Wonder Man (Nedor 1)

Mystico, the Wonder Man
Real Name	Unknown
First Appearance	Startling Comics #1 (1940)
Original Publisher	Nedor
Created by	Leonard Sansone

Origin

Mystico was a seer of ancient Egypt, who died some 3000 years ago. His mummy was stolen from a museum by Dr. Slade, a mad scientist who resurrects him with his life-restoring "vita-ray." However, the vita-rays were turned up too high, and the machine explodes. The explosion not only destroys Slade's lab, but it also kills Dr. Slade. However, Mystico is revived and decides to fight evil in the 20th century. He built a good relationship with US military officials. He fought a wide variety of enemies, including the dark sorcerer Zarbu.

Powers and Abilities

As a magician, his powers included warning premonitions, levitation, summoning and pretty much whatever the plot required. His powers did have some limits, including a limited range (shorter than line of sight), and an inability to work directly on prehistoric creatures (or possibly anything of a prehistoric nature). He was not able to fly. Without his powers, he was a good fighter and very knowledgeable about the occult.

Golden Age Appearances

• Fighting Yank #1
• Startling Comics #1-9, 11-17

Notes

• The Nedor comics were renewed by Popular Library, which was eventually bought out by Fawcett Books. When Fawcett went out of business, Popular Library was sold to Warner Bros. A number of different publishers, however, are currently/have been using these characters without any lawsuits from Warner Bros., so any action over them is (probably) unlikely. They are still, however, "use at your own risk" characters.

See Also

• International Hero
• Nedor-A-Day