Spy Smasher (Alan Armstrong)

Spy Smasher is a superhero published by Fawcett Comics and DC Comics. Spy Smasher first appeared in Whiz Comics #2 (February 1940) and was created by C. C. Beck and Bill Parker. Spy Smasher, whose true identity is wealthy playboy Alan Armstrong, combats foreign spies with the help of his gadgets and the Gyrosub, which combines an airplane, an automobile, and a submarine into a single specialized vehicle.

History
Spy Smasher, who is in reality wealthy sportsman Alan Armstrong, combats foreign spies in America using a variety of gadgets and tech. His arch-nemesis was the Mask, the mastermind of a deadly spy ring. Other members of his rogues gallery include the America-Smasher, the Angel, the Tigress, the Red Death, and the Blitzys. He was briefly brainwashed by the Mask to fight Captain Marvel, but Captain Marvel was able to bring him back to his senses. The war ending in 1945 and the Japanese having surrendered meant that Spy Smasher would have no one to fight. His name was changed to Crime Smasher in Whiz Comics #76 (July 1946), but his popularity would continue to drop, and only one issue of Crime Smasher would be published before the character would disappear from publication. After DC Comics purchased the rights to the Fawcett characters in 1972, Spy Smasher has sporadically appeared in various stories since then, most prominently in The Power of Shazam!. Some Golden Age stories featuring the Spy Smasher that have fallen to the public domain as their copyrights were not renewed were reprinted by AC Comics, and the character also made a cameo in Image Comics' Next Issue Project.