VINCENT VARL
Real Name: Vincent "Vince" Varl
Identity/Class: Normal human (late 1940s era)
Occupation: Professional violinist
Group Membership: Various bands/orchestras
Affiliations: Captain America (Jeffrey Mace), Mr. Dugan,
"imp of the
violin"
Enemies: None
Known Relatives: Mrs. Varl (wife, first name unrevealed)
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: Mobile in the USA
First Appearance: Marvel Mystery Comics I#89/7
(December, 1948)
Powers/Abilities: Vincent Varl is an
accomplished violinist, renown for his skilled performances of
classical
and jazz genres. He uses a genuine Amati violin (crafted by skilled
luthier Nicola Amati), but this violin was
inhabited by a recalcitrant imp who could select who would see him and
could influence the notes played.
Height: 5'10"
Weight: 150 lbs.
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Black
History:
(Marvel Mystery Comics I#89/7 (fb) - BTS) - Vincent
Varl was a married man and an accomplished classical solo violinist on
his prized Amati violin.
(Marvel Mystery Comics I#89/7) - Despite Varl's
skill, very people turned up to his performances as classical music had
fallen out of favor. This was noted by his friend Captain America
(Jeffrey Mace) at a performance. Concerned about their income, Varl's
wife convinced him
to try jazz and he practiced for several weeks. But one night, strings
broke and the angry imp that lived inside the violin crawled out,
declaring that the new music style was disgraceful and there would be
reprisal. Astonished, Varl fainted. While unconscious, the imp weaved
him a dream that showed Varl the imp's origin and connection to the
creation of that violin. Varl later told his disbelieving wife and
then Captain America, the latter took him to a leading psychiatrist,
who suggested the imp was just a hallucination borne of guilt (as no
one else could see the imp). Varl tried to ignore the imp and tried to
steer his manager Mr. Dugan to classical pieces in his act away from
jazz numbers, but Dugan instead saw opportunity and promoted Varl as a
mix of classical violin meets jazz. The imp soon emphasized his anger
and retribution - until he saw the svelte young dancing women who
formed part of the revue. Still upset, the imp twisted the strings as
Varl played, distorting the music, but the audience applauded the new
jazzy tunes. The imp's rage soon subsided as he leered at the dancing
women. Varl's popularity rocketed and he could soon afford a new home
and fancy car. Eventually, the imp looked forward to going to the club
and the new tunes, and even danced with the women on stage, although no
one
could see him (other than Varl).
Comments: Creators not credited.
The imp is only know as "the imp of the violin" from the story title.
Captain America's presence is incidental to the
storyline and he plays no important role other than as brief narrator
and accompanying his friend to a psychiatrist.
Nicola
Amati (1596-1684) was the real-life Italian luthier. Antonio
Stradivari
(maker of the renown Stradivarius violins, mentioned
only in the story) was likely a pupil of Amati, or at least a young
contemporary of Amati's time, so Amati had to be old and retired in
this
story for Stradivari to be known as an active luthier. The story places
Amati as 16th Century, but Amati was born in 1596, so it had to be 17th
Century.
It's suggested
in the story that the long-lived imps only inhabited Amati and
Stradivarius
violins.
Profile by Grendel Prime.
CLARIFICATIONS
:
Vincent Varl has no known connections to:
Nicola Amati was a renown luthier and crafted violins
in his workshops. His workshop was inhabited by various tiny imps who
enjoyed living in violins. One imp wanted to dwell in Amati's
masterpiece and dismissed off his fellows, telling them to go for
Stradivarius violins elsewhere. The special Amati violin eventually
found its way several centuries later to Vincent Varl. Still inside,
the long-lived imp communicated to Varl the origin of the violin via a
dream.
- Marvel Mystery Comics I#89/7
Mr. Dugan was Vincent Varl's manager. When Varl was
concerned about interference from the imp in his Amati violin, he
suggested reducing the time he played his violin on stage. instead,
Dugan liked the angle of promoting Varl's famous Amati violin and
advertised widely, which made Varl more nervous.
- Marvel Mystery Comics I#89/7
The tiny imp was one of many who dwelled in luthier
Nicola Amati's workshop in the mid-1600s (see comments), waiting for a
violin to call home and be its guardian. The imp pushed away others
when Amati had made his (latest) masterpiece. Eventually the violin
found its way to the USA to accomplished classical violinist Vincent
Varl. Varl's popularity waned as classical music dropped out of favor,
so he began practicing jazz, but this new music was disruptive to the
imp, who became angry and broke violin strings in retribution. Varl
fainted in disbelief upon seeing the imp and while Varl was
unconscious, the imp weaved him a dream about the violin's origin and
the imp's connection. The imp allowed himself to be seen only by Varl,
so no one else believed Varl's account. When Varl played jazz at a
nightclub revue, the imp twisted the strings, but the audience
applauded the new style. However, once the imp saw the svelte young
dancing women who were part of the revue, his anti-jazz position
softened and he eventually looked forward to attending clubs, even
dancing to the new jazzy tunes.
- Marvel Mystery Comics I#89/7
images:
(without ads)
Marvel Mystery Comics I#89/7, p3, pan1 (main image)
p7, pan4 (headshot)
p3, pan3 (Amati)
p4, pan5 (Dugan)
p8, pan3 (imp)
Appearances:
Marvel Mystery Comics I#89/7 (December, 1948) - uncredited writer &
artist(s), Stan Lee (editor)
First posted: 11/08/2024
Last updated:
11/08/2024
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
Non-Marvel Copyright info
All other characters mentioned or pictured are ™
and © 1941-2099 Marvel Characters, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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