WANTED: Earth-Two's Most Dangerous Super-Villains
The Sun and his Satellites
Group information
Member names: The Moroni Gang, individual names unrevealed
Residence: Mobile
Occupation: Professional Criminals
First Appearance (Golden Age): Adventure Comics #76 (July 1942)
Character History
The history of the Moroni Gang prior to their adoption of
the code-names of the Sun and the Satellites in 1942. The gang had ambushed a “professor” who an
astrophysicists with an array of technology in his possession including weapons
and a rocket ship. The fate of “the
professor” is unclear. The gang retained
Moroni in his leadership role as leader under the code-name “The Sun” and used
a multi-functional. An elder member was
given a cryogenic rifle and the code-name “The Moon”. A member named “Saturn” was a master of ring
toss, using the technology in a hoop confirmation. Two additional gun men, Mercury and Comet,
have firearms that project toxic gas and flames, respectively.
The first act as a team of costumed villains was to use their rocket ship to
break through the roof of the Industrial Trust Company, with the Moon freezing
the cards and the Sun using his mirror-ray to melt the door of the safe. After
looting the vault, they take off again in their rocket, leaving the witnesses
to believe they had been invaded by aliens.
FBI Chief Woodley Allen referred to the matter to Starman by contacting
him via his gravity rod. Investigating
the crime scene, Starman is convinced that a rocket has been used and finds a
patch of burned grass at Carroll Mountain, followed by a hidden doorway. Burning through, he finds the rocket ship and
a passageway deeper into the mountain.
Following it, he finds “The Universe”, the Satellite’s hideout.
A melee ensues immediately with the assembled villains and
Starman initially gains the upper hand through the benefit of surprise. The Sun recovers quickly, and uses his mirror
to paralyze Starman. He introduces him gang to the immobilized hero and then
locks him in a cell as the gang heads to rob The Credit Bank. As they approach the bank in their rocket
ship, they erect an ice wall around the building which the Sun uses his mirror
to create an access through to the roof.
As Mercury and Saturn subdue the guards, The Sun and Moon load the
contents of the vault into the rocket ship, thence back to The Universe. There they find that Starman, using the
content of his cell to create an explosive and remove the door, stands ready to
confront them.
The battle ensuing is fierce, with Starman destroying the
Sun’s mirror and driving the villain to flee. As Starman pursues, Mercury,
Saturn and the Moon ambush him from behind, gassing, binding and freezing him
in a block. As the villain plan to
escape in the rocket ship, Starman’s gravity rod lost access to starlight and
lost energy. A serendipitous eclipse
restored the stars, allowing the hero to break free and destroy the rocket
ship. Unnerved by the explosion, the villains
are in disarray and quickly disarmed.
Left only to fisticuffs, the older villains quickly fall to the younger
hero and are carted off to jail (Adventure Comics #76).
The next recorded case on the Satellites occurred in 1944,
when the Sun, now prisoner 72859, is scheming a way to get out of his
cell. He decides if he could get his
hands on a mirror, he could replicate his prior technology and escape. He begins to feign vanity, much to the scorn
of his fellow prisoners and the warden takes pity and gives him a mirror. Through mechanisms not revealed, the Sun was
able to empower the mirror and blast through wall, vowing to break out the Moon
and Saturn and re-ignite his criminal career.
Liquidating their stashed reserves, the Satellites create a new hideout and
plot their next move. The identify the
Green Star, an emerald found impeded in a meteorite owned by John Wilcox. As they slip onto the Wilcox property, Ted
Knight and Doris Lee are being entertained by Wilcox and tormented by Wilcox’s
two bratty sons. As Saturn throws rings
around Wilcox and Doris, they assume it’s a prank and Ted steps out to change
into his identity as Starman to discipline the boys. Sending them to bed, they see the Sun and the
Moon watching matters unfold and shoot them in the rear with a pea
shooter. The startled villains then
encounter an equally startled Starman and in the ensuing fight, Starman is
bound by Saturn’s ring while the Sun grabs the emerald and they flee. The two Wilcox boys, seeing them escape, hide
in their car and are taken back to their hideout.
Starman reports to Wilcox that his emerald is gone and with the boys missing,
kidnapping is also assumed. Meanwhile, the Satellites have discovered the boys
and thrown them in a holding cell.
Starman, after listening to the police radio, finds an intersection
where a number of pranks (tacks, itching powder) are afflicting passersby. He looks into a manhole cover after starting
to itch and finds the cell of the Wilcox boys.
They feign distress, causing the Sun and Moon to rush into the room,
tripping a bucket of itching powder. They
attack the Sun but the Moon uses his ice gun to freeze them solid. Starman in turn defeats the Moon and when
Saturn arrives, he too is defeated.
Starman uses the Sun’s mirror to thaw out the boys and return them to
the Wilcox estate while the Satellites are returned to jail (Adventure Comics
#89).
The ultimate fate of the Sun and the Satellites on Earth-Two is unknown.
Powers and Abilities
The Satellites were possessed of an array of exotic weaponry, taken from an unnamed "Professor". These devices had a range of effects including radiation, heat projection, cold induction, binding and constriction and exposure of an array of gases. They also possessed access to vehicles including a flying, highly weaponized "space ship" and a hideout with extensive resources. How much of this the Sun had acquired through his activities prior to encountering Starman versus stealing it from the Professor is not known. What the "Professor" was planning to do with this armamentarium is unclear.
Weaknesses and Limitations
Bereft of their ill-gotten technology, the Satellites were normal (or even sub-normal) humans and easily defeated.
Multiversity
The Sun and his Satellites have not appeared in any timeline but Earth-Two to date.
Appearances
|
Issue |
Comment |
Reprinted in |
|
Adventure Comics #76 |
1st appearance, vs Starman – Sun, Moon, Saturn, Comet and Mercury Appear |
Starman Archives Vol. 1 |
|
Adventure Comics #89 |
1st appearance, vs Starman – Sun, Moon, and Saturn Appear |
Starman Archives Vol. 2 |