  |
This article’s content is marked as Mature The page contains mature content that may include coarse language, sexual references, strong drug use, extremely traumatic themes, and/or graphic violent images which may be disturbing to some. Mature pages are recommended for those who are 18 years of age and older.  If you are 18 years or older or are comfortable with graphic material, you are free to view this page. Otherwise, you should close this page and view another page. |
 |
Jafar says: Read my lips and come to grips with the reality!
This article is a stub and is in need of expansion. You can help Villains Wiki by expanding it. |
Evil-doer
Powers / Skills
Robbery skills
Type of Villain
No information
Kriminal is the main villainous protagonist of the Italian comic series of the same created by Magnus and Max bunker that ran from 1965 until 1974. The character was directly inspired by another Italian contemporary (and more successful) comic book character under the name of Diabolik, with whom he shares the ability to use masks that allow him to assume any identity.
He is played by Glenn Saxson in the 1966 live-action film.
Overview[]
Kriminal is an English master thief named Anthony Logan. When he was young, he spent his youth in a reformatory, from which he managed to escape, intent to pursue vengeance. In the present, when he goes out on adventures, he hides his identity in a yellow costume with black lines around and covers his face with a fearsome skull face. In Anthony’s earliest adventures, he was a near sadistic killer fighting for revenge against the criminals who had pushed his father to commit suicide, alongside that he also lost his mother and sister.
Kriminal has a female companion who goes under the name of Lola Hudson and was in addition, married to her and had one child named Max, also having a love-hate relationship with Gloria, who was once the wife of Scotland Yard Inspector Patrick Milton, his main enemy. Gradually over time, Kriminal’s most extreme villainous features were toned down, and in the later stories he assumed more positive and heroic connotations.
Censorship and Knock-off productions[]
Due to the violence and the proto-erotic scenes in the comic book (as well as in Satanik), Bunker and Raviola had problems with Italian censorship. Bunker was prosecuted several times, but never condemned. The panels depicting semi-nude girls were often censored by the publisher itself.
It is being said that when Italian distributed 1966’s Japanese live-action superhero film adaptation of The Golden Bat by Toei, they presented the main protagonist of the latter in Italy as their version of Kriminal himself, who in addition, heavily resembles Golden Bat himself (in addition, it seems that the stripes seen on Golden Bat’s red suit on the Italian posters were based off the ones seen on Kriminal’s). It’s also been claimed that this caused legal problems to be ensued, and the name had to be changed, and were looking for something equally comic-book-friendly, the distributors settled for “Diavolik” playing on Kriminal’s main inspiration and contender Diabolik but changing a letter. But this was not enough, and further legal problems were brought up.
