fictional character
In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, play, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life perso ...
created by
MLJ Comics
Archie Comic Publications, Inc., is an American comic book publisher headquartered in Pelham, New York.Archie Comics) during the period known as the " Golden Age of Comic Books". The Black Hood first appeared in '' Top-Notch Comics #9'', October 1940 and became one of MLJ's most popular characters. He has been in four self-titled series as well as in his own radio show, ''
Black Hood
The Black Hood is a fictional character created by MLJ Comics (later known as Archie Comics) during the period known as the "Golden Age of Comic Books". The Black Hood first appeared in ''Top-Notch Comics #9'', October 1940 and became one of MLJ ...
'' (1943–1944). In recent decades, the Black Hood (along with other Archie Comics superheroes) has been sporadically licensed and published by
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 ...
. However, the character reappeared under Archie Comics'
Dark Circle Comics
Dark Circle Comics is an imprint of Archie Comics Publications, Inc. Under its previous name, Red Circle Comics, it published non-humor characters, particularly superheroes in the 1970s and 1980s, and was a digital imprint from 2012 to 2014. In ...
line in 2015.
Publication history
The Black Hood first appeared in MLJ's '' Top-Notch Comics'' #9 (
cover-dated
The cover date of a periodical publication is the date displayed on the cover, which is not necessarily the true date of publication (the on-sale date or release date); later cover dates are common in magazine and comic book publishing. More unus ...
Oct. 1940). He was created by
Harry Shorten
Harry Shorten (1914–1991) was an American writer, editor, and book publisher best known for the syndicated gag cartoon ''There Oughta Be a Law!'', as well as his work with Archie Comics, and his long association with Archie's publishers Louis Si ...
. The editors had enough confidence in the new character to put his name as the title on issue #9's cover, with "Top-Notch Comics" in a smaller circle below.
The Black Hood became a popular character and was given his own title, '' Black Hood Comics'', a pulp magazine in 1943. It lasted for 11 issues before being retitled '' Laugh Comics'' and becoming an all-humor title.
The character remained in ''Top-Notch Comics'' until issue #44 (April 1944). At that point, he moved to ''
Pep Comics
''Pep Comics'' is the name of an American comic book anthology series published by the Archie Comics predecessor MLJ Magazines Inc. (commonly known as MLJ Comics) during the 1930s and 1940s period known as the Golden Age of Comic Books. The titl ...
'' for three years, from issue #48 (May 1944) to #60 (March 1947). He also appeared in nine issues of '' Jackpot Comics'' (1941-1943).
A second series debuted as part of the original
Red Circle Comics
Dark Circle Comics is an imprint of Archie Comics Publications, Inc. Under its previous name, Red Circle Comics, it published non-humor characters, particularly superheroes in the 1970s and 1980s, and was a digital imprint from 2012 to 2014. In ...
imprint. It lasted for three issues from June to October 1983. This Black Hood was known as Thomas "Kip" Burland, the nephew of the original Black Hood.
In 1991, a third series was released under the
Impact Comics
Impact Comics was an imprint of DC Comics that was aimed at younger audiences. It began in 1991 and ended in 1993. The initial "I" in the logo was stylized as an exclamation point, but the official name of the imprint was not ''!mpact''.
Impac ...
imprint when
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 ...
received the rights to the Red Circle superheroes. It lasted for 13 issues which included 12 regular issues and one annual.
A fourth series was released under the Archie Comics' imprint
Dark Circle Comics
Dark Circle Comics is an imprint of Archie Comics Publications, Inc. Under its previous name, Red Circle Comics, it published non-humor characters, particularly superheroes in the 1970s and 1980s, and was a digital imprint from 2012 to 2014. In ...
in February 2015. In this version the man under the hood is Officer Gregory Hettinger who takes up the mantle of the Black Hood after accidentally killing the Thomas "Kip" Burland version. The series is a much darker and serious take on the character and has a modern, violent spin as it examines cops and criminals in the city of Philadelphia. The series is written by Duane Swierczynski with issues 1 through 5 and 7 drawn by Michael Gaydos.
Howard Chaykin
Howard Victor Chaykin (; born October 7, 1950) is an American comic book artist and writer. Chaykin's influences include his one-time employer and mentor, Gil Kane, and the mid-20th century illustrators Robert Fawcett and Al Parker.
Early life ...
guest-illustrated issue 6 and Robert Hack guest-illustrated issue 8. Greg Scott started as the series new artist in February 2016 beginning with issue 9.
Matthew Burland
In his first incarnation, the Black Hood is a costumed man of mystery who has been trained by a hermit to battle evil. The comic book is at first intentionally vague as to whether he possesses superpowers, or simply has the unusual strength, agility, and healing abilities that costumed crime fighters seem to possess.
His real name is Matthew Kipling "Kip" Burland, an ex-cop who has been framed for grand larceny and left for dead by a villain known as the Skull. Burland eventually clears his name, but continues to wear the costume. Matthew Burland's love interest is a newspaper reporter named Barbara "Babs" Sutton. He drives a motorcycle called the Hoodcycle that can transform into other vehicles. The Kip Burland Black Hood is unmasked in court by a character named "Needlenoodle". Thereafter, Burland becomes a private detective.
According to ''Jess Nevins' Encyclopedia of Golden Age Superheroes'', the Black Hood's other enemies include "Panther Men, the Animal Man, the Mist (who can change into a cloud of mist at will), the Mold (who transforms humans into mold), and Octavius, the violinist and author of "the Dance of Death". He also fights the Crow.
The Black Hood enjoyed popularity for a while until he dropped from the covers and was gradually replaced by
talking animal
A talking animal or speaking animal is any non-human animal that can produce sounds or gestures resembling those of a human language. Several species or groups of animals have developed forms of communication which superficially resemble verbal ...
characters, as the popularity of the superhero genre faded in the late 1940s. His last few stories were as a private detective without wearing a costume.
During the 1960s the Black Hood returned in ''Mighty Comics'' for two issues of ''Adventures of The Fly'' (#7, July 1960 and #11, March, 1961). He was also seen teaching Karate in issues of '' Adventures of the Jaguar'' and ''Adventures of The Fly''. After returning as a founding member of The Mighty Crusaders in ''Fly-Man'' #31–33, he appeared regularly as part of the team in ''Mighty Crusaders'' #1–6 (November 1965 – August 1966) during the period of Archie Comics' '' Mighty Comics'' period. He also appeared through 1967 in solo stories in ''Fly-Man'' #34 & 35 and ''Mighty Comics'' #41–44, 46, 47 & 50. This version of The Black Hood rides initially on a robot horse called Nightmare (destroyed in ''Mighty Crusaders'' #1) before switching to a motorcycle.
In Brazil, this version of the Black Hood was known as ''Titan O Homem Mistério'' (Titan the Mystery Man).
Thomas "Kip" Burland
The Black Hood was revived by artist
Gray Morrow
Dwight Graydon "Gray" Morrow (March 7, 1934 – November 6, 2001).e., the Gilberton Company, publisher of the ''Classics Illustrated'' comic-book series of literary adaptations], and I was given a script. One thing led to another and I was soo ...
during his time as an editor at Archie's
Red Circle Comics
Dark Circle Comics is an imprint of Archie Comics Publications, Inc. Under its previous name, Red Circle Comics, it published non-humor characters, particularly superheroes in the 1970s and 1980s, and was a digital imprint from 2012 to 2014. In ...
line in the early 1970s, and was first published years later in ''Archie's Super Hero Comic Digest Magazine'' #2 (1979). In these stories, which includes one drawn by popular penciler
Neal Adams
Neal Adams (June 15, 1941 – April 28, 2022) was an American comic book artist. He was the co-founder of the graphic design studio Continuity Associates, and was a creators-rights advocate who helped secure a pension and recognition for Sup ...
, The Black Hood's second incarnation, Thomas "Kip" Burland, was given the secret identity by his uncle, the "first" Black Hood, who revealed that the family had in fact used the pseudonym throughout history. This version is less flamboyantly costumed, preferring to wear the mask with regular biker leathers, rides a high performance
motorcycle
A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruising ...
and is typically armed with a custom designed Pepper-box pistol with multiple functions. This Black Hood appeared in three issues of his own title (June–October 1983) and the thirteen issues of ''The Mighty Crusaders'' (March 1983 – September 1985), as well as two issues of ''Blue Ribbon'' (a new story in #11 ugust 1984and a reprint of the ''Super Hero Comic Digest'' material in #8 ay 1984. In the final issues of ''Mighty Crusaders'', the younger Black Hood reverts to the yellow and black/blue costume worn by the prior incarnation of the character.
Thomas "Kip" Burland appears in ''The Black Hood'' (vol. 4) #1 (February 2015) as the Black Hood, wearing a black mask with eye holes and a brown jacket as his costume. He is gunned down and killed by police officer Gregory Hettinger while dressed as the Black Hood. Later, Gregory Hettinger takes up the mantle of the Black Hood.
Impact Comics Black Hood
In
1991
File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phi ...
, DC Comics revived the character briefly in its
Impact Comics
Impact Comics was an imprint of DC Comics that was aimed at younger audiences. It began in 1991 and ended in 1993. The initial "I" in the logo was stylized as an exclamation point, but the official name of the imprint was not ''!mpact''.
Impac ...
imprint. The Impact Comics series featured three major Black Hoods: a bitter vigilante who was featured in the other Impact Comics titles and killed in the first issue of ''The Black Hood''; a high school student who reluctantly took the hood and later abandoned it; and a former mobster, the same mobster who killed the first Black Hood. Numerous other Black Hoods from various time periods were featured in stories from the comics annuals, such as a female Black Hood who lived in medieval France patterned after
Joan of Arc
Joan of Arc (french: link=yes, Jeanne d'Arc, translit= an daʁk} ; 1412 – 30 May 1431) is a patron saint of France, honored as a defender of the French nation for her role in the siege of Orléans and her insistence on the coronat ...
and a western Hood whose adventures served as an inspiration for the fictional adventures of the
Lone Ranger
The Lone Ranger is a fictional masked former Texas Ranger who fought outlaws in the American Old West with his Native American friend Tonto. The character has been called an enduring icon of American culture.
He first appeared in 1933 in ...
within the Impact continuity.
''The Black Hood'' focused on the adventures of a series of vigilante characters with the same name throughout history. Each Black Hood character would somehow come in possession of a black hood. Characters wearing the hood were given heightened awareness, and increased strength, speed, and agility. The hood caused each of its wearers to become a vigilante and fight injustice. An interesting feature of the hood was what appeared to be a curse. After a certain period of time, each wearer of the black hood would die. After the death of the Black Hood, the hood would find its way into the hands of another individual with the potential to become the next Black Hood.
The titular black hood was originally an executioner's mask. As a warlock was being executed for the crime of witchcraft, he cursed not the executioner, but his hood. From that point on, whoever wore the hood would be compelled to "do only good".
Mateo Burland
DC Comics again licensed the Archie Comics superheroes and began integrating them into the
DC Universe
The DC Universe (DCU) is the fictional shared universe where most stories in American comic book titles published by DC Comics take place. Superheroes such as Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Robin, Martian Manhunter, The Flash, Green Lant ...
in 2009. The DC Universe version of the Black Hood made his debut in January 2010s issue of ''
The Web
The World Wide Web (WWW), commonly known as the Web, is an information system enabling documents and other web resources to be accessed over the Internet.
Documents and downloadable media are made available to the network through web s ...
''. He is Mateo Burland, a young
Detroit
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...
criminal whose sister is murdered by the same criminals Mateo worked with, when Mateo himself tries to escape their influence. After using weapons and equipment found in the defunct headquarters of the Justice League Detroit, Mateo confronts the drug dealer responsible for his sister's death and takes his black bandana. It is unclear whether he kills the drug dealer when he says he has meted out justice. It remains to be seen how much of a hero Mateo will become as he adopts the persona of the Black Hood.
Burland was recently shown to be a member of the "second team" of the Mighty Crusaders known as the Shadow Crusaders, helping to rescue Director (former General) Latham.
Greg Hettinger
The Bullet's Kiss
Officer Greg Hettinger is a Philadelphia cop who first appeared in ''The Black Hood'' (vol. 4) #1 (February 2015). He is seen intervening in a gun fight but takes a shotgun blast to the face. He is able to fire off one final shot before he loses consciousness. When he wakes, he finds out that he shot and killed Thomas "Kip" Burland otherwise known as the Black Hood. After struggling to deal with his scarred face and slurred speech he slowly gains an addiction to pain killers. While high he puts on the Black Hood mask, given to him by a fellow Officer as a joke, and takes to the streets to stop a cry for help. He slowly begins to go out more as the Black Hood and after being framed by the local drug ring, and being demoted to desk duty, he sets out to take down the leader known only as "The Connection" while also helping with civil disturbances.
After almost getting killed by some drug dealers, Hettinger confides in his speech therapist, Jessie Dupree, and together they are able to find someone who knows the name of "The Connection" and where to find him. Hettinger confronts "The Connection" who is revealed to be Deputy Mayor John Cuthbert. After engaging in a fight with Cuthbert, Hettinger is able to put the Black Hood mask over Cuthbert's face before pushing him through a window where he falls to his death. It is later reported that Cuthbert's death is being investigated as a suicide and that he was in fact the Black Hood attempting to take out the competition. Hettinger is re-promoted to being an Officer after it is made clear that he was framed by Cuthbert and after being sent to rehab on account of his addiction is seen sewing a new Black Hood mask so that he can continue to make up for his sins.
Collected editions
The series has so far been assembled into the following collection:
Trade paperbacks
In other media
Radio
A 15-minute radio serial, ''Black Hood'', was broadcast on the Mutual Broadcasting System from July 5, 1943 to January 14, 1944.
Television
* The Black Hood appears in
The CW
''The'' () is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite ...
television drama '' Riverdale'', predominately modelled after the Thomas Burland version. He debuts at the end of the first-season finale before becoming one of the main antagonists of the second season. He is portrayed as a serial killer who attacks citizens of Riverdale he deems to be sinners. The masked villain was seemingly revealed to be school janitor Mr. Svenson / Joseph Conway, but the Black Hood re-emerges after Svenson's death. The Black Hood's victims include gun-shot survivors Fred Andrews,
Moose Mason
Marmaduke "Moose" Mason (often referred to as Big Moose) is a fictional character in the Archie Comics universe. He attends Riverdale High School where he is typically depicted as the best athlete but the poorest student. His difficulties with s ...
and
Midge Klump
Midge Klump is a fictional character appearing in Archie Comics. She frequently appears as the girlfriend of Moose Mason and the unrequited crush of Reggie Mantle. The live-action version of Midge was portrayed by Emilija Baranac in the televis ...
, with the latter, later becoming a fatality along with Geraldine Grundy / Jennifer Gibson, Robert Phillips / "The Sugarman" and Dr. Masters. In the second-last episode of season 2, the Black Hood is revealed to be
Betty
Betty or Bettie is a name, a common diminutive for the names Bethany and Elizabeth. In Latin America, it is also a common diminutive for the given name Beatriz, the Spanish and Portuguese form of the Latin name Beatrix and the English name Beat ...
's father, Hal Cooper, who confesses to what he has done. Betty and Alice later have Hal arrested for his actions. Betty made a last visit to Hal to inform him that she will not go down his path of being a murderer. Despite her initial intentions to the contrary, she later continued visiting him. Eventually, Hal escaped incarceration and was killed by his ally and ex-romantic partner Penelope Blossom, the mother of
Cheryl Blossom
Cheryl Marjorie Blossom is a fictional character of the Archie Comics universe. She is a wealthy teenage girl, the privileged daughter of a businessman. The live action version of Cheryl is portrayed by Madelaine Petsch in '' Riverdale''.
Histor ...