Circus of Crime

The Circus of Crime is the name of several fictional villainous organizations appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The villains have battled the Hulk, Spider-Man and Kid Colt, Outlaw.

Circus of Crime
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	The Incredible Hulk #3 (September 1962)
In-story information
Base(s)	New York
Member(s)	Ringmaster The Clown Bruto the Strongman Human Cannonball The Great Gambonnos Princess Python Live Wire

The original group included the Ringmaster, Blackwing, the Clown, Fire-Eater, the Great Gambinos, Human Cannonball, Live Wire, Rajah, Bruto the Strongman and Teena the Fat Lady.[1]

Publication history

The Circus of Crime first appeared in The Incredible Hulk #3 (September 1962)[2] and was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. Previously, Captain America Comics #5 (August 1941) had featured a villain called The Ringmaster of Death leading a circus of criminals created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby. This group was retroactively established to have been a predecessor to the Circus of Crime.

The Ringmaster's circus returned in The Amazing Spider-Man #22 (March 1965), to battle Spider-Man.[3]

Kid Colt, Outlaw #106 (September 1962) featured a different, even older Circus of Crime active in the Old West. Another Circus of Crime with different members appeared in Kid Colt, Outlaw #127.

Fictional team biography

Old West

There were two organizations in the Old West who dubbed themselves the Circus of Crime. Both teams fought against Kid Colt.[4][5][6][7]

World War II

Originally a spy organization employed by the Nazis during World War II, Tiboldt's Circus was a traveling circus led by Fritz Tiboldt, the Ringmaster, and he and his performers would use their special skills and talents to rob their audiences. He was sent to America to murder US Government officials using the cover of his circus activities. Tiboldt and his gang fell afoul of Captain America and were deported back to Germany, where Fritz Tiboldt and his wife were subsequently murdered by their former employers.[8]

Present day

The current Circus of Crime first came to the authorities' attention when they carried out a series of robberies of small towns using the Ringmaster's skill in hypnotism to mesmerize entire towns.[9]

Regrettably for the Circus, Rick Jones was one of the victims of their capers, and his involvement led to the involvement of the Hulk, as Rick briefly had telepathic control over the Hulk. He resisted the Ringmaster's hypnotism when the Ringmaster tried to bill him as 'The Monster of the Age', leading to the Circus' arrest.[2][10] After a brief stretch in prison, the Circus visited New York City, where they battled both Spider-Man and Daredevil.[11][12] The Ringmaster was briefly able to hypnotise Spider-Man. The Circus' core members later briefly operated as the Masters of Menace, a name thought up by Princess Python, after being released from prison and throwing the Ringmaster off the team, replacing him with the Clown. They were again captured by Spider-Man.[13][14]

The Circus of Crime established themselves as recurrent antagonists in several Marvel Comics series, where they briefly attempted to recruit Hawkeye, Quicksilver, and the Scarlet Witch into their ranks when the Avengers had been disbanded.[15] The Ringmaster later hypnotized Thor into assisting with one of the Circus' schemes while the Thunder God was stripped of most of his powers except his strength.[16][17][18] Battling the Avengers again, they attempted to sabotage the Wasp and Yellowjacket's wedding.[19][20] Other encounters pitted them against Daredevil[21] and Power Man.[22][23] They later fought Power Pack[24] and Generation X.[25]

Initially depicted as credible villains, the Circus of Crime's members were gradually used by writers as comic foils, and were once defeated by Howard the Duck.[26][27][28] They were featured as antagonists in the first issue of the Sensational She-Hulk series, in which writer John Byrne regularly used minor or forgotten characters for parodic purposes.[29]

The Ringmaster's new iteration of the group known as Cirque Du Nuit later surfaces, acting as enemies of Hawkeye and Kate Bishop. Around this time, they have new members such as a female archer named Fifi and an unnamed protege of the Swordsman.[30]

During the "Opening Salvo" part of the Secret Empire storyline, the Circus of Crime members the Ringmaster, the Clown III, Fire-Eater, the Great Gambonnos, Strongman, and Teena the Fat Lady appear as members of the Army of Evil.[31]

Members

19th century members

This team briefly forced Kid Colt to assist them until he exposed them.

• Sawyer[4] - Owner and strongman.
• Blade Benson[4] - A swordsman.
• Captain Corbett[4] - An animal trainer.
• Mr. Marvel[4] - A high-wire artiste.
• The Tumbling Turners[4] - A group of acrobats.

Old West (1870s) members

• Iron Mask[32] - An armored shootist and former blacksmith who organized Circus of Crime and another band of costumed criminals.
• Bennington Brown[33] - A hypnotist.
• Doctor Danger[34] - A ventriloquist who used magnetic weaponry. He also was a member of the Chain Gang.
• Fat Man[35] - An Australian immigrant who was a skilled boomerang-thrower and hand-to-hand combatant.
• The Living Totem[36] - An extraterrestrial giant.
• Hurricane (Harry Kane)[37] - A member of the Circus of Crime with super-speed. He is a good marksman and a former agent of the Iron Mask. He stole a magic potion from a witch doctor and drank it after the potion was struck by lightning
• The Rattler[38] - An acrobat, horse rider, and marksman.
• Red Raven[39] - A winged shootist. He was given magic wings by an elderly Navajo prisoner. Not to be confused with the superhero of the same name.

World War II members

• Ringmaster (Fritz Tiboldt)[8] - An Austrian who is the father of Maynard. He led Tiboldt's circus in the 1930s and was later murdered by Nazis.
• Omir the Snake Charmer[8] - A snake charmer.
• Tommy Thumb[8] - A midget.
• Trapeze Trio[8] - Three trapeze artists that worked with Fritz Tiboldt.
• Zandow[8] - A strongman.

Current members

• Ringmaster (Maynard Tiboldt)[10] - The hypnotist, ringmaster, and leader of the Circus of Crime. He is the son of Fritz Tiboldt.
• Princess Python[13] - A snake charmer who is usually assisted by a giant ball python, she eventually leaves the circus to join the Serpent Society.
• Clown (Eliot "Crafty" Franklin)[10] - A circus clown who is the Circus of Crime's occasional leader. He also works as a solo assassin and has a son named Corky Franklin. Clown later became Griffin of Gamma Corps.
• Clown II - The half-brother of Eliot Franklin became the second Clown.
• Clown III - A circus clown with an unknown background.
• Bruto the Strong Man (Bruce Olafson)[10] - A strongman from Sweden.
• Teena the Fat Lady (Mary Stensen)[10] - A sideshow performer. She left the circus in an effort to raise a family but eventually returned.
• Human Cannonball (Jack Pulver)[10] - A human cannonball.
• The Great Gambonnos (Ernesto & Luigi Gambonno)[11] - Italian acrobats.
• Live Wire (Rance Preston) - A lariat artist and former agent of the Psycho-Man. He joined the Circus of Crime in Power Man #24 (April 1975).[22]
• Rajah (Kabir Mahadevu)[40] - An elephant trainer. He often fights while riding on an elephant.
• Fire-Eater (Tomas Ramirez)[41] - A fire-eater who led the others to force Clown back into crime when he attempted to retire.
• Antoro[42] -
• Tarrax the Tamer[41] - A big cat trainer. Not to be confused with Terrax, a Herald of Galactus.
• Fifi[30] - A female archer. Later knocked unconscious and impersonated by Kate Bishop who stole her costume and bow.
• An unidentified protege of Swordsman.[30]

Former members

• Blackwing - He first appeared as a member of the Circus of Crime in Daredevil #118 (February 1975).[21] Blackwing has also been a member of HYDRA, the Skeleton Crew, and the Masters of Evil. He is the son of Silvermane.
• Devil Dinosaur - Hypnotized into joining the Circus of Crime.[42]
• Dragon Man - Hypnotized into joining the Circus of Crime in The Incredible Hulk vol. 2 #292 (February 1984).[43]
• Howard the Duck - He was forced to help the Circus of Crime in Howard the Duck #25 (June 1978).[26]
• Moon-Boy - Hypnotized into joining the Circus of Crime.[42]
• Ulik - Hypnotized into joining the Circus of Crime.[44]

In other media

Television

• The Circus of Crime appears in "The Incredible Hulk" portion of The Marvel Super Heroes.
• The Circus of Crime appears in the Spider-Man episode "Carnival of Crime".[45]
• The Circus of Crime appears in The Avengers: United They Stand episode "Comes a Swordsman".[46]
• The Circus of Crime appears in the Avengers Assemble episode "Crime and Circuses".[47] The members featured are Ringmaster, Strongman, the Great Gambonnos, Human Cannonball, and Trickshot. Hawkeye and Princess Python are both depicted as former members of the group.

Video games

Captain Corbett and the entire 19th century Circus of Crime appear in Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2. During the Guardians of the Galaxy's fight with MODOK, Rocket Raccoon and Groot are captured by the Circus of Crime. Star-Lord then rescues his friends with help from Kid Colt and Arizona Annie.

References

1. Rovin, Jeff (1987). The Encyclopedia of Supervillains. New York: Facts on File. pp. 388–389. ISBN 0-8160-1356-X.
2. DeFalco, Tom; Gilbert, Laura, ed. (2008). "1960s". Marvel Chronicle A Year by Year History. London, United Kingdom: Dorling Kindersley. p. 88. ISBN 978-0756641238. The Incredible Hulk #3 featured the first Marvel Age appearance of the all-new Ringmaster and his Circus of Crime.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
3. Cowsill, Alan; Manning, Matthew K. (2012). Spider-Man Chronicle: Celebrating 50 Years of Web-Slinging. DK Publishing. p. 28. ISBN 978-0756692360.
4. Lee, Stan (w), Keller, Jack (p), Keller, Jack (i). "The Kid Joins the Circus! / The Last Performance" Kid Colt Outlaw 106 (September 1962)
5. Christiansen, Jeff (April 4, 2005). "Circus of Crime (Kid Colt foes)". The Appendix to the Handbook of the Marvel Universe. Archived from the original on November 3, 2012.
6. Thomas, Roy; Skeates, Steve (w), Keller, Jack (p), Keller, Jack (i). "Iron Mask and His Circus of Crime" Kid Colt Outlaw 127 (March 1966)
7. Christiansen, Jeff (November 19, 2002). "Iron Mask". The Appendix to the Handbook of the Marvel Universe. Archived from the original on April 9, 2014.
8. Simon, Joe; Kirby, Jack (w), Simon, Joe; Kirby, Jack (p), Simon, Joe (i). "The Ringmaster of Death" Captain America Comics 5 (August 1941)
9. DeFalco, Tom; Sanderson, Peter; Brevoort, Tom; Teitelbaum, Michael; Wallace, Daniel; Darling, Andrew; Forbeck, Matt; Cowsill, Alan; Bray, Adam (2019). The Marvel Encyclopedia. DK Publishing. p. 84. ISBN 978-1-4654-7890-0.
10. Lee, Stan (w), Kirby, Jack (p), Ayers, Dick (i). "The Ringmaster" The Incredible Hulk 3 (September 1962)
11. Lee, Stan (w), Ditko, Steve (p), Ditko, Steve (i). "Duel with Daredevil" The Amazing Spider-Man 16 (September 1964)
12. Manning, Matthew K.; Gilbert, Laura, ed. (2012). "1960s". Spider-Man Chronicle Celebrating 50 Years of Web-Slinging. London, United Kingdom: Dorling Kindersley. p. 26. ISBN 978-0756692360. In this issue, the Man Without Fear first clashed with a hypnotized Spidey; then helped him take on the former Hulk adversaries the Ringmaster and his Circus of Crime.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
13. Lee, Stan (w), Ditko, Steve (p), Ditko, Steve (i). "The Clown and His Masters of Menace!" The Amazing Spider-Man 22 (March 1965)
14. Manning "1960s" in Gilbert (2012), p. 28: "New recruit Princess Python staged a coup that saw established member the Clown become leader of the troupe."
15. Lee, Stan (w), Heck, Don (p), Wood, Wally (i). "The Road Back" The Avengers 22 (November 1965)
16. Lee, Stan (w), Kirby, Jack (p), Colletta, Vince (i). "Abandoned on Earth!" Thor 145 (October 1967)
17. Lee, Stan (w), Kirby, Jack (p), Colletta, Vince (i). "-- If the Thunder Be Gone!" Thor 146 (November 1967)
18. Lee, Stan (w), Kirby, Jack (p), Colletta, Vince (i). "The Wrath of Odin!" Thor 147 (December 1967)
19. Thomas, Roy (w), Buscema, John (p), Esposito, Mike (i). "Till Death Do Us Part" The Avengers 60 (January 1969)
20. Manning "1960s" in Gilbert (2012), p. 46: "This bizarre wedding tale saw...the Circus of Crime serving as the prerequisite wedding crashers."
21. Conway, Gerry (w), Heck, Don (p), Colletta, Vince (i). "Circus Spelled Sideways Is Death!" Daredevil 118 (February 1975)
22. Isabella, Tony (w), Tuska, George (p), Hunt, Dave (i). "Among Us Walks... Black Goliath!" Power Man 24 (April 1975)
23. Isabella, Tony; Mantlo, Bill (w), Wilson, Ron (p), Kida, Fred (i). "Crime and Circuses" Power Man 25 (June 1975)
24. Higgins, Michael; Kruchkow, Seth (w), Morgan, Tom (p), Morgan, Tom (i). "At the Circus!" Power Pack 59 (October 1990)
25. DeFalco, Tom (w), Buckingham, Mark (p), Vey, Al; Holdredge, Jon; Hanna, Scott (i). "A Day At The Circus!" Generation X 32 (November 1997)
26. Gerber, Steve (w), Colan, Gene (p), Janson, Klaus (i). "Getting Smooth!" Howard the Duck 25 (June 1978)
27. Gerber, Steve (w), Colan, Gene (p), Janson, Klaus (i). "Repercussions...!" Howard the Duck 26 (July 1978)
28. Gerber, Steve (w), Colan, Gene (p), Janson, Klaus (i). "Circus Maximus" Howard the Duck 27 (September 1978)
29. Byrne, John (w), Byrne, John (p), Wiacek, Bob (i). "Second Chance" The Sensational She-Hulk 1 (May 1989)
30. Fraction, Matt (w), Aja, David (p), Aja, David (i). "Vagabond Code" Hawkeye v4, 2 (November 2012)
31. Spencer, Nick (w), Libranda, Kevin; Çınar, Yıldıray; Malin, Jon (p), Libranda, Kevin; Çınar, Yıldıray; Malin, Jon (i). "Steven, my dear" Captain America: Steve Rogers 16 (June 2017)
32. Lee, Stan (w), Keller, Jack (p), Keller, Jack (i). "Iron Mask!" Kid Colt Outlaw 110 (May 1963)
33. Lee, Stan (w), Keller, Jack (p), Keller, Jack (i). "The Unbeatable Mr. Brown!" Kid Colt Outlaw 112 (September 1963)
34. Lee, Stan (w), Keller, Jack (p), Keller, Jack (i). "Dr. Danger and the Invisible Gunman" Kid Colt Outlaw 116 (May 1964)
35. Lee, Stan (w), Keller, Jack (p), Keller, Jack (i). "The Fearsome Fat Man!" Kid Colt Outlaw 117 (July 1964)
36. Lee, Stan (w), Kirby, Jack (p), Ayers, Dick (i). "Beware!! The Terrible Totem!!" Rawhide Kid 22 (June 1961)
37. Lee, Stan (w), Ayers, Dick (p), Ayers, Dick (i). "The Amazing Mr. Hurricane!" Two-Gun Kid 70 (July 1964)
38. Lee, Stan (w), Ayers, Dick (p), Ayers, Dick (i). "The Rattler Strikes" Rawhide Kid 37 (December 1963)
39. Lee, Stan (w), Ayers, Dick (p), Ayers, Dick (i). "Revenge of the Red Raven" Rawhide Kid 38 (February 1964)
40. Englehart, Steve (w), Giffen, Keith; McCarron, Owen (p), McCarron, Owen (i). "Escape!" Super-Villain Team-Up 8 (October 1976)
41. DeFalco, Tom; Michelinie, David (w), Bingham, Jerry (p), Stone, Chic (i). "The Big Top Bandits" Marvel Two-in-One 76 (June 1981)
42. DeFalco, Tom (w), Lyle, Tom (p), Jones, Robert (i). "Duel With Devil Dinosaur" The Amazing Spider-Man Annual '98 1 (July 1998)
43. Mantlo, Bill (w), Buscema, Sal (p), Sinnott, Joe (i). "Dragon-Night!" The Incredible Hulk v2, 292 (February 1984)
44. Lee, Stan (w), Kirby, Jack (p), Everett, Bill (i). "Ulik Unleashed!" Thor 173 (February 1970)
45. Chiniquy, Gerry and Clark, Steve (directors) (November 7, 1981). "Carnival of Crime". Spider-Man. Season 1. Episode 9. American Broadcasting Company.
46. Loy, John and Lewald, Eric (writers); Myrick, Ron (director) (November 27, 1999). "Comes a Swordsman". The Avengers: United They Stand. Season 1. Episode 4. Fox Kids.
47. Wolff, Danielle (writer); Eldred, Tim (director) (May 11, 2014). "Crime and Circuses". Avengers Assemble. Season 1. Episode 24. Disney XD.

External links

• Circus of Crime at MarvelDirectory.com