Madam Fatal appeared in 1940 as the first cross-dressing comic book hero. "Her" real name was Richard Stanton, a retired actor who became a superhero after rescuing his daughter from kidnappers. Following this escapade, Stanton decided to devote his life to helping others in dire circumstances by cloaking his fairly normal physical prowess under the guise of a kindly old lady. His "superpowers" then were purely the result of a surprise attack on villains expecting no more than a harmless whack on the head.
Madame Fatal
