Flaming Avenger

Real Name: Mat Selwood

Identity/Class: Human technology user.

Occupation: Radio store owner

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: Kim Selwood

Enemies: The Bozuk Gang (Bozuk, Professor Dima, others)

Known Relatives: Kim Selwood (brother)

Aliases: The Human Tank

Base of Operations: Goodwells, a small town somewhere in England

First Appearance: Rover#572 (D.C.Thomson, 1st April 1933)

Powers/Abilities: Armoured suit with built-in fingertip flame thrower. As well as being bulletproof enough to sustain multiple opponents shooting him simultaneously with machine guns, he can heat the suit's exterior electrically so that it is scalding hot to the touch, preventing foes from grabbing him without suffering serious injury. His costume consisted of multiple layers. At the base level Mat wore a close-fitting one piece suit of porous rubber which absorbed all physical impact shocks and insulated him from the outer layers. Above that was a flexible suit of steel scales, "absolutely bullet-proof." Outside of that was a thicker later of natural wool, which impeded bullets and knives and checked their speed before they reached the scales below. On the outside of all that was a gauze-net of metal which could be charged with two hundred volts of electricity from the storage batteries in the hump on his back.

   He carries a stick-like weapon that can spray ammonia bicarbonate powder, which he uses as a less lethal option for subduing opponents.

Height: (out of suit) unrevealed, but a large man; (in suit) "six inches taller than an ordinary man"
Weight: (out of suit) unrevealed; (in suit) nearly 250 lbs.
Eyes: Unrevealed; only shown unmasked in black and white
Hair: Unrevealed, as only shown unmasked in black and white, but a dark colour

Summary: When car mechanic Kim Selwood rented out a spare room above his garage he was unaware his new tenants were members of the Bozuk gang, mobsters who had terrorized New York and who now hoped to expand into Britain, confident they would face little real opposition in a country where the police didn't carry guns, and planning to start by isolating and seizing control of Kim's home town of Goodwells. Discovering this, Kim was targeted by the crooks and fled to his older brother, Mat, owner of Selwood's Radio Store and an inventor. Deciding to disabuse the crooks of the idea that their machine guns meant they would outgun any opposition, Mat donned an armoured suit he had been developing, outfitted with a built in flame thrower, to become the heroic Flaming Avenger.

History:

Comments: Mat's true identity was not a secret, as he even told the crooks who he was during their first encounter. Which shows how trusting people were in those days - nowadays Mat would be killed five seconds after he got out of the suit back in his shop, and the armour would have been stolen by crooks or the government.

   Though the coloured covers depict Mat's armour as being black, the first story clearly describes it as glittering like bronze or gold.

   Thanks to Stephen Montgomery for providing me with information regarding this character.

Appearance checklist (not including reprints): Rover#572-583

CLARIFICATIONS:
Flaming Avenger should not be confused with:

First Posted: Circa 04/11/2004
Last updated: 15/10/2022

Any Additions/Corrections? Please let me know.

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