Zeelmo
Zeelmo was the original enemy of the Red Raven.
Name:
Zeelmo
Publisher:
Real name:
Aliases:
- Ruthless Demon
- Golden Leech
Birth date:
None
Gender:
Male
Powers:
- Chemical Secretion
- Gadgets
- Insanely Rich
- Intellect
- Leadership
- Super Sight
First issue:
Red Raven Comics (1940) #1 The Origin of the Red Raven
Zeelmo was the leader to an organized crime gang, responsible for numerous murders and "accidental" deaths. His equipment included the Gazegrapho Machine, a television device which actually allowed him to locate and view scenes of conflict from around the planet. His most prominent weapon was a gas which accelerated the aging process. He had a special chamber created to keep those prisoners condemned to execution. The chamber would be filled with gas and their lives were over.
Zeelmo's masterplan was to drain the world of its gold resources. The gold was acquired through various means and then transferred to underground layers. The result being a nation (implied to be the United States), stripped of its gold resources and falling into poverty. Endless lines for bread and employment could be found in every major city. Poverty, disease, and "shattered hopes" were spread everywhere. Zeelmo dreamed of using his amassed wealth to make all humanity his "cringing slaves".
His luck ended when Zeelmo located Red Raven (in plain clothes) involved in a street brawl and proving resistant to the tear gas used by the police. He decided that the Raven was a criminal fit for recruitment. The Raven was eventually arrested by the police. But Zeelmo sent his agents to retrieve him. A "deadly missile" took care of the police wagon transporting the prisoner. Also killing three cops in the process. Zeelmo offered the redhaired "hoodlum" a place in his organization.
Red Raven grabbed a fist-full of Zeelmo's gold coins and tossed them to the face of the master criminal. Zeelmo condemned him to death. He tossed thr man to his gas chamber along with Andreva, a young woman who also refused to obey him. The prisoners managed to escape. The vengeful Raven grabbed Zeelmo and threw him right into his own gas chamber. Zeelmo's aging process presumably accelerated to the point of killing him. The Raven set the flamable gas on fire, resulting in an explosion which destroyed the headquarters of Zeelmo.
