The Black Terror is a fictional character and a superhero who originally appeared in Exciting Comics #9, published by Nedor Comics in 1941. Nedor Comics was the comic line of publisher Ned Pines, who also published pulp magazines under a variety of company names (Standard or Better or Thrilling), which are also used for the comics. ... Americas Best Comics is a comic book publishing brand. ... In comic books, first appearance refers to the date or issue of a characters first appearance. ... The Society of Modern American Science Heroes, or SMASH, is a team of fictional superheroes whose adventures are published by Americas Best Comics and take place on the parallel world of Terra Obscura. ... A fictional character is any person who appears in a work of fiction. ... Superman (left) and Batman, two of the most recognizable and influential superheroes. ... Nedor Comics was the comic line of publisher Ned Pines, who also published pulp magazines under a variety of company names (Standard or Better or Thrilling), which are also used for the comics. ...

The Nedor Comics character is in the public domain, and the character has been revived by various publishers over the years, including Eclipse Comics, AC Comics, and, most recently, America's Best Comics. The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ... Eclipse Comics was an American comic book publisher, one of several influential indendent publishers during the 1980s. ... AC Comics evolved out of Paragon Publications, and was known as Americomics in its first year of existence. ... Americas Best Comics is a comic book publishing brand. ...

Character history

The character first appeared in the Golden Age of Comic Books in Exciting Comics #9, published in 1941 by Nedor Comics. He was one of that publisher's most popular superhero characters, operating until at least 1949. Superman, the catalyst of the Golden Age, from Superman #14, January-February 1942. ...

His secret identity was pharmacist Bob Benton who formulated a chemical he called 'formic ethers' which gave him various superpowers. He used these powers to fight crime with his sidekick Tim Roland, together known as the Terror Twins.

Revivals

Eclipse Comics

Eclipse Comics did a four-issue mini-series 'revival' of the Black Terror. In this issue, the character is an undercover FBI agent operating against organized crime, who would dress up like the Black Terror for certain operations. He had no superpowers or any connection to the original character. Eclipse Comics was an American comic book publisher, one of several influential indendent publishers during the 1980s. ...

AC Comics

AC Comics revised the Black Terror, starting in their Americomics title. In it, now retired Bob Benton returns to action after an attempt to shake him down for protection money lead to the death of his wife. He would now operate as an over the top vigilante, now just called the "Terror".

Later, for some unexplained reason, he would become a criminal enforcer and be known as the "Terrorist".

America's Best Comics

The Black Terror, along with other heroes from Nedor Comics, were revived by Alan Moore in his series Tom Strong, published by America's Best Comics. This revival set the characters on a parallel world called Terra Obscura, which was also the title of the resulting mini-series. Nedor Comics was the comic line of publisher Ned Pines, who also published pulp magazines under a variety of company names (Standard or Better or Thrilling), which are also used for the comics. ... Alan Moore Alan Moore (born November 18, 1953, in Northampton, England) is a British writer most famous for his work in comics. ... In the ongoing fictional comicbook series created by Alan Moore for Americas Best Comics (ABC), Tom Strong is a science hero, raised in a high-gravity chamber with an intensive education on an island by his slightly mad scientist father on an African island. ... Parallel worlds started as a plot device in science fiction. ... In the fictional Americas Best Comics multiverse, Terra Obscura is the name used to identify the Earth in which the stories about the public domain science heroes formerly published by Nedor Comics take place. ...

In Tom Strong #11, Moore and co-creator Chris Sprouse more fully introduce the idea of Terra Obscura being a parallel Earth, "but in our own dimension. In our own galaxy". In this issue, Tom Strange is revealed to have run across the Milky Way for 30 years to reach Strong for help in stopping an alien menace which killed or imprisoned most of the science heroes of Terra Obscura. Strong himself theorized that the duplicate Earth "must be due to some near-inconceivable fluke of mathematics, of statistical probability". In the fictional Americas Best Comics multiverse, Terra Obscura is the name used to identify the Earth in which the stories about the public domain science heroes formerly published by Nedor Comics take place. ... Doc Strange is a fictional character and a superhero who originally appeared in Thrilling Comics #1, published by Better Publications (also called Nedor Comics) in 1940. ... A NASA artists conception of what the Milky Way would look like if seen off-axis. ... An alternative term conceived and used by Alan Moore in his work to describe a superhero, usually one that has a science fiction explanation for his/her powers. ...

The parallel Earth, it is revealed by Strange, was formed much as our own, except that once Earth had completely formed, something large collided and combined with it - a vast spacecraft. The pilot of the spacecraft survived in the Moon, until awakened by astronauts on July 20, 1969. It apparently followed them back to Earth, where it began construction of a ship to return home - by converting the entire Earth into a spaceship. In the process, it was engaged in battle by the members of SMASH (see below). It killed some members, and trapped others in suspended animation for 30 years, until freed by the combined efforts of Tom Strong and Tom Strange. Crust composition Oxygen 43% Silicon 21% Aluminium 10% Calcium 9% Iron 9% Magnesium 5% Titanium 2% Nickel 0. ...

In Tom Strong #12 it is revealed that The Black Terror had been killed in battle with the alien. However, Benton, a polymath, had transferred his consciousness into a computer program called Terror 2000. Leonardo da Vinci A polymath (also known as a polyhistor) is a person who excels in multiple fields, particularly in both arts and sciences. ...

In the Terra Obscura series, The Terror 2000 program institutes a crime prevention program in Invertica City, wherein technologically produced versions of the Black Terror (referred to as The Terror) fight crime. A corporation running the program tries to sell it to other cities in the US.

Eventually, the Terror transfers its consciousness into the now deceased Tim and tries to acquire power from the returning Captain Future's spaceship. He is defeated by a time travelling version of his original self, the Black Terror.

See also

• SMASH
• Nedor Comics
• Terra Obscura
• Eclipse Comics
• America's Best Comics

The Society of Modern American Science Heroes, or SMASH, is a team of fictional superheroes whose adventures are published by Americas Best Comics and take place on the parallel world of Terra Obscura. ... Nedor Comics was the comic line of publisher Ned Pines, who also published pulp magazines under a variety of company names (Standard or Better or Thrilling), which are also used for the comics. ... In the fictional Americas Best Comics multiverse, Terra Obscura is the name used to identify the Earth in which the stories about the public domain science heroes formerly published by Nedor Comics take place. ... Eclipse Comics was an American comic book publisher, one of several influential indendent publishers during the 1980s. ... Americas Best Comics is a comic book publishing brand. ...

External links

Toonopedia Entry for Black Terror
International Superheroes Entry for Black Terror