Alan Armstrong (Earth-S)

{{DC Database:Character Template
 * Image                  = Spy Smasher.JPG
 * ImageText              = Defender of Democracy
 * RealName               = Alan Armstrong
 * CurrentAlias           = Spy Smasher
 * Distinguish1           = Spy Smasher
 * Distinguish2           = Crime Smasher
 * Aliases                = Crime Smasher
 * Identity               = Secret
 * Alignment              = Good
 * Affiliation            = Former member of Shazam's Squadron of Justice; Founder and former member of the Victory Battalion; Currently an ally of the Marvel Family.
 * Relatives              = Eve Corby (wife); Admiral Corby (father-in-law)
 * Universe               = Earth-S
 * BaseOfOperations       = Fawcett City


 * Gender                 = Male
 * Height                 =
 * Weight                 =
 * Eyes                   = Blue
 * Hair                   = Black
 * UnusualFeatures        =


 * Citizenship            = American
 * MaritalStatus          = Married
 * Occupation             = Crime fighter
 * Education              =


 * Origin                 =


 * PlaceOfBirth           = Virginia
 * Creators               = Bill Parker and artist C.C. Beck
 * First                  = (Historical) Whiz Comics #2; (Modern) Power of Shazam #8
 * Last                 = Infinite Crisis #6


 * HistoryText            =

Origin
Alan Armstrong was a wealthy aviator and athlete from Virginia. In early winter of 1940, he met a young woman named Eve Corby. Alan and Eve fell in love and were quickly engaged. Eve's father was an Admiral in the intelligence division of the United States Navy and often conferred with the playboy concerning matters of state. One evening, Admiral Corby told Alan about a suspected ring of saboteurs operating in the area.

Inspired by the notion of taking aim against enemy agents, Alan began putting together a new identity for himself. He designed a multifunctional vehicle known as a Gyrosub – which was capable of traversing nearly any level of terrain be it land, sea or air. He also fashioned a brown costume and aviator goggles for himself and took the name Spy Smasher.

Smashing Spies
Spy Smasher became a champion of justice and fought to keep foreign powers away from American interests. After his first initial adventures, Alan adopted a more stylish wardrobe consisting of a green two-piece uniform and a brilliant red cape. Although many of his adventures took place stateside, Spy Smasher was also extremely active in the European theater of operations during the Second World War Near the close of the war, Spy Smasher teamed up with other patriotic heroes including Bulletman and Minute-Man to fight Nazi forces in Berlin, Germany.



After the war ended, Alan continued adventuring well into the Cold War era. During this time he briefly adopted the name Crime Smasher, but reverted back to his Spy Smasher identity before ultimately retiring.

As an older man, Alan often visits with his old friends Bulletman and Minute-Man and has shared stories of his adventures with enthusiastic youths such as Billy Batson and Mary Bromfield.


 * Powers                 =
 * Abilities              = Spy Smasher was an excellent hand-to-hand combatant and a skillful gadgeteer. He was also an accomplished aviator.
 * Strength               = In his prime, Spy Smasher possessed the strength level of a man his age, size and weight who engaged in intensive regular exercise.
 * Weaknesses             =


 * Equipment              = Flight goggles; various hand-held gadgets
 * Transportation         = Gyrosub
 * Weapons                =


 * Notes                  =
 * Spy Smasher was created by writer Bill Parker and artist C.C. Beck for Fawcett Publications. In 1953, National Periodical Publications filed a lawsuit against Fawcett citing that the character of Captain Marvel bore too much of a resemblence to their own character, Superman. After settling the case, Fawcett discontinued publication of their comic book line of products and Spy Smasher lapsed into obscurity. In 1972, DC Comics purchased many of the lingering Fawcett characters, including Spy Smasher and migrated them to a fictional parallel world known as Earth-S. The Fawcett characters made several appearances throughout various Silver Age DC titles including, Shazam, World's Finest and Justice League of America.


 * Trivia                 =


 * In 1942, Republic Pictures created a series of Spy Smasher serial episodes that were previewed in movie houses from week to week before the start of the feature films. Twelve episodes were created, each one running approximately eighteen minutes in length, the first of which was released on April 4th of 1942. The series was directed by William Witney with writing credits attributed to Ronald Davidson and Norman S. Hall. Actor Kane Richmond played the part of Spy Smasher, and his alter ego Alan Armstrong. Margueritte Chapman played the role of Eve Corby, Alan's fiancée who usually found herself the target victim of the hero's arch-nemesis, the Mask (played by Hans Schumm). Spy Smasher and Eve Corby's adventures typically revolved around confounding the Mask's villainous efforts in France, during the height of Nazi occupation. Ironically, the comic book version of the Mask had already been killed prior to the release of the first episode of the Spy Smasher serial. The series was re-released in 1966 as a single movie entitled Spy Smasher Returns, however it had been edited down to a running time of one-hundred minutes. In 1995 Republic Pictures Corporation released a two-tape VHS video tape collection of the series. As of 2006, there are no plans to release the series on DVD.


 * Spy Smasher's original costume was two-tone brown. He later swtiched to a green costume with a red cape.
 * CustomSection1         = Known Adversaries
 * CustomText1            =
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 * DC                     =
 * Wikipedia              =
 * Links                  =

Recommended Readings

 * Crime Smasher
 * Power of Shazam
 * Spy Smasher
 * Whiz Comics

Related Articles

 * Spy Smasher cover art gallery
 * Spy Smasher appearances list
 * Spy Smasher (Serial)
 * Eve Corby
 * Gyrosub
 * Mask