Flexo the Rubber Man
Flexo the Rubber Man is a robot constructed by scientist brothers Joel and Joshua Williams. He[note 1] is made of rubber and a "secret gas" and possesses superhuman strength, speed, and the ability of flight. His flexible casing also allows him to stretch and contort his body to an extraordinary degree.
Flexo is remarkably similar in concept to Electro.
Biography
Flexo was first brought into action after his creators, the Williams brothers, were kidnapped. They'd been conducting a routine borrowing of radium from a local hospital for their experiments, but were immediately kidnapped and robbed of said radium by Beezle, the hospital intern who had given it to them. Beezle's superior, Dr. Murdo, needed it for his "death ray machine." He left the Williamses alone tied to their chairs to deliver the radium, allowing them to use a special remote control to call for Flexo. In moments, Flexo awoke and arrived from the Williams' home, easily disposing of the returning Beezle and other henchmen and freeing the brothers. The three returned home and grabbed a "radium locator"[note 2] to track down the radium and Murdo. The locator did its job, and Flexo incapacitated Murdo and his remaining henchmen, as well as destroying Murdo's death ray. The criminals were taken into custody.[1]
Shortly thereafter, Joel flew to Washington, D.C. to deliver a "torpedo repeller" for the U.S. Navy, but was intercepted in the woods by foreign agent Karl Damos and his men. Damos took the repeller and left Joel tied to a tree to be eaten by wolves. Joel had his Flexo transmitter however; receiving Joel's signal, Joshua flew over on Flexo to help his brother. They arrived after sundown and Flexo easily fended off the wolves. The three repaired Joel's plane and tracked the torpedo repeller by way of its magnetic signal. They followed it into a mine, where they indeed found Damos and his men. Flexo made short work of them, forcing them to flee by car, but he stopped them that way as well. Damos' car careened off of a cliff, ostensibly killing its occupants, but Flexo was able to successfully recover the repeller.[2] Some time later, Flexo and the Williams brothers put a stop to an arson-insurance scheme at the hands of the Iron Duke.[3] The Williams brothers were then approached by a scientist telling them of a vital explosive formula that he had developed, which he had reason to believe had been stolen by a foreign power. The formula also had beneficial potential that would never be realized if it was not retrieved. Flexo and the brothers were able to infiltrate the dictatorship in question, fight off the forces therein, and recover the formula successfully.[4]
Notes
References
- ↑ Mystic Comics #1a: "Flexo the Rubber Man." (March 1940) Harr, Will (w), Binder, Jack (art). Timely Comics.
- ↑ Mystic Comics #2b: "Flexo the Rubber Man." (April 1940) Harr, Will (w), Binder, Jack (art). Timely Comics.
- ↑ Mystic Comics #3c: Flexo the Rubber Man." (June 1940) Timely Comics.
- ↑ Mystic Comics #4d: "Flexo." (August 1940) Timely Comics.