Q. Who was The Avenger?

A. When his wife and daughter were cruelly murdered, Richard Henry Benson underwent a transformation – his hair turned stark white, his facial muscles froze and he became The Avenger.

The Avenger was a blend of Street and Smith's two hit crimefighters – The Shadow and Doc Savage – he was a "merciless, avenging machine of steel" and, yet, was a public figure which those in trouble sought out for help. What distinguished him from the other two Street and Smith characters was his face. Benson could mold the features of his paralyzed face "into position to adopt any guise."

Assisting him in his war against evil was a band of trusted aides; together they formed the efficient crimefighting organization Justice, Inc.

It's interesting to note that two of The Avenger's comrades, Joshua Elijah H. Newton and his wife, Rosabel, broke the stereotypical and derogatory depictions of black Americans in popular culture of the 1930s. Both were honor graduates of Tuskeegee Institute. Though they sometimes went undercover as "languid servants," their keen minds made them indispensible members of Justice, Inc.

The new crimefighter hit the streets in a September 1939 issue under the writer's credit of Kenneth Robeson, "the famous creator of Doc Savage." Robeson, of course, was a house name, this time used by writer Paul Ernst. The Avenger magazine lasted 24 issues, until September 1942. His adventures continued in a series of short stories, written by Emile Tepperman. Five of the stories appeared in Clues Detective magazine and one in The Shadow magazine.