Flattop Jones is a villain created by Chester Gould for the Dick Tracy comic strip and is the most popular one in the strip's history. His nickname comes from his large head which is perfectly flat on the top like an aircraft carrier's flight deck. Image File history File links A scan taken from the reprint book, The Celebrated Cases of Dick Tracy. ... A stereotypical villain. ... Chester Gould (November 20, 1900 – May 11, 1985) was the creator of the Dick Tracy comic strip, which he wrote and drew from 1931 to 1977. ... Dick Tracy USPS stamp Dick Tracy is a popular character in American pop culture. ... This article is about the comic strip, the sequential art form as published in newspapers and on the Internet. ... A nickname is a short, clever, cute, derogatory, or otherwise substitute name for a person or things real name (for example, Tom is short for Thomas). ... An aircraft carrier is a warship whose main role is to deploy and recover aircraft—in effect acting as a sea-going airbase. ... The flight deck of an aircraft carrier is the surface from which its aircraft take off and land, essentially a miniature airfield at sea. ...

Introductory appearance

Little is known about his personal life except that he was a freelance hitman from the western USA {Cookson Hills} who was hired by black marketeers to eliminate the police detective for a fee at $5000, five times his regular rate. A hitman (alternately, hit man), also referred to as a contract killer, is a hired assassin, usually in the employ of organized crime. ... The Cookson Hills are in the eastern part of Oklahoma. ... The black market is the sector of economic activity involving illegal economic dealings, typically the buying and selling of merchandise illegally. ... A detective is an officer of the police who performs criminal or administrative investigations, in some police departments, the lowest rank among such investigators (above the lowest rank of officers and below sergeants), a civilian licensed to investigate information not readily available in public records (a private investigator, also called...

Flattop proved his value by quickly orchestrating a successful setup to capture Tracy in the killer's car to be transported somewhere where he could be murdered undisturbed. Fortunately for Tracy, Flattop stopped just short of doing the deed when he decided to blackmail his employers for an additional $50000 lest he release the detective with the information Tracy needed to arrest them.

Hiding in a boarding room while the transaction was completed, Tracy learned that residents downstairs included a WAC who was learning morse code. Taking advantage of an available piano in the room, he played it and stamped on the floor in code as if keeping time to his music, hoping that the residents below would recognize the call for help. Sure enough, the residents got the message and alerted the police about the situation. WACs operate Teletype machines during World War II. The Womens Army Corps (WAC) was a special unit of the United States Army during World War II and thereafter. ... 1922 Chart of the Morse Code Letters and Numerals Morse code is a method for transmitting information, using standardized sequences of short and long marks or pulses — commonly known as dots and dashes — for the letters, numerals and special characters of a message. ... Steinway Model D A piano is a keyboard instrument, widely used in western music for solo performance, chamber music, and accompaniment, and also as a convenient aid to composing and rehearsal. ...

However, even as Tracy's partner, Pat Patton, was preparing for a rescue; Flattop, having closed his blackmail deal, prepared to shoot to him with Tracy surrounded by his henchmen. On Flattop's count of three, Tracy interrupted the assassination by lunging at the killer and wrestling for his gun. In the struggle, Tracy managed to kill a henchman with a tommy gun, grabbed it and began firing to kill the criminals even while the police were storming the hideout. The Thompson submachine gun, also known as the Tommy gun, was an American submachine gun (SMG) that became infamous during the Prohibition era. ...

However, Flattop escaped and became a hunted fugitive hampered by his extremely distinctive appearance. This led to a long chase where Flattop hid out in a boarding house while being extorted by the crooked child who hid him. That child drowned in a lake while skating with expensive new skates he bought with the blackmail money which led Tracy to the boarding house which forced Flattop to flee. Eventually after hiding in a chimney, being stung by bees in a hive he disturbed in there, murdering a street hawker to fake his own death and for the victim's ration cards, he was eventually spotted in a hotel. In desperation, Flattop hid in the room of Vitamin Flintheart, an aging actor.

Once, after attempting to explain his trespass, Flattop assaulted him and used his makeup supplies for a disguise. Tracy, Patton and Flintheart continued the search and battled Flattop after almost being fooled by a child whom Flattop passed off his disguise in hopes of making him a decoy. Flattop was severely wounded, but was successfully treated in custody.

Although Chester Gould had a policy of typically killing off his villains at the end of their one story, the artist used Flattop again in which he broke jail, took Flintheart hostage and hid in the harbor area. Eventually, Flattop drowned attempting to flee Tracy, trapped between two struts of a dock. Chester Gould (November 20, 1900 – May 11, 1985) was the creator of the Dick Tracy comic strip, which he wrote and drew from 1931 to 1977. ...

Flattop was so popular that when he was killed off, readers went into public mourning.

Relatives

Given that the popularity of the villain, it was later revealed that Jones had numerous relatives who were equally bizarre and hardened criminals. These villains have included:

• Flattop Jr. - The son of Flattop who was a engineering genius with an arsenal of custom equipment designed to keep him ahead of the law.
• Blowtop - A brother of Flattop who's distinctive feature was an explosive temper that caused him to rage at the slightest provocation.
• Angeltop - The daughter of Flattop who has a head of equivalent dimensions, not including her fuller hair and sought to murder Dick Tracy in revenge for the death of her father and cop Liz for killing her brother.

Other media

The character has appeared in the two animated adaptations of the comic strip.

In addition, in the Dick Tracy film starring Warren Beatty, he is played by William Forsythe. Dick Tracy is a 1990 film based upon the Dick Tracy comic strip character created by Chester Gould. ... Look up film in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Warren Beatty Henry Goro Beaty (born March 30, 1937 in Richmond, Virginia), now known as Warren Beatty, is an American actor, producer, screenwriter, and director. ... William Forsythe is an American who became known internationally for his work with the Frankfurt Ballet. ...