Destroying Demon

Bruce Blackburn was one of three regular adventurers who took super-brief forays into costumed heroing (the others being Chic Carter and Wings Wendall). The name of this feature was “Captain Bruce Blackburn, Counterspy.” In his first adventure, Captain Bruce Blackburn of the U.S. Army intelligence Corps and his double, Lieutenant Jackson, faked their own deaths by placing two medical school corpses into a car, lighting it up, and pushing it off a cliff. This was necessary because someone had leaked Blackburn’s picture to the newspapers. To hide their identities, it was necessary to visit a plastic surgeon. Dr. Bland changed both Blackburn’s and Jackson’s features so they were now different from their originals, and both men could now pass for identical twins. Using an antique store as a front for their espionage, they caught the man who’d blown their covers. (Feature #32)

Blackburn briefly donned a costume during his adventures. This was inspired by a boy who attempted to emulate a comic book and called himself Colossal Guy. The stunt gave Blackburn an idea to help him crush the so-called “Un-American Band.” Blackburn made a red-and-yellow costume with a horned hood and short cape, and perfected a trick using a rubber cable to drop from above. He called himself the Destroying Demon. The title of this story, in Feature #39, was “Demon of Destruction.” In it, Blackburn also referred to himself as the “Destroying Devil,” but his enemies called him a “Destroying Demon.” After this caper, he revealed his identity to their commanding officer, Col. Jordan of the War Department. (#39-40) Blackburn tried the cable stunt one more time, in foiling another Fifth Column ring. (#40)

Blackburn never used the costume again. He was last seen in 1942. (#56)