| The Laugher | ||||||
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The Laugher was a dangerous criminal mastermind and one of Superman's most calculating adversaries who appeared in The Adventures of Superman radio series.
The Laugher was one of the greatest crime lords in the country during the peak of his career who ran a highly profitable "legitimate" enterprise which served as a front for his nationwide criminal empire which he controlled through meticulous planning and strategy, always trying to stay two steps ahead of his enemies. The Laugher was considered a rather unusual and imposing figure with an appearance that many considered frightening, appearing as a large and hulking overweight figure of both fat and muscle, a mountain of a man with three chins and a belly large enough for six men, with a prominently bald head and a gray reptilian complexion, with his appearance being described as that of a puffed up frog-like being with sinister eyes, and on his great big fingers he wore a large assortment of the finest and most expensive jeweled rings that money could buy and he was rarely ever seen without one of his favorite cigars. True to his name, the Laugher was a man who always found a reason to laugh, whether he was amused, disappointed or angry, finding great amusement in seeing death, suffering and irony, and even when forced to face death himself, all he could do is laugh.
Henchmen[]
- Killrein - A lowly toady and assassin who greatly feared the Laugher with good reason.
- Sleepy - A very lazy and somnolent assassin who is an expert with explosives.
- Bullets - A somewhat juvenile but professional gunman with a love for reading.
Appearances[]
- "The Headless Indian" (1942)
- "The Scarlet Widow" (1945)
- "The Atom Man" (1945)
- "Looking For Kryptonite" (1946)
- "Superman vs Kryptonite" (1947)
Sources[]
Tollin, Anthony. Superman with Batman and Robin on Radio. Booklet. Radio Spirits Inc, 1999.
Notes[]
- The Laugher could be the closest thing the radio serial had to having a villain like Lex Luthor, with the Laugher being an imposing bald villain who described himself as the greatest criminal genius in the world with a superlative brain, but remained a unique and sinister foe for Superman.
- Although the Laugher never had the chance to appear outside the radio serials, a character similar to him would go on to appear in the comics 2 years after the Laugher's debut in Superman #29, with this villain being called Mr. Blob the Tycoon of Crime, who like the Laugher, was also a fat and very wealthy bald villain with jeweled rings who laughed at almost everything, although he was far more comical than the Laugher and was only interested in collecting and replacing rare artworks.