book of Comics and Funnies (1944)
Original Publisher: Nedor
Created by: Leo Isaacs, Ken Battlefield and Everett Raymond Kinstler

Origin: 

Sir Briane was a bold knight of King Arthur's court who wore enchanted armor forged by the Deathless Druid (probably Merlin). The armor rendered him highly resistant to injury.

He fought alongside the other Knights of Camelot such as Sir Gawain and Sir Kay against the Saxons and the Vandals. When the Saxons had been driven out and the Pax Arthuriana had been won he pit his strength against evil knights and monsters such as the Barghest.

Because of his sense of honor (or his ego) he would not wear his enchanted armor in a tournament, which the Barghest used to his advantage.

His lady was Tarna, a brave warrior in her own right who often aided him in battle and once wore his armor.

Golden Age Appearances:

Complete Book of Comics and Funnies #1

America's Biggest Comic Book #1

Mystery Comics #1

America's Best Comics #26

Wonder Comics #18-20

Nemesis & Rover the Wonder Dog

Real Name: Unknown
First Appearance: Lightning Comics #11 (1944)
Original Publisher: Feature Publishers of Toronto
Created by: Aram Alexanian

Golden Age Origin:

Nemesis was a masked crime-fighter who battled gangsters with the help of "Rover the Wonder Dog."

Golden Age Appearances:

Lightning Comics #11-12

Notes:

Nemesis and Rover are blatant rip-offs of Quality Comics characters Manhunter and his dog Thor (Public Domain characters too).

Kismet Man of Fate

Real Name: Unknown
First Appearance: Bomber Comics #1 (1944)
Original Publisher: Elliott Publications/Gilberton
Created by: Omar Tahan

Golden Age Origin:

Freedom fighter Kismet hides out in the forests of Southern France, battling the Nazis and his enemy the Rocketeer. He possesses no powers but is a good fighter. Kismet is also one of the earliest Muslim superheroes.

Golden Age Appearances:

Bomber Comics #1-4

Golden Eagle

Real Name: Dennis Quinn
First Appearance: Contact Comics #1 (1944)
Original Publisher: Aviation Press
Created by: Katz and Carmine Infantino

Golden Age Origin:

A professional American pilot and fighter, the Golden Eagle was one of the most brilliant pilots in World War I and fought the Axis in WWII.

Golden Age Appearances: 

Contact Comics #1-11

Dreamer

"I am Dr. Kent Marlow... I'm a psychiatrist, a doctor who heals the mind... I specialise in dreams."

Real Name: Dr. Kent Marlow
Aliases: The Master of Morpheus, Satan of Sleep
First Appearance: Wow Comics #24 (1944)
Original Publisher: Commercial Signs of Canada/Bell Features
Created by: Jerry Lazare

Origin:

A psychiatrist by day, by night Dr. Kent Marlow would set out to solve problems of a different sort as The Dreamer!

Possessing the uncanny power of predicting the future in his dreams, Marlow clad himself in a red cape, green tights with blue trunks and a billowing white shirt, using the two pistols carried on his belt to stop crimes before they could happen!

Under the oval design on his shirt, the word "Morpheus" is emblazoned.

His enemies included The Cane, the crew of the "San Raoul," Rabar of Moon Island, Rabar's minion Nod, and the Polite Pirate.

Golden Age Appearances:

Active Comics #28

Smasher Comics #7 (Cover only)

Wow Comics #24-30

Air Woman

Real Name: Sally Dunlop
First Appearance: Triumph Comics #21 (Aug/Sept. 1944)
Original Publisher: Commercial Signs of Canada/Bell Features
Created by: Jerry Lazare

Sally becomes a true winged Air Woman

Origin:

The short piece was about Sally Dunlop, a young woman enlisted in the Canadian Women’s Service of the R.C.A.F. and how she managed to radio down a “crippled ‘Douglas Bomber’” and rescue the two pilots from the crash landing.

Notes:

Air Woman was one of 8 Lazare creations referred to as orphan “left-overs,” stories that were one-shot “try-outs” or “fillers.”