The Bouncer is a fictional

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a fictional character who typically possesses ''superpowers'' or abilities beyond those of ordinary people, is frequently costumed concealing their identity, and fits the role of the hero, typically using their ...

who appeared in

comic books A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...

published by

Fox Feature Syndicate Fox Feature Syndicate (also known as Fox Comics, Fox Publications, and Bruns Publications, Inc.) was a comic book publisher from early in the period known to fans and historians as the Golden Age of Comic Books. Founded by entrepreneur Victor S. ...

. The Bouncer had no secret identity, but was in reality a statue of the

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

mythological Myth is a genre of folklore consisting primarily of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society. For scholars, this is very different from the vernacular usage of the term "myth" that refers to a belief that is not true. Instead, the ...

figure

Antaeus Antaeus (; , derived from ), known to the Berbers as Anti, was a figure in Traditional Berber religion, Berber and Greek mythology. He was famed for his defeat by Heracles as part of the Labours of Hercules. Family In Greek sources, he was ...

(spelled Anteas in the comics). The statue had been sculpted by Adam Anteas, Jr., a descendant of the very same legendary figure. Like his Greek ancestor, Anteas Jr. gained power when in contact with the earth. Anteas Jr.'s power was that he bounced back whenever he struck the ground; the harder he hit, the higher he bounced. Like his ancestor, he lost his power when out of contact with the ground. The Bouncer appeared in five issues of his self-titled comic. The first issue (1944) didn't have an issue number; the other four were numbered #11 to 14 (Sept 1944 - Jan 1945). It's possible that the numbering was intended to be a continuation of '' The Green Mask''. He is the first comic book character created by writer

Robert Kanigher Robert Kanigher (; June 18, 1915 – May 7, 2002)Social Security Death Index, social security #116-07-5117. was an American comic book writer and editor whose career spanned five decades. He was involved with the Wonder Woman franchise for over ...

Biography

At first Anteas Jr. had no interest in superheroics, and generally wanted to be left alone with his statues. But whenever he was threatened, the spirit of his ancestor would animate the statue, and drag its creator off on an adventure. Eventually Anteas Jr. began to seek out criminals, and fight them with the aid of the Bouncer. One of his foes is a clown who claims to be Satan. He also fought gangsters trying to access a vein of gold buried underneath a cemetery, as well as a villain called the Gold Bug.

Powers and abilities

The Bouncer was an inanimate statue until animated by the spirit of Anteas. During that time, the Bouncer had superhuman strength and the ability to leap great distances. Adam Anteas Jr. has the ability to summon the Bouncer to his current location. When Adam does so, the Bouncer appears in a puff of smoke.

References

External links

Bouncer
at

Don Markstein's Toonopedia Don Markstein's Toonopedia (subtitled A Vast Repository of Toonological Knowledge) is an online encyclopedia of print cartoons, comic strips and animation, initiated February 13, 2001. Donald D. Markstein, the sole writer and editor of Toonopedi ...

. https://www.webcitation.org/6xQnPBw59?url=http://www.toonopedia.com/bouncer.htm Archived] from the original on February 22, 2018.
Bouncer
at International Superheroes
Bouncer
at Oddball Comics {{GoldenAge Comics characters introduced in 1944 Comics characters with superhuman strength Fox Feature Syndicate superheroes Golden Age superheroes Male characters in comics Vigilante characters in comics Public domain comics