Maybe Marvo Can Help With My Powerball Tickets?

The Golden Age must have been a glorious time to be alive, as there must have been 20 or 30 magicians just wandering around, righting wrongs and having adventures.

But Marvo the Magician had a monkey, and didn't speak backwards, so he's probably the best.

Being the Golden Age, his powers seemed to vary from story to story, but for the most part, he just cast illusions, Mastermind-style.

For example, when he is wandering around "the most corrupt and wicked city in the Midwest":

Sounds like time for a classic distraction!

Of course, he have to give Tito the monkey a few bits in every story, because everybody loves monkeys!

And when Marvo leaves, the illusion wears off...

Well, Marvo agrees to help the attractive mayor break the grip this casino and its mobbed-up owners have on her town!

How did he do that?

Wait, wait, wait--that's totally cheating, isn't it?

It also makes you wonder why Mastermind and other illusion-casting villains are wasting time in the Brotherhood Of Evil Mutants and the like, when they could be getting filthy rich without having to fight anyone? Who needs Magneto or Sebastian Shaw always calling you names and abusing you, when you could just walk into any casino (and appear as anyone you want, so "not welcome here" lists wouldn't work) and walk out with a cool million or ten?

Marvo also "breaks the bank" at roulette:

Oh, don't be too judgemental of Marvo. It turns out the casino was plenty crooked:

Way to go Tito!

And as for the money Marvo "won"?

All right, we'll let you get away with it this time, magician!

From Lightning Comics V1 #4 (1940)