Alan Armstrong was a wealthy aviator and athlete from Virginia. During World War II, he fought saboteurs and spies in the US as the Spy Smasher. When the war ended, he turned his attention to regular crime as the Crime Smasher.
History
Origin
In early winter of 1940, he met a young woman named Eve Corby. Alan and Eve fell in love and were quickly engaged. Eve's father was an Admiral in the intelligence division of the United States Navy and often conferred with the civilian playboy concerning matters of national defense. One evening, Admiral Corby told Alan about a suspected ring of saboteurs operating in the area.
Inspired by the notion of taking aim against enemy agents, Alan began putting together a new identity for himself. He designed a multifunctional vehicle known as a Gyrosub--which was capable of traversing nearly any level of terrain be it land, sea or air. He also fashioned a brown costume and aviator goggles for himself and took the name Spy Smasher.
Smashing Spies
Spy Smasher became a champion of justice and fought to keep foreign powers away from American interests. After his initial adventures, Spy Smasher adopted a more colorful outfit, consisting of a green two-piece uniform and a brilliant red cape. Although many of his adventures took place stateside, Spy Smasher was also extremely active in the European Theater of Operations, and in South America, during the Second World War. Yet even during the War, in his civilian identity, he also found time to remain active in an amateur Polo league.[1]
After the war ended, Alan continued adventuring well into the Cold War era. During this time he briefly adopted the name Crime Smasher, but reverted back to his Spy Smasher identity before long.
In 1953, Spy Smasher (along with many other superheroes) was trapped in Dr. Sivana's Suspendium globe, to be held in suspended animation until released in 1973. Several years after his release, he became a member of the team referred to as Shazam's Squadron of Justice.
Powers and Abilities
Abilities
- Aviation: Alan Armstrong flew, drove, dove, and sailed the Gyrosub.[2]
- Cryptography: Alan Armstrong kept a personal code book, with which he could crack many enemy codes.[3]
- Extreme Agility: Spy Smasher's training regimen included dodging bullets, at close range.[1]
- Gadgetry: Alan Armstrong designed and built the Gyrosub.
- Hand-to-Hand Combat (Advanced)
- Multilingualism: Spy Smasher understood and spoke Japanese,[4] and could read Italian.[4]
Paraphernalia
Transportation
Notes
- This version of Spy Smasher, including all history and corresponding appearances, was erased from existence following the collapse of the original Multiverse in the 1985–86 Crisis on Infinite Earths event and later restored following the rebirth of the infinite Multiverse during the Dark Crisis of 2022-2023. Even though other versions of the character may have appeared, this information does not apply to those versions.
- Spy Smasher was created by writer Bill Parker and artist C.C. Beck for Fawcett Publications. In 1953, National Periodical Publications settled a long-running lawsuit against Fawcett citing that the character of Captain Marvel bore too much of a resemblance to their own character, Superman. After settling the case (by agreeing to no longer publish Captain Marvel), Fawcett discontinued publication of their entire comic book line and Spy Smasher lapsed into obscurity. In 1972, DC Comics licensed many of the Fawcett characters, including Spy Smasher, and established that they existed on the fictional parallel world known as Earth-S. The Fawcett characters made several appearances throughout various Silver Age DC titles including, Shazam, World's Finest Comics and Justice League of America. In 1991, DC bought the Fawcett characters (including Spy Smasher) outright.
- Spy Smasher's last Golden Age adventure was published in 1948 (as Crime Smasher).[5] However, we know he continued his super-hero career beyond that, because he was still active in 1953 (as Spy Smasher) when he was trapped in the Suspendium globe.[6]
- Spy Smasher's first non-reprint DC-published appearance was in Justice League of America #135.
Trivia
- Spy Smasher's original costume was two-tone brown, and featured jodphurs. He later switched to a green costume with a red cape, and later still switched from jodphurs to tights.
- C.C. Beck stated that he based the look of Armstrong on Errol Flynn.
- Spy Smasher is also known as the Defender of Democracy.
Recommended Reading
Related
- 98 Appearances of Alan Armstrong (Earth-S)
- 5 Images featuring Alan Armstrong (Earth-S)
- 6 Quotations by or about Alan Armstrong (Earth-S)
- Character Gallery: Alan Armstrong (Earth-S)
Footnotes