History:
EDWARD EARL
Real Name: Edward Earl
Identity/Class: Human (Post-World
War 2 Era)
Occupation: Reporter
Group Membership: None
Affiliations: Dr. Bertrand, Monsieur Mercedes, Dr. Walton
Enemies: Dr. Benedict
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: Merriwell Sanitarium,
Westchester County, New York, USA
formerly Manhattan, New York, USA
First Appearance: Astonishing I#3/3 (April, 1951)
Powers/Abilities: Edward Earl was a gifted writer with an overactive imagination.
Height: Unrevealed
(approximately 5'11")
Weight: Unrevealed (approximately 170 lbs.)
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Red
History:
(Astonishing I#3/3 (fb)) - Edward Earl was a freelance reporter in Manhattan who specialized in feature articles for magazines. On April 27, 1949, Earl found he was running low on finances. Passing by Monseiur Mercedes' Wax Museum in Greenwich Village, Earl came up with an idea. confronting Monsieur Mercedes, he suggested he write a feature about the wax museum to help promote the business. Believing the "murderers' row" in the wax museum was the most famous part of the museum, Earl proposed he spend a night in the murderers' row then use the sensations provoked by the statutes to inspire his feature. He asked for only a chair to sit upon.
Monsieur Mercedes brought him into the murderers' row and cautioned him to avoid smoking a cigarette because the wax statues could be easily melted. Monsieur Mercedes showed him statutes of John Dillinger and Pretty Boy floyd, then the most recent addition of killer Dr. Benedict, a surgeon who slit people's throats. Dr. Benedict had been sentenced to death and his body had been found in a charred car wreck the previous day.
When the museum closed at 5:30, Earl was left alone in murderers' row. He tried to maintain his nerve but after hours of sitting there he started to think he saw the statues moving. As he tried to convince himself his imagination had run wild, suddenly, the statue of Dr. Benedict seemed to come to life. Dr. Benedict claimed the body found in the wreck the previous day wasn't his and he'd replaced the wax statue, then used hypnosis to avoid detection. Claiming that Earl had broken his hypnotic spell and that he needed to kill him to protect his hiding place, Dr. Benedict began to assault him with his prop razorblade. Earl tried to ward him off and smashed Dr. Benedict into pieces; he was only a wax statue after all.
(Astonishing I#3/3) - Edward Earl's case was reviewed by Dr. Walton and his assistant Dr. Bertrand at the Merriwell Sanitarium but Dr. Walton believed there was no hope of curing Earl's condition.
Comments: Created by an unidentified writer and Bill LaCava.
The story of Edward Earl is a very blatant rip-off of A. M. Burrage's terrific 1931 short story "The Waxwork."
This profile was completed on 11/24/2025 but its publication was delayed, as it was intended for the Appendix's 25th anniversary celebratory event.
Profile by Prime Eternal.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Edward Earl should not be confused with:
Dr. Benedict was a surgeon who became a serial killer, slashing people's throats with a razorblade. He was tried for 30 murders and sentenced to death. En route to Sing Sing prison, Dr. Benedict escaped and stole a car but the car was later found in a wreck at Tarrytown, the body charred. A wax statue was made in his likeness at Monsieur Mercedes' Wax Museum. Edward Earl believed the statue was the real Dr. Benedict, who had supposedly left another body in the car then used hypnosis to prevent his detection. However, this was all a hallucination in Earl's mind and he wound up smashing the statue of Dr. Benedict into pieces.
--Astonishing I#3/3
Frenchman Monsieur Mercedes was the owner of a wax museum in Greenwich Village. He noted that the murderers' row in the museum was the most famous room of the museum but not the most profitable. He noted that Americans were more interested in the statutes of famous historical figures, believing the lacked the French people's morbid curiosity. Edward Earl convinced Monsieur Mercedes to let him spend a night in the wax museum, believing the resulting story would help promote the wax museum.
--Astonishing I#3/3
Dr. Bertrand and Dr. Walton were two psychiatrists at the Merriwell Sanitarium. Dr. Walton served as the head psychiatrist at Merriwell while Dr. Bertrand acted as his assistant. Dr. Walton reviewed Edward Earl as case #241 and explained the history of Earl's illness to Dr. Bertrand. Dr. Walton believed there was no hope of curing Earl's sanity.
--Astonishing I#3/3
images: (without ads)
Astonishing I#3/3, page 4, panel 4 (main)
Astonishing I#3/3, page 3, panel 3 (face)
Astonishing I#3/3, page 4, panel 3 (Bendict)
Astonishing I#3/3, page 2, panel 3 (Mercedes)
Astonishing I#3/3, page 1, panel 2 (Bertrand/Walton)
Appearances:
Astonishing I#3/3 (April, 1951) - unidentified writer, Bill LaCava
(artist), Stan Lee (editor)
First posted: 09/25/2026
Last updated:
11/24/2025
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
Non-Marvel
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