Evil villains filled the serials. The Crimson Ghost, the Scorpion, the Spider, and the Dragon menaced our heroes week after week with diabolical devices such as the radiatomic transmitter, the decimator, and the cyclotrode.

  The Lightning from The Fighting Devil Dogs.

But none of the villains struck such a dangerous and intimidating pose as the Lightning, the black-caped villain from Fighting Devil Dogs. The Lightning wore a shiny black helmet that obscured the villain's identity behind a visor. Wicked barbs crowned the helmet. Four decades later, George Lucas would resurrect a similar looking villain, this time named Darth Vader, in Star Wars.

It wasn't just the villain's ominous image that struck fear into the hearts of serial goers everywhere. The Lightning kept a truly awe-inspiring range of weapons. His electrical torpedoes soared through the air, dripping sparks until they hit their targets and erupted in a shower of lightning bolts. He wiped out entire armies and left no clues behind. "They're all dead," cackled the Lightning's head henchman, "and there's no sign of how you killed them."

Herman Brix actually plays second banana in this serial. Lee Powell gets all the best scenes and all the cliffhangers revolve around Powell. Republic clearly intended Powell to become one of their top serial stars (he also starred in The Lone Ranger), but Powell enlisted in the military during World War II and he was killed in the Pacific. So we'll never know just how large his star could have grown. In Fighting Devil Dogs, however, he gives a strong, charismatic performance. The script also adds more personal anguish to the mix as the Lightning kills Powell's father, leaving Powell on a vendetta to bring the killer to justice.

The Lightning flaunts his true identity: "I am never suspected. I move amongst those most anxious to find me out. The fools! Perhaps they think I am too unimportant for them to suspect. No one will ever learn the identity of the Lightning!"

Fighting Devil Dogs is the second least expensive serial produced by Republic. Budgeted at $94,656 and finished for just $92,569, Fighting Devil Dogs shows its low budget in several ways--such as the extensive recycling of footage from previous Republic serials and the use of two (count 'em two!) retrospective chapters that did little but summarize the previous chapters. The flying wing comes from Dick Tracy, as does a tense chapter ending where two navy ships put the squeeze on a speedboat. But the cost-cutting measures are hardly noticeable amidst the plethora of action sequences. Fighting Devil Dogs moves through an astonishing variety of scenes. In addition to the aforementioned scenes of the Marines hacking their way through the jungle underbrush of Lingchuria, we get the boys fighting underwater, on ships, in airplanes, in submarines, and in caves. In addition, they pursue some quieter investigations in the scientific laboratory. Powell and Brix aren't just lunkhead muscle boys: they understand the value of science as well. At one point, they take ashes back to the laboratory to be inspected under an infra-red camera--in an effort to discover what was originally written on the paper. But when the situation requires some athleticism, the boys are more than capable. They climb ropes and leap through windows like Douglas Fairbanks. But Fighting Devil Dogs isn't like the Republic serials of the late '50s, which frequently degenerate into fist fight marathons. Directors Witney and English occasionally give us a slugging match, but they usually supply a wide variety of action sequences.

When George Lucas created Star Wars, he actually managed to improve on the villain. Whereas the Lightning was simply an ordinary-sized guy under the helmet and cape, Darth Vader took the form of the towering David Prowse, who stood nearly a head taller than the other actors. And instead of the nasally whine of the Lightning, we got the booming sonorous voice of James Earl Jones.