Phantom Reporter
The Phantom Reporter is a male comic superhero who features in Marvel Comics.
Contents |
Biography
Richard Jones
Growing up, Richard had two close friends; the wealthy Edmund Chancellor and the relatively poor Billy Sullivan. Edmund's father, pharmaceuticals mogul Oswald, frequently belittled Sullivan because of his meager upbringings which annoyed Jones, but he didn't dare to talk back to Oswald. Making his lifelong dream of becoming a journalist come true, Richard eventually got a job at a New York City paper in 1939. As a cub reporter he paid his dues covering the boring jobs no one really cared for. Now in their early twenties, the down on his luck Billy Sullivan was contracted by mob boss Silvio Mannino to steal the formula for the Philosopher's Stone, a powder that would supposedly grant eternal youth. Mannino was hired by Oswald Chancellor who wanted the secret to eternal life before the scientist working for him would publish it. Mannino decided to hire Sullivan for the job figuring he wouldn't mind executing him should he learn too much. Sullivan stole the formula, leaving a copy of it with his girlfriend Molly. Mannino, in need of the Philosopher's Stone himself to heal his ailing daughter, had Billy killed by setting his apartment on fire. His girlfriend survived however. When the death of the Sullivans became news, Edmund Chancellor made it a point to gloatingly inform Richard Jones of it. This set him out to investigate the true reason for Billy's death, slowly uncovering the connection between Sullivan and the Mannino mob. Along the way, inspired by the costumed and masked vigilantes like Fiery Mask making the scene at the time, Jones decided to adopt a costumed identity as well. He used a party mask given to him by a random drunken partygoer to become the Phantom Reporter. In this new guise, Jones felt empowered, easily beating information out of everyone possibly connected to the crime. He eventually confronted the Chancellors with what he knew. To his shock, the supposedly geriatric Oswald Chancellor was now a powerhouse with the strength of five adult men. During the fight, the Reporter cleverly tricked his foe to storm him, only to dodge at the last possible moment causing Chancellor to crash through the windows of his high rise, falling to his death. The Phantom Reporter was aware that Billy's partner Molly had survived the fire and was still in possession of a copy of the Philosopher's Stone formula. However, he decided not to pursue the matter. Instead, he continued his active career as a costumed vigilante. (Daring Mystery Comics 70th Anniversary Special v1 #1)
Early in 1940, the ongoing conflict between Namor and the Human Torch Jim Hammond resulted in the Sub-Mariner flooding New York City with a massive tidal wave. Phantom Reporter and several other masked vigilantes were seen aiding relief workers. (Marvels Project v1 #6) The Phantom Reporter uncovered a widespread network of corruption on New York's East Side. The parks commissioner had roped the corrupt publishers of newspapers News Telegram and The Record into working with the equally corrupt chief of police into turning a blind eye to a band of mobsters terrorizing and killing families living on Manhattan's East Side. The commissioner hoped to develop the East Side but needed to get its current residents out, that's why he orchestrated a campaign of terror to influence people to move out and sell their properties as cheaply as possible. The Phantom Reporter successfully put a stop to this by beating the mobsters. After feeding one of them the truth telling drug Nembutal he learned of the parks commissioner's role in the affair and went out to confront and defeat him. Later, he used the mobster's truth serum induced confession to solve the case, earning him a great scoop as reporter Dick Jones. (Daring Mystery Comics v1 #4) When the United States declared war on Germany and the Axis powers, the Phantom Reporter was sent to Europe as a war correspondent connected to the O.S.S. to cover the allied forces' exploits. By 1945, he was still in the field as the Allies moved into Germany. He met several other costumed vigilantes along the way like Dynamic Man, Electro and Mister E, though he noticed that he was considered a tourist by those with actual superpowers. Feeling inadequate and eager to prove himself, he rather cavalierishly talked himself into joining Rockman, Master Mind Excello and the Invaders on a mission to destroy a Nazi research facility that was both a rocket science center and a depot for mystic artifacts like the Lance of St. Maurice. Over the course of the assignment, the Reporter was instrumental in saving the life of Captain America. This led the patriotic hero to personally commend the Reporter on a job well done. (The Twelve: Spearhead v1 #1)
Overview
Personality and attributes
Powers and abilities
Notes
- The Phantom Reporter was created by Mike Robard and Sam Cooper where he made his first appearance in Daring Mystery Comics v1 #3 (April, 1940).
Appearances
- Daring Mystery Comics v1: (1940)
External Links
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