
Mustached manhunters marvelously march against malevolent madmen. That pretty much incapsulated Earth-Two's Mister America and Earth-S' Zoro the Mystery Man. While the masked Tex Thomson of Earth-Two wielded a whip while in his costumed identity, Zoro used a sword cane during his unmasked escapades. While Mister America had a cape to help him fly and a sidekick named Fatman to aid him versus adversaries, Zoro had his sportscar to carry him to-and-fro and a sidekick that was a cheetah to irritate his enemies. Although these two operated solo throughout their careers, they earned the respect of their fellow mystery men who appreciated their tenacity and talents.
On Earth-One, it would be Pete Ross, a wealthy geologist who in the days of his youth adopted the alias of Superboy to secretly protect his best friend. Unlike his counterparts on Earth-Two and Earth-S, Pete only briefly colored his hair black during the few occasions he impersonated a young Superman, and similarly only had the same limited number of adventures as a costumed crusader. However, like Tex and Zoro, Pete was an invaluable ally and protector of the innocent, as well as having the same athletic abilities and analytical acumen as his doppelgängers.
While Pete and Tex each had numerous appearances throughout the years, Zoro was only active for a couple of years, from August 1940 until January 1942. During that time, beside displaying his physical skills and his superb animal training of his pet Cheeta, Zoro could also somehow project mental illusions and make himself seem to vanish. He also displayed an aptitude of tracking down criminals and helping to prevent crimes.
As Ross and Thomson were primarily scientists, with an emphasis on geology where they made their personal fortune in discovering oil deposits, it seems Zoro's natural aptitude was more towards the performing arts. Despite their varying fields of secular endeavors, all three men were united in their adventurous aptitude and self-sacrificing spirit towards their fellow man.
Whether Zoro ever personally met his world's greatest superhero, Captain Marvel, is unknown, as he may have perished during World War II during his global travels before having such as opportunity. He definitely never had as close and familial a relationship with his Earth's mightiest man, as had Pete and Tex. Ross was Clark/Superman's earliest best friend and the godfather of his son Jonathan; Thomson in his assumed identity of George Tompkins was Clark/Superman's brother-in-law through his wife Lucille, the sister of Clark's wife Lois (Lane).
Still, Zoro and Cap would have had a mutual respect for one another's heroic spirit and self-sacrificing disposition, which they both shared.
No comments:
Post a Comment