Wednesday, December 26, 2018

Ambush Bug and Forbush Man



So where did the name Forbush Man come from anyway?  I have never heard of a Forbush before, was it just a funny sounding name to Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, so they used it?  I do like the gag of a guy using his own last name as part of his supposed secret alter ego.

Thank you to Ivan Schablotski, a patron of this blog,  for suggesting this titanic Irving/Irwin team up!

27 comments:

  1. Can anyone see who the posters are for, besides the title characters? I can see Krypto. Not sure about the others.

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  2. Streaky (Supergirl's cat) is the other prominent one.

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  3. "Forbush" is an early 20th century slang term for a person who is forced to deal with large groups of idiots all day. Forbush-Man's secret identity, Irving Forbush, was the gofer for Stan Lee.

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  4. Ma Hunkel wants her costume back.

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  5. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  6. Forbush is a Scottish surname. I've only seen the "deals with groups of idiots" definition in the Urban Dictionary and it mentions nothing about the early 20th century. The definition given there was by a student of a teacher with the name of Forbush.

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  7. There's also Nellie Forbush, the main character of Rodgers and Hammerstein's South Pacific.

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  8. I though Forbush Man's costume resembled the one the Golden Age Red Tornado had.

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  9. For what it's worth, the one time I got to meet Stan Lee, I told him that Irving Forbush was my favorite superhero. He smiled, and that will stay with me forever.

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  10. This looks like a job for the entire Union Suit Squad!*

    *Near-poetry not intended.

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  11. Which, btw, raises a good question: how come Underdog was never granted membership in the U.S.S.?

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  12. @Chris & Los Thunderlads: And, as Reed Richards could tell you, there was also Scott Forbush. A real-world astronomer who studied cosmic rays during the Thirties and Forties. Periodic reductions of which are evidently referred to as "Forbush decreases!"

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  13. Y E S,
    I would purchase this comic book instantly!

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  14. Re: Anon2: The GA Red Tornado was, as Poochy said, Ma Hunkle.

    And Irving Forbush was a supposed to be a gofer at Marvel (later Marble Comics when Not Brand Ecch came along). Stan had made him up previously to have a name for the guy who was the butt of office / bullpen jokes (ala Sad Sack in the military) and gave him the Alfred E. Neuman job "hosting" Snafu, Marvel's short-lived attempt to copy Mad Magazine, then later the mascot for NBE.

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  15. Ah yes, I should have remembered Nellie Forbush - I played Luther Billis in South Pacific twice - once in High School and then later on in Acting School.

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  16. Mine will, too, if the Union Suit Squad sequel shows Underdog being inducted. ;-)

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  17. I would also be happy to see an Underdog/Super-Goof team up.

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  18. Maybe Underdog/Doctor Who! The Tardis looked a lot like a 1960's phone booth.

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  19. I can just picture K-9 being told: "There's no need to fear. You're not being supplanted, here."

    ---Another Ymous

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  20. Thomas The Tank Engine & Dethlok (The Band From Metaloclypse) team-up! In Blue Harvest: Horror beyond Nap Time.

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  21. As Reed Richards, himself, might say: "Don't fear the Creeper."

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  22. Hey, if the Union Suit Squad gets a redux, it won't be complete without Captain Klutz! I said so in their first appearance, and I still say so now!

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  23. I second Bob's emotion.

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  24. Red tornado and forbush man please ��

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  25. "Von Grawbadgers?! We don't need no stinkin' von grawbadgers!"

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