The 52 Gang made its appearance in the first Space Coupe story in 1962. There were 52 members of the gang and each was anonymous to the other by virtue of the fact that they all wore black uniforms and black masks. They were able to kidnap and eventually kill Dyne O’Matik, inventor of the Space Coupe.
Their hideout was a luxurious country club (with a spade shaped swimming pool) built on top of a mesa in the Southwest. There was no way onto the top of the mesa except by helicopter or plane (or Space Coupe).
Since all gang members were masked and anonymous to each other, Tracy was able to disguise himself and infiltrate the gang by impersonating one of the members caught by the police. He pretended to have a frog in his throat to avoid being recognized by voice since all of the gang members were masked.
Sydney is correct that the leader of the gang turned out to be a (rather low-level) criminal named Little Notting.
There was no explanation in the strip how such a low-level hood with an inferiority complex could have created and managed such a large, wealthy, and complex gang. But notice in the strip above that he is apparently branded on the forehead (Mr. Bribery’s MO) even though this was about 3 years before Bribery made his appearance in the strip. No explanation was given for Notting’s forehead branding. He had never appeared in the strip before and was sent to prison and as far as I know never appeared in the strip again.
After Notting’s capture, a battle broke out between the police (in planes, helicopters, and the Space Coupe) and the remaining gang members on top of the mesa who refused to surrender (the gang was heavily armed with military-style weapons). Eventually, the police dropped napalm on the mesa and everyone either burned in the fire or jumped off of the mesa to their deaths.
It is not unreasonable to believe that Bribery was operating in the city 3 years before he made his appearance in the strip and that Little Notting was a fall guy. Since he is still in prison, it is also not unreasonable that he may make an appearance in the current story since much of what we have seen of the Blackhearts mirrors the behavior and organization of the 52 Gang.
The 52 Gang made its appearance in the first Space Coupe story in 1962. There were 52 members of the gang and each was anonymous to the other by virtue of the fact that they all wore black uniforms and black masks. They were able to kidnap and eventually kill Dyne O’Matik, inventor of the Space Coupe.
Their hideout was a luxurious country club (with a spade shaped swimming pool) built on top of a mesa in the Southwest. There was no way onto the top of the mesa except by helicopter or plane (or Space Coupe).
Since all gang members were masked and anonymous to each other, Tracy was able to disguise himself and infiltrate the gang by impersonating one of the members caught by the police. He pretended to have a frog in his throat to avoid being recognized by voice since all of the gang members were masked.
Sydney is correct that the leader of the gang turned out to be a (rather low-level) criminal named Little Notting.
There was no explanation in the strip how such a low-level hood with an inferiority complex could have created and managed such a large, wealthy, and complex gang. But notice in the strip above that he is apparently branded on the forehead (Mr. Bribery’s MO) even though this was about 3 years before Bribery made his appearance in the strip. No explanation was given for Notting’s forehead branding. He had never appeared in the strip before and was sent to prison and as far as I know never appeared in the strip again.
After Notting’s capture, a battle broke out between the police (in planes, helicopters, and the Space Coupe) and the remaining gang members on top of the mesa who refused to surrender (the gang was heavily armed with military-style weapons). Eventually, the police dropped napalm on the mesa and everyone either burned in the fire or jumped off of the mesa to their deaths.
It is not unreasonable to believe that Bribery was operating in the city 3 years before he made his appearance in the strip and that Little Notting was a fall guy. Since he is still in prison, it is also not unreasonable that he may make an appearance in the current story since much of what we have seen of the Blackhearts mirrors the behavior and organization of the 52 Gang.