BARNABY WADE

Real Name: Barnaby Wade

Identity/Class: Human mutant (see comments, 1950s)

Occupation: Unrevealed, possibly retired

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: Yellow Claw (until he learned his true intentions)

Enemies: Jimmy Woo (until he learned the truth)

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: "Thought Master" (as called by Yellow Claw)

Base of Operations: Yellow Claw's hideout, somewhere in upper Canada; originally from Riverdale

First Appearance: Yellow Claw#4/5 (April, 1957)

Powers/Abilities: Possessing psionic powers to an immense degree, Wade could form solid creations from his own thoughts at will; he could form both inanimate objects and simulated lifeforms.

The limits of Wade's powers are unknown, however using his powers left the elderly man in a very weak condition, which was temporarily alleviated with the use of the Yellow Claw's Vitamin "X" pills.

History: (Yellow Claw#4/5 (fb) - BTS) - Barnaby Wade's past is unknown, but at some point he used his mental powers to alter reality overnight in his hometown of Riverdale.

(Yellow Claw#4/5) - Using a brain-wave detector, the Yellow Claw and Fritz von Voltzmann travelled incognito to Riverdale, where some of the town's residents showed them the strange animals that had appeared -- a hen the size of a sheep, and an elephant no larger than a kitten. Upon closer inspection, the evil twosome saw the village itself cluttered with a plethora of incredible mental constructs. They traced the brain-waves back to the home of Barnaby Wade, who explained to them that he could turn his thoughts into reality, but it always left his body weak. The sinister Yellow Claw was certain that he and Wade could enter into a mutually beneficial partnership.

(Yellow Claw#4/5 - BTS) - The Claw flew Barnaby Wade to his hideout in the forests of upper Canada, where he began to give the elderly man Vitamin "X" capsules -- the pills restored the feeble Wade's strength, but also made him susceptible to the Claw's will. Wishing to get FBI agent Jimmy Woo out of the way before starting his scheme for world conquest, the Yellow Claw made Wade use his power to send a special "surprise" for the young g-man.

(Yellow Claw#4/5) - A few days later, Jimmy Woo was attacked by a lion (created by Wade's thoughts) in his apartment. After shooting the beast dead, Woo received a phone call from Suwan (the Yellow Claw's grand-niece), warning him about the Claw's plot. Woo drove to the airport and met Suwan, and the two flew off to the Claw's hideout.

  Meanwhile, the Yellow Claw commanded Wade to create a small army of fighting men. Armed warriors began to emerge from Wade's forehead, but the mindless "thought soldiers" seemingly turned on Barnaby Wade and the Yellow Claw. Just then, Jimmy Woo and Suwan burst into the Claw's headquarters, and Jimmy punched a "thought soldier". Seeing his master plan going awry, the Yellow Claw bolted for safety in the confusion and took off in a rocket sled.

  Barnaby Wade made the soldiers disappear by concentrating; feeling weakened, he asked Jimmy for some more Vitamin "X", but Woo told him to forget it ("That's how he kept you in his power!") and admonished Wade for foolishly putting his strange gift to evil use in exchange for temporary strength.

  Although a blow was struck against the force of tyranny, Suwan told Jimmy that she feared that the Yellow Claw's thirst for power was not temporary, and warned that he would return...

Comments: Created by Jack Kirby and John Severin

No explanation was given as to how Barnaby Wade acquired his power or how long he had it (c'mon, it was only a 5-page story), so I'll just take the easy way out and say that he was probably a mutant; possibly he could manipulate the same energy that empowered the Cosmic Cube?

And despite Suwan's final warning, this was the last story of Atlas's Yellow Claw series; however, her words would prove prophetic when the regular characters were reintroduced into the modern Marvel Universe about a decade later.

Profile by John Kaminski

CLARIFICATIONS:
Barnaby Wade has no known connection to:

• Willie Evans Jr., who had similar powers @ Fantastic Four I#203
• Joe Wade, former FBI agent, Scarlet Spider @ Amazing Scarlet Spider#1
• Joshua Wade, NYPD, investigated Gotham Game Club @ Incredible Hulk Annual#9
• Wade Wilson, Deadpool, the Merc with a Mouth @ New Mutants I#98

The town of Riverdale has no known connection to:

• The town of Riverdale in Archie Comics @ Pep Comics#22

Riverdale

A small rural community located somewhere in the United States, it featured replicas of the Sphinx, the Statue of Liberty, and other fantastic mental constructs, all created by the thoughts of Barnaby Wade.

--Yellow Claw#4/5

images:
Yellow Claw#4/5, p1, pan1 (main)