The Spirit (August 10, 1941) “The Element of Time”

Element of Time starts as a mad scientist strip and fairly quickly becomes a “thug of the week” strip. Just as Professor Corda completes his life’s work to condense time into a physical form–in this case, a liquid–Tommy Moran decides to plug Nick Ennis for snitching. Moran’s got a girlfriend who wants him to reconsider and think about their future together, but toxic masculinity; no one snitches on Tommy Moran. Tommy and the Professor happen across one another in a park, and Tommy can’t turn down the scientist’s offer of $5,000 to be the first liquid time test subject. It’s unclear how Professor Corda knew the liquid should be injected and not consumed; not to mention whether or not he can be certain time is a nonlethal element. At this point, the strip leans heavily into stylization: Tommy sees his immediate future—he goes and kills the snitch, but then the Spirit catches up with him. They then have a cat-and-mouse fight on some cliffs, though the visual stylization clashes with the…