THE PANTHER LADY
Real Name: Unrevealed
Identity/Class: Human (post-World War II Era) (Korean)
Occupation: Military leader
Group Membership: The People's Army
Affiliations: Colonel Fajen, Kuei, Mao, Poon Yay, Kwok Wong
Enemies: Combat Casey, Combat Kelly, Korea Katie, Muktong Mollie, Cookie Novak, General Olga, Percival P. Pennington, Yalu River Rosie
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: Mobile in Korea during the Korean War
First Appearance: Combat Casey I#8 (Spring, 1953)
Powers/Abilities: The Panther Lady trained
black panthers as her pets. She used a whip to help discipline the
panthers. She also carried a pistol.
The Panther Lady had a small star on her right cheek, possibly created through makeup or tattooing.
Height: Unrevealed (approximately 5'2")
Weight: Unrevealed (approximately 104 lbs.)
Eyes: Black
Hair: Black
History:
(Combat Casey I#8/2) - In Korea, the soldiers under the Panther Lady's
command captured the U.S. soldiers "Combat" Casey and Percival "Penny"
P. Pennington. The Panther Lady decided to feed the two men to her pet
panther Mao and sealed the men inside a cave behind a steel door then
released Mao inside the cave to feast upon them. Unknown to the Panther
Lady, "Penny" had earlier saved Mao from a trap and won the panther's
loyalty. Mao refused to harm "Penny" or Casey. Instead, both men
pretended Mao had assaulted them. When the Panther Lady opened the
door, Mao sprang upon her soldiers to maul them. Mao even threatened
the Panther Lady and she broke down, surrendering to "Combat" Casey and
"Penny," offering to give them all the secret information she possessed
if they spared her life. Casey and "Penny" took the Panther Lady as
their prisoner and set Mao free.
(Combat Kelly I#23 (fb) - BTS) - The Panther Lady
placed with her panther Poon Yay tiny plastic capsules containing lists
with the names of Communist operatives working behind U.S. lines.
(Combat Kelly I#23) - The Panther Lady ambushed
the U.S. soldiers Combat Kelly and Cookie Novak, sending her panthers
Poon Yay and Kwok Wong to attack them. Although Kelly bested Poon Yay,
Kwok Wong pressed Cookie to the ground and Panther Lady threatened to
give the order to kill Cookie if Kelly didn't surrender to her. Panther
Lady brought Kelly and Cookie to her superior, Colonel Fajen, claiming
they could use the two men to help them smuggle secret orders to
operatives in the U.S. zone. When Colonel Fajen wondered how they could
possibly ensure the men's cooperation, the Panther Lady replied that
her feminine wiles would keep them compliment to her. However, as she
showed some attention to Cookie, Kelly drew her sidearm from her
holster then at gunpoint demanded Colonel Fajen give them the list of
operatives in the U.S. zone. Fajen refused and a search of his building
did not produce any such list. Finding Fajen had a tattoo on his chest,
Kelly and Cookie assumed this was the list and took him away as a
prisoner, leaving Panther Lady tied to a chair.
After discovering the tattoo
was merely a poem, Kelly and Cookie returned to pursue the Panther
Lady. She again sicced her panthers against them but this time, the duo
killed the panthers. In Poon Yay's remains, they found the capsules
with lists of operatives. Kelly and Cookie took Panther Lady prisoner
and placed her in their camp's stockade. The operatives found in the
list were all either captured or killed.
(Combat Kelly I#24/2) - As the Panther Lady
remained in the stockade at Combat Kelly's camp, she warned Kelly and
Cookie that, when she was freed, she would make them pay for confining
her. Cookie Novak retorted that her fellow guerrillas Yalu River Rosie,
Korea Katie, General Olga and Muktong Mollie had all previously vowed
to get them first; the Panther Lady replied that she would have to
hurry to beat them since she would have her revenge that very night.
While they were taunting each other through the barbed wire, a squad of
Communist soldiers ambushed Kelly and Cookie. When one of them pushed
Kelly against the barbed wire, the Panther Lady struck Kelly over the
head with a rock.
Released from the stockade,
the Panther Lady brought Kelly and Cookie with her to the Communist
lines and put them tied up into a pit. Reunited with her pet panther
Kuei, Panther Lady intended for Kuei to feast upon the helpless duo.
Just as the Panther Lady gave the order to eat them, Yalu River Rosie
interceded and shot Kuei dead. The Panther Lady demanded Rosie explain
why she had saved their lives and she replied that Kelly and Cookie had
been her enemies much longer than they had been the Panther Lady's so
the pleasure of killing them must belong to her. This set off a chain
reaction as Korea Katie interceded against Rosie then Muktong Mollie
and finally General Olga. Ultimately, all five women were fighting
amongst each other for the pleasure of killing Kelly and Cookie. Kelly
and Cookie, no longer bound, simply sat back and watched the five women
fight.
Comments: Created by Hank Chapman and Robert Q. Sale.
All Asian femme fatales owe a
great debt to Milton Caniff and his creation the Dragon Lady from the
newspaper comic strip Terry and the Pirates. This is especially
true of the Panther Lady, who traipsed around in a slinky nightgown
nigh-identical to the Dragon Lady's preferred costuming.
Apparently keeping track of which
femme fatale belonged to which army heroes' rogues gallery was
difficult work, as when Panther Lady abruptly turned up in Combat Kelly
I#23, she was treated as though Kelly and Cookie were her established
adversaries, rather than "Combat" Casey and "Penny."
Profile by Prime Eternal.
CLARIFICATIONS:
The Panther Lady should not be confused with:
- CHU SAN - Clark Mason foe--Spy Fighters I#11
- COMRADE CHINA - Combat Casey foe--Combat Casey I#14
- HAN RIVER HELEN - Iron Mike McGraw foe--Marines in Battle I#1
- KAESONG KATIE - Combat Casey foe--Combat Casey I#10
- KIMA - Doug Grant foe--Spy Cases I#15
- KOREA KATIE - Combat Kelly foe--Combat Kelly I#13
- LEE-SIK - Iron Mike McGraw foe--Marines in Battle I#1
- LING - Combat Kelly foe--Combat Kelly I#28
- MANCHURIA MARY - Battle Brady foe--Battle Brady I#11
- MUKTONG MOLLIE - Combat Kelly foe--Combat Kelly I#19
- NITA - Combat Casey foe--Combat Casey I#15
- GENERAL OLGA - Buzz Brand foe--Battle Action I#11
- THE PEARL OF PYONGYANG - Battle Brady foe--Battle Action I#8
- PUSAN POLLY - Combat Kelly foe--Combat Kelly I#24
- RED MARY - Combat Kelly foe--Combat Kelly I#21
- RED POPPY - Combat Casey foe--Combat Casey I#17
- THE SNAKE LADY OF SINYONG - Combat Casey foe foe--Combat Casey I#18
- SWEET LOTUS - Doug Grant foe--Spy Cases I#14
- THE WASP - Battle Brady foe--Battle I#25
- YALU RIVER ROSIE - Combat Kelly foe--Combat Kelly I#7
- other "Panther" or "Lady" characters, groups, items, races or events, or any other beautiful Asian Communist women
Kuei
Kuei or "Devil" was one of the Panther Lady's pet
panthers. After escaping a U.S. Army stockade, Panther Lady intended
for Kuei to feed upon Combat Kelly and Cookie Novak but when she
unleashed her pet, Kuei was shot and killed by Yalu River Rosie, who
wanted the pleasure of killing them herself.
--Combat Kelly I#24/2
Kwok Wong
Kwok Wong or "King" was one of the Panther Lady's pet
panthers. She sicced Kwok Wong against Cookie Novak and the panther
pounced on Cookie, holding him on the ground. In a second match-up,
Cookie shot Kwok Wong in the chest, killing it.
--Combat Kelly I#23
Mao
Mao was one of the Panther Lady's black panthers.
Once while out wandering, one of Mao's legs caught in a steel trap and
he was unable to rescue himself. Mao was found by "Combat" Casey and
Percival P. "Penny" Pennington, who didn't realize to whom the panther
belonged. Casey wanted to shoot the animal but the nature-loving
Pennington carefully won the panther's trust and released it from the
trap. Mao licked "Penny" on the face then fled. "Penny" nicknamed Mao
"Blackie."
Two weeks later, the Panther Lady's forces caught
Casey and "Penny" and she placed the two men inside a sealed cave with
Mao, intending Mao to feast upon them. However, Mao recognized "Penny"
as his friend and when the cave was opened, Mao sprang upon the Panther
Lady's soldiers, mauling them. Mao went so far as to threaten the
Panther Lady, causing her to surrender to Casey and "Penny." Casey
wondered if "Penny" would keep "Blackie" as a pet but "Penny" set Mao
free, believing no animal should be confined.
--Combat Casey I#8/2
Named for Mao Zedong (1893-1976), founder of the People's Republic of China.
Poon Yay
Poon Yay or "Midnight" was one of the Panther Lady's
pet panthers. The Panther Lady concealed hundreds of tiny plastic
capsules inside Poon Yay's stomach, each containing lists of secret
operatives behind U.S. lines. When the Panther Lady sicced Poon Yay
against Combat Kelly, Kelly fought the panther bare-handed, punched it
in the stomach then grabbed its tail and slammed it against a cliff
side. In their second meeting, Kelly stabbed Poon Yay in the stomach
with his bayonet. Checking the panther's remains, Kelly and Cookie
discovered the capsules and used the information to capture the listed
operatives.
--Combat Kelly I#23
images: (without ads)
Combat Casey I#8/2, page 4, panel 6 (Panther Lady, main)
Combat Casey I#8/2, page 5, panel 8 (Panther Lady, face)
Combat Kelly I#24/2, page 3, panel 3 (Kuei)
Combat Kelly I#23, page 1, panel 3 (Kwok Wong)
Combat Casey I#8/2, page 6, panel 3 (Mao)
Combat Kelly I#23, page 1, panel 3 (Poon Yay)
Appearances:
Combat Casey I#8/2 (Spring, 1953) - Hank Chapman (writer), Robert Q. Sale (artist), Stan Lee (editor)
Combat Kelly I#23 (August, 1954) - unidentified writer, Dave Berg (artist), Stan Lee (editor)
Combat Kelly I#24/2 (September, 1954) - unidentified writer, Dave Berg (artist), Stan Lee (editor)
First posted: 08/06/2025
Last updated:
08/06/2025
Any Additions/Corrections? please let
me know.
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