It’s not what you think! He whizzes by because he’s so fast! The yellow is just because it’s a flashy color! Come back! He’s got really weird origins! How does this guy go fast and who is he? Let’s find out!
Robert Frank was on a trip traveling throughout Africa when he would get bitten by a cobra. The bite was bad, it’d have been fatal if his father, Dr. Emil Frank, hadn’t gone for the unorthodox idea of injecting his son with mongoose blood. This had been an old legend that Dr. Frank had heard before and when the other option was his son dying, he figured the odds couldn’t get any worse. The doctor was right, Robert was able to recover and not only that, he’d developed super speed and reflexes. Sadly, Dr. Frank died from the stress of all that had happened.
Originally, Robert wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps in medicine but with his new powers and the rise of new masked, super-powered individuals began to fight crime and in the war effort. Realizing his speed could help the world, Robert would don a yellow costume and go by The Whizzer to fight villainy. He’d spend his early days dealing with crooks and organized crime but as the war loomed, Nazi spies became his prey. It was through his work of Nazi busting that he’d meet his future wife, fellow crime fighter, Miss America, Madeline Joyce.
The two would work together in taking out Nazis in the U.S. and this would gain the attention of Bucky Barnes who would invite them to fight the Red Skull to free the Invaders. Forming a team, the Liberty Legion, to help save the Invaders from their mental domination and continue to fight in the war. Robert and the team would deal with the Invaders on several battles before they could free them from the Red Skull’s control. The Liberty Legion spent most of their time preventing the war from spreading onto United States soil despite the efforts of many a super-powered Nazi. There would even be a brief stint where Robert would join the Invaders and fight alongside Captain America.
Returning home during the war, the government kept him on call to protect his home country and even take up a false identity so people could easily contact him while still not knowing who the Whizzer really was. Protecting the home front, he would join the Liberty Legion at the end of the war on last time before they would dissolve and he’d help form a new team, the All-Winners Squad with his old teammates back in the U.S. Robert and Madeline would marry and life was pretty good for a while.
As time went on the All-Winners Squad would leave their costumes behind and become agents of the U.S. government. During a mission, they would be heavily irradiated while saving the day. This sadly was when Madeline was pregnant, they’d have a son who was mutated and radioactive, too dangerous to be outside of a special containment center. that kept him in suspended animation Robert and Madeline were distraught and traveled the world, when another child was expected, the radiation poisoning would mean a stillborn child and Madeline dying in child birth. This traumatized Robert and he began to wonder the world for decades.
Trauma meant that as time went on, Robert would be suffering from amnesia when he met Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch, seeing the speed of Quicksilver, he’d wondered if it was possible these were his children. His first son’s containment unit would break and his breaking free got the attention of the Avengers and the news. Robert would see this and suddenly remembered what happened and realized his son needed him. He’d try to save his son but the Avengers would have to give him a new containment unit to keep him and the world safe. Due to not using his super speed for many years, his advanced age, and his radiation exposure, Robert suffered a heart attack that put him in a coma.
He’d awake and become a wandering homeless man in New York City. He’d try to find the location of his son while also making a connection with Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver who now believed he may be their father. His use of his speed caused him heart strain and so he’d experience another heart attack. This time, the Avengers would learn of his location to help him. He’d be taken care of by Tony Stark’s assistance but would break doctor’s orders to fight crime on occasion still, despite his health. He’d continue to fight for custody of his son while making strides of reconnecting with Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver but then the same villain who had irradiated him all those years ago would return and reveal that the twins were not his children. Robert and his mortal enemy would die in this fight but his son was finally cured of his radiation emissions.
There you have it! The Whizzer is one of the weirder origins and names for a character in comics. He shows up here and there in animation and even live action to many surprised fans. Can you find his appearances without looking them up? Best of luck! Til next time!
Suggested Reading
U.S.A. Comics #1
Vision and the Scarlet Witch #2
All-Winner Comics
Dr. Bustos
drbustos@comicattack.net
