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In Jon’s blog about the half-man/half-pterodactyl Sauron, he asks the question, “What more is there to a super-villain?” Well, how about creating a super-gang to humiliate your intellectual rival? This is exactly what evil-genius the Wizard aimed to do when he joined along side the amnesia stricken Medusa and prison escapees Sandman and Paste Pot Pete to form the Frightful Four. This original line-up of the criminal quartet serves as the defining super-villain team for me possessing all the classic arc-types of 1960s Marvel super-villainy.

The Wizard’s petty motivations are a Marvel Comics’ classic as countless world-beaters from Dr. Doom to Loki are motivated by jealously. Add in his hilarious character design and the fact that the Wizard is short for the Wingless Wizard, and you have one hilariously wicked gang leader. I’m convinced to this day that “Venture Bros.” bad guy the Monarch is inspired by this character.

The rest of the gang is just as timeless. Medusa provides the misguided villain who turns out to not be evil at all. The Sandman is the terrifying thug, who is tough enough to battle the FF alone. Paste Pot Pete captures perfectly those villains that just want to be somebody. His desperation to matter hit home by changing his name from the ridiculous Paste Pot Pete to the Trapster in a bid for more respect. All these characters united to form a team fearsome enough to keep Marvel’s First Family on the ropes for a few issues, while being able to provide you with some laughs as well.

Most other early Marvel teams capture a similar formula, like the original Brotherhood of Evil Mutants and Masters of Evil line-ups. The perfect combos of these original super-villain teams didn’t last. As characters like Medusa went straight or got killed (like the Masters of Evil leader Baron Zemo), team make-ups like these were lost forever. These days, they try to recreate the super-villains crews but the new ranks just don’t capture that classic feel. A Frightful Four featuring the Wizard leading Hydro-man, Cole, and Salamandra just doesn’t have the same ring to it, you know.

-Nick

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