WHEW -- Lucky I knew enough Spanish to give them false directions. 
- — Black X src
Black X was a famous secret agent, who traveled the pre-WWII world disrupting the schemes of international terrorists and continent-conquering tyrants. He remained very busy throughout the Second World War and afterward.
History
On Sunday evening 23 December, 1934, well-known criminologist Richard Spencer faked his own death in an airliner crash, and began his espionage career as the Black X. For almost two decades after that, he worked under a variety of covers and false identities, thwarting the agents of hostile nations. In late 1939, his code name was briefly changed to the Black Ace, but it soon reverted back to Black X. His immediate superior officer at first was Major Gale, and later was Colonel Atwater. He was often assisted by his telepathic Hindu valet Batu. His most frequently recurring adversary was the mysterious and elusive Madame Doom.
Powers and Abilities
Abilities
- Espionage
- Disguise
- Hand-to-Hand Combat (Basic)
- Aviation
- Firearms
- Multilingualism
- Investigation
- Surveillance
Other Characteristics
- Missing Eye: Black X wore a monocle, to cover his badly injured right eye, which was poked out, by Kadu Kan, in a fruitless attempt to learn an important secret. This encounter took place some time before Richard Spencer adopted his Black X identity, because he was already wearing the monocle in Feature Funnies #13.
Notes
- The very first Black X story in Feature Funnies #13 makes the unusual claim that the names "Richard Spencer" and "Black X" were both made up by the author of the comic, because the spy's real name (and real code name) can't be revealed. This is never brought up again, so for the purpose of these indexes we are treating "Richard Spencer" and "Black X" as real names.
- Lane French wrote this feature in 1941. Toni Blum wrote it in 1942. Otto Binder wrote it in 1942 and 1943.
- Black X is not known to be affiliated with Captain X, X of the Underground or X-5 Super Agent.
- Black X was referred to as a "famous secret agent" many times.
Related
- 95 Appearances of Richard Spencer (Quality Universe)
- 5 Images featuring Richard Spencer (Quality Universe)
- 16 Quotations by or about Richard Spencer (Quality Universe)
- Character Gallery: Richard Spencer (Quality Universe)
Footnotes