Back in the Golden Age of comics you could come from nearly any scientific profession and have a chance at becoming a super powered vigilante. Pharmacist, Bob Benton, was one such example. All he needed was a growing anger at the local mobsters, some help from a local teen, a trip to the costume shop, and a hero was born. How did he get to become the Black Terror? Let’s find out!
Bob Benton was a mild-mannered pharmacist for many years but his life and business were threatened by a protection racket with the raise in crime Bob had seen. His pharmacy assistant, Tim, had been hurt by the men as they left. Ever the aide to humanity, Bob had been trying to come up with a medication to help people feeling distraught with the harshness of life and brought Tim in to try and cheer him up after the threats. Tim would accidentally add in red ant formic acid, which Bob realized made the fumes from the concoction grant the user super strength and durability. Realizing he could use these newfound powers for good, Bob would begin his path to heroism. Tim would also gain powers and get them costumes from a nearby shop and the two would become “The Terror Twins”
Taking down the mobsters that threatened them, they realized they could do so much more. Criminal activity would be just the beginning for the duo as they were at a time when America had just joined World War II, soon they were taking on Nazi and Communist spies. First they’d protect the home front but realized they had a duty to the world and began fighting overseas as well.
As time wore on, in some versions, Bob would retire as he got older and marry. Sadly, his wife would get killed by the raise of crime and the return of a protection racket. Now, Bob was just The Terror and he’d fight without mercy, living up to his new name. He’d further devolve into becoming a crime enforcer himself, changing his name once more to become The Terrorist. This was just one of several paths the Black Terror could go down.
Sometimes the Black Terror has no powers, just fighting crime with two pistols, being a FBI agent in his alter ego. Other world’s have him called the Holy Terror. In one world, aliens attack his home planet and he is rescued by the science hero, Tom Strong. Here, he dies while fighting but is able to upload his mind into a computer program, Terror 2000, to fight crime by building an army of Terror robots to fight crime all over the world. In another time and place, he lives in a town with too many heroes and not enough villainy. Bob is cruel and spends most of his days drinking while being mean to Tim until Tim can’t stand it anymore until Tim shoots him with a villain’s laser. In others, he’s still a stalwart believer in humanity and protecting them from the evils they can do.
There you have it! The Black Terror is a hero that anyone can pick up and make stories about if they want to. He’s in the public domain. Several other heroes are as well so they often team up with the Black Terror. Will you write the next great Black Terror story? Will it be your words turned to actions on the small or silver screen? See you next time!
Suggested Reading
Exciting Comics #9
The Black Terror
Project Superpowers
Project Superpowers: Hero Killers
Dr. Bustos
drbustos@comicattack.net
