SPY-CHIEF

Jeff Cardiff, aka the Spy-Chief, is an agent with the F.B.I.

Cardiff is also known as the Spymaster (or Spy-Master) and also later known as the Cloak. And many of the people who work with him or who call upon him for assistance know him just as himself, an experienced and capable member of the Bureau. What his background was before he went to work for the government is not known. We do not learn of any relationship he might have outside of work (although he is appealing to the ladies he meets and he is not above being pleased himself) except for a brother we learn of some time in the series.

Cardiff is a man possibly in his probable late 20s but more likely in his 30s based on the knowledge he shows of the bad guys he combats. He possesses an athletic build which is very much in demand because he has to do some pretty impressive acts to stay alive. (In one crazy maneuver, he climbed onto a bi-plane's wing while the plane he had been on flew under it.)

As his exploits continue and the prowess of his investigative abilities, not to mention his fighting skills, become known, the enemy spies in the country put out the word that he is to be shot on site. Cardiff begins to realize his fame is working against him.

When he is forced to take a vacation after getting shot. he visits his wealthy brother. That collector of war-time curios has a cape and cowl ensemble he says was "worn by a noted American spy during the Revolution." According to the story, the man himself The Cloak as well as claiming he was the "Champion of Liberty".

Knowing he was a marked man as Jeff Cardiff and could not serve his country as he would like, Cardiff became the masked spy-fighter, The Cloak. Rex still knew who he was.

One of the problems I have noticed with the spy-hunters that came out in the late 30s and early 40s is their lack of emotion. That is most pleasantly not the case with Jeff Cardiff, aka Spy-Master aka Spy-Chief aka The Cloak. He gets miffed more than once. He has a sense of humor. He loves his dog.

The fare is standard but then again it had to be. America was not yet involved in war but it was close and everyone knew it could happen. Meanwhile, there was tremendous fear, and some justification for it, of fifth columnists attacking the infrastructure to keep us from helping others or from getting involved ourselves.

Since we were not yet in the battle, the agents depicted had to be defensive in nature and that meant fighting saboteurs and assassins and arsonists and secret plan stealers. Cardiff fought though all the time.

The big difference with Cardiff was the change a new artist made to turn the operative into a costumed hero which was interesting. The use of an identity supposedly from the Revolutionary War was a nice touch.