J. Wilbur Wolfingham

J. WILBUR WOLFINGHAM

Real Name: J. Wilbur Wolfingham

Class: Human

Occupation: Grifter

Group Affiliation: None

Known Relatives: Wormwood Wolfingham (nephew), unnamed brother

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Metropolis

First Appearance: Superman I #26 (January-February 1944)

Powers: Wolfingham was an experienced confidence man, but he had unbelievably bad luck. He was skilled at cheating in virtually any game of chance, such as cards or pool.

History: Wolfingham was a long-time confidence man by his first encounter with Superman. Wolfingham intended to steal money from has-been movie stars, promising to make them famous with a new movie he was producing. Wolfingham had no intention of filming a movie, he just wanted to cheat the stars out of their money. Thanks to the interference of Lois Lane and Superman the movie actually got made and was a success, and Wolfingham gained nothing from the grift. Time and again Wolfingham's schemes were foiled by Superman, who made sure Wolfingham's intended victims got the better end of every trick he tried to play.

(Action Comics #573) - Wolfingham taught his nephew Wormwood the ins and outs of being a con man, telling him you just had to find what people needed, promise to give it to them, and then skip town. He met the alien Bax, told him he owned Earth, and offered to sell it to him. He was unaware that Bax knew he was a con man himself, and that he could make use of an entire planet. Bax converted Earth's populace into energy, stored it in a holding cube, and told Wolfingham he had a day to vacate. Superman returned from a space excursion and reluctantly teamed with Wolfingham to get back Earth. Bax brought by a prospective buyer for Earth when Superman pelted them with ice cream, a pepper storm and tires, and Wolfingham convinced them these were normal weather conditions on Earth. After the customer was driven off Wolfingham convinced Bax that Superman was a genie and Bax claimed possession of him. Returning to space Bax told Superman to guide him through meteors, but Superman did it in such a way as to make Bax fear for his life. Bax returned to Earth and told Wolfingham he'd give back the deed to Earth if only Wolfingham took Superman back as well.

Comments: Created by Don Cameron & Ira Yarbrough

In the pre-Crisis DCU there were versions of Wolfingham on both Earth-1 and Earth-2. According to Who's Who Update '87 #5, Wolfingham's existence in the post-Crisis universe has yet to be confirmed.

Wolfingham received a profile in Who’s Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe #12.