Strange Drugs of the Golden Age: The Ugly Serum

August 10th, 2009

Filed under: Comics, Medicine

Beauty! The noble possession of women and when robbed of it, they’d go through torture to recover it! This is such a story — the story of an inhuman “Beauty Butcher,” his victim, and the valiant Silver Scorpion who is doubly furious as she copes with the monster who’d tamper with a woman’s pride — her beauty!
Introduction to the Silver Scorpion story in Comedy Comics #9 (1941)

scene from Comedy Comics #9Famed actress Miss Senter1 has been injected with the Ugly Serum, and in the climactic scene of her new play the serum takes effect. In the space of just a few seconds, she goes from stunning beauty to complete ugliness2.

A mysterious note turns up demanding $50,0003 for the antidote to the serum. The actress decides she must pay up to save her career and heads off to exchange the money for the antidote. Silver Scorpion4 — legal secretary by day, super-hero by night — follows along and manages to capture “Mr. Black” a.k.a. “The Beauty Butcher,” but better known as:

scene from Comedy Comics #9

Notes:
1. Miss Senter apparently does not have a first name — or if she does, it’s “Miss.” In the eleven times she’s spoken to or even mentioned in the story, it is always as “Miss Senter.”
2. Assuming you equate ugliness with old age, as author/artist Harry Sahle apparently does. To me, it seems more of an Aging Serum than an Ugly Serum.
3. $50,000 may not seem like that much to extort an actress for, but remember, this was published in 1941. In today’s money (or 2008, the latest year I could find the information for), this would be equal to about $725,000.
4. Surprising few, this was Silver Scorpion’s third and final Golden Age appearance.

5 Responses to “ Strange Drugs of the Golden Age: The Ugly Serum ”

  1. Carl
    August 10th, 2009 at 6:23 am

    That fourth footnote seems to have no antecedent.

  2. Michael T
    August 10th, 2009 at 12:27 pm

    Assuming arguendo that a serum can age/uglify a human, and that it can take effect instantly, how does her skin wrinkle and sag, hair change colour in that time? Shouldn’t she be “ugly on the inside” but still look the same until the hair grows out and the skin cells shed?

  3. Bryan L
    August 10th, 2009 at 1:53 pm

    Borgor is clearly not to be trusted, since he has red hair and a black moustache, so clearly one or the other is dyed (actually, I’d bet that mop of hair is a toupee). I’m shocked Miss Senter fell for his unfashionable blandishments.

  4. Mr. B
    August 10th, 2009 at 5:09 pm

    It seems to me that Mr. Black is not a very good businessman. He should go legit and become a billionaire. With his sci fi knowhow, he could probably turn ‘lead into gold’ or ’spin straw into gold’. lol

  5. Dean
    August 10th, 2009 at 10:43 pm

    What, he didn’t think of selling his serum to the Witness Protection Program?

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