Mr. X

MR. X

Real Name: Garant (first name unrevealed)

Class: Human technology-user

Occupation: Mad scientist

Group Affiliation: None

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Keystone City, KS, 1940s era

First Appearance: Flash Comics #88 (October, 1947)

Powers: Mr. X. possessed a light gun that could send people and objects back through time.

History: (Flash Comics #88) - Professor Garant was the head of the Science Research Society, and worked with chemist Homer Brown on a ray of light that could seemingly disintegrate matter. Brown feared that Garant was going to use his light guns for destructive purposes, and planned on exposing him at the Research Society’s upcoming conference. Garant shot Brown with a light gun, not realizing it didn’t actually disintegrate matter, it just transported it into the past. Jay (Flash) Garrick attended the annual Science Research Society, surprised that his friend Homer Brown was absent, because he’d told Jay he had a startling discovery to announce. A messenger from the post office had a latter for Jay, and goons tried to steal it, but Jay changed into the Flash to get his letter back. Brown, who’d gone missing a month before, reiterated that he had a startling discovery to announce. Flash decided to investigate Brown’s boarding house, and Professor Garant insisted on accompanying him. As Flash checked Brown’s room Garant shot Flash with his light gun. Flash found himself back as Jay Garrick, discussing chemical prices with his girlfriend Joan Williams as they prepared to restock his lab for the year. Jay realized he’d been thrown back in time a year, back to 1946, and theorized that Homer Brown had befallen the same plight. Flash found Brown, who didn’t yet know what discovery he was going to make because of the effects of time travel. Flash grabbed him and ran faster than the speed of light to return to 1947. Brown remembered that he’d worked with Professor Garant. The mayor of Keystone City announced that Mr. X was in charge of the city, and Flash learned that X was really Garant, having used a light gun to apparently disintegrate an entire city block, demanding control of the city. Flash and Brown broke into Mr. X’s lab as he had his light gun at Washington, D.C. planning to disintegrate it and take control of the entire United States. Flash apprehended him, exposing the true nature of the light gun. Flash told Brown that within the year the missing Keystone block would reappear, and suggested they investigate beneficial uses for Garant’s discovery.

Comments: Created by Robert Kanigher & Joe Kubert.

In the pre-Crisis on Infinite Earths DCU Mr. X lived on Earth-2.