Painter

The Painter, born Wilhelm van Vile, is an American gangster, forger, counterfeiter, and artist. Originally a small-time criminal, van Vile was caught counterfeiting money when he attempted to spend it at a bookstore where Johnny Storm was working. Storm recognized it as fake and allowed himself to be kidnapped and brought back to van Vile's hideout. There Storm found his stash of counterfeit bills, burned it as his Human Torch persona, and brought van Vile to justice.

While in prison, van Vile tunneled out of his cell and discovered a box of paint and brushes next to a mural. He interpreted what he found to mean that the items were magical—indeed, when used, they would make whatever they painted come to life in reality. He escaped from prison and began planning his revenge on the Torch, tormenting him with a series of bizarre occurrences across the city. But it turned out that Torch had used Painter's own paints to create a decoy of himself, seemingly just to mess with Painter. Torch then destroyed the paints and brushes, leaving the Painter distraught and easy to apprehend.