NICK BRUTO
Real Name: Nick Bruto
Identity/Class: Normal human (WWII
era)
Occupation: Thief
Group Membership: None
Affiliations: None
Enemies: Miss
America (Madeline Joyce), Dr. Paul Paine,
police, Tiffan Jewel Store, other theft victims
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: Washington, DC, USA
First Appearance: Marvel Mystery Comics I#62/3
(March, 1945)
Powers/Abilities: Nick Bruto is a ruthless
criminal, willing to murder to steal high-value items. He carries a
handgun. He briefly controlled a stolen flying
house that used an anti-gravity device for movement.
Height: 5'9"
Weight: 145 lbs.
Eyes: Dark brown
Hair: White
History:
(Marvel Mystery Comics I#62/3 (fb) - BTS) - Ruthless criminal Nick Bruto learned of Dr. Paine's new anti-gravity-powered flying house and forced the scientist to fly them away inside it. Bruto kept Paine prisoner while he learned how to fly the anti-grav house himself. The criminal then went on a bold crime spree, using the flying house to quickly evade police dragnets as they searched for hi on the streets. It was reported in the newspapers and attracted the attention of the heroic Miss America (secretly Madeline Joyce).
(Marvel Mystery Comics I#62/3) - Bruto grabbed the
valuable necklace off a female driver who had stopped. The passenger
Joyce quickly changed into her costume and gave chase, but he stopped
her by throwing dust in her eyes (probably more like dirt). Bruto
escaped using the flying house, leaving Miss America and police
confounded. The next night, Bruto raided the Tiffan Jewel Store and shot
two pursuing policemen before Miss America arrived, but the villain
shoved his open heist bag over her head and again escaped in the flying
house, thereby evading the police dragnet closing in, and landed in a
quiet residential area. Following the newspapers, Miss America
discovered that Paine's house had disappeared and her suspicions about a
potential connection led her to where Bruto was last seen. She noted
that the street had one extra house and that its number didn't match, so
she entered but was hit on the head by the ready Bruto. The villain
immediately took off in the flying house and threw her out, followed by
Paine, whom Bruto no longer needed for information. Although dazed, Miss
America recovered and flew up, caught Paine and returned to the flying
house. She knocked out Bruto with one punch. Paine explained what had
happened and the incident was soon reported in the newspaper.
Comments: Created by Otto Binder & Charles Nicholas.
I'm assuming these early tales are just before Miss
America's relocation to New York.
The local newspaper Miss America relies on is inventively
called the Daily Blah.
Profile by Grendel Prime.
CLARIFICATIONS :
Nick Bruto has no known connections to:
The flying house was a large contraption that housed an experimental anti-gravity device developed by American scientist Dr. Paine. He disguised it in a generic small single-story house design for stealth purposes and it had extendable wings to help with gliding and steering once aloft. Paine had just completed the device when ruthless criminal Nick Bruto kidnapped him and stole the flying house to use in a crime spree. However, the heroic Miss America discovered and foiled Bruto's plot. The freed Paine landed the flying house and the whole resolved incident was reported in the local newspaper.
Presumably the US Government impounded the
flying house to learn its technical secrets, given it was wartime.
--Marvel Mystery Comics I#62/3
Dr. Paul Paine was a brilliant engineer and scientist who
developed an anti-gravity device and placed it within a generic small
house design unit for stealth. However, ruthless criminal Nick Bruto
discovered this, kidnapped Paine and stole his flying house device to go
on a crime spree. Reports of Paine's kidnapping made the local press,
attracting the attention of the heroic Miss America, who tried to stop
Bruto. The villain threw Paine out of the airborne house, but Miss
America rescued him and clobbered Bruto. Paine safely landed the flying
house and the resolved incident was reported in the local newspaper.
--Marvel Mystery Comics I#62/3
images: (without ads)
Marvel Mystery Comics I#62/3, p3, pan1 (main image)
p7, pan3 (headshot)
p6, pan7 (flying house)
p7, pan6 (Paine)
Appearances:
Marvel Mystery Comics I#62/3 (March, 1945) - Otto Binder (writer),
Charles Nicholas (art), Vince Fago (editor)
First posted: 09/05/2026
Last updated:
11/09/2025
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
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