Mr. Scarlet and Pinky the Whiz Kid are two duo fictional

comic book 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 ...

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 ...

es connected to each other, and first introduced in ''

Wow Comics ''Wow Comics'' is an monthly Golden Age comic book anthology series that was published by Fawcett Comics from winter 1940 to August 1948. From issue #9 to #58, the book's cover features were the solo adventures of Fawcett's Mary Marvel character. ...

''. The superheroes were originally published by

Fawcett Comics Fawcett Comics, a division of Fawcett Publications, was one of several successful comic book publishers during the Golden Age of Comic Books in the 1940s. Its most popular character was Captain Marvel, the alter ego of radio reporter Billy Bats ...

and later by

DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...

. The original Mister Scarlet was Brian Butler debuting in ''Wow Comics'' #1 (

cover-date The cover date of a periodical publication is the date displayed on the cover, which is not necessarily the true date of publication (the on-sale date or release date); later cover dates are common in magazine and comic book publishing. More unusu ...

d Winter 1940-41), and was created by

France Herron Francis Edward Herron (July 23, 1917 – September 2, 1966) was an American comic book writer and editor active in the 1940s–1960s, mainly for DC Comics. He is credited with co-creating Captain Marvel Jr. and the Red Skull, as well as such c ...

and

Jack Kirby Jack Kirby (; born Jacob Kurtzberg; August 28, 1917 – February 6, 1994) was an American comics artist, comic book artist, widely regarded as one of the medium's major innovators and one of its most prolific and influential creators. He grew ...

while Pinky Butler (Brian's son) became his sidekick, Pinky the Whiz Kid. After Brian's death, Pinky takes over the role as Mr. Scarlet in DC's continuity. Pinky Butler premiered in the fourth issue of ''Wow Comics''.

Publication history

Mr. Scarlet, created by writer

and artist

debuted in

' ''

'' #1 (Winter 1940-41) and was the cover feature for five issues of that anthology comic. He later appeared in Fawcett's ''

Mary Marvel Mary Marvel (also known as Lady Shazam and Mary Shazam) is a fictional character and superheroine originally published by Fawcett Comics and now owned by DC Comics. Created by Otto Binder and Marc Swayze, she first appeared in ''Captain Marvel (DC ...

'' #9 (February 1947). After the Fawcett properties were acquired by

National Comics Publications National Comics Publications (NCP; later known as National Periodical Publications Inc. or simply National) was an American comic book publishing company. It was the direct predecessor of modern-day DC Comics. History The corporation was origin ...

, the future

, Mr. Scarlet appeared in ''

Justice League of America The Justice League, or Justice League of America (JLA), is a group of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team first appeared in '' The Brave and the Bold'' #28 (March 1960). Writer Gardner Fox conceived t ...

'' #135-137 (Oct.-Dec. 1976).

Fictional character biography

Brian Butler

Mr. Scarlet is

district attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, county prosecutor, state attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or solicitor is the chief prosecutor or chief law enforcement officer represen ...

Brian Butler, who along with his adopted son Pinky the Whiz Kid, fought evil in his city for several years. His success was such that his employment was frequently in jeopardy due to a lack of crime. As a result throughout his series, he took up several odd jobs to supplement his family's income. He used inventive devices to help him apprehend criminals, and had great acrobatic and hand-to-hand combatant skills.Mr. Scarlet and Pinky
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 ...

Archived
from the original on March 10, 2016. In his first appearance in ''Wow Comics'' #1, Brian was based in

Gotham City Gotham City ( ), or simply Gotham, is a fictional city in the Northeastern United States that serves as the primary city appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. It is best known as the home of the superhero Batman and his List ...

. This may be the first use of the name of this city in comics. Later

retcon Retroactive continuity, or retcon for short, is a literary device in fictional story telling whereby facts and events established through the narrative itself are adjusted, ignored, supplemented, or contradicted by a subsequently published work ...

s established Mr. Scarlet's base in either

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

Fawcett City This page lists the locations in the DC Universe, the shared universe setting of DC Comics. Sites Arrowcave The Arrowcave is the former base of operations of the Green Arrow and Speedy. Avernus Cemetery Avernus Cemetery is a hidden burial grou ...

. The heroes tangle with a wide variety of villains, including the sinister Death Battalion, who plan the assassinations of top government officials. The Battalion's members include Dr. Death, the Ghost, the Horned Hood, the Black Thorn, the Black Clown, the Laughing Skull, and their leader known as "the Brain" is actually the warden of El Catraz prison. Although initially appearing in the 1940s, Mr. Scarlet and Pinky were revealed to still be active and at relatively the same age level in the 1970s during a team-up with the

and

Justice Society of America The Justice Society of America (JSA) is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. It was conceived by editor Sheldon Mayer and writer Gardner Fox during the Golden Age of Comic Books. It first appeared in '' ...

in ''Justice League of America'' 135-137. It was during this team-up that the two crime-fighters joined with several other heroes from Earth-S to form Shazam's Squadron of Justice.

Pinky Butler

Pinky was the adopted son of district attorney Brian Butler, also known as

Mr. Scarlet Mr. Scarlet and Pinky the Whiz Kid are two duo fictional comic book superheroes connected to each other, and first introduced in ''Wow Comics''. The superheroes were originally published by Fawcett Comics and later by DC Comics. The original Mist ...

, who fought evil in his city for several years. His father's success was such that his employment was frequently in jeopardy due to a lack of crime. As a result, he throughout his series took up several odd jobs to supplement his family's income. Although initially appearing in the 1940s, Mr. Scarlet and Pinky were revealed to still be active and at relatively the same age level in the 1970s during a team-up with the

and

. It was during this teamup that the two crimefighters joined with several other heroes to form Shazam's Squadron of Justice, because

King Kull Kull of Atlantis or Kull the Conqueror is a fictional character created by writer Robert E. Howard. The character was more introspective than Howard's subsequent creation, Conan the Barbarian, whose first appearance was in a re-write of a reject ...

had captured Shazam and the Elders that gave the

Marvel Family The Marvel Family, also known as the Shazam Family (also Shazamily), are a group of superheroes who originally appeared in books published by Fawcett Comics and were later acquired by DC Comics. Created in 1942 by writer Otto Binder and artist M ...

their powers, and was trying to wipe out humanity on all three Earths. Scarlet and Pinky helped defeat the Weeper and Earth-2 Joker while they committed crimes on

Earth-S The Multiverse (DC Comics), DC Multiverse is a fictional continuity construct used in numerous DC Comics publications. The Multiverse has undergone numerous changes since its introduction and has included various universes, listed below between t ...

and turned people into diamonds, although no further adventures of this team were chronicled thereafter.''

'' #135-137 (October–December 1976) After the ''

Crisis on Infinite Earths ''Crisis on Infinite Earths'' is a 1985 to 1986 American comic book fictional crossover, crossover series published by DC Comics. Written by Marv Wolfman and penciller, pencilled by George Pérez, it was first released as a 12-issue limited ser ...

'', Pinky Butler is revealed to have taken over the identity of his father Mr. Scarlet after his death, having been active in

for several years. It is also revealed how they retained their youth since the 1940s, as the wizard Shazam provided a protective field around the city for decades allowing its inhabitants to age slower than their contemporaries in other cities. Pinky first appeared as Mr. Scarlet in ''The Power of Shazam'' #44. Mr. Scarlet later rescues Freddy Freeman from

Prometheus In Greek mythology, Prometheus (; , , possibly meaning "forethought")Smith"Prometheus". is a Titans, Titan. He is best known for defying the Olympian gods by taking theft of fire, fire from them and giving it to humanity in the form of technol ...

' captivity, alongside the

Bulleteer Bulleteer is a fictional character and DC Comics superheroine, a member of the Seven Soldiers. She debuted in ''Seven Soldiers: The Bulleteer'' #1 (November 2005), and was created by Grant Morrison and Yanick Paquette. The character is based in pa ...

. In "

The New Golden Age "The New Golden Age" is a crossover event in DC Comics publications. Written by Geoff Johns, the story follows the Justice Society of America unraveling a mystery following the Golden Age heroes and villains and the untold stories that come with i ...

", Pinky was shown to be a captive of a Time Scavenger called Childminder on Orphan Island. His voice can be heard coming from the same cell as

Blue Beetle Blue Beetle is the name of three superheroes appearing in a number of American comic books published by a variety of companies since 1939. The most recent of the companies to own rights to Blue Beetle is DC Comics, which bought the rights to the ...

's sidekick Sparky. Pinky the Whiz Kid and Sparky are among those freed by Red Arrow and Boom. By the time Emiko reunites with Stargirl, Pinky the Whiz Kid is among those that are subdued by the

Hourman android Hourman (Matthew Tyler) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Based upon the Golden Age character Rex Tyler, he first appeared in '' JLA'' #12 (November 1997) and was created by Grant Morrison and How ...

. Thanks to a diversion from Corky Baxter, Boom proceeded to use this diversion to free everyone. Following Time Master and Childminder's defeat and Wing being sent back to his own time, Pinky the Whiz Kid is among the Lost Children that are brought to Stargirl's time by the Hourman android due to paradoxical reasons.''Stargirl: The Lost Children'' #6. DC Comics.

Other versions

* A new version of Mr. Scarlet appeared in

Elseworlds Elseworlds is the publication imprint (trade name), imprint for American comic books produced by DC Comics for stories that take place outside the DC Universe Canon (fictional), canon. Elseworlds publications are set in alternate realities that ...

' '' Kingdom Come'' and ''The Kingdom'' miniseries. Mr. Scarlet is drawn as a bright red devil of a man known for hanging out at

Titans Tower The Teen Titans are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, frequently in eponymous monthly series. As the group's name indicates, the members are teenage superheroes, many of whom have acted as sidekicks to DC ...

bar with Matrix, the new Joker's

daughter A daughter is a female offspring; a girl or a woman in relation to her parents. Daughterhood is the state, condition or quality of being someone's daughter. The male counterpart is a son. Analogously the name is used in several areas to show r ...

, and the new Thunder. He has a large crest running down his hood, based on the fin on the original's cowl. * A script for a Mister Scarlet movie serial was created by Republic Pictures in 1942-43. Scarlet, who was a D. A. that fought crime in a costume at night with the help of his secretary. When DC comics company sued Fawcett, asserting that Captain Marvel was a copy of Superman, and dragged Republic into the lawsuit, Republic quickly decided not to use any more Fawcett characters in serials, especially any that could fly or wore anything like Superman did. So they hastily replaced the lead character, or at least his costume, in the planned Mister Scarlet serial with Captain America, whose name and costume they were allowed to use in exchange for buying some ads in Timely comics. This was all arranged for so hastily that Republic decided not to rewrite the script for the serial at all so Captain America's other identity in the serial was not that of a soldier named Steve Rogers; they just let him remain the D. A. character the script was written for, renaming him Grant Gardner instead of Brian Butler, and replaced the lead character's costume with Captain America's. Some references to Mister Scarlet remain in the finished serial, including a chapter titled "The Scarlet Clue" in which nothing appears that is that color.

References

External links

DCU Guide: Mister Scarlet

DCU Guide: Mister Scarlet Chronology
{{Jack Kirby Golden Age superheroes Comics characters introduced in 1940 Comics characters introduced in 1941 Fawcett Comics superheroes DC Comics superheroes Characters created by France Herron Characters created by Jack Kirby Fictional district attorneys DC Comics sidekicks Superheroes who are adopted Characters created by Otto Binder Characters created by Jack Binder