Radio Recap: Creeps by Night

Creeps by Night was a very short-lived old-time radio horror series, lasting just February 15-August 15, 1944 on the Blue network. It was apparently produced by Robert Maxwell and directed by Dave Drummond. Alonzo Dean Cole (the Witch's Tale) was one of the contributing writers. Boris Karloff was the series' star and apparently also served as the host of the series (some of my sources claimed Bela Lugosi was the original host but apparently that was just scuttlebutt); after Karloff had to leave the show, the host became the anonymous "Doctor X."

(I don't think there's any connection between the series and the hardcover anthology Dashiell Hammett edited, but they both came out in 1944, so I'm using the book cover for this post; it's a swell anthology, check it out!)

The series' short length of just 25 episodes is further diminished in that only 7 episodes are known to exist - and even then, several of them are truncated versions from the Armed Forces' Mystery Playhouse.

Since we have only 7 episodes to hear, I might as well summarize their plots:

• "Those Who Walk in Darkness" (April 25, 1944) starring Boris Karloff as an eye doctor operating on the husband of the woman he's had an affair with.
• "The Final Reckoning" (May 2, 1944) starring Boris Karloff as a man who gets out of prison and seeks revenge on his former partner-in-crime by scaring him to death.
• "The Hunt" (May 9, 1944) starring Boris Karloff as a farmer whose property is being stalked by a werewolf.
• "The Walking Dead" (May 16, 1944) On a plantation in Haiti, zombies rise to assault the living.
• "The Strange Burial of Alexander Jordan" (May 23, 1944) Edmund Gwenn stars as a man who is afraid of being buried alive.
• "The Three Sisters" (June 20, 1944) as one woman lies dying, her two sisters hold a vigil, expecting their dead mother to come and claim her.
• "The Six Who Would Not Die" (July 11, 1944) a pearl diver sends six men to their deaths in the ocean but they don't stay dead.

Of these, naturally the Karloff episodes are of most interest to horror buffs; "the Final Reckoning" probably has the best audio; "the Hunt" has somewhat patchy audio although the story is good; but I think the best of Karloff's is "Those Who Walk in Darkness."

As a whole, I think Creeps by Night is comparable to Inner Sanctum Mysteries; there's some decent chills and good performances. Who knows, we might yet unearth more lost episodes some day - they'd be most welcome.

A fan has a playlist of Creeps by Night here on the Internet Archive.

Radio Recap: The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

Let's talk about another syndicated radio series produced by Harry Alan Towers: the Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (it was also broadcast as episodes of ABC Mystery Time).

To be clear, this is only going to be a recap of the 1954 series that Towers produced - I won't be referencing any of the many BBC adaptations, nor the long radio runs of NBC's Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1930-1936), or the best-remembered version, NBC/Mutual's New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes which initially starred Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce (1939-1950). Maybe I'll visit them in a future Radio Recap, but it would take a lot of research on my part.

Towers' the Adventures of Sherlock Holmes starred two big name actors in the lead roles - John Gielgud as Holmes and Ralph Richardson as Watson. Gielgud was in something of a slump; he was homosexual, and had been caught cruising for sex, which was a crime; he avoided prison, but his career slumped to a standstill, which naturally led him to Harry Alan Towers, who always had work for slumming professionals.

I find Gielgud is all right as Holmes, but he comes off as more austere than cerebral. A bigger problem is Ralph Richardson - as Watson, he had to narrate every episode and his delivery was a bit muddy. He'd drop his voice and mumble at times-- and not for dramatic effect.

Like most of Towers' programs, the Adventures of Sherlock Holmes has a small library of musical cues that it uses all the time; there's also scarcely any sound effects (other than a stock noise of hoofbeats on cobblestones that's used in the intro and at times to set a scene). The music is primarily a short piece of violin; sometimes it's introduced as what Holmes is supposedly playing at the time.

What the series had going for it was that it adapted the original Arthur Conan Doyle stories - there were no original scripts, unlike the New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. I've definitely found these adaptations to be effective; I can vividly recall the first time I heard the productions of "the Case of the Six Napoleons" and "the Dying Detective," which led to my own fascination with Doyle's short stories and novels. And as an Orson Welles fan, I do appreciate his turn as Professor Moriarty in "the Final Problem."

However, as much as I like Doyle's writing, I'm not certain that these are the best adaptations of his work. The first episode of the series is just terrible. Titled, "Dr. Watson Meets Sherlock Holmes," it begins as an adaptation of Doyle's short story, "the Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton" but just before it reaches the climax, Watson shifts the narrative to describe how he and Holmes first met (as related in the novel "A Study in Scarlet"), then returns to the climax of the case. There is no good reason for this shift; if the episode had opened with Holmes and Watson's first meeting, the script would have been much improved. As is, it's so bad that if you try listening to the series in order, you might want to give up right then and there; but if you're willing to persevere, I do think this is a good Sherlock Holmes program, even if it's not the best.

You can hear every episode of Towers' the Adventures of Sherlock Holmes in this YouTube playlist created by a fan.

Radio Recap: The Lives of Harry Lime

"That was the shot that killed Harry Lime. He died in a sewer beneath Vienna, as those of you know who saw the movie the Third Man. Yes, that was the end of Harry Lime-- but it was not the beginning; Harry Lime had many lives and I can recount all of them. How do I know? Very simple; because my name is Harry Lime."

Continuing from last Friday's post on the Black Museum, I'd like to talk about another syndicated radio program by Harry Alan Towers: The Lives of Harry Lime (1951). Er, if that is indeed the series' name; it's almost as often given by announcers as "the Third Man."

The Third Man was, of course, the 1949 movie directed by Carol Reed from Graham Greene's story. The film featured author Holly Martins (Joseph Cotten) as a man who goes to post-war Vienna to accept a job from his old friend Harry Lime. He soon discovers Harry is actually a criminal.

I learned of the Third Man through the Lives of Harry Lime and when I finally saw that film, it became my favourite movie. But the radio series is not really part of the same continuity as the movie; they both star Orson Welles as a criminal named Harry Lime; they both feature the zither music of Anton Karas (believe it or not, Karas' score to the movie was a hit at the time). But perhaps the reason Orson's opening narration refers to Lime's "many lives" is because these stories aren't meant to be about the same person in the Third Man - instead they present alternate takes on him.

In the Lives of Harry Lime, Harry is roguish fellow; although he loves to swindle people, sometimes his inner goodness causes him to take pity on his victims; sometimes he gets outwitted; and sometimes he's pit against corrupt government or Nazis where it's considered morally correct for Lime to fleece them. But that's not the Harry Lime of the Third Man; part of the plot of the movie is Holly realizing that Harry isn't who he thought he was; Harry views himself as a good-natured rogue, but Holly is forced to confront the results of Harry's actions, the innocent children who die because of Harry's black market penicilin.

So, although the program invites comparisons to the Third Man it's really best that you take this series on its own terms - it's an adventure program. Harry gets to be genuinely heroic at times, such as in a nice playful moment at the climax of "5,000 Pengoes and a Kiss" where Harry forces a patrol of Hungarian policemen to give him their belts so that they'll be unable to chase him. Harry: "In all the famous chases in history, no policeman has been known to catch a fugitive and hold up his pants at the same time."

Other good episodes include "Turnabout Is Foul Play" in which Harry pretends to be an immensely moral man in order to swindle a government official; "The Bohemian Star" in which Harry masquerades as a journalist and gets the goods on a jewel heist; and there's the very intriguing episode "Man of Mystery" which was apparently written by Orson himself; he later expanded the plot another motion picture, Mr. Arkadin.

Welles appeared in a lot of radio shows for Harry Alan Towers but the quality of his output was variable. In the Lives of Harry Lime he was being called on to be the lead man - not merely a supporting player or narrator. Frankly, he wasn't always up to it. In much of Orson's radio work, he'd read through his scripts recklessly and even contemptuously; knowing that he sometimes didn't read scripts until he showed up for the broadcast, his performances could come over as unpolished (to put it politely). Sometimes Orson seemed very invested in his performance; other times, he sounded bored; on other occasions, he was speeding through the script, talking over his fellow performers as if in a hurry to be done with it; and then there are time where he garbles his dialogue (which is amazing for a transcribed program; I guess he refused to do retakes) and sounds either sleepy or drunk. All of this drags down the program.

You can hear every episode of the Lives of Harry Lime in this YouTube playlist created by a fan.

Radio Recap: The Black Museum

"The Black Museum, the repository of death. Yes, here in the grim stone structure on the Thames which houses Scotland Yard is a warehouse of homicide... where everyday objects: a skillet, a screwdriver, a photograph... all... are touched by murder!"

Somehow it's taken this long for me to post a Radio Recap of a Harry Alan Towers program.

In the 1950s, Harry Alan Towers produced a number of syndicated radio dramas, usually employing many of the same performers in each series - programs like Secrets of Scotland Yard, the Scarlet Pimpernel, the Adventures of Horatio Hornblower and today's entry - the Black Museum (1952). He liked to produce 52 episodes of his shows so they could be broadcast across an entire year. As best as I can tell, the syndicated episodes of the Black Museum were aired in the USA on Mutual.

The series was a crime anthology hoted by Orson Welles. Towers' shows tended to use a big-name actor to draw listeners to the show - but he went specifically after big-name actors who were having trouble in their career, and thus were desperate enough to work for him. Orson was then having an awful time with the IRS in the USA, hence the attraction to recording a lot of radio shows with Towers. The problem, of course, is that when Orson was just there to collect a paycheck he didn't put in his best effort. At least as narrator, that didn't mean he would sink the whole show-- but I've seen plenty of online reviewers remark that Orson sounded bored as he hosted the Black Museum. To me, it's variable - in some episodes he seems very into his craft; in others, not so much.

The show's gimmick is that Orson would be within Scotland Yard's Black Museum, introducing an object which was related to a crime of some kind; then the drama would begin in earnest, with Orson piping up only when exposition required his assistance. The Scotland Yard inspectors were played by a number of uncredited performers and changed with each episode.

I think the Black Museum is the best of Towers' programs; the man liked to recycle his music, whether the music fit the mood of the script or not. But the musical transitions on the Black Museum work pretty well. Towers also didn't like to use many sound effects on his shows, which really diminishes them; but because the Black Museum would be centered around a particular object, there would usually be a noise to accompany that object, giving the show a bit more heft.

There are some gruesome crimes recounted on the Black Museum, especially violence committed against women - "the Baby Jacket" and "the Brass Button" are two of the more violent episodes. There's a Jack the Ripper episode called "the Razor"; and there's a ghost episode, "the Chain!"

But some episodes don't quite work for me - "the Postcard" doesn't have a conclusion to its crime, ending on an ambiguous note.

As I noted before, the program Whitehall 1212 was also about items from Scotland Yard's Black Museum, but it's nowhere near as good, despite being produced by Wyllis Cooper. Stick to the Black Museum if this is a subject you're interested in.

You can hear the Black Museum on the Old Time Radio Reserchers' YouTube playlist.

"Are the readers still with us?" The Mythmakers review

Last years Abrams published the Mythmakers, a graphic novel by John Hendrix. It's the story of C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien's friendship and focuses in primarily on those years they spent sharing ideas and writing their stories together - but with biographical details stretching across both men's lives (and beyond). Some passages are told through text but most of the book is a proper graphic novel. Dramatic license is employed in recounting moments from both men's lives, but Hendrix used direct quotes where possible.

What's unusual about this book is that it's introduced by a lion and a wizard, who guide the audience through the book's narrative. At first it seemed a bit patronizing to me to have these fictional characters talking through Lewis and Tolkien's lives - it left me wondering if the book was meant for younger readers. Still, the lion and the wizard are deployed to discuss ideas outside the scope of Lewis and Tolkien's lives, especially for discussions about how to define a myth and where the two men's works fit in the academic definitions of myth. There's also a deeply personal reason why Hendrix uses these two characters, which is not revealed until the end of the book.

I only learned of the Mythmakers because it was being promoted in Christian circles as a very good book - it's rare that I see Christians promoting a graphic novel, much less one that was published for the general market, not the Christian bookstore speciality market. Hendrix discusses his own faith in the book's back matter and how that influenced his depiction of Lewis and Tolkien's friendship. I won't lie, Hendrix touched my heart.

I think all fans of Lewis and Tolkien feel as Hendrix does - that the loosening of their bond is a tragedy. And that's ultimately what the Mythmakers is walking through - it's the story of how a friendship was made, how that friendship fell apart and how to draw a happy conclusion despite that. This was a fine read and I'm very happy I read it.

Radio Recap: The Big Story

The Big Story is a fascinating concept for a program - although the execution isn't that different from other shows. It was an anthology program in which each week they would dramatize a story taken from the newspapers, usually with the story's journalist as the lead character in the drama.

The problem with the series is that while, in theory, a newspaper story could glance upon almost any aspect of social life, the majority of episodes of the Big Story are about crime; either the journalist is trying to help the police catch a criminal or he's trying to clear the name of a wrongly-convicted felon by finding the actual criminal. So although the Big Story could have been a great dramatic program, it's mostly yet another crime program.

The series was broadcast over NBC for a respectable run from April 2, 1947 until March 23, 1955. Pall Mall cigarettes sponsored the show for most of its run, although Lucky Strike sponsored the final year. The series was produced by Bernard J. Prockter, who had previously been a radio game show producer; the announcer was none other than Ernest Chappell, best-remembered as "the man who spoke to you" on Wyllis Cooper's Quiet, Please.

If you're a classic film buff, you probably remember the 1948 James Stewart film Call Northside 777, in which Stewart portrayed a journalist who rescues an innocent man from a life sentence. If you enjoyed that film then you'll probably like the Big Story, which hits a lot of the same beats as that movie.

One interesting episode that deviates from the norm is dubbed "The Bitterest Man on the Earth" (June 8, 1949) which concerns a wrongly-convicted black man. It sounds like at least a few of the performers were black people, and the majority of characters in the cast were black-- that's always a rarity in radio. Another interesting story is "Puritan Morality and Violent Death" (October 18, 1950) which drew parallels to the case of Lizzie Borden and involved a wife who grew frustrated with her philandering husband.

If you want a newspaper drama, you'll be a bit disappointed (maybe you should listen to Big Town?), but as a crime program with a rotating cast of journalist protagonists drawn from true-life cases, it's not bad.

You can hear 38 surviving episodes (from 383 broadcast!) of the Big Story on this YouTube playlist created by the Old Time Radio Researchers.

Creator Credits for Captain America: Brave New World

It's been a while since I generated a list of creator credits for a Marvel Cinematic Universe project; 2024 saw fewer productions than usual, and of those that did appear, I was barely interested in any of them. But heck, here's a new Captain America movie and in spite of it all, I have a lot love for Cap.

Below are the comic book creators whose work is represented in the film Captain America: Brave New World. If you see an omission, tell me in the comments!

Stan Lee (writer/editor): co-creator of the Avengers, a team of super heroes (Avengers #1, 1963); of Captain America as one of the Avengers (Avengers #4, 1964); of Captain America throwing his shield so that it ricochets and returns to his hand (Avengers #5, 1964); of the Falcon, Sam Wilson, a black super hero and ally of Captain America; the Falcon wearing green; of Redwing, Sam's winged ally (Captain America #117, 1969); of Leila Taylor, a woman involved with Sam Wilson (Captain America #139, 1971); of Wakanda, an African nation with incredible scientific resources (Fantastic Four #52, 1966); of Vibranium, a rare metal found in Wakanda with unusual properties (Fantastic Four #53, 1966); of Bruce Banner, a famous scientist who transformed into the Hulk, an enormous brute with superhuman strength; of General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross, a mustache-wearing Air Force officer who used military resources to combat the Hulk; of Betty Ross, the general's daughter, who loves Banner (Incredible Hulk #1, 1962); of the Hulk having green skin (Incredible Hulk #2, 1962); of the Hulk leaping vast distances (Incredible Hulk #3, 1962); of the Black Widow, an espionage agent (Tales of Suspense #52, 1964); of Ant-Man, a costumed hero who can alter his size (Tales to Astonish #35, 1962); of the Hulk's transformations caused by anger (Tales to Astonish #60, 1964); of the Leader, a super-intelligent man (Tales to Astonish #62, 1964); of the Hulk creating shockwaves by clapping his hands together (Tales to Astonish #65, 1965); of the Abomination, a Russian transformed by gamma radiation into a huge green scaly monster who fights the Hulk (Tales to Astonish #90, 1967)

Jack Kirby (artist/writer): creator of the Celestials, immense cosmic beings who visit Earth (Eternals #1, 1976); co-creator of the Avengers, a team of super heroes (Avengers #1, 1963); of Captain America as one of the Avengers (Avengers #4, 1964); of Captain America throwing his shield so that it ricochets and returns to his hand (Avengers #5, 1964); of Bucky Barnes, a costumed hero and best friend of Steve Rogers; of Captain America, Steve Rogers, super hero from World War II who gained his peak human abilities from the Super-Soldier Serum; of Captain America wearing a red, white and blue costume with 'A' on forehead and star on chest (Captain America Comics #1, 1941); of Captain America's round shield with red and white stripes (Captain America Comics #2, 1941); of Wakanda, an African nation with incredible scientific resources (Fantastic Four #52, 1966); of Vibranium, a rare metal found in Wakanda with unusual properties (Fantastic Four #53, 1966); of Bruce Banner, a famous scientist who transformed into the Hulk, an enormous brute with superhuman strength; of General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross, a mustache-wearing Air Force officer who used military resources to combat the Hulk; of Betty Ross, the general's daughter, who loves Banner (Incredible Hulk #1, 1962); of the Hulk having green skin (Incredible Hulk #2, 1962); of the Hulk leaping vast distances (Incredible Hulk #3, 1962); of the Black Widow, an espionage agent (Tales of Suspense #52, 1964); of Ant-Man, a costumed hero who can alter his size (Tales to Astonish #35, 1962)

Mark Gruenwald (writer/editor): creator of Sidewinder's real name Seth Voelker (Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe #10, 1983); co-creator of Sidewinder as an enemy of Captain America; of Sidewinder's ease at escaping prison (Captain America #315, 1986); of Dennis Dunphy as an ally of Captain America (Captain America #328, 1987); of Dennis Dunphy suffering a heart attack (Captain America #330, 1987); of Dennis Dunphy as an ally of Sam Wilson (Captain America #336, 1987); of Copperhead, a serpent-themed mercenary who battles Captain America (Captain America #337, 1988); of Sidewinder, a serpent-themed mercenary (Marvel Two-in-One #64, 1980)

Sal Buscema (artist): co-creator of a team of serpent-themed mercenaries who battle Captain America (Captain America #157, 1973); of the Falcon utilizing mechanical wings built for him by the Wakandans (Captain America #170, 1974); of Ruth Bat-Seraph, an Israeli agent and expert fighter (Incredible Hulk #250, 1980); of Ruth Bat-Seraph's name (Incredible Hulk #256, 1981); of Betty and General Ross having a falling out because of his actions against the Hulk (Incredible Hulk #277, 1982); of Karen Ross, Thaddeus Ross' wife, who died from cancer (Incredible Hulk #291, 1984)

Robert Morales (writer): co-creator of Isaiah Bradley, a black soldier who was subjected to a variant of the Super-Soldier Serum in an attempt to duplicate Captain America's origin; of Faith, Isaiah's lover (The Truth: Red, White & Black #1, 2003); of Isaiah Bradley undergoing missions for the US government but then becoming a prisoner and subjected to horrifying experiments over decades; of Isaiah attempting to keep a low profile after his release (Truth: Red, White & Black #7, 2003)

Kyle Baker (artist): co-creator of Isaiah Bradley, a black soldier who was subjected to a variant of the Super-Soldier Serum in an attempt to duplicate Captain America's origin; of Faith, Isaiah's lover (The Truth: Red, White & Black #1, 2003); of Isaiah Bradley undergoing missions for the US government but then becoming a prisoner and subjected to horrifying experiments over decades; of Isaiah attempting to keep a low profile after his release (Truth: Red, White & Black #7, 2003)

Joe Simon (writer/artist): co-creator of Bucky Barnes, a costumed hero and best friend of Steve Rogers; of Captain America, Steve Rogers, super hero from World War II who gained his peak human abilities from the Super-Soldier Serum; of Captain America wearing a red, white and blue costume with 'A' on forehead and star on chest (Captain America Comics #1, 1941); of Captain America's round shield with red and white stripes (Captain America Comics #2, 1941)

Jeph Loeb (writer): co-creator of the Red Hulk, a red-skinned version of the Hulk who wearing black shorts and generates intense heat from his body (Hulk #1, 2008); of the Red Hulk and the Leader manipulating each other for their own benefit; of the Leader being responsible for transforming Thaddeus Ross into the Red Hulk, basing his transformation on that of Bruce Banner's (Hulk #23, 2010)

Ed McGuinness (artist): co-creator of the Red Hulk, a red-skinned version of the Hulk who wearing black shorts and generates intense heat from his body (Hulk #1, 2008); of the Red Hulk and the Leader manipulating each other for their own benefit; of the Leader being responsible for transforming Thaddeus Ross into the Red Hulk, basing his transformation on that of Bruce Banner's (Hulk #23, 2010)

Bill Mantlo (writer): co-creator of Ruth Bat-Seraph, an Israeli agent and expert fighter (Incredible Hulk #250, 1980); of Ruth Bat-Seraph's name (Incredible Hulk #256, 1981); of Betty and General Ross having a falling out because of his actions against the Hulk (Incredible Hulk #277, 1982); of Karen Ross, Thaddeus Ross' wife, who died from cancer (Incredible Hulk #291, 1984)

Nick Spencer (writer): co-creator of Joaquin Torres, a Latino man who is an ally of Sam Wilson (Captain America: Sam Wilson #1, 2015); of Joaquin Torres inheriting the mantle of the Falcon from Sam Wilson, wearing a modified version of the Falcon's green costume with a helmet and working as sidekick to Sam Wilson's Captain America (Captain America: Sam Wilson #6, 2016)

Rick Remender (writer): co-creator of Sam Wilson wearing a Captain America costume which incorporates his Falcon technology, becoming a hybrid of the two costume styles (All-New Captain America #1, 2015); of Steve Rogers asking the Falcon to become the new Captain America (Captain America #25, 2014)

Ed Brubaker (writer): co-creator of the Winter Soldier, a legendary assassin whose left arm is cybernetic (Captain America #1, 2005); of the Winter Soldier revealed to be Bucky Barnes having been brainwashed and kept in stasis except when sent on missions (Captain America #8, 2005)

Steve Epting (artist): co-creator of the Winter Soldier, a legendary assassin whose left arm is cybernetic (Captain America #1, 2005); of the Winter Soldier revealed to be Bucky Barnes having been brainwashed and kept in stasis except when sent on missions (Captain America #8, 2005)

Steve Ditko (artist): co-creator of the Hulk's transformations caused by anger (Tales to Astonish #60, 1964); of the Leader, a super-intelligent man (Tales to Astonish #62, 1964); of the Hulk creating shockwaves by clapping his hands together (Tales to Astonish #65, 1965)

Joe Bennett (artist): co-creator of Joaquin Torres inheriting the mantle of the Falcon from Sam Wilson, wearing a modified version of the Falcon's green costume with a helmet and working as sidekick to Sam Wilson's Captain America (Captain America: Sam Wilson #6, 2016)

Tom Morgan (artist): co-creator of Dennis Dunphy suffering a heart attack (Captain America #330, 1987); of Dennis Dunphy as an ally of Sam Wilson (Captain America #336, 1987); of Copperhead, a serpent-themed mercenary who battles Captain America (Captain America #337, 1988)

Jim Krueger (writer): co-creator of the Celestials seeding the Earth with a new Celestial and seeking to bring it to life which would result in the destruction of Earth (Earth X #10, 2000); of the Celestial prevented from destroying the Earth (Earth X: X, 2000)

Alex Ross (artist/writer): co-creator of the Celestials seeding the Earth with a new Celestial and seeking to bring it to life which would result in the destruction of Earth (Earth X #10, 2000); of the Celestial prevented from destroying the Earth (Earth X: X, 2000)

John Paul Leon (artist): co-creator of the Celestials seeding the Earth with a new Celestial and seeking to bring it to life which would result in the destruction of Earth (Earth X #10, 2000); of the Celestial prevented from destroying the Earth (Earth X: X, 2000)

Steve Englehart (writer): co-creator of a team of serpent-themed mercenaries who battle Captain America (Captain America #157, 1973); of the Falcon utilizing mechanical wings built for him by the Wakandans (Captain America #170, 1974)

Gene Colan (artist): co-creator of the Falcon, Sam Wilson, a black super hero and ally of Captain America; the Falcon wearing green; of Redwing, Sam's winged ally (Captain America #117, 1969)

Stuart Immonen (artist): co-creator of Sam Wilson wearing a Captain America costume which incorporates his Falcon technology, becoming a hybrid of the two costume styles (All-New Captain America #1, 2015)

Bruce Jones (writer): co-creator of the mysterious figure "Mr. Blue" (Incredible Hulk #34, 2002); of Samuel Sterns trying to obtain Banner's blood for his experiments (Incredible Hulk #36, 2002)

John Romita Jr. (artist): co-creator of the mysterious figure "Mr. Blue" (Incredible Hulk #34, 2002); of Samuel Sterns trying to obtain Banner's blood for his experiments (Incredible Hulk #36, 2002)

George Perez (artist): co-creator of half the universe's population being eliminated (Infinity Gauntlet #1, 1991); of Sidewinder, a serpent-themed mercenary (Marvel Two-in-One #64, 1980)

Gil Kane (artist): co-creator of the Abomination, a Russian transformed by gamma radiation into a huge green scaly monster who fights the Hulk (Tales to Astonish #90, 1967)

Roy Thomas (writer): co-creator of Adamantium, a metal which is virtually indestructible (Avengers #66, 1969); of the Leader's name Samuel Sterns (Incredible Hulk #129, 1970)

Paul Neary (artist): co-creator of Sidewinder as an enemy of Captain America; of Sidewinder's ease at escaping prison (Captain America #315, 1986)

Ralph Macchio (writer): co-creator of Sidewinder, a serpent-themed mercenary (Marvel Two-in-One #64, 1980)

Don Heck (artist): co-creator of the Black Widow, an espionage agent (Tales of Suspense #52, 1964)

Don Rico (writer): co-creator of the Black Widow, an espionage agent (Tales of Suspense #52, 1964)

Mark Waid (writer): co-creator of the Falcon wearing Captain America's costume as his replacement (Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty #8, 1999)

Christopher Priest (writer): co-creator of the Falcon wearing a beard (Captain America & the Falcon #1, 2004)

Steve Gerber (writer): co-creator of a team of serpent-themed mercenaries who battle Captain America (Captain America #157, 1973)

David Michelinie (writer): co-creator of the Falcon as one of the Avengers (Avengers #183, 1979)

Brian Michael Bendis (writer): co-creator of the Raft, a high-security prison used by the US government for superhuman adversaries (New Avengers #1, 2005)

John Romita (artist): co-creator of Leila Taylor, a woman involved with Sam Wilson (Captain America #139, 1971)

David Finch (artist): co-creator of the Raft, a high-security prison used by the US government for superhuman adversaries (New Avengers #1, 2005)

Cully Hamner (artist): co-creator of the Falcon wearing Captain America's costume as his replacement (Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty #8, 1999)

Daniel Acuña (artist): co-creator of Joaquin Torres, a Latino man who is an ally of Sam Wilson (Captain America: Sam Wilson #1, 2015)

Carlos Pacheco (artist): co-creator of Steve Rogers asking the Falcon to become the new Captain America (Captain America #25, 2014)

Bart Sears (artist): co-creator of the Falcon wearing a beard (Captain America & the Falcon #1, 2004)

John Byrne (artist): co-creator of the Falcon as one of the Avengers (Avengers #183, 1979)

Mark Millar (writer): co-creator of the Abomination being massive and partially armored (Ultimates 2 #9, 2006)

Bryan Hitch (artist): co-creator of the Abomination being massive and partially armored (Ultimates 2 #9, 2006)

Jim Starlin (writer): co-creator of half the universe's population being eliminated (Infinity Gauntlet #1, 1991)

Todd McFarlane (artist): co-creator of the Leader's head being round to indicate a larger brain (Incredible Hulk #342, 1988)

Peter David (writer): co-creator of the Leader's head being round to indicate a larger brain (Incredible Hulk #342, 1988)

Herb Trimpe (artist): co-creator of the Leader's name Samuel Sterns (Incredible Hulk #129, 1970)

Jeff Parker (writer): co-creator of Thaddeus Ross being imprisoned after being identified as the Red Hulk (Hulk #25, 2010)

Gabriel Hardman (artist): co-creator of Thaddeus Ross being imprisoned after being identified as the Red Hulk (Hulk #25, 2010)

Barry Windsor-Smith (artist): co-creator of Adamantium, a metal which is virtually indestructible (Avengers #66, 1969)

Christos Gage (writer): co-creator of Ruth Bat-Seraph wearing a black costume with blue trim (Union Jack #1, 2006)

Mike Perkins (artist): co-creator of Ruth Bat-Seraph wearing a black costume with blue trim (Union Jack #1, 2006)

Belinda Glass (writer): co-creator of Ruth Bat-Seraph, an Israeli agent and expert fighter (Incredible Hulk #250, 1980)

Brian Patchett (writer): co-creator of Dennis Dunphy serving in the U.S. military (Marvel Assistant-Sized Spectacular #1, 2009)

Xurxo G. Penalta (artist): co-creator of Dennis Dunphy serving in the U.S. military (Marvel Assistant-Sized Spectacular #1, 2009)

Mike Carlin (writer): co-creator of Dennis Dunphy, a red-haired man (The Thing #28, 1985)

Ron Wilson (artist): co-creator of Dennis Dunphy, a red-haired man (The Thing #28, 1985)

Larry Lieber: co-creator of Ant-Man, a costumed hero who can alter his size (Tales to Astonish #35, 1962)

Ta-Nehisi Coates (writer): co-creator of the Red Hulk battling Captain America but ultimately standing down (Captain America #26, 2021)

Leonard Kirk (artist): co-creator of the Red Hulk battling Captain America but ultimately standing down (Captain America #26, 2021)

J. G. Jones (artist): co-creator of the Red Room, the spy program which created the Black Widow (Black Widow #2, 1999)

Devin Grayson (writer): co-creator of the Red Room, the spy program which created the Black Widow (Black Widow #2, 1999)