Astonishing Adventures Profiles: The Enigma

There is a tradition in superhero comics, particularly Golden Age superhero comics, of superheroes who... aren't quite as into it as other superheroes. Sure, they have their nom de guerre and a domino mask, but they skipped the tights and cape for a three-piece suit. There always seemed to me to be an implied contemptuousness about this look as if to say, "Sure, I wear a silly mask and use a silly name, but let's not go too far! I didn't have a nervous breakdown here!"

These "casual superheroes" usually had little to no power (power-levels may have a direct correlation to how tight your clothing is. Must investigate further), so were generally far more grounded and struggled with simpler threats like gangsters or con-men rather than mad scientists or monsters.

I knew I couldn't do this story without one. No matter how big the story gets, someone has to represent the guy who is just struggling to keep up as the world around him goes nuts. Someone has to be clever enough to talk his way out of problems, go undercover, rally the troops, and generally just be the mysteryman-everyman.

The Enigma is the only son of a Jewish immigrant who was the stage manager for a vaudevillian theater. His mother was a performer of great beauty, but no specific talent. She was a singer, dancer, and assistant to the dapper Illusionist. The young boy was loved the theater and constantly snuck around under foot to spend time with all of the colorful characters: musicians, dancers, comedians, actors, strongmen, contortionists, minstrels, acrobats, clowns, freaks, and general weirdos, all of whom were fond of the boy and would teach him their trade. However, his father said, in no uncertain terms, that he wanted his son to stay away from show business, often locking him in his office to do his homework and study the Torah. The young Enigma hated doing either and made escaping from his father's office the first part of his adventure.

The boy most admired the Illusionist. Not merely a practitioner of card and coin tricks, the Illusionist would perform godlike acts of deception, could escape from any confinement, and could convince anyone to do whatever he wanted with the power of mentalism. His father, however, hated the brash, headlining illusionist who lacked any scruples or consideration for his co-workers. The Illusionist, however, saw potential in the young boy and took him under his wing as his secret protégé.

The boy was gifted and had the potential to be a great illusionist, but then his father found out and he was furious. The boy was banned from the theater and the last thing he heard as he left was his father and the Illusionist fighting. The next day, the boy sneaked back to the theater just to say goodbye to his mentor, but instead discovered his mother dead in one of the Illusionist's props. The Illusionist was missing, and the boy never got along with his father again.

Rather than become a performer or the respected professional his father wanted to be, the Enigma became a reporter dedicated to uncovering and exposing the secrets of the world around him. He settled in Los Angeles (at least in part to be as far away from his father as possible) and became the leading crime reporter at the small newspaper where he works.

Now, I still need an inciting incident... something to make him first want to fight crime. The fact that he does it with a funny name and mask make sense to me, given his theatrical background. He is also uniquely suited to disguise himself from his alter-ego through subtleties of mannerism and inflection. That same magicians mind attuned to cause, effect, and deception is perfect for solving crimes and finding unique solutions to problems. Of course, the problem with having a clever character is that it requires you to be clever as well.

Los Angeles was the natural location for this character. It is a city of smoke and mirrors filled with secrets. Although the protagonist hates the shallow decadence of the film industry, he is nonetheless called upon to cover it often leading to investigations of high society. It is also the home of an extremely corrupt police system, as seen in LA Confidential, and then of course, there is manipulative media magnate William Randolf Hearst. It just makes for the perfect backdrop for this story.

In imagining the Enigma's working class counterpoint, it was clear that he could not be a mild mannered reporter. Quite the opposite, he is brash, rude, arrogant, and dismissive, but a damn good reporter who always gets the story... which is why he can get away with a lot of what he does. Of course, no one expects that he could be the Enigma, not because he couldn't physically do it, but rather because it isn't seen as being in his character.

The Enigma's look is simple and extremely similar to the Phantom Reporter (top), except without the cape. Because he is a noir hero, I want his suit to reflect black and white with marks of red (for blood, passion, violence). His suit is a charcoal grey (slightly more visually versatile than black). His mask, hat band, gloves, and tie are all bright red, which should provide an iconic quality which will not only provide a visceral impression of the character, but allow him to be easily and quickly identified by the scanning eye. His hair is curly, black, and short with a peppering of gray.

Another element to the Enigma is that he is a secret Jew. He doesn't actively hide the fact that he is Jewish, he just doesn't express it... which is easier because he no longer practices. This is important not only because it indicates something about the social climate of the time, but also because it is a pattern seen in comic book creators, vaudevillians, superheroes, and actors. Although there were many popular Hollywood figures who disguised their Jewish roots, there may have been even more in the comic book industry. Even more importantly, there are many superheroes whose identities are wrapped up in Jewish culture, but are presented as WASPs. For example, Superman's Kryptonian name is actually Hebrew, his origin is a sci-fi take on baby Moses traveling down the river in a basket, and he is a first generation immigrant (like his Jewish creators). And look at Spider-Man: polite, funny, intelligent, overwhelming guilt... clearly, he's Jewish. So the Enigma is for all of the Jewish superheroes who aren't allowed to be Jewish.

He's also the only character so far with a sidekick. Rosie was originally just supposed to be Rosie the Riveter forced into a superhero role, but she has developed a lot for me since then. She was a girl the Enigma helped out who came to join his mission. She comes from a family of mechanics and so she volunteers to design and maintain the Enigma's custom 1936 Mercedes-Benz roadster (right). But as the only person who knows his duel identity, she is also his closest friend. They should have a great chemistry playing off of one another because they both have a sharp sense of humor and a tendency to act first and figure things out later. However, there is no romantic tension because Rosie is gay. (Part of the concept for the Enigma is that he is unusually open minded and accepting of differences for his time period due to his experiences growing up in vaudeville where he would spend time with whites, Jews, Chinamen, negroes, fairies, and other terms now regarded as abhorrent. As a big fan of old vaudeville, I have found this to be consistent with those who have performed there.) Later, Rosie will don a domino mask and chauffer's outfit to take a more active role in the Enigma's adventures. Later still, she will meet the Mechanic and become his rocket wearing protégé, Rosie Rocket. However, the Enigma has his own love interests including the young, ambitious, celebrity reporter who wants to move over to hard crime and the sultry thief known only as the Crimson Mask.

Of course, the Enigma's arch-nemesis will be with the return of the Illusionist who has turned his brilliance to demonstrating that he is above the rules of society and so he flamboyantly flaunts his disregard as a criminal mastermind. Yet when he rediscovers his protégé, he vows to the Enigma that he will make him his prodigal son whether he agrees to it or not. To this end, he uses his villainy to shape the Enigma's life, forming him into the brilliant and dynamic world traveler that he is to become. And he may well be smart enough to do it.

Like Dr. Josef Mueller, the Illusionist is a mentor and surrogate father figure who becomes an enemy, but unlike the Mechanic, the Enigma had and still has a father, so his conflict with the Illusionist is a choice between two lifestyles. His father's lifestyle has to do with a strict adherence to the rules of both man and God to be a moral person. The Illusionist's is to follow one's passion in order to become a more evolved being. Both are valid points of view and both have very serious flaws. Perhaps only his mother, the link between the two, might have given him a way of reconciling this difference and that is why he looks to women to fill the emptiness.

Inspiration has come from multiple sources for this character, but perhaps none so strongly as Will Eisner's The Spirit (not to be confused with Frank Miller's The Spirit). The Spirit (AKA Denny Colt) was Will Eisner's gentile hero with a Jewish... well, spirit... who got in beautiful, light-hearted adventures that are honestly probably more a testament to Will Eisner's writing and drawing abilities than anything brilliant about the character concept. Unlike the other serious heroes, The Spirit would often get stuck in embarrassing situations and relied on his wits to get him out.

Other sources of inspiration include the complex social dramas of The Question, the romantic detective noir of the Philip Marlowe stories, and a lot of wise-assery from pulp novel reporter Fletch. He's a Byronic folk hero living in Los Angeles during the final days of the Great Depression, the height of Hollywood, and the days before the second world war.

Of all my characters, this is the one I'm most looking forward to working with.