"Burglar who walked thru walls"

Real Name: Unrevealed

Identity/Class: Human technology user (post-WWII era)

Occupation: Custodian, burglar

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: Professor Hamilton (employer)

Enemies: Unidentified cop

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Mobile throughout an unidentified American city

First Appearance: Tales of Suspense I#5/3 (September, 1959)

Powers/Abilities: The burglar had low-level skills in electronics, and was merely a tinkerer when it came to machines; he accidentally reassembled an electronic device (original function unrevealed) into a matter transmitter.

The matter transmitter was an extremely short-range teleporter. It was a small device that could be held in one's hands, and it had the power to disintegrate both itself and its operator, then reintegrate both itself and its operator about ten feet from where they had previously been, allowing both to pass through walls and other barriers.

Height: Unrevealed (5' 10"; by approximation)
Weight: Unrevealed
Eye: Unrevealed
Hair: Brown

History:
(Tales of Suspense I#5/3 (fb) - BTS) - A lifelong criminal, the burglar decided to go into semi-retirement and got a job in Professor Hamilton's lab, where he worked as a cleaning man.

(Tales of Suspense I#5/3 (fb)) - While Professor Hamilton was away in Washington for a few days, the burglar (then still working as a cleaning man) tinkered with an electronic device in Hamilton's lab because he liked taking things apart and putting them back together again, "...to see what makes it tick."

   But the device he chose to take apart had so many components that he was unsure if he had reassembled it in the proper configuration. When he activated the device, he was shocked to see it glow and emit some kind of rays at an ashtray, then both the device and the ashtray disappeared and reappeared beyond a partition, several feet away from where they had previously been. The burglar realized that he had somehow reassembled the device into a matter transmitter.

   When he learned he could also use this machine on himself, it gave the burglar a new angle to commit crimes. He drove to one of the city's best hotels, then checked into a room adjacent to one occupied by a wealthy couple; while they were away, he transported himself and the machine through the wall and pilfered their valuables, then transported himself back into his own room.

   He continued on a crime spree for several weeks, even moving on to robbing bank vaults and jewellery stores. The police were baffled by the crimes, because the door locks of the robbed buildings were never tampered with. But one lone cop had his theory on how these thefts were being committed. The cop planted a false news story about the world's largest diamond being on display in a museum, as bait in his trap to lure the mysterious burglar.

   After seeing the fake article, the burglar went to the museum that night, activated his machine, and materialized in a room where the diamond was supposed to be; but he found out that it was a trap--the room was actually an exhibit of an early American jail, and the cop was there waiting for him! The two struggled with each other, and the transmitter machine fell to the floor, where it was smashed to pieces. The cop arrested the burglar and took him off to jail.

(Tales of Suspense I#5/3) - The burglar was tried and sentenced to prison, where he would spend his time trying to recreate the transmitter machine; but because the first machine was the result of a one-in-a-million chance accident, he would never succeed.

Comments: Created by an unidentified writer and Paul Reinman.

The burglar was never identified in this story, so I just based the profile name on this 4-page story's title--"I Walk Thru Walls!"

This story was told in the burglar's narrative flashback.

Professor Hamilton was only mentioned, and because there was no further information on him, he has no sub-profile.--Ron Fredricks

This burglar demonstrated the same limited thinking that was typical of so many super-villains who would later follow him (such as Bruno Horgan/Melter)--he discovers something that could be a real boon to humanity, but rather than do the smart thing and patent it (and possibly become a multi-millionaire in the process), he chooses instead to waste it on penny-ante crimes.

That unidentified cop looks like Jim Hudson.
--Gammatotem

And a big THANK YOU to Dennis Giansante for originally scanning this story for me! New and additional images by Ron Fredricks.

Profile by John Kaminski

CLARIFICATIONS:
"The Burglar who walked thru walls" has no known connections to:

• The Burglar who killed Ben Parker--Amazing Fantasy I#15/1
• Barry Witherspoon - aka "The Man Who Could Walk Through Walls"--Machine Man I#14
• any other character with similar names, or any other burglars

Professor Hamilton has no known connection to:

• Dr. Jerome Hamilton - former member of the Enclave, later became Blind Justice-- Fantastic Four I#65
• Professor Emil Hamilton - scientist, supporting character from DC Comics' Superman titles--Adventures of Superman I#424
• any other characters with similar names, or any other professors

matter transmitter Originally a  device of unrevealed function, it was created by Professor Hamilton--it was unrevealed what Professor Hamilton originally had in mind for his invention. It was accidentally modified into a matter transmitter by the burglar, who then used it for his crimes. A small device that could be held in one's hands, the matter transmitter was an extremely short-range teleporter that had the power to disintegrate both itself and its operator, then reintegrate both itself and its operator about ten feet from where they had previously been, allowing both to pass through walls and other barriers. The burglar used it for a series of robberies, but when he was duped into teleporting into a trap set by an unidentified cop, the two struggled, and the burglar dropped the matter transmitter to the floor, where it was smashed into pieces. --Tales of Suspense I#5/3 (5/3(fb)

unidentified cop He (name unrevealed, see comments) was a uniformed police officer in an unidentified city. For weeks, there had been a rash of mysterious burglaries occurring at private residences, banks, and jewelry stores throughout the city--the robber had been able to get into the buildings without tampering with the door-locks. The police were baffled by the impossible robberies, because it almost seemed as if the burglar could walk though walls. But this cop theorized that the robber had invented some means to disintegrate himself, pass through walls, then reintegrate himself again on the other side. The cop told his theory to a senior officer, who incredulously responded: "It's sheer nonsense! You're talkin' 'comic book' stuff!" But regardless, the cop planted a false news story and set a trap for the burglar, then successfully captured him when the burglar took the bait. --Tales of Suspense I#5/3 (5/3(fb)

images: (without ads)
Tales of Suspense I#5/3, p3, pan1 (main image - Burglar, materializing with matter transmitter)
Tales of Suspense I#5/3, p1, pan1 (headshot - Burglar)
Tales of Suspense I#5/3, p2, pan4-5 (Burglar dematerializes with matter transmitter, then rematerializes in next room)
Tales of Suspense I#5/3, p4, pan3 (Burglar materializes in museum jail exhibit, confronted by unidentified cop)
Tales of Suspense I#5/3, p1, pan3-4 (Burglar discovers he has accidentally created a matter transmitter)
Tales of Suspense I#5/3, p4, pan5 (matter transmitter falls to floor and gets smashed to pieces)
Tales of Suspense I#5/3, p3, pan6 (unidentified cop)
Tales of Suspense I#5/3, p4, pan6 (unidentified cop arrests Burglar)

Appearances:
Tales of Suspense I#5/3 (September, 1959) - unidentified writer, Paul Reinman (pencils/inks), Stan Goldberg (colors), Stan Lee (editor)

First posted: 08/04/2006
Last updated: 04/29/2024