History
Signor Korte was a diplomat who was active in Washington D.C. during the 1940s. He was involved in international espionage and attempted to steal government secrets from the United States. The only individuals who were aware of his espionage activities were OSS agent Mark Mason and the costumed adventurer known as the Blonde Phantom. However, without sufficient evidence the pair were never able to arrest Korte due to his diplomatic immunity. He had the loyalty of United States Senator Mushbell who did his bidding.
In his earliest recorded act of espionage, circa 1946, Korte secretly hired Walter Edgar a spy with a photographic memory to pose as atomic scientist Homer Johns. Having Johns murdered, Walters then infiltrated an atomic energy meeting among leading scientist and memorized all that was said. However, before he could report back to his employer, he and his men were captured by Mark Mason and Blonde Phantom. Although without knowing the true identity of his employer, Edgar was unable to implicate Korte in the plot. Korte soon began plotting anew, and vowing vengeance against Mason and the Blonde Phantom.[1]
Signor Korte's next plot involved stealing the plans for a new radio control atomic bomb being developed by the American military. To this end, he hired international spy and master of disguise False Face to pose as Colonel Ryder. False Face's mission was to steal the plans, then reprogram the prototype to launch at New York City, in the hopes that the United States would abandon further development of the weapon allowing Korte to sell the plans to the highest bidder. Although False Face succeeded in replacing Ryder, Mark Mason became suspicious when Korte came to see the missile for himself. After Korte left, False Face was exposed by the Blonde Phantom, but not before he could launch the missile with Mark trapped inside. Blonde Phantom rescued Mark, who had reprogrammed the missile to it's original target where it exploded harmlessly. When questioning False Face in prison he denied working for anyone but himself. Korte next set up a team of spies to operate the beauty parlour called La Glamour. This was a front in which the spies used hypnotic techniques to gain government secrets from the wives of high ranking government officials. Suspecting that the spies would be caught soon, Korte secretly poisoned the leader. Later, when the Blonde Phantom led the spies into a trap, but when they questioned their leader, he succumbed to the poison.[2]
When last seen, Signor Korte was still at large, with Mark Mason and Blonde Phantom no closer to implicating him in any crime. His subsequent fate is unknown.