King Standish (a.k.a. Man of 1000 Faces) is a fictional character in the

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...

Universe The universe is all of space and time and their contents, including planets, stars, galaxies, and all other forms of matter and energy. The Big Bang theory is the prevailing cosmological description of the development of the universe. Acc ...

. The character first appeared in ''

Flash Comics ''Flash Comics'' is a comics anthology published by All-American Publications and later by National Periodical Publications (DC Comics). The title had 104 issues published from January 1940 to February 1949. Despite the title, the anthology featu ...

'' #3 (March 1940) and was created by

Gardner Fox Gardner Francis Cooper Fox (May 20, 1911 – December 24, 1986) was an American writer known best for creating numerous comic book characters for DC Comics. He is estimated to have written more than 4,000 comics stories, including 1,500 for DC ...

and William Smith.

Fictional character biography

Wealthy, sophisticated King Standish was a master of disguise who wanted to stop crime. He was considered a criminal by both the police and the underworld, but he was a crime-fighter. He used hand-to-hand combat and occasionally guns. Over time, his reputation improved. King Standish always remained in disguise, allowing no one to know what he looked like. His actual face and name are never revealed. He wore a

tuxedo Black tie is a semi-formal Western dress code for evening events, originating in British and American conventions for attire in the 19th century. In British English, the dress code is often referred to synecdochically by its principal element fo ...

, an opera cape, a

top hat A top hat (also called a high hat, a cylinder hat, or, informally, a topper) is a tall, flat-crowned hat for men traditionally associated with formal wear in Western dress codes, meaning white tie, morning dress, or frock coat. Traditionally m ...

and a

domino mask Dominoes is a family of tile-based games played with gaming pieces, commonly known as dominoes. Each domino is a rectangular tile, usually with a line dividing its face into two square ''ends''. Each end is marked with a number of spots (also ca ...

, whenever making an appearance not in disguise. His most frequent adversary was the Witch who rivaled his ability to disguise himself. He finally convinced her to switch sides and help him in his fight against crime. During World War II, he was contacted by Control to become a member of the

Office of Strategic Services The Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was the intelligence agency of the United States during World War II. The OSS was formed as an agency of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) to coordinate espionage activities behind enemy lines for all branc ...

(OSS), which he remained the war was over. Later, he helped the

Justice Society of America The Justice Society of America (JSA, or Justice Society (JS)) is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team was conceived by editor Sheldon Mayer and writer Gardner Fox during the Golden Age of Comic ...

when Jacob Tolzmann became a supernatural threat. With

Sandman The Sandman is a mythical character in European folklore who puts people to sleep and encourages and inspires beautiful dreams by sprinkling magical sand onto their eyes. Representation in traditional folklore The Sandman is a traditional charact ...

and the Star Spangled Kid knocked out, King teamed up with their sidekicks,

Sandy Sandy may refer to: People and fictional characters *Sandy (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Sandy (surname), a list of people *Sandy (singer), Brazilian singer and actress Sandy Leah Lima (born 1983) * (Sandy) ...

and

Stripesy S.T.R.I.P.E. (short for Special Tactics Robotic Integrated Power Enhancer) is a superhero in the DC Comics DC Universe, Universe. S.T.R.I.P.E. is a powered armor suit invented and worn by Patrick "Pat" Dugan, the former adult sidekick to teenage ...

. The King disguised himself as Tolzmann's father to distract him, allowing the sidekicks to defeat him. In ''Justice Society of America'' (vol. 3) #29, a new recruit to the team, King Chimera, reveals a little bit about himself, saying his father was King Standish and that he met with a member of a secret order on a distant island to perfect the art of illusion. King Chimera mentioned his mother had a thing for older men, hinting that he was much older than she.''Justice Society of America'' (vol. 3) #29 (July 2009). DC Comics. King Standish's current activities and whereabouts were not recorded.

Powers and abilities

King Standish is a master of

disguise A disguise can be anything which conceals or changes a person's physical appearance, including a wig, glasses, makeup, fake moustache, costume or other items. Camouflage is a type of disguise for people, animals and objects. Hats, glasses, chan ...

, a master

illusionist Magic, which encompasses the subgenres of illusion, stage magic, and close up magic, among others, is a performing art in which audiences are entertained by tricks, effects, or illusions of seemingly impossible feats, using natural means. It ...

, and is skilled hand-to-hand combatant.

Equipment

King Standish has made occasional use of guns.

In other media

King Standish appears in the '' Stargirl'' episode "Frenemies: Chapter Twelve - The Last Will and Testament of Sylvester Pemberton", voiced by Allen Andrews. This version is a socialite who attended a part held by

Delores Winters Delores Winters is a DC Comics character, originally named Dolores Winters. Until recently her main role in DC Universe history has been as a body occupied by the Ultra-Humanite in the 1940s, but she has made more significant appearances in current ...

(who at the time had

Ultra-Humanite Ultra-Humanite is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He first appeared as a recurring adversary of Superman. The Ultra-Humanite is the first supervillain faced by Superman and he is among the first supervillai ...

's brain in her). When he tried to make out with Delores, Standish was killed by her bashing his head with her award.

References

External links

The Unofficial King Biography

The King at Comic Vine

The King at DC Wikia
{{Gardner Fox Golden Age superheroes Comics characters introduced in 1940 DC Comics superheroes Characters created by Gardner Fox Fictional illusionists