Who's This? A Charlton villain.
The facts: Created by David Kaler and Steve Ditko, the Ghost first appeared in Charton's Captain Atom #82 (September 1966) and would appear enough times to be called that version of the hero's greatest nemesis (4 times in his series, 3 times in Charlton Bullseye) and even shows up in two issues of Crisis on Infinite Earths (as the Earth-4 Ghost). After Crisis, Alec Rois is updated for Captain Atom #14 (April 1988), appearing 10 times in that series. His last true appearance was in Underworld Unleashed #1... I guess his deal with Neron didn't go through.
How you could have heard of him: Not to be confused with the similar Iron Man villain who shows up in the second Ant-Man movie, the Ghost put in an appearance in War of the Gods #4, which was reprinted last year as Wonder Woman: War of the Gods Special Edition #4.
Example story: Captain Atom #82 (September 1966) "Captain Atom vs the Ghost" by David Kaler, Steve Ditko and Rocke Mastroserio
Also featuring the first appearance of Nightshade, but we can't dwell on that here... Captain Atom is quick to respond to a Pentagon summons, as the government fears a strange phantom currently stealing from private industry will soon strike at them (a likely story, just say it, there's no difference). Atom and spy-busting agent Nightshade are tasked with getting this super-villain, though the Captain doesn't rule out... aliens?!
Adam and Eve (oh!) are given intelligence of the Ghost's agents meeting at a party thrown by socialite Alex Rois and dress up for the part. What they don't know is that Alec Rois IS the Ghost. TAN-TAN-TANNNNNN!
In the flashback, we learn that Alec was a poor loner, got into the sciences, created a "teleportation" machine, and made a fortune illegally. I really like the way his mittens can draw money out of safes, cool visual. Later, at the party, the heroes can't spot each other because they didn't share any personal or unmasked information - oops! But Adam sure thinks Eve Eden is hot (and out of his league). Focus, man! He does, and spots someone acting sus, follows them where they make a phone call to deliver a "message from the spirit world". I do love a themed spy game. Eve also follows and confronts a suspect, but he's too scared of the Ghost to reveal any information. But when the Ghost actually shows up, we get a sense of how his teleportation powers work...
I suppose he moves by crossing into a "world of no dimensions", but without the proper tech, you would be stuck in transit. No worries, this is also Nightshade's super-power! She gets the duo back to the real world. (It's not clear that Eve actually had those powers at this point, as she claims the Ghost's trap was only ever a delaying tactic and that they would pop back out of it in time. Hm.) And they're off to the Pentagon's map room to stop the Ghost from stealing Fort Knox's blueprints. But how can you stop an intangible thief?
Looks like he'll easily pull off what Goldfinger couldn't. The Ghost's plan involves teleporting gold to a fleet of trucks in the area, but our heroes are on to him. Nighshade and the military neutralize the teamsters, while Captain Atom goes into Fort Knox... AS A GHOST!
Yeah, didn't you know that this version of Captain Atom can turn invisible and walk through walls by manipulating his atomic structure? Well, he can! He gets the drop on the Ghost, but Rois is only playing dead (ha! get it?!) And he's about to send the hero to the farthest part of the dimensionless void (if that makes any sense) when...
He just sent himself with a broken mitten and no way to return (he will). The heroes never find out he's Alec Rois either.
Great classic Ditko look. Neat power implementation. Good planning. Though they changed almost everything about him post-Crisis, I still think he deserved that comeback (more so than Dr. Spectro).
Who's Next? A mechanical soldier.
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