The Genie

History: At one time a mortal, the Genie was a being of immense supernatural power. He was trapped in a bottle by an old Gypsy tribesman, and the bottle was thrown into the swamps of Blackwood Marsh. Freddy Sykes, an ex-convict with a penchant for fairy tales, read a report about this incident and went in search of the bottle. Finding the bottle, Sykes opened it and released the Genie. Cursed to follow Sykes' commands, the Genie first created a castle of gold, and then a winged horse. Then Sykes wanted to take over the world, wanting first to put fear into the people. He had the Genie evaporate the Atlantic ocean and blot out the sun. Sykes then got the idea to trade places with the Genie so he would no longer be dependent on the Genie and could do whatever he wanted himself. The Genie obliged: the Genie became a mortal, and Sykes became a genie. Sykes was then cursed to obey the ex-Genie's commands. After having him restore the Earth back to normal, the mortal Genie ordered Sykes into the bottle and sealed it. Seeing these events as a second chance, the ex-Genie then left to lead a good and useful life.

The Sykes/genie remained in the bottle for months. A man wandering in the swamp found the mud-covered bottle and uncorked it but saw nothing inside, so he walked off, leaving the Sykes/genie with no master. The Sykes/genie left the bottle wanting revenge. Using his magic, he conquered the world. He next turned his attention to the stars, wanting to conquer the universe. The Sykes/genie created an army of spaceships and flew off, but when he flew beyond the Earth's atmosphere, his powers faded, and he learned that he was powerless when not on the Earth. As everything returned to normal, the Sykes/genie was once again trapped in the bottle.

Height: Variable
Demonstrated Powers: The Genie had the power to magically alter reality to the wishes of his master. The only limit to this power was that it would only work in Earth's atmosphere (as the Sykes/genie discovered later), and the master was not limited to three wishes. The Genie could alter his size, from being small enough to fit into a bottle, to giant size.

Comment: Sykes as the genie looks vaguely like the Timely Comics character Super Slave, who was also a genie and appeared only once in Mystic Comics # 5 (March 1941). Possible connection?

Comment: It is unknown if there is any connection between “The Genie” and The Genie With the Light Brown Hair, Ozarr the Mighty from Amazing Adult Fantasy # 14 (art by Steve Ditko), or the genie controlled by “The Teen-Ager Who Ruled the World” in Tale of Suspense # 38 (art by Jack Davis).

I liked both the Genie tales. There is a bit of a thing here, the genie in the last story mentioned said he was the only one. But there are plainly several. And not all were born Genies. Perhaps its a state rather than natural position for the stated life forms. The Genie with the light brown hair was born into it, the Genie here was transformed at some time. Perhaps the Genie in the last mentioned tale is simply the living embodiment of this reality warping power.

In Young Allies comics#13(sum/44)Tommy tyme travelled back in time to meet Aladdin and his Genie[The Arabian Nights].In the original Arabian Nights story Aladdin had Two Genies,one in a Ring and one in a Lamp.

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