| Blonde Phantom | |
|---|---|
 Artwork fromThe Steranko History of Comics 2. Art byJim Steranko. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | All Select Comics #11 (Fall 1946) |
| Created by | Stan Lee (writer) Syd Shores (artist) |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Louise Grant Mason |
| Species | Human |
| Team affiliations | All-Winners Squad Invaders[1] "Avengers" (1959) |
| Notable aliases | Louise Mason Weezie |
| Abilities |
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The Blonde Phantom (Louise Grant Mason) is a fictional masked crime fighter appearing inAmerican comic books published byMarvel Comics. Created for Marvel predecessorTimely Comics byStan Lee andSyd Shores, the characterfirst appeared inAll Select Comics #11 (cover-dated Fall 1946), during the 1940s period fans and historians call theGolden Age of Comic Books.[2] The heroine was so well received that the next issue was retitledThe Blonde Phantom. The series continued to feature her until issue #22 (March 1949).[3] She also appeared in backup stories in many other Timely comics; inSuperhero Comics of the Golden Age, Mike Benton observes that "for a few months in 1948, readers could find her in seven titles on the newsstand."[3] InThe Supergirls, Mike Madrid asserted, "Once again, a capable woman hid behind a meek persona and only let her hair down, literally, to come to the aid of a man who completely ignored her unless she assumed a disguise. In a 1947 story entitled "I Hate Myself", Louise even dreams that Mark finally confesses his love for her, only to have the Blonde Phantom persona appear and steal him away."[4]
Louise Grant is a secretary at the Mark Mason Detective Agency, and secretly in love with her boss. When he is on a case, Louise takes off her glasses and lets her hair down, becoming the glamorous masked hero, rescuing him from danger in a floor-length evening gown.[3] In a gender reverse to the famousSuperman/Lois Lane dynamic, Mark is in love with the Blonde Phantom, and has no interest in the mousy secretary back at the office.[4]
Louise Mason returned in Modern Age comics as a sidekick forThe Sensational She-Hulk, from 1989 to 1994, in which she is revealed to be aware ofShe-Hulk's ability tobreak the fourth wall, also being able to do so, explaining that she had been left behind by theMarvel Universe'sfloating timeline to age normally when she initially retired the mantle. An alternate-universe younger Blonde Phantom makes her debut in thePaul Tobin run ofMarvel Adventures Spider-Man, running theBlonde Phantom Detective Agency and mentoringSophia "Chat" Sanduval.
Assuperheroes began to fade out of fashion in the post-war era,comic book publishers scrambled to explore new types of stories, characters, and audiences. In an attempt to appeal to young female readers, comics companies began introducing some of the first significantsuperheroines sinceWonder Woman. Those ofMarvel Comics' 1940s predecessor,Timely Comics, includedGolden Girl,Miss America,Namora,Sun Girl, andVenus, and its teen-humor starMillie the Model.[5] Other companies' includedFox Comics' revival ofQuality Comics'Phantom Lady and DC'sBlack Canary.
The creator of the Blonde Phantom is disputed.Don Markstein's Toonopedia says the character was created by writer-editorStan Lee and artistSyd Shores,[6] but Al Sulman claimed to have created the character during his time as script editor for Timely Comics: "Wonder Woman was popular, so Stan [Lee] thought we should have a heroine, too. So I created a character called 'The Blonde Phantom', and I wrote those strips myself".[7] Stan Lee also mentioned that Sulman wrote for the feature in his article "There's Money in Comics" fromWriter's Digest in 1947, in which he said: "A sample page from a script of "The Blonde Phantom" follows. This is an actual page, just as it was typed by Al Sulman, the writer".[8][9][10]
The Blonde Phantom debuted inAll Select Comics #11 (Fall 1946),[6][11] which becameBlonde Phantom Comics the following issue. The series lasted a little over two years (from #12–22, Winter 1946 to March 1949), during which time the crime fighter also appeared as a backup feature in:
The character was the province of no one artist, and aside from originator Shores, her adventures in this wide variety of comics werepencilled byVince Alascia,Ken Bald, Allen Bellman,Carl Burgos, Vernon Henkel,Mike Sekowsky,Ed Winiarski, the pseudonymousCharles Nicholas, and others. When notinking themselves, the pencilers were embellished by inkers includingAl Avison,Jack Binder, andHarry Sahle.[11]
Blonde Phantom Comics changed titles and formats completely to become theanthologicalromance comicLovers with issue #23 (May 1949).[11]
Comics historianJess Nevins notes that the Timely Comics teen-humor characterMillie Collins wore a mask and veil and posed as the "Blonde Phantom" for a cosmetics company's publicity campaign in a story inMillie the Model #2 (Oct. 1946), published near the same time as the superheroine Blonde Phantom's debut inAll-Select Comics #11 (Fall 1946). Acknowledging the sharedMarvel Universe, Nevins writes that the famous model's stunt "perhaps inspired Louise Grant to put on a costume and fight crime".[12][13]
The character's civilian identity, Louise Mason, was reintroduced inThe Sensational She-Hulk #2 (June 1989). Two issues later, she was revealed to be the retired former superhero.[14] Mason remained a series cast-member through the final issue, #60 (February 1994).[15] She was featured inflashback adventures inAll Select Comics 70th Anniversary Special (February 2009)[16] and the five-issueminiseriesAvengers 1959, beginning with issue #1 (December "2011).[17]
Louise Grant, born inHoboken, New Jersey, was secretary toprivate detective Mark Mason. Enamored with her boss and wanting to help him break cases, she surreptitiously donned a blackdomino mask and a sexy, skintight, slit-leg redevening gown andhigh heels, and ventured out at night fighting crime. Highly athletic and seemingly trained in martial arts, the Blonde Phantom also carried a .45-caliber pistol. In a distaff echo ofSuperman andLois Lane, Mason had a crush on the Blonde Phantom, but not on Louise.[3] At an unspecified point, the Blonde Phantom fought alongside theAll-Winners Squad superhero team for an adventure.[18]
According toJess Nevins' Encyclopedia of Golden Age Superheroes, "she fights ordinary gangsters,femmes fatale, the monstrous Baron Frankenstein, the insane Carlo the Killer, the stage magician criminals the Mad Magicians, and Stillface, a thug whose maimed face was rebuilt with plaster".[19]
In Modern Age comics, Louise Grant has left crimefighting to marry her employer, Mark Mason, in 1949 and takes his last name. She gives birth to their daughter Wanda and, later, to son Earl. After her husband's death, she begins working as a legal secretary fordistrict attorney Blake Tower in the 1989–1994 seriesThe Sensational She-Hulk, acting as the general voice-of-reason for both Tower and Jennifer Walters /She-Hulk.
Mason often finds herself more or less willingly pulled into the She-Hulk's surreal adventures, and occasionally vice versa. They confront many menaces, fromStilt-Man in issue #4 (Aug. 1989) to a town where stepping out of line, even swearing, is fatally punished. Mason even accompanies She-Hulk into outer space, where the pair become allies of the space-faring heroRazorback and his compatriots U.S. Archer and Al the alien. After being taken prisoner by the subterranean ruler theMole Man, she's restored to a more youthful version of herself by a mysterious chemical process in issue #33 (Nov. 1991).
Mason, affectionately nicknamed "Weezi", begins a romantic relationship with Jennifer's father, Morris Walters in #36 (Feb. 1992). Mason later finds herself trading physical stature and powers with a none-too-pleased She-Hulk in issue #48–49 (Feb.-March 1993), becoming so enamored with her new form and abilities that she only changes back when Morris reveals he wants Weezi the way she had been.
The Blonde Phantom had no superhuman powers. She is an athletic woman, a skilled hand-to-hand combatant, and a fine markswoman with the conventional handgun she carried. She also possesses excellent secretarial skills, as the secretary for the Mark Mason Detective Agency, and later as the secretary of New York City District Attorney Blake Tower.
Deirdre Kaye ofScary Mommy called Blonde Phanthom a "role model" and "truly heroic."[20] Ben Patton ofCBR.com ranked Blonde Phantom 2nd in their "Marvel: 5 Great Characters from the Past (& 5 Best Left Forgotten)" list,[21] while Megan Nicole O'Brien ranked her 8th in their "Marvel: 10 Best Golden Age Heroines" list,[22] and Albinder Cole ranked her 9th in their "10 Marvel Characters Who Deserve Their Own Series Again" list,[23] and 10th in their "10 Characters We Want to See on a Second Season ofShe-Hulk: Attorney at Law" list.[24]Comics Buyer's Guide ranked Blonde Phantom 98th in their "100 Sexiest Women in Comics" list.[25]
Louise's daughter,Wanda Louise Mason, introduced inThe Sensational She-Hulk #21 (Nov. 1990), briefly followed her mother's crime-fighter legacy, becoming the costumedPhantom Blonde two issues later,[26] in a story by writerSteve Gerber and penciler Buzz Dixon. She was later considered a "potential recruit" for the US government's superhero-training program, theInitiative.[27]
The Louise Mason version of Blonde Phantom appears as a recurring character inMarvel Adventures Spider-Man and its follow-up series,Spider-Man Marvel Adventures, both published as part of the young-readersMarvel Adventuresimprint, taking place on Earth-20051, a non-canonical alternate reality from mainstream Marvel continuity. Here, she is portrayed as a famed private detective who often works as a confidant toSpider-Man and his girlfriendSophia "Chat" Sanduval, recruiting the latter to theBlonde Phantom Detective Agency, as well asEmma Frost / The Silencer andFelicia Hardy / Black Cat.[28]
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