The Whizzer: Master of Speed (Golden Age version) Appreciation

[MajorHoy]

First appearance: USA Comics #1 (August 1941), with an origin that's a tad . . . well, you be the judge!




When Robert Frank's origin was briefly retold in Marvel Premiere #29 (April 1976), it was hard for even a guy like Roy Thomas not to say anything about the character's name.


But, despite that less-than-auspicious origin and name, The Whizzer did manage to stay around among Timely Comics' superheroes, becoming a member of the All-Winners Squad (who appeared in All-Winners Comics, naturally!) along with Captain America & Bucky, Namor the Sub-Mariner, The Human Torch & Toro, plus Miss America in 1946.

[gurkle]

While Roy Thomas's attempt to make the Whizzer and Miss America into the parents of Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch never really worked (Marvel abandoned this origin less than a decade after Thomas invented it), Robert Frank did get a great moment in Avengers #165 by Jim Shooter and John Byrne; confronting Count Nefaria, who is now powerful enough to beat all the Avengers, the Whizzer manages to provide the key to his eventual defeat by warning him that he will eventually grow old and weak like, well, like the Whizzer.

[Phoenixx9]

Thanks MajorHoy for creating this appreciation page for Bob Frank!

Always loved Whizzer (despite the awkward name)!

I liked his origin story very much and the idea that he and Madeline were the parents of Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch! I was probably the only one besides Roy Thomas to be extremely sad when they dismissed that in favor of Magneto.

What I find interesting is that while most people think Whizzer could only run 100 mph and about half that speed in old age while in the Avengers pic you showed, I did read that originally, Bob could run like 32,000 mph!

Bob moved and ran so fast there was a "whizzz" sound. So while Count Nefaria was much faster than Bob in that Avengers comic (5000 mph vs Bob's 100 mph), Whizzer originally was 6.5 times faster than the super-amped Count!

[Ken Ashcroft]

I liked the idea of the Whizzer and Miss America being the parents of Pietro and Wanda as well. It provided a link between the golden age heroes to the present but I guess it made practical and good business sense to have Magneto retconned into being their father instead because of the popularity of the character and the continuous storyline possibilities from it.

[MajorHoy]

By the way, during the Golden Age, it appears the Whizzer was referred to as Robert "Bob" Frank and, sometimes, "Jack Robinson"? (I don't know if that's ever been explained why off-hand, but maybe Roy Thomas came up with a reason for this?)

His last Golden Age appearances appear to be in 1946/47 as a member of the "All Winners Squad" in issues #19 and #21 of All Winners Comics.
(NOTE: an issue #20 was never published.)

[MajorHoy]

When a "Whizzer" next appeared in a Marvel Comics superhero story, it was on the last page of The Avengers #69 (October 1969).
However, it wasn't Robert Frank.

[Phoenixx9]

I liked the second Whizzer's costume.

[MajorHoy]

When a "Whizzer" next appeared in a Marvel Comics superhero story, it was on the last page of The Avengers #69 (October 1969).
However, it wasn't Robert Frank.

And in addition to the Whizzer that was part of the Squadron Sinister, in The Avengers #85 (February 1971) Marvel introduced another guy named "The Whizzer" as part of a team called The Squadron Supreme, a good counterpart to the previous Squadron Sinister.

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And then came 1974 and Giant-Size Avengers #1 (cover-dated August 1974).



One thing to keep in mind: this was in 1974; Giant-Size Invaders #1 (cover-dated June 1975) where The Invaders were first assembled was nearly a year after Giant-Size Avengers #1.

[TheRay]

I am well aware that people like to goof on his name, but there are worse ones out there. I mean I’m still hoping for a better name than “Howard the Duck”, it would be better to just refer to him as “The Duck” are there other anthropomorphic ducks out there that he could be confused with? Sorry, mini rant, there, but thank you for this thread Whizzer definitely always gets the short end of the stick.