JANE BRYANT

Real Name: Unrevealed (see comments)

Identity/Class: Subterranean human sub-species ("Four-armed men"; see comments) (1950s era)

Occupation: Nurse

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: None

Enemies: Dr. Brimm, Thorn

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: Jane Bryant (see comments)

Base of Operations: Hagstone Sanitarium;
   originally from beneath the earth

First Appearance: Menace#4/4 (June, 1953)

Powers/Abilities: As a female member of a race of subterranean "four-armed men," she had an additional pair of arms; she initially concealed her extra appendages under a coat, and later, by wearing a cloak as part of her nurse's uniform.

She carried a small revolver handgun in the pocket of her uniform, and she was proficient in its use.

Height: 5'6" (by approximation)
Weight: 130 lbs. (by approximation)
Eyes: Unrevealed
Hair: Blond

History:
(Menace#4/4 (fb) - BTS) - The origin of the "four armed men" (and women) is unrevealed (see comments), but from their home in the subterranean depths of the Earth, they plotted to take over the world by killing most of the surface-men and enslaving the rest.

(Menace#4/4 (fb) ) - When coal-miner Thorn was trapped by a cave-in, he followed a strange tunnel, hoping it would lead to the surface; he accidentally stumbled upon the "four-armed men" while they were plotting. The "four-armed men" chased after him, but Thorn managed to elude them. After being rescued from the mine, Thorn began to warn others about the threat of the "four-armed men," but he was thought to be mentally-disturbed and hallucinating, so the "madman" was forcibly committed to Hagstone Sanitarium.

(Menace#4/4 (fb) - BTS) - Somehow learning of Thorn's confinement at the insane asylum, the "four-armed men" had one of their females disguise herself as Nurse Jane Bryant, and she accepted a job at Hagstone Sanitarium so she could assassinate Thorn.

(Menace#4/4) - Late one night, Nurse Bryant arrived by train at the town of Hagstone, then she walked to her new job at the sanitarium. After she reached the mental institution and met Dr. Brimm, she was shown to her private quarters, where she went to bed.

   Early the next morning, Brimm showed Nurse Bryant her duties and took her on a tour of the facility; she was also introduced to the inmates, including Thorn--when the giggling madman told the nurse that Brimm was a traitor to the human race, Brimm explained to her that Thorn was hallucinating that subterranean men with four arms were plotting to destroy mankind, and he thought that Brimm was working for them. Afterward, Brimm forbade the nurse from ever seeing Thorn again, because the doctor considered him to be too dangerous.

   But one day, while Brimm was out on a call, Nurse Bryant went to Thorn's cell and asked the wild-eyed madman to tell her about his encounter with the "four-armed men". After Thorn related his tale to her, Dr. Brimm entered Thorn's cell and pointed a gun at the nurse--Brimm explained that he knew Thorn's story was true...and hinted that he also knew something else (...apparently, Brimm had somehow discovered Nurse Bryant's secret). But the nurse pulled her own revolver from her pocket and shot Brimm dead. Thorn was elated after Brimm had been killed, and he told Nurse Bryant that now they could warn the world about the "four-armed men". But suddenly, the nurse turned and fired her gun again, and her next bullet entered Thorn's heart.

   As she walked out of the cell and left the two dead bodies behind, Nurse Bryant unbuttoned and removed her uniform--it hadn't been easy keeping her other two arms hidden all that time...

Comments: Created by Stan Lee (writer) and Bill Everett (artist).

This 7-page story--The Madman--would be reprinted in Monsters Unleashed#2 (September, 1973) and Vault of Evil#13 (September, 1974).

Since she was from a secret civilization which dwelt apart from mankind below the earth, "Jane Bryant" was likely not her real name; however, it was unrevealed if that name belonged to an actual nurse whose identity she may have assumed.

A decade after this story was originally published, it was reworked into the story of the extraterrestrial Four-Armed Men in Tales to Astonish I#26/1 (December, 1961).

The background of Nurse Bryant and the subterranean "four-armed men" was never revealed (The two images seen in the sub-profile below are the extent of their appearance), but they probably had no connection to the race of similarly-endowed aliens. Maybe they were Deviant mutates (much like the Gor-Tokians and the Lizard Men) and created with extra arms to be laborers.






Profile by Ron Fredricks.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Jane Bryant has no known connections to:

Dr. Brimm has no known connections to:

Thorn has no known connections to:

The "four-armed men" have no known connections to:

Hagstone Sanitarium

A gloomy and decrepit mansion on a hilltop by the outskirts of the town of Hagstone, it served as a mental institution; it was operated solely by Dr. Brimm.

When it became too difficult for him to attend to all the patients by himself, Brimm advertised for a nurse, and Nurse Jane Bryant responded to the job offer.

--Menace#4/4

Dr. Brimm

The elderly supervisor of Hagstone Sanitarium, he ran the the entire mental asylum by himself. When it became too difficult to attend to all his patients without help, he advertised for a nurse.

Nurse Jane Bryant answered his ad, so he showed her around the sanitarium and introduced her to his patients. While he and the nurse were in Thorn's cell, Brimm was attacked by Thorn, but the doctor was able to hurl the maddened patient away from him (Brimm had amazing strength for a man of his years). The doctor later explained to Nurse Bryant that Thorn was a dangerous lunatic who was hallucinating that subterranean "four-armed men" were plotting to take over the world.

But days later, Brimm discovered that Thorn's claims were true when he apparently learned that Nurse Bryant was actually a female member of the four-armed conquerors.

When he went to Thorn's cell and found the nurse with Thorn, Brimm pointed his gun at her; but Nurse Bryant pulled out her own revolver and shot Dr. Brimm dead.

--Menace#4/4

Hagstone Sanitarium inmates

Numbering at least five (including Thorn, no others identified), they were patients diagnosed as being insane; they were kept under lock and key in the confines of Hagstone Sanitarium.

Two of the milder cases cases were confined to Ward "A".

Two of the more violent cases were restrained to the wall of their cell by chains.

--Menace#4/4

Thorn

Thorn (first name unrevealed) had been a coal-miner who was trapped by a cave-in. While following a strange tunnel, in the hopes that it would lead to the surface, Thorn inadvertently came upon a group of "four-armed men" plotting to conquer the surface-world. Thorn managed to escape from them, but when he was rescued from the mine, he began to tell others about the subterranean menaces--Thorn was thought to be insane, and he was subsequently confined to Hagstone Sanitarium, where the "madman" was chained to the wall of his cell.

Thorn thought Dr. Brimm (the sanitarium's supervisor) was working for the "four-armed men," and when Brimm introduced Nurse Jane Bryant, to him, Thorn attacked Brimm, but the elderly doctor managed to shove Thorn away from him.

Days later, Nurse Bryant visited Thorn's cell, and he told her about his encounter with the "four-armed men". When Nurse Bryant shot and killed Dr. Brimm, Thorn was elated and thought that he would be released to warn the world about the invaders. But then the nurse turned and shot Thorn in the heart--Thorn never knew that Nurse Bryant was actually a female member of the "four-armed men".

--Menace#4/4

"Four-armed men"

Their origins unrevealed (see comments), they dwelt in the subterranean depths of the earth.

Clad in animal-skin loincloths, they somewhat resembled prehistoric men, although they were endowed with an additional pair of upper appendages; they were able to speak English, but couldn't run as fast as humans (possibly due to the added weight of their extra limbs).

While four of them were scheming to conquer the surface world, their plot was discovered by coal-miner Thorn. The "four-armed men" chased after Thorn, but he was able to outrun them.

When Thorn began to warn others about the "four-armed men," he was thought to be insane and committed to Hagstone Sanitarium; the "four-armed men" somehow learned about Thorn's confinement, so they sent one of their females (Jane Bryant) to work as a nurse at the sanitarium so she could assassinate Thorn.

--Menace#4/4

images: (without ads)
Menace#4/4, p1, pan1 (Main Image - Jane Bryant)
Menace#4/4, p1, pan3 (Headshot - Jane Bryant)
Menace#4/4, p3, pan6 (Jane Bryant, reporting for duty in her nurse's uniform; Dr. Brimm (left))
Menace#4/4, p7, pan7 (Jane Bryant removes her nurse uniform and reveals her four arms)
Menace#4/4, p2, pan1 (Jane Bryant walking to Hagstone Sanitarium)
Menace#4/4, p2, pan5 (Dr. Brimm and Jane Bryant inside Hagstone Sanitarium)
Menace#4/4, p2, pan4 (Dr. Brimm answers door of Hagstone Sanitarium)
Menace#4/4, p5, pan6 (Dr. Brimm tells Jane Bryant about Thorn)
Menace#4/4, p4, pan3 (Dr. Brimm shows Jane Bryant some of the inmates)
Menace#4/4, p4, pan4 (Dr. Brimm shows Jane Bryant some of the more violent inmates)
Menace#4/4, p4, pan6 (Thorn lunges at Dr. Brimm; Jane Bryant)
Menace#4/4, p5, pan2 (Thorn rants to Dr. Brimm and Jane Bryant)
Menace#4/4, p7, pan6 (Jane Bryant shoots Thorn)
Menace#4/4, p6, pan6 ((in Thorn's recall) "Four-Armed Men" plotting to attack surface people)
Menace#4/4, p6, pan7 ((in Thorn's recall) "Four-Armed Men" pursue Thorn)

Appearances:
Menace#4/4 (June, 1953) - Stan Lee (writer), Bill Everett (pencils, inks, letters), Stan Lee (editor)

First Posted: 08/27/2019
Last updated: 08/27/2019

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