Waldo was a circus strong man with a violent criminal history. He killed a man who tried to blackmail him by threatening to expose the secret of one of Waldo’s past sins. Waldo then framed an innocent man for the murder, planting evidence in his caravan. Waldo’s crimes brought him into conflict with heroes such as Sexton Blake and Nelson Lee. Later, Waldo was reformed and became a Deputy Commissioner of Scotland Yard, helped by Chief Inspector Lennard. Waldo possessed the strength of six men, and was capable of turning over a trolley bus with his bare hands. He was impervious to pain due to Morvan’s disease (Syringomelia), quick to recuperate from injuries, and able to shrug off and ignore being shot, burned, trampled, and sustaining other serious injuries.
Alias Rupert “The Wonder Man” Waldo |
Real Names/Alt Names Rupert Waldo |
Characteristics Antihero, Circus, Police, Pulp Characters, Super Strength, Invulnerability, Modernism Era |
Creators/Key Contributors Edwy Searles Brooks |
First Appearance “Waldo the Wonder-Man” in The Union Jack #794 (December 28, 1918) |
First Publisher Alfred Harmsworth |
Appearance List The Union Jack #794, 799, 801, 805, 817, 865, 888, 892, 942, 948, 962, 1054, 1077, 1104, 1118, 1131, 1132, 1135, 1219, 1220, 1221, 1222, 1266, 1267, 1268, 1320, 1322, 1357, 1358, 1425, 1433, 1490, 1499, 1501, 1507, 1516, 1528, 1530 (1918-1933), Sexton Blake Library 1st series #374, 2nd series #33 (both 1925), Detective Weekly #19, 28, 48, 54, 128 (1933-1935) |
Sample Read “In the Grip of Waldo” in Union Jack #942 (Oct 29, 1921) [CB+] |
Description Waldo was a circus strong man with a violent criminal history. He killed a man who tried to blackmail him by threatening to expose the secret of one of Waldo’s past sins. Waldo then framed an innocent man for the murder, planting evidence in his caravan. Waldo’s crimes brought him into conflict with heroes such as Sexton Blake and Nelson Lee. Later, Waldo was reformed and became a Deputy Commissioner of Scotland Yard, helped by Chief Inspector Lennard. Waldo possessed the strength of six men, and was capable of turning over a trolley bus with his bare hands. He was impervious to pain due to Morvan’s disease (Syringomelia), quick to recuperate from injuries, and able to shrug off and ignore being shot, burned, trampled, and sustaining other serious injuries. |
Source Wonder-Man (1918) – Public Domain Super Heroes Wiki |