Action Comics #458: "Masquerade Of The Nutty Kid!"

Action Comics #458
"Masquerade Of The Nutty Kid!"
April, 1976

Story: Elliot S! Maggin
Art: Mike Grell
Editor: Julius Schwartz

The getaway copter has landed in the vicinity of Looking Glass Hill, which is barely ten miles from where a speeding police radio car carrying Green Arrow and two police officers is located. The Archer tells them to issue an alert for as many patrol cars as possible to get up there -- fast! G.A. thinks that a little foot-stomping is in order... if not to bail out Black Canary, then to get the kidnappers of the Nutty Kid! Green Arrow has indeed run off on the trail of kidnappers -- but what only Black Canary knows so far is that the kidnappers were merely a cover! They made everyone else believe they abducted Danny Harris, the famous Nutty Kid of Comedy --- but their disguised victim was actually... Lex Luthor?! He finds it good that the super-heroine recognizes him!

The idea of this charade is to engineer a situation where Black Canary murders Green Arrow -- or he kills her! It doesn't much matter who executes whom, but it looks as though she is the lucky one -- the killer! She wonders how he proposes to get her to do that. It will seem natural -- just as it seemed natural for her not to have tried to tear Luthor apart these past few minutes! She's doing nothing but standing catching flies in her mouth because of his hypno-beam! He's already hypnotized her into wanting to kill Green Arrow! He trusts of all the law-enforcers hunting them down -- the Archer will be the first one to reach them! Her psyche will no doubt be kind to him... a good swift hell in his throat should do the job! Black Canary... can't bring herself... to raise a hand against him! If his mental command to kill Ollie is as strong... may Heaven help them both!

As the criminal scientist continues his monologue, the hypnotized heroine adopts an unusual pose... The authorities should arrive after her Green friend to pick her up... as well as his employees, who will receive triple pay for the time they spend in prison! As for his "kidnap" victim, Danny Harris the comic will reappear soon enough! "GUHH!"

She attacks Luthor... against the command of his mental device! He's such a fool! Lex didn't take into account her mental training in the martial arts! Through sheer meditation, she can hypnotize herself -- into seeing Luthor as Green Arrow to get around his command to her! Which means she's now forced to kill him! Heading up a dirt road at the base of Looking Glass Hill... Green Arrow wonders if the patrol car can go any faster. It's a wonder they can move at all on a road that looks like it's built for mountain goats!

The criminal scientist thought to start here -- with Green Arrow and Black Canary as his first victims -- and through treachery and psychological warfare, cause all super-heroes to be incriminated or discredited! As Black Canary closes in for the kill, Luthor desperately dives for cover under the copter... as a deadly karate chop misses its target! CRAACK He has to get away from that madwoman! The Black Canary must find him... must kill him!

Luthor's plan crumbles around him as he flees the hypnotized heroine, and tries to catch his breath long enough to make his escape... She won't stop until she murders him! WHUMP

The patrol car has stalled on a steep upgrade... The officers tell Green Arrow that it would take a helicopter to get up the hill! As he reminds them how the kidnappers got  there, Black Canary continues her attack on the criminal scientist... KLIK He'd better pull a disappearing act... and hope his hypno-beam will still compel her to kill Green Arrow! Now that Luthor is gone, Black Canary loses her compulsion to kill him! As she hears a familiar voice over her shoulder, Black Canary rushes towards the waiting Green Arrow, and they embrace. She wonders whether their meeting will turn into a disaster -- now... or later... For all she knows, Luthor could still be here, invisible!

No doubt, the criminal scientist will turn up again. Green Arrow wonders where Danny Harris is! If Luthor kidnapped the Nutty Kid and swapped places with him while she was fighting his henchman...? TAP TAP They find where the scientist stashed him. Danny Harris greets them both and starts to tell them how a funny thing happened to him on the way to the studio...

Lex Luthor may look like Ernst Stavro Blofeld, but he's the man with the golden gun on Black Canary.

The criminal scientist turned up again in The Joker #7 (April-May, 1976) when the Clown Prince of Crime complains --

"Luthor -- You're Driving Me Sane!"

Steve Chung
"Masquerade Of The Nutty Review!"

Action Comics #457: "Flight Of The Nutty Kid!"

Action Comics #457
"Flight Of The Nutty Kid!"
March, 1976

Story: Elliot S! Maggin
Art: Mike Grell
Editor: Julius Schwartz

He knows why Frankie's voice sounds funny! It's because... their pilot ain't Frankie -- it's the Black Canary! A group of kidnappers disguised as a clown act has infiltrated an on-the-air telethon and abducted its host, Danny Harris -- the famous Nutty Kid! When their getaway pilot is unmasked as the... Black Canary... and their helicopter plummets towards the streets below, the Green Arrow takes to the skies... He sees that Dinah's trapped in the whirlybird!

Now we know as much as Green Arrow -- but what he doesn't know... none of the kidnappers can pilot the helicopter! If they off her, they'll crash into a nearby building! If Green Arrow has figured it right, the copter is tumbling on a line he should intercept -- so he can climb aboard and play cavalry to the rescue! They wonder what the Green Cowboy is trying to do -- ?? Black Canary realizes that he's trying to grab the copter in midair! Her problem is to keep them off the ground till they get out of town -- then her job's... finished! The copter veers away! Green Arrow can't grab it! The crook made the Emerald Archer miss! He'll drop to his death! The crook is confident that he can break his fall -- he's seen him do it on TV!

It's utter bedlam in front of WSTR's west-side studio, where Danny Harris' annual telethon -- is still going on even after the famous comedian has been kidnapped and flown off... to who knows where? There are unconfirmed reports -- that Green Arrow is somewhere on the scene! They have learned that Black Canary's motorcycle has been spotted in a nearby garage! The Emerald Archer is sorry to drop in during the segment -- but this is where gravity brought him!

Green Arrow rushes past bystanders into the TV studio where... more pledges are being made for Danny's ransom! G.A. would like a look at the radio receiver the clowns left behind to give the crew instructions! Now he needs one of the phones! He calls Lieutenant Bolton to get every available radio car tuned into the following frequency... and fan them out west of the city line! He'll explain later...

As Green Arrow starts to trace the source of the kidnappers' radio communications... Black Canary cuts the engine fifty feet up! As she counted on, the clowns don't know much about helicopters! They wanted her to land it so they could dispose of her... but they never heard of autorotation -- the ability of a helicopter to ease down to the ground like a parachute... as the rotors slow to a stop! The crooks get strong and silent when their plans get messed up. The Black Canary prefers her kidnappers... simply silent!

As the last kidnapper voices the opinion that the others are bush league to be stopped by a "ULP!", Black Canary's kick puts an end to his commentary. With any luck, Green Arrow and the police will pick them up before it can walk away... She heads to free the Nutty Kid and hopes that he has something funny to say about all this! What the newly freed Danny Harris has to say isn't very funny -- Black Canary is in big trouble! What she's been through will seem like a picnic, as soon as she catches on... that the man she just "rescued" is Lex Luthor!

Everybody loves a clown, except when they are kidnappers in disguise.

Danny Harris is a take off of Jerry Lewis.

As the rotors come to a stop, Black Canary puts a stop to the kidnappers, and gives them the right to remain silent.

Lex Luthor?

What some super-villains won't do to meet a super-heroine!

Steve Chung
"Review Of The Nutty Kid!"

Adventure Comics #256: "The Green Arrow's First Case"

Adventure Comics #256
"The Green Arrow's First Case"
January, 1959

Writer: Ed Herron
Artist: Jack Kirby

Have you ever wondered how Green Arrow came to be? Were you ever curious about how he became such a skilled archer -- and how he invented his various trick arrows? If so, then join Oliver Queen and Roy Harper in a surprise adventure that has to do with "The Green Arrow's First Case!" The Green Arrow of today has flare arrows to light up the streets of Star City, but during his first case, the Ace Archer had to try out his trick arrows against a shipload of mutineers! As Oliver Queen and Roy Harper are watching an early morning television newscast, when they learn about an expedition sailing to Starfish Island to explore it! As an aerial shot of the island appears on the television screen, Oliver tells Roy to get into costume, and they must get to Starfish Island before the expedition does! If they do not, his secret identity will be exposed!

In moments, Green Arrow and Speedy are soaring away in their Arrowplane... on their way to Starfish Island, where the Ace Archer was born! Wealthy playboy Oliver Queen was on a voyage to the South Seas when he accidentally fell off the ship, and his cries for help went unheard. In the morning, he had drifted off course, and spotted an island! After crawling ashore and sleeping for several hours, he began to explore the island. There was not much chance of a ship anchoring here, especially because of the shoals which would prevent it from sailing in! After finding a cavern for shelter, and starting a fire by striking two stones together, Oliver still needed to find food! He fashioned arrows by chipping stone for arrowheads and tying them to shafts with thin, strong vines. Before losing his first arrow, Oliver would need some practice!

After drawing a target on the hillside -- TWANG Oliver overshot the mark! Days of practice taught him that the farther away a target was, the higher you needed to aim -- and he began to allow for windage... He soon shot his first fish -- but it swam away with his only arrow! Oliver then improvised a fishing line by attaching a strong vine to the arrow's shaft -- and this was the first rope arrow. Oliver soon came up with a better way to catch more fish! He made a net from vines and placed it inside an arrow shaft, which had been hollowed out. When fired, the net should be released from the arrow! The arrow opens and the net falls as planned!

Oliver makes a fine catch! Encouraged by his success with the trick shafts, he continues to invent new ones, and a shaft with a revolving arrowhead to get coconuts became the first drill arrow! TWANG!

Oliver covered himself with a green-leaf suit to camouflage himself while hunting small game, and this was the first Green Arrow costume. Each day, he would enter the cavern, and chiseled a record of his activity on the stone wall. One night, his Robinson Crusoe existence was interrupted by a single shot! A commercial freighter fired off one of their deck guns to see if anyone was ashore! Since the freighter was anchored, Oliver did not start a fire -- which would have been his sole means of signalling them in the dark -- but he began swimming out to them... After making his way up the anchor chain -- he discovered that part of the crew had mutinied! The mutineers had planned to unload the cargo and to sell it! Oliver Queen decided to stop the mutiny! After rubbing anchor-chain grease on his face to prevent the deck lights from reflecting against his face -- the first time he ever wore a mask... he made his move!

The deck watch had spotted him and sounded an alarm. His drill arrow causes a jagged hole to appear in the thin metal of an oil barrel, and floods the deck with slippery oil! The mutineers are unable to keep their footing! As the net arrow is brought into play, Oliver Queen realizes that his time on the island could serve a useful purpose! Upon his return to civilization, he would use his trick arrows to fight crime as the Green Arrow! If the expedition to Starfish Island finds what he has written on the cavern wall, they will learn his secret identity! As the Arrowplane soars over Starfish Island, they see the expedition going ashore! They are about to enter the cavern! Seeing them carrying a geiger counter -- to check for radiation, Green Arrow realizes the island might have been sprayed by nuclear fall-out! This gives him an idea!

Firing their fake-uranium arrow into the ground, it gives off waves that simulate uranium deposits! Within the cavern, the geiger counter jumps, and the expedition clears out of there! Judging by the arrows found in the cavern, a primitive people must have lived there at one time or another. Aside from some radiation, there was nothing left, and the expedition takes its leave! As they prepare to destroy the cavern diary, Green Arrow thought for a moment that his own career would end on Starfish Island -- where it began! His dual identity is safe!

This story was reprinted in The Green Arrow By Jack Kirby (2001).

The Justice League of America first teamed up to battle Starro the Conqueror.

Steve Englehart referred to this story in Justice League of America #144: "The Origin Of The Justice League -- Minus One!" (July, 1977).

Oliver Queen's origin is similiar to "The Most Dangerous Game" by Richard Connell.

As drawn by Jack Kirby, Oliver resembles Steve Rogers in appearance.

Don Blake entered a hidden chamber within a cavern, finding a gnarled walking stick, and was transformed into the Mighty Thor.

Stephen Amell's Oliver Queen used other means to conceal his identity before finally resorting to wearing a mask as the Arrow.

Gamma radiation played a crucial role in Robert Bruce Banner becoming the Incredible Hulk, and forcing the nuclear physicist to hide out in a specially-prepared cell within a cavern when his transformations originally occurred at sundown.

Steve Chung
"The Green Arrow's First Review!"

Adventure Comics #251: "The Case Of The Super-Arrows"

Adventure Comics #251
"The Case Of The Super-Arrows"
August, 1958

Story And Art: Jack Kirby

The time ray has made contact with the year 1958! They are ready to send their gift into the past! The gift is for Green Arrow and Speedy, the Ace Archers of the twentieth century! Those who send the gift from 3000 A.D. wonder how these two heroes will react to this small token from the future. Fans of Green Arrow and Speedy have seen the Ace Archers using their boomerang arrow and their grenade arrow! What happens when the gift intended for them from the future, falls into the wrong hands during "The Case Of The Super-Arrows!" Oliver Queen and Roy Harper answer the police commissioner's summons at headquarters. Today is the anniversary of the day Green Arrow and Speedy began their crime-fighting career in Star City. The world wishes to honor them with gifts! Later in the Arrow-Cave, Green Arrow and Speedy are checking out the gold plaque sent to them from the F.B.I.!

Scotland Yard sent them some Sherlock Holmes mementos for their trophy room! A strange hum signals the materialization of a cylinder in mid-air. Green Arrow and Speedy have just received their gift from the year 3000 A.D. The world of 3000 A.D. is currently celebrating "Justice Week," in honor of history's greatest crime-fighters, the cylinder contains a gift representing a token of their esteem for the two Ace Archers! As the light fades, Speedy wonders if this gift is really from the future. Green Arrow sees that each arrow has directions engraved on them! Seeing people suffering from the hot weather in Star City, Green Arrow fires off the super-arrow from the future! Once it reaches the clouds, a white spray is released from the fins of the shaft.

Thanks to the cloud-seeding arrow, the citizens of Star City enjoy a cool thunder storm! The next super-arrow is a super-sensitive sonar shaft with a mechanical ear for selecting the sounds of police sirens, car crashes, explosions, and other sounds at great distances. As the sonar shaft hovers above Star City, RINNNNNNG RINNNNNNG RINNNNNNG RINNNG it picks up the sound of a burglar alarm! Three long rings and one short, to be exact! Green Arrow knows this is the code for the State Savings Bank at Fifth and Grand! Now is their chance to try out the futuristic arrows! As the Arrow-Car arrives at the scene, they spot a fast-moving getaway car, and give chase! On a stretch of open highway, Green Arrow unleashes another super-arrow which strikes the getaway car, and freezes it in its tracks!

"Cougar" Cain and his gang emerge from the frozen getaway car! "Cougar" has got a surprise for the two Ace Archers! Removing a pellet from his specially-designed belt, "Cougar" creates a sudden smoke screen, but Green Arrow unleashes a vacuum arrow to overcome this problem! The super-arrow successfully sucks in the dark vapors within its vacuum tube! The next super-arrow is guaranteed to hold "Cougar" and his gang spellbound, but in his haste, Green Arrow drops it! The hypnotic arrow makes contact with the ground, releasing a ball of whirling light into the air! Both Ace Archers are unable to take their eyes off of this sight -- and "Cougar" Cain takes the super-arrows for his own personal use!

Once the hypnotic spell has worn off, Green Arrow and Speey realize they will be pitting their own obsolete weapons against "Cougar" Cain's futuristic super-arrows! The following days find "Cougar" Cain and his gang using an invisibility arrow to rob a bank vault, an anti-gravity arrow to make their getaway, and a vibration arrow to shatter a concrete wall! "Cougar's" criminal activities has city officials holding an emergency meeting with Green Arrow and Speedy present! "Cougar" has mentioned a paralysis arrow which can affect all living things within a one mile radius! In order to prevent the gold shipment theft tomorrow, Green Arrow will match an ancient arrow from the Battle of Hastings against the super-arrow from the future!

The following day finds "Cougar" and his gang committing their next job in broad daylight! As they warn the onlookers to stay back -- or else they will use the paralysis arrow, the doors of the armored car are opened... revealing Green Arrow and Speedy! As "Cougar" Cain trains the paralysis arrow upon Green Arrow, the Ace Archer unleashes his crude shaft to meet the super-arrow head-on, and to destroy its deadly mechanism! Speedy fires off the next shot, causing "Cougar" and his gang to be caught in the binding embrace of the mummy-arrow! Once the gang has been taken into custody, Green Arrow and Speedy return to the Arrow-Cave, where they store the super-arrows away for safe keeping! This is one present that is too risky to be used in the present!

This story was reprinted in The Green Arrow By Jack Kirby (2001).

The men of 3000 A.D. are either bald or have receding hairlines, and prefer to wear orange tunics when operating the time ray for delivery to 1958.

The police commissioner of Star City is unnamed in this story.

Steve Rogers once pursued Sharon Carter, who was carrying a mysterious cylinder, in Tales Of Suspense #75.

Reed Richards fired his signal flare in the first issue of the Fantastic Four.

Daredevil's super-senses enable him to pick up certain sounds at great distances.

Bobby Drake is the X-Man known as Iceman.

The Ringmaster used hypnosis on his unsuspecting audience and had his Circus of Crime rob them while they were in a trance.

Susan Storm possesses the power of invisibility.

Johnny Storm flames on into the Human Torch and becomes lighter than air.

Ben Grimm can shatter a concrete wall with his great strength as the Thing.

The Battle of Hastings was part of Batman's last will and testament in Detective Comics #366 - #367.

"Cougar" Cain and his gang got the shaft and closer together when struck by the mummy-arrow!

Steve Chung
"The Review Of The Super-Arrows!"

Adventure Comics #176, "The Rogue of 1,000 Ropes!"

Adventure Comics #176, "The Rogue of 1,000 Ropes!"

  May, 1952
Story: Unknown
Art: George Papp
On their morning patrol through the city, Green Arrow and Speedy see a man attempting to flee over a stone wall, but the young archer manages to pin the man's purple pants leg to the wall with an arrow! G.A. identifies the suspect as Steve Bogardus -- wanted for murder! Weeks pass, and Bogardus is about to be hanged... but the rope snaps! According to the laws of the state, Bogardus will receive a reprieve until tomorrow morning! (Holy Ingersoll, Batman! I've heard of hung juries, but this is ridiculous!) When he is alone in his cell... Bogardus knows that his life was saved by a rope for 24 hours! Perhaps he can use a rope to save it... permanently! Looking at his mattress, he has an idea...
The following morning, as the prisoner goes again to meet his fate... Bogardus hurls the rope he fashioned out of horsehair from his mattress, and lassos a tree on the other side of the prison wall! The lawmen are surprised by Bogardus' unexpected move and their shots goe wild... He makes it over the wall and plunges into the river! Days pass, and in a deserted barn... Bogardus finds that his stolen money is safe and sound beneath the floorboards, but a candle's flame catches onto the rope he's carrying... In seconds, his rope has caught fire, and now he is trapped! Bogardus gathers his loot and stumbles through the flaming barn... Badly burned, he escapes with his life, and finds a plastic surgeon to treat him! Months pass, and a new man steps out of the sanitarium... Wanted posters of Steve Bogardus have been posted all over the country... but they do not match the new features which the wanted murderer now has, thanks to plastic surgery! Figuring that rope has saved his life again, Bogardus plans to follow his luck wherever it leads him... by using ropes for crime... using rope as Green Arrow uses arrows! He can't fail!
In the same city where he almost lost his life... Bogardus adopts the identity of Stephen Gard, wealthy philanthropist! While Green Arrow has his secret Arrow-Cave, Bogardus will have his Rope-Cave! He must learn everything he can about ropes! Considered the oldest of arts, primitive people braided ropes of animal hair... rope can be made of hemp (Holy Harrellson, Batman!), jute, sisal, asbestos, flax... all kinds of plant fibres! Bogardus studies... and then, he practices for months and months...The "butterfly loop," the "over the spoke," and the "big loop" enable him to lasso a pencil from a glass jar! Soon, it is The Roper -- the master of an old lore with a new twist... using his rope-mastery to lasso pearls from a unwitting victim, deprive a guard of his gun, and land atop an armored car from the air!
At the home of Oliver Queen and Roy Harper... the millionaire has found a definite pattern to the Roper's crimes! Not only does he use ropes, but every one of his robberies has a relation with ropes! The money stolen from Evans Hemp Importers, the Rope of Pearls he snared, while leaving other gems behind... The warehouse on Jute Street which was looted! The Roper is half-sane and dangerous! If only they could find out his secret identity! Roy reminds him that Green Arrow and Speedy are due at the charity bazaar! It is there where they meet another guest of honor... Stephen Guard, a man who has been generous to all of their charities! Days later, Green Arrow and Speedy are out on patrol... They see the Roper stealing from the Rodeo theatre box-office! As their arrows head for their target, the Roper protects himself behind a barricade of hissing hemp... (Holy Cheech and Chong, Batman!) Now, it is the villain's turn to lasso the duo, as his thrown rope flies over the street marquee...
Hanging helplessly in the air, Green Arrow tells the Roper that he might be interested in the discarded arrow, and the villain agrees! Speedy wonders what could possibly be interesting about an arrow with a piece of rope tied to it! After the duo manage to free themselves from the rope... G.A. tells his young ward that he has a plan, but he'll keep it a secret until he's sure it'll work! At the El Fumos Cigar Factory, the ace archers see the Roper fleeing past the giant rooftop display! Speedy realizes that cigars are nicknamed "ropes" and suggests that they use their telescoping arrows! The shafts cleave the air -- and strike their target... The steel arrows telescope... trapping the Roper in an arrow-cage! (Holy Selegue, Batman!) Now, Green Arrow and Speedy fire a couple of arrowlines into the wall above the villain so that they can climb up! But as they climb upwards, a rope makes its way through the cage... It lashes around their lines, and the Roper reminds them that the arrowlines are made of cord... and rope is lucky for him!
The Roper pulls on the cord... using their weight to snap the arrow bars on the cage! G.A. tells Speedy to aim a metal arrow at the wall below them! As the arrow snaps under the weight... the Roper takes anothe piece of rope from one of the arrows embedded in the wall! Seconds pass... with Green Arrow and Speedy breaking their fall with the metal arrow in the wall! In the days to come, the battling bowmen find the Roper at the Skipper Restaurant... (Holy Little Buddy, Batman!) They had figured that skipper and rope had something in common... so they were expecting him! Speedy fires a flame arrow at the ropes being carried by the criminal, but the Roper had been expecting such an attack, and has a surprise for them! Donning a gas mask, he tells them that one of his ropes is made from Raffia Palm... which gives off arid, blinding fumes when lit! While they are helpless, the Roper makes his escape, but not before leaving with an arrow with some rope attached to it!
In the Arrow-Cave... Speedy thinks that they are powerless against the Roper, and Green Arrow is reading the newspaper article concerning the Welton Coin Collection, but there's no connection with rope! He tells Speedy to call Mr. Welton and for him to call the papers that he's sold his collection to a Mr. Wood! (Holy Wally World, Batman!) This is part of their plan to catch the Roper! The following evening, they are in the Arrow-Car, and on their way to meet the Roper... G.A. tells Speedy that wood is measured by the cord, and this is the connection for the criminal to make his move! As they lie in wait in the dark exhibition room... the Roper arrives through a window, and blinds them with some luminous ropes! He ties them up and prepares to finish them off! Before he tightens a noose around their necks, he sees another piece of rope tied to an arrow in Green Arrow's quiver! The Roper has now tied all the pieces of cord into one piece... while G.A. whispers to Speedy to lean against the button behind him!
A boomerang arrow flies through the doorway -- rigged earlier today by Green Arrow from a hidden bow! The police alarm sounds and the arrow circles the room... the rope tangles itself around the Roper! G.A. explains that the arrow is connected with a powerful electromagnet, and the rope contains iron filings! As it whirls around him, the rope is being lured along... trapping him! When the police arrive, Green Arrow tells Speedy how ancient Malayans used to send messages by rope... the type of knots and the distance between them revealed messages! Piece by piece, he had been telling the Roper that he knew his true identity! An officer wonders why he didn't share the secret with the authorities, and G.A. points to the slanting burn on the Roper's finger... on the exact spot where skilled ropers exert the most pressure! He knew it wouldn't stand up as proof in court... but it did serve as a tip off on how to trap him! When "Stephen Gard's" fingerprints have shown him to be Steve Bogardus... Roy compliments Oliver on how the rope forced the Roper to reveal himself... until he had given him enough rope to hang himself... even if that man is the Roper!
Steve Bogardus favors purple business suits, and as the Roper, he wears a black ski mask with goggles, a yellow sleeveless tunic, and brown shorts with yellow boots. The Roper also carries several strands of rope on his person.
Examples of villains who are adept at rope-tricks include the Firestorm foe known as Slipknot, Montana from the Enforcers, Live-Wire (who worked for the Psycho-Man), and the Hangman (who battled Spider-Woman and Werewolf By Night).
The name Bogardus has appeared in an issue of Spider-Woman by Chris Claremont and Steve Leialoha. The story was called "Mission: Impossible" and had the Poppupian consulting Jessica Drew's detective agency to search for his missing wife.
In an E.C. Comics story, it is a man's neck which snaps, not the rope, and he is a free man since he has been declared dead!
"An Occurrence At Owl Creek" shows an interesting escape from a hanging.
Another character who received plastic surgery to restore his features was Two-Face.
"The Ropers" was a spin-off of "Three's Company" with Norman Fell and Audra Lindley.
Steve Roper was the partner of Mike Nomad in the comic strip.
"Rope" was the name of a film directed by Alfred Hitchcock.
Just like Green Arrow and Batman, the Roper conceals his real identity as a wealthy philanthropist! Just like Green Arrow and Batman, he has a secret Rope-Cave (Huh?!?)
This Review Is Dedicated To Tony Isabella
Steve Chung
"The Review of 1,000 Ropes!"

World's Finest #111 - "The Crimes of the Clock King"

World's Finest #111 - "The Crimes of the Clock King"

Published August 1960

Edited by Jack Schiff
Writen by France Harron
Art by Lee Elias

"You've heard of many kinds of clocks--but did you ever hear of a clock
that not only runs but walks as well? No--this is not a riddle but the
elusive subject of the search by those famed archers, Green Arrow and
Speedy, who attempt to stop... the Crimes of the Clock King."
----------------------------------------------------------

It's a gala night in Star City. There's a lavish costume party going on
at the elegant Ritz-Royal Hotel, and the city's wealthy and elite are
all in attendance, each clad in fantastic outfits. One of the guests is
dressed very oddly - a blue suit covered with clock faces, and a green
mask with a clock's face obscuring his own. Watching from the balcony,
the watch-wardrobed figure scans the room. He knows which women are
wearing the most valuable jewels, but is unable to identify them due to
the masks they're wearing. They'll unmask at midnight, however, that is
when he's planning his escape. He has to speed up the timetable and get
them to unmask earlier, and a plan is forming...

The clock soon strikes 12 and the patrons remove their masks. But to
their shock, the room is plunged into darkness instantly afterwards. In
the blackout, the thief snatches jewelry from his targets and escapes
hrough a window. He's succeeded in his heist and his plan was so
simple - all he did was move the minute hand forward!

Almost immediately after the theft, a glowing green arrow is fired from
the police headquarters, illuminating the sky. Oliver Queen and his
ward Roy Harper spot the signal and realize that they're needed to
fight crime as Green Arrow and Speedy. Quickly changing into their
costumes, they take the Arrowcar to the hotel where the heist took plce
and are propelled up to the rooftop, where the criminal stands by the
clock tower. But the timepiece-inspired thief isn't at all worried.
It's midnight, and the mechanical figurines are emerging from the tower
to signal the midnight hour. He can use this opportunity to make his
way down through the tower and escape. As the heroic archers' rope
arrows lasso what they percieve to be the felon, they are stunned to
see him bang the drum held by one of the figurines with a mallet.
They've been tricked! The thief put his costume around one of the
figures. With no leads to follow, the defeated heroes can do nothing
but return home.

In the following days, the Clock King carries out a series of precision
robberies. He strikes the Tick-Tock Club, the Idle Hour Inn, and the
Minute-Man Savings Bank, leaving law enforcement helpless to stop him.
Back at the base of our heroes, Speedy picks up on the fact that all of
the Clock King's robberies are involved with time... or clocks, as
Green Arrow realizes. He announces that they'll continue patroling town
in hopes of finding out the crook's pattern and stopping him.

As fortune would have it, the Clock King is active that very night,
breaking into a store specializing in rare art and antiques. But as he
pries the door open, the burglar alarm starts to blare. He isn't
worried, however, as he prepared for this contingency. As the Clock
King slips into the shop, the clocks at the jewelry store next door go
off at the same time, creating a cacophony that drowns out the alarm.
Green Arrow and Speedy arrive on the scene, and the Emerald Archer
determines that the racket is a distraction. Investigating the art
gallery aside it, they catch their foe making off with an armful of
rolled-up paintings. Stunned, the Clock King makes his escape through
the back alleys, dodging the volley of arrows followed by his two foes
until he darts into a building that serves as his hideout.

The heroic duo enter the Clock King's lair, which fittingly reflects
the criminal's MO: the walls are plastered with clocks and a giant
clock's face is painted on the floor. As Green Arrow and Speedy
approach their quarry, they cross over the floor design... and fall
through a trapdoor activated by the Clock King! The archers find
themselves in a giant hourglass with the sand quickly falling. This is
no ordinary hourglass, however - the sand is falling into a pit filled
with razor-sharp spikes, waiting to skewer the heroes once they fall
in! Thinking quickly, G.A. fires a suction-cup arrow at the ceiling. He
and Speedy climb up and force the trapdoor open. Clock King is caught
off guard by their emergence, and the archers use that to their
advantage, using their arrows to pin his cape to the wall and keep him
from moving. The Clock King's crime spree has been brought to an end -
now instead of basing his thefts around time, he'll simply be doing
time.
----------------------------------------------------------

First appearance of the Clock King, whose true name is William Tockman.

Tockman was initially portrayed as a gimmick villain who wanted to get
rich quick, but later incarnations revised his origin. Believing he
only had six months to live, he wanted to amass enough money for his
invalid sister to provide for her after his death. He studied the
timing of a bank vault in order to rob it, and succeeded... but
accidentally tripped a silent alarm on his escape and was apprehended
by Green Arrow. While in prison, his sister passed away and he learned
that he was not terminally ill - the doctor had made a mistake. Tockman
snapped and escaped, taking on the mantle of Clock King and vowing
revenge against Green Lantern.

Clock King was a member of Major Disaster's unsuccessful incarnation of
the Injustice League, and later recruited for a new Suicide Squad. Not
adept at combat, however, Tockman died in his first mission.

Though initially conceived as a Green Arrow foe, Clock King has been
popularly portrayed as an enemy of Batman. In the 1960s live-action
series the criminal, portrayed by Walter Slezak, attempted a number of
clock-themed robberies and utilized various trick timepieces. In an
homage to his first comic appearance, he trapped the Dynamic Duo in a
giant hourglass and attempted to bury them alive in sand, but failed
and was arrested.

The Batman animated series of the 1990s introduced a new Clock King,
voiced by Alan Rachins. His true identity was Temple Fugate (a play
on "Tempus fugit", Latin for "time flies"), an efficiency expert
obsessed with punctuality. Fugate held a grudge against Gotham's mayor,
Hamilton Hill, because years ago Hill convinced him to abandon his
schedule before a court hearing against his to calm his nerves. He took
the suggestion, but an unfortunate series of events caused Fugate to
lose his files and arrive late to the hearing, resulting in the judge
ruling against his company for $20 million. Fugate snapped, and
embarked on revenge against Hill years later, first seeking to
discredit the mayor, then killing him for committing the worst offense -
making him late. This incarnation of the Clock King had encyclopedic
knowledge of schedules, electronics skills, and an incredible sense of
timing; he could even time how long it took Batman to throw a punch,
allowing him to dodge it.

In the series "Justice League Unlimited", Fugate returned, again voiced
by Rachins, to help Task Force X (a allusion to the Suicide Squad) lead
a raid on the Justice League Watchtower to steal an incredible weapon.
His planning and knowledge of the League's schedule made him a valuable
asset to the group, in contrast to his performance in the comics'
Suicide Squad.