ABRA and CADABRA

Real Name: (both) Unrevealed

Identity/Class: Human (post-World War II era)

Occupation: Stage magicians, crooks

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: None

Enemies: Blonde Phantom (Louise Mason), J. B. Gloop

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Manhattan, New York, USA

First Appearance: Marvel Mystery Comics I#84 (October, 1947)

Powers/Abilities: Abra and Cadabra were experienced stage magicians who excelled at the art of illusion. Although they did not possess true magical powers, they would prepare their illusions in advance to give the impression they were employing magic. For example, they would use smoke bombs to cover their escape in order to make it appear as though they had disappeared.

Height: (both) Unrevealed; (Abra) approximately 5'4"; (Cadabra) approximately 5'9"
Weight: (both) Unrevealed; (Abra) approximately 145 lbs.; (Cadabra) approximately 170 lbs.
Eyes: (both) Blue
Hair: (both) Black

History:
(Marvel Mystery Comics I#84/3) - Abra and Cadabra were the two most popular stage magicians in vaudeville. However, their magic act was just a front for their real business: robbery. Abra and Cadabra broke into a jewelry store in Manhattan at night and started helping themselves to the jewels. They were interrupted by the masked crimefighter the Blonde Phantom but, although she held a gun on them, Abra swung the sack of jewels at her head and knocked her down. As they fled the store, the police attempted to chase them but Cadabra chanted "Boona, boona- vanish sooner!" and a cloud of smoke appeared that concealed their escape. They escaped with $50,000 in jewels.

    The Blonde Phantom partnered with magician J. B. Gloop and began following Abra and Cadabra, playing their act in the same cities as the two more popular magicians. As Gloop and Blonde Phantom became more famous, Abra and Cadabra's popularity suffered. Cadabra believed they should simply worry about their next robbery but Abra observed that if their magic act failed, they'd lose the cover for their crimes. Since the Blonde Phantom and Gloop were playing at the Whirlagig Club that week, they decided to pull their next job at the club.

    The next evening, Abra and Cadabra sabotaged Gloop's magic act by replacing the rabbits in his trunk with monstrous-looking puppets. While the puppets ruined Gloop's act, Abra and Cadabra broke into the club manager's office to loot the safe. However, the Blonde Phantom stopped them, once again holding her gun on the duo. Abra chanted "Hipsy-dipsy alley-fazoo! Your gun is now a head of cauliflower!" However, the Blonde Phantom wasn't fooled at all and fired her gun at his hand, quipping "Then I must be firing vegetable bullets!" The bullet knocked the bag of loot from Abra's hand. With no more tricks up their sleeves, Abra and Cadabra surrendered to the Blonde Phantom.

Comments: Created by an unidentified writer and Syd Shores.

    "Abracadabra" is considered one of the oldest and widely-quoted "magic words," although no one's quite certain how old it is or what its original meaning was; it has been associated with the deity Abraxas.

    The Blonde Phantom's reason for trailing Abra and Cadabra on the road is that she needed evidence. Considering Abra and Cadabra didn't wear gloves while robbing the jewelry store, surely fingerprints would be enough evidence? Or couldn't the police identify the two famous magicians in a lineup? Actually, that's a missed opportunity; a scene of various Blackstone-types in a police line-up are told to remove their silk hats; each magician had an animal of some sort hidden under their hats. It writes itself!

    J. B. Gloop was meant to be a W. C. Fields-type.

    This profile was completed on 11/13/2025 but its publication with delayed, as it was intended for the Appendix's 25th anniversary celebratory event.

Profile by Prime Eternal.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Abra and Cadabra demand to be taken seriously and not confused with:

J. B. Gloop

J. B. Gloop was a portly stage magician whose talents were considered inferior to those of Abra and Cadabra but when he added the Blonde Phantom to his act as a female assistant, he began to develop a following. In time, Gloop became more popular than Abra and Cadabra, causing them to rob the Whirlagig Club while Gloop was performing there. After the Blonde Phantom captured Abra and Cadabra, she left Gloop's act but he remained a successful magician from his brief association with her.





--Marvel Mystery Comics I#84/3

images: (without ads)
Marvel Mystery Comics I#84/3, page 1 (Abra & Cadabra, main)
Marvel Mystery Comics I#84/3, page 5, panel 4 (Abra headshot)
Marvel Mystery Comics I#84/3, page 2, panel 6 (Cadabra headshot)
Marvel Mystery Comics I#84/3, page 6, panel 5 (Gloop)

Appearances:
Marvel Mystery Comics I#84/3 (October, 1947) - unidentified writer, Syd Shores (artist), Stan Lee (editor)

First posted: 09/05/2026
Last updated: 11/13/2025

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. If you like this stuff, you should check out the real thing!
Please visit The Marvel Official Site at: http://www.marvel.com

Special Thanks to http://www.g-mart.com/ for hosting the Appendix, Master List, etc.!

Back to Characters