Superman, Lois Lane, and the Spider Lady are shown on this poster for the first Superman serial.
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Octopus
The Ominous Octopus
Showing posts with label Carol Forman. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Carol Forman. Show all posts
Monday, January 15, 2018
Superman Serial Poster
Superman, Lois Lane, and the Spider Lady are shown on this poster for the first Superman serial.
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SUPERMAN
Lois Lane ( Noel Neill ) meets the Spider Lady ( Carol Forman ) in this scene from the first serial.
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Sunday, November 15, 2015
Friday, March 20, 2015
Autographed Carol Forman Photo
Carol Forman played the titular BLACK WIDOW in the 1947 serial as well as playing "The Spider Lady" in 1948's SUPERMAN. Here we see her in an autographed picture which seems to show her as one with the other's web in the background.
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Monday, January 19, 2015
The Black Widow Called "Spider Lady"
The Black Widow is called "Spider Lady" in one panel of DAREDEVIL AND THE BLACK WIDOW # 99.
That could be coincidental, but I thought the character might have been at least partly inspired by the serial THE BLACK WIDOW, which starred Carol Forman, who also played "The Spider Lady" in the serial SUPERMAN.
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Tuesday, August 6, 2013
Poison Ivy Meets The Spider Lady
BATMAN #181 introduced the character of "Poison Ivy", who claimed to be World greatest criminal mastermind.
But in order to prove herself number one, she had to beat World Public Enemy 1, World Public Enemy #2, and World Public Enemy #3.
Poison Ivy accomplishes this by writing the others "poison pen" letters, daring them to show up at the mansion of millionaire Bruce Wayne at a specific time on a certain date. The other girls all arrive early in order to get a jump on each other and begin fighting under the mistaken impression that the others are the authors of the letters they have received.
Batman arrives and starts rounding up all their henchmen, after which the three villainesses try to escape. Poison Ivy offers a crown to whichever of them can prove herself the greatest, after which they all try to grab it and are paralyzed by an electric shock.
But Batman also catches Poison Ivy, and the tale ends with her in a cell, insisting that Batman will never be able to escape her fatal charms.
Poison Ivy would return next issue, but several years would go by before she would meet Batman again, possibly because creator Robert Kanigher simply didn't write more stories for BATMAN in this period.
World Public Enemy #2 appears to be very similar to some characters we've talked about here before.
Carol Forman had played "The Black Widow"
and "The Spider Lady" in the serials,
but while the BLACK WIDOW serial was run on television in this period, the SUPERMAN serial was not. It was withheld from circulation for years, to eventually be released to home video.
It's not clear whether the character of the "Silken Spider" was influenced by the characters played by Carole Forman in the serials, but they're all close enough that you could consider them to all be the same character. Incidentally, Poison Ivy was originally similar to the Spider Lady, being the leader of a gang of henchmen who take orders from her. Later on, DC comics seems to have lost track of what the character was supposed to be like. It was only the beginning of a long process of devolution that would eventually see the character become green and hideous instead of beautiful.
BATMAN #181:
http://dc.wikia.com/wiki/Batman_Vol_1_181
DC Comics Poison Ivy Chronology:
http://www.dcuguide.com/chronology.php?name=poisonivy2
Robert Kanigher:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Kanigher
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Monday, June 3, 2013
Spider Ladies
I just happened to have a few Spider related pictures of some of the ladies handy. They just happen to be some of my favorites. So I'll slap them on the blog amoungst the comics. That's the way they always ran burlesque, anyhow.
Gale Sondergaard
Poster for THE SPIDER WOMAN STRIKES BACK, 1944
Carol Forman
From SUPERMAN, 1948.
Tandra Quinn
From MESA OF LOST WOMEN, 1953.
June Kenny
From EARTH VERSUS THE SPIDER, 1958.
Joi Lansing
From TRAPPED IN A WEB OF LOVE, 1966
That's all, folks!
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Wednesday, October 24, 2012
The Spider Widow
The Spider Widow in the comics predated "The Scarlet Widow" of the Superman radio show.
Spider Widow
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Spider Widow | |
|---|---|
 From the front page of a Spider Widow story in Feature Comics #60 | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Quality Comics |
| First appearance | Feature Comics #57 |
| Created by | Frank Borth |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Dianne Grayton |
| Abilities | Can control black widow spiders |
Spider Widow is a fictional superhero character that was published by Quality Comics during the Golden Age of Comic Books. The character was created by Frank Borth and debuted in Feature Comics #57, which bore a cover date of June, 1942. Borth continued to write and draw the Spider Widow feature until the end of its run in Feature Comics #72 (June, 1943).
Publication history
Spider Widow is the secret identity of Dianne Grayton, a bored and wealthy athlete who decides to fight crime and foreign saboteurs after discovering she has the ability to control deadly black widow spiders. She disguises herself in a costume very similar to a stereotypical Hallowe'en witch, wearing a green-faced old crone mask, a floppy black hat, and a long black dress.
In Feature Comics #60, Nazi agents set a trap for Spider Widow by posting an advertisement in the newspaper that requests her assistance, and then knock her out when she shows up. She is rescued from a boat bound for Germany by the bird-costumed Raven on his first heroic outing, and the two reveal a hidden U-boat to the U.S. Navy. She becomes romantically involved with the Raven (who is later revealed to be Tony Grey); however, neither initially knows what the other looks like without their mask on because they shared their first kiss in the dark. The two later team up with Phantom Lady in a multi-part crossover that spanned between Feature Comics #69-71 and Police Comics #20-22. Though Spider Widow initially worries that Phantom Lady is a potential rival for the Raven's affections, they nevertheless became allies.
Current status
DC Comics is believed to have acquired the copyright to Spider Widow when it purchased Quality Comics' holdings, though that claim may be in doubt because most Quality properties lapsed into public domain prior to the purchase. To date, DC Comics has yet to use the character.
Powers and abilities
Spider Widow has the ability to psychically control black widow spiders; the reason for her gaining this power is never explained. Spider Widow is also a trained athlete.
External links
* * *
The comic book "Spider Widow" first appeared in 1942, while the "Scarlet Widow" of the Superman radio show did not appear until 1945. It is possible that any similarities could be coincidental. The Spider Widow was really a beautiful girl who only used a horrible disguise, while the Scarlet Widow really was horrible-looking.
The Spider Woman in the Carol Superman serial was really another version of "The Black Widow" she had played in the previous serial, rather than the radio character. Similar villianesses can also be seen in comic books from that period, such as the one who shot Bucky in CAPTAIN AMERICA #66.
The Phantom Lady could be seen as physically similar to The Spider Lady, but was one of the good guys. The crossover of comic book characters Phantom Lady, Spider Widow, and The Raven was less common at this time than it would be in modern comics.
As our story begins, Spider Widow appears without her disguise:
In this one, Spider Widow is in her witch disguise:
The story end with the former foes on the same side, a satisfying conclusion that might have helped the kiddies learn by example. The Spider Widow's own story ends in obscurity as few people are interested in that character today.
Phantom Lady:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phantom_Lady
Phantom Lady Club ( Lady of Quality ):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Lady_Of_Quality/?yguid=74994103
Phantom Lady vs. Spider Widow ( the same story ):
http://maskedmayhem.blogspot.com/2012/02/athe-phantom-lady-vs-spider-widow.html
Scarlet Widow ( Radio Version ):
http://superman.wikia.com/wiki/The_Scarlet_Widow
Revival Version:
http://www.bluetoad.com/publication/?i=40611&p=14
Spider Widow ( Comic Vine ):
http://www.comicvine.com/spider-widow/29-53084/
Spider Widow: ( Toonpedia ):
http://www.toonopedia.com/spidrwid.htm
Spider Widow vs. Phantom Lady, and Prarie Witch:
http://www.cosmicteams.com/quality/profiles/SpiderWidowRaven.html
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Carol Forman Filmography
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Carol Forman was best known for playing "The Black Widow" and "The Spider Lady", so not suprisingly her second-to-last movie had her reprising this character as "Dangerous Dora". But her last movie had her being a newspaper woman, which makes it sound as if the Spider Lady was impersonating Lois Lane again.
Filmography
Actress (24 titles)
1950-1951The Cisco Kid (TV series)
Pat Lacy / Pat Parker / Pat Tracy
Pat Lacy / Pat Parker / Pat Tracy
– Pancho Held Hostage (1951)… Pat Tracy
– Confession for Money(1951)… Pat Lacy
– Lynching Story(1950)… Pat Parker
Carol Forman:
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