This weekend's light-hearted, escapist superhero post here at Balladeer's Blog examines Canadian-made superheroes from the 1940s. When imports of American comic books were banned in Canada in late 1940 to try trimming their trade deficit, writers and artists north of the border filled the gap with some unjustly neglected characters.
NELVANA OF THE NORTHERN LIGHTS
Secret Identity: Alana North
First Appearance: Triumph-Adventure Comics #31 (August 1941). Her final Golden Age appearance came in 1947.
Origin: Nelvana was the daughter of a mortal woman and Koliak, god of the northern lights. When she became an adult, she took to using her powers as a demigoddess to battle the forces of evil.
Powers: Nelvana could fly at the speed of light, turn invisible, shoot heat rays from her hands and disrupt radio and other communications. In addition, she possessed the power of telepathy.
Comment: Obviously, there is no better character to start with than Nelvana when looking at Canadian superheroes. She was one of the female characters to be in print before Wonder Woman herself. Nationally, Nelvana has been on postage stamps in Canada and is still synonymous with Canadian-made comic books of the Golden Age.
BLACK WING
Secret Identity: Phil Dauntless
First Appearance: Lucky Comics #1 (June 1941). His final Golden Age appearance came around mid-1944.
Origin: While serving as a fighter pilot in World War Two Europe, Phil Dauntless stole the Flying Fish, a virtually indestructible experimental plane/ submarine from the Nazis. Nazi spies framed Phil for treason, causing him to adopt the costumed identity of Black Wing as he went on to fight crime and Axis villains while seeking evidence to clear himself.
Powers: Black Wing was in peak physical condition and excelled at unarmed combat. He was also a superb pilot and had the advantage of flying the high-tech craft he had stolen from the Nazis.
Comment: Black Wing had two sidekicks - his love interest Dizzy and his co-pilot Hap. After a few issues Black Wing and Hap overhauled the Flying Fish to be wingless like a rocketship.
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