Mr. Mind

MR. MIND

Real Name: Unrevealed

Class: Parallel Earth (Earth-S) extraterrestrial mutant

Occupation: Scientist, would-be world conqueror

Group Affiliation: Mr. Mind's Monster Society of Evil.

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Mobile, formerly an unnamed planet, Earth-S

First Appearance: (voice only) Captain Marvel Adventures (Fawcett) #22 (March, 1943), (full appearance) Captain Marvel Adventures (Fawcett) #26 (August, 1943)

Powers: Mr. Mind was a small wormlike alien with weak eyes that could spin cocoons and silk. Mr. Mind was a supergenius and a brilliant inventor. He wore glasses to see properly, and had a voice amplifier so he could be heard, and his inventions included a transdimensional radio that could pick up radio waves from across the multiverse.

History: (Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe #15) - Mr. Mind was an alien from a planet populated by subterranean worms. He was born a mutant, with a supergenius mind, but his wormy body kept him from utilizing his brain to its' fullest. A Goat-Man from another planet set up a lab on Mr. Mind's world, and Mind found that he could transfer his consciousness into the Goat-Man, compelling him to build Mind glasses, a voice amplifier and other equipment.

(Captain Marvel Adventures (Fawcett) #38) - Captain Marvel couldn’t stop the lava flow, but thankfully when it flowed over the TNT it melted instead of igniting, and Marvel remembered that high explosives were set off by fulminate and not fire. Mr. Mind gloated in his minature spaceship until he saw Captain Marvel flying at him and realized he’d been foiled. Mind flew into a flock of birds, managing to evade his nemesis. Billy Batson broadcast a warning that Mr. Mind was still on the loose, and director Hitchblock of Eastern Elephantine Studios sent Captain Marvel a letter, saying he was doing a film version of Mr. Minds wrongdoings and needed his technical advice. Captain Marvel was happy to help, believing it was important the world was warned about how dangerous Mind was, and he was impressed with the mechanical worm Hitchblock whipped up as a stand-in for Mind. Mr. Mind got word about the film from his underlings, and saw an opportunity to sow chaos. He also wanted to make sure he was being portrayed as evil and devious as he deserved to be. A janitor on the film set spotted him, so Mind took the place of the mechanical worm to hide in plain sight. Hitchblock needed an extra to play a boy in peril who the Monster Society would fling off a cliff, and Captain Marvel changed into Billy Batson to volunteer. Mr. Mind alerted his new Monster Society recruits, the Crocodile Men, and had them take the place of the other actors in the scene. The Crocodile Men were supposed to pull Billy back from the cliff edge at the last moment, but ignored the director and tossed Billy to his doom.

(Captain Marvel Adventures (Fawcett) #39) - Mr. Mind had his Crocodile Men round up Hitchblock and his actors, planning to film Mr. Mind, Murder Master! In which he’d depict the Monster Society taking over the world. He had his lackey Bonzo go to the dressing room to play the part of Captain Marvel. Billy survived his fall, since the jagged rocks he landed on were rubber props, and after changing into Captain Marvel he took Bonzo’s place. Mr. Mind wanted to film the Crocodile Men torturing Hitchblock and his crew to death, but the weapons the Crocodile Men chose were all rubber props, infuriating the villain. Captain Marvel revealed his presence, knocking out the Crocodile Men after a brief brawl. Mr. Mind had another trick up his sleeve, activating his Black Death Ray and turning it on Captain Marvel, who started to dissolve into a cloud of smoke.

(Shazam! I #2) - Mr. Mind faked his death in the electric chair, leaving behind a fake worm that was stuffed, equipped with his glasses and voice amplifier, and put on display in a museum. Decades later Mr. Mind returned to the museum with an army of insects and worms to undermine the museum's foundations and recover his accoutrements. The building began to shake, but Captain Marvel was present, and held up the ceiling long enough for museum guide Mr. Tawky Tawny and the patrons to escape before the museum crumbled down. Tawny suspected sabotage, because the last museum inspections showed no safety issues. Marvel examined the wreckage and found that the stuffed "Mr. Mind" was a fake, and it's miniature glasses and voice amplifier were gone. Tawny told Marvel that Herkimer the Crocodile Man had taken a job in a travelling circus, and Marvel flew there to see if Herkimer had heard from his old boss. Herkimer instinctively tried to bite his old enemy, but immediately apologized. He said he was happy with his reformed life in the circus, but admitted Mr. Mind had contacted him, asking him to meet at the St. Louis Gateway Arch, but he'd turned Mind down. Mr. Mind planned to destroy the west coast, and had flown to the Gateway Arch in a paper cup attached to a balloon. He launched an atomic expanding missile through the arch, but Captain Marvel arrived in time to punt it into space. Mind parachuted to the ground, and burrowed into the Earth, but Marvel turned the Gateway Arch into a giant tuning fork by bending and releasing it. The underground vibrations it caused forced Mr. Mind to the surface, and Marvel took him into custody.

(Shazam! I #9) - Mr. Mind visited the post office to look at wanted posters because he’d decided to recruit members for a new Monster Society of Evil. He visited a mad scientist who invented a hate-projector and decided he’d make a good enough substitute for Sivana. Captain Marvel had also been looking at the wanted posters and burst into the scientist’s lab, apprehending him. Mr. Mind hid in the hate-projector and found that it worked just fine, his hatred of Marvel projected a powerful wave that knocked out the scientist. Mind was irritated that Marvel was unphased, but reasoned that if one worm could knock out a man, a thousand could knock out Marvel. He brought the hate-projector to a hillside and summoned an army of worms to help him power the projector. Captain Marvel investigated, but the hate projector threw him for a loop. Mr. Mind mocked him, and Marvel used dry ice to seed some rainclouds and start a rainstorm. The worms fled their burrows and retreated, allowing Marvel to easily capture Mr. Mind. Captain Marvel asked Mr. Mind how he escaped the electric chair, and Mind claimed one of his segments broke off and regenerated his body. Captain Marvel knew he was lying because Mr. Mind’s “dead body” turned out to be a fake and Mr. Mind said he’d come up with a better story the next time he asked him.

Comments: Created by Otto Binder & C.C. Beck.

Mr. Mind was originally published by Fawcett Comics, which DC obtained the rights to in 1972.

Mr. Mind received a profile in Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe #15. He received a profile in Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe #15 under the Mr. Mind’s Monster Society of Evil entry.

Mr. Mind's appearance in Captain Marvel Adventures (Fawcett) #38, 39 was reprinted in Shazam!: A Celebration of 75 Years.

Mr. Mind had a cameo in Shazam! I #1, 8.

Bizarro-Superman wrote and illustrated the “Captain Marvel and the Sham Shazam” comic book featuring Mr. Mind in Bizarro Comics #1.